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OUR FACULTY
Meet our team!
NICOLE SWOPE
FOUNDER & OWNER
Nicole Swope founded Centre Dance in 1991. She has been the owner and director ever since. (She is pictured here with some of her original company members).
Nicole began her dance training with Deborah Anthony at the Allegheny Ballet Company where she studied ballet, tap and jazz. Later she began teaching there and at other studios in the surrounding areas. After high school, she went on to attend Penn State University to major in journalism and minor in business. All the while, she continued to teach dance on the side. Upon earning her degree, she realized teaching the art of dance was her true passion, therefore, she decided to open the studio we have today.
Nicole engages the community by choreographing the opening/closing number for Centre County’s Outstanding Young Woman Program for over twenty years and by finding many charity performing opportunities for her dancers. She collaborated with Fuse Productions to co-produce and lead choreograph 'A Chorus Line' in 2014. Nicole is a certified member of Dance Masters of America, and this past summer, she completed the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet Teachers Workshop. She travels with her competition team, AVID Dance Productions, where she learns from the top teachers in the country most weekends in the spring. All of these experiences culminate in continuing dance education to constantly improve her teaching and direction of Centre Dance.
BRIEL BEATY
Briel began taking ballet at the age of three and has been dancing ever since. After graduating from high school and Out of His Mind Dance in Johnstown, she went on to study Modern dance and choreography at Temple University. One of her works was selected for the American College Dance Festival Association where further selection placed the work in the regional Gala concert. After completing her B.F.A., Briel co-founded BodyFields, a multidisciplinary performance collective based in Philadelphia. Bodyfields performed regularly throughout the region including Festivals such as The Philadelphia Fringe and Akimbo. She went on to collaborate and perform with another dance group, Spiral Cracks, in Ithaca, New York while teaching and choreographing at Cortland Performing Arts Institute for The Nutcracker, recitals and dance competitions. Throughout all of this Briel continually studied yoga, which she began in college, and in 2017 she decided to take her study of movement one step further by traveling to India where she completed her 200 hour Yoga Teaching Certificate. She is currently working on her second yoga certification. Briel loves teaching movement, dance and yoga, to individuals from all walks of life, all ages and all levels. She is grateful to have landed here at Centre Dance and is looking forward to the year to come!
JULIE BERARDI
Julie Berardi is the Owner and Artistic Director of Synergy Dance, as well as the Head Coach of the Penn State Lionettes Dance Team. Julie assisted with national's choreography for the Lionettes from 2011-2015 until August of 2015 when she was hired as the first ever coach for the program. Julie started dancing at a young age and received a highly technical and ballet-centered training at Oxford Center for Dance (PA) under the direction of Dina Gazzero and at Mid-Atlantic Ballet Company (DE) under the direction of Sara Taylor Neal. Julie is also trained in jazz, contemporary, lyrical, modern, tap, pom, kick and hip-hop. In 2001, along with the Blue Lake International Ballet Ensemble, Julie toured Europe starring in an original piece by Jefferson Baum and was chosen to perform the pas de duex from Don Quixote. Since graduating from Penn State where she earned a B.A. in Public Relations/Advertising, Julie was able to turn her passion for dance into a career in choreography and coaching for dance teams and studios across the country. She has choreographed for over 50 dance teams and studios over the past 8 years and earned multiple titles, top 5 finishes and choreography awards. Julie is the Owner/Artistic Director at Synergy Dance, a choreography company that specializes in competition choreography for high school, college teams and studios. It gives Julie great joy to work with dancers, helping them to reach their full potential and experience success!
JOHN DAULBY
John Daulby began his dance training when he was 11 and graduated from Centre Dance in 2008. After graduating high school, John attended the University of the Arts in Philadelphia in 2012. After completing his BFA in Dance Performance, John was on full-time faculty at the Grier School in Tyrone, Pa. In 2015, John moved to Tucson, AZ where he began his MFA in Dance Performance and Choreography. After completing his degree in 2017, John freelance taught around Pennsylvania and was on faculty at Centre Dance. Over 9 summers, John is the Head of Performing Arts at Independent Lake Camp, an elite summer camp held in Orson, Pennsylvania. Currently, John is the Tour Administrator for DanceMakers, Inc.
AMANDA FERRARA
Amanda Ferrara trained at Centre Dance for fifteen years and competed with AVID Dance Productions for eight years. She earned a BS in psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, where she was a member of the Pitt Dance Ensemble (PDE). With PDE, she was cast in numerous pieces and choreographed five production pieces and two small ensemble routines.
BRIANA HAZZI
Briana is a 2020 Penn State Law graduate, and recent University of Central Florida grad. She is trained in styles such as tap, jazz, hip hop & Latin ballroom, and competed numerous years at a south Florida studio, as well as on her high school dance team. Briana's performances include Disney's Christmas Special, Miami Salsa Congress, Orlando Fashion Week, and the many other opportunities Knights and Damsels Dance Company provided for her during her time at UCF. Her recent choreography has been seen at UCF's Annual Dance Concert, Knights and Damsels Annual Showcase, as well as Central Florida's Dancing for Diabetes. Briana is very excited to bring her passion for dance to Centre Dance this year!
ANDREA HILL
Andrea Hill is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Arts with a concentration in Dance. Miss Young is also a graduate of Smeal College of Business where she received her Bachelor of Science in Supply Chain and Information Systems. During her time at Penn State, Andrea received Penn State’s Most Valuable Dancer and the Outstanding Senior Award. She also had her choreography adjudicated at American College Dance Festival Association. Since graduating, Miss Young has worked at The Grier School for 6 years in Tyrone, PA where she has taught all forms and levels. Teaching and performing all over the world is a dream of hers where she has been blessed to already start that dream. Andrea has traveled to Suriname, South America and Monterrery, Mexico in pursuit of that dream. Andrea was a proud founding member of Fluidity Dance Company under the direction of Jocelyn Hrzic and worked with August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble first as an apprentice and then as a guest dancer. Andrea has had the privilege of dancing in the works of the very talented Pascal Rioult, Jason McDole, Jon Lehrer, Kiesha Lalama, Kyle Abraham, Antonio Brown, Terence Greene, Maria Caruso, Christopher Huggins and Sidra Bell. She has performed at Chicago’s Jazz Dance World Congress, Pittsburgh's Jazz Dance World Festival, California’s Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival, and NYC’s Project Live in association with Project Dance to name a few. Andrea also enjoys working the behind the scenes and has done so as Managing Director of August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble. Miss Young is currently working as LehrerDance's Touring Manager for A&J Agency. She is excited to work with Centre Dance's talent this year!
VICKI HOFFMAN
Vicki began dancing at the age of 5, studying acrobatics, ballet, tap, and jazz at the Wrayette School of Dance in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Later, she studied at the Bill Bailey Studio of Dance and at Rosalene Kenneth’s Professional Dance Studio where she received a dance scholarship, competed, choreographed and taught acrobatics, tap and ballet. She served as the North Hills School District mascot for four years before graduating and attending the University of Pittsburgh where she competed on the women’s gymnastics team before earning her B.S. in Biology and Secondary Education. While pursuing her master’s degree at Penn State, Vicki taught and performed with the Penn State International Dance Ensemble. She now dances regularly with the Susquehanna Folk Music Society and continues to choreograph and teach various forms of dance in the State College area.
JACKIE HOVIS
Jackie began dancing when she was 4 years old and started competing at the age of 10. Jackie was an assistant for the dance convention Artists Simply Human which allowed her to train with faculty such as Rudy Abreu, Jason Samuels Smith, Gregg Russell, Jojo Gomez, DJ Smart, and Desmond Richardson. Jackie has also had the opportunity to be able to assist many other dance instructors and choreographers such as Will Thomas and Nick Garcia. During her junior year of high school, Jackie was on Tokyo the Company 2 which performed a show in Louisiana. Jackie has also performed in Rudy Abreu’s showcase pieces in Choreographer’s Carnival and the World of Dance competition in California. She was also in the company that won the World of Dance competition in Philadelphia in the year 2018. Jackie is currently a junior majoring in marketing at Penn State and part of the Lionettes Dance Team. She was able to choreograph multiple pieces for the team recently as well as multiple solos, group dances, and duets for dance studios. Jackie also made the first team all Big Ten dance team for collegiate dancers for the year 2021.
NAJYA HOWZE
Najya Howze’s love for dance began when she was 11 years old. She danced at a local studio in Wyomissing, PA before moving to upstate New York. She began competitively training in 2017 at The Next Jennaration in Ithaca, New York. Her favorite styles include jazz, hip hop, jazz funk and acrobatics, but she has been trained in ballet, tap and ballroom as well. After graduating high school in 2020, she began studying advertising and sociology at Penn State University. She is currently a member of Urban Dance Troupe and is the Social Outreach Chair for the organization. Her main goal is to teach technique in a fun and challenging way and pass on her love of dance to her students.
WILL JEWETT
Will Jewett is a senior in the Musical Theatre Program at Penn State University. He is originally from Pittsburg, Kansas. Yes, there is no "h" on the end of his Pittsburg. Throughout middle school and high school, he grew a love for dance and theatre and enjoyed dancing competitively/choreographing professionally. Shortly after graduating from high school, Will traveled the world and performed with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Now studying musical theatre, he finds summer work performing at highly reputable regional theaters such as Music Theatre Wichita.
TARA & RON KAUFFMAN
Tara and Ron Kauffman live in State College with their three daughters Riley, Callie, and Fallyn. Tara was one of the original Centre Dance competition dancers and Ron is grateful that Centre Dance has given him the opportunity to share his passion for music and Hip Hop dancing. Tara and Ron teach at Gray's Woods Elementary School.
RILEY KAUFFMAN
Riley Kauffman has been dancing and training at Centre Dance since the age of 2. She is now a senior in high school who loves to teach what she grew up doing. She has been a member of the AVID competition team for 12 years competing in styles including ballet, contemporary, jazz, acro, lyrical, tap, hip hop and musical theatre. Riley was a member of the Teen Hollywood Vibe Company where she traveled with the convention and assisted the faculty. Riley has been awarded various tour convention scholarships at Artists Simply Human, Nuvo, Jump, Radix, Dancemakers, 24 Seven, NYCDA, Revel and summer scholarships to AMDA College, Steps on Broadway in NYC, and Peridance in New York. Riley has also trained at the Complexions Contemporary Ballet Summer intensive, Dance Masters Ballet intensive in California and Point Park University.
ELAINA MARTIN
Hi, I’m Elaina Martin. I teach ballet 2 on Thursdays at the studio! I am a senior at State High and a part of the Best Buddies program there.
My love for dance started when I was 4 years old and has continued on throughout my life! I have been training in all styles of dance at Centre Dance for 13 years.
LILLY LAWRENCE
Lilly Lawrence currently attends State High and is in 1th grade. She
has been dancing at Centre Dance for 12 years, and this will be her 10th
season with AVID dance productions. Lilly has had the opportunity to
dance at Point Park University’s summer dance program, DanceMakers
Nationals, numerous dance conventions, as well as all of Centre
Dance’s summer programs. Lilly is excited to teach this year!
CECI MAZZOCCO
Ceci has been at Centre Dance as a student for the past 12 years, starting in ballet and tap at age 5. From then, she incorporated the various styles of hip hop, lyrical, jazz, contemporary, musical theatre, pointe, and ballroom/Latin into her dance curriculum with Centre Dance. She was part of the AVID Competition team for five years, and has since shifted her focus to musical theatre and tap. She’s also an aspiring musician, focusing on both jazz and voice. She has gotten the opportunity to work with many talented individuals in the industry, some of which include: Gregg Russell, Angela Carter, Ryan Lohoff, Sarah Reich, Barbra Duffy, Michele Dunleavy, Dan Mitra, etc. Ceci is currently a junior attending Bellefonte Area High School, continuing her dance training under Nicole Swope as well as teaching and choreographing tap.
KATELYN MOSS
Katelyn Moss grew up dancing at The Dance Club in Orem, Utah, where she trained extensively in jazz, ballet, contemporary, hip hop, ballroom and tap. During her time there she was awarded numerous scholarships and national titles through NYCDA, Nuvo, and The Pulse. At age seventeen, Katelyn became the youngest member of Odyssey Dance Theatre, a professional company based out of Salt Lake City. During her time with Odyssey, she performed the works of Mia Michaels, Dee Caspary, Travis Wall, Justin Giles, Jason Parsons, and Mandy Moore on stages across the country as well as in Germany, Turkey, and Switzerland. She currently travels with and assists Joey Dowling at NYCDA, and is excited to be a faculty member at Centre Dance.
TIFFANY GLAB MYERS
Tiffany Glab Myers studied various styles of dance at Centre Dance in State College, PA and the Institute of Performing Arts for Youth in Fairfax, VA since the age of six and was a member of the competitive team at both schools. Tiffany has been teaching at Centre Dance for many years and teaches a variety of classes including choreographing for the Avid Dance Productions competition teams. While attending Penn State as an undergraduate, Tiffany was a member of Orchesis Dance Company, an audition-based performing jazz/contemporary team, and choreographed several pieces for the members of Orchesis. She then returned to Penn State to pursue a master's of education and is currently an elementary school counselor in the State College School District in addition to teaching dance. Tiffany enjoys remaining a part of the dance world through teaching, attending competitions and shows, and experiencing the growth of her students and their passion for and enjoyment of dance.
HOPE NEAL
Hope has been training in numerous styles of dance at Centre Dance since she was four years old. At age nine, she joined the competition team, Avid Dance Productions, and received numerous scholarships for her work at conventions. Hope has had the amazing opportunity to assist renowned choreographers such as Dejan Tubic, Janelle Ginestra, Abbey Barclay, and John Daulby. Hope graduated from high school in 2020 and is pursuing a degree in Secondary Social Studies Education at Penn State with minors in History, Political Science, and Education Public Policy. She has taught at Centre Dance for the past four years and thoroughly enjoys the smiles on each of her students' faces every day. Hope is overjoyed to be continuing her teaching, choreographing, and dancing at Centre Dance!
STACEY RAAB
Stacey is originally from Brockport, NY. She trained at the Draper Center for Dance Education under the direction of Timothy Draper. Stacey graduated Summa Cum Laude from SUNY Brockport with a Bachelor of Science in Dance. While at Brockport she danced in many faculty and student performances. Stacey received a full scholarship to the Limon Summer Intensive in 2003. She has also attended the Florida Dance Festival, Joffrey Ballet School’s summer intensive, Joffrey Midwest Workshop, and two summers at Walnut Hill School for the Arts. After graduating from SUNY Brockport she moved to New York City to pursue dance. Stacey has performed choreography in New York by Jennifer DeBritton, Leanne Schmidt, Becca Rozell and Amanda Selwyn. She has shown her own choreography in DC, Baltimore and New York City. While living in Baltimore, Stacey danced with Dissonance Dance Theatre, Jane Franklin Dance, The Collective, Next Reflex, and Nellie Rainwater. In November 2007, Stacey premiered her first independent dance concert, “Between the Numbers” at The Patterson Theatre in Baltimore, MD. In 2009 she showed her work at the Patterson Theatre in “Singing the Body Electric”. Stacey was also a dance instructor in Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland and at several dance studios in New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. Stacey was a Relationship Manager for Curtain Call Costumes and has choreographed for their costume catalogue photo shoots. Stacey currently teaches dance in the State College, PA area.
AMELIA RATER
Amelia Rater is a 12th grade student at State High, where her favorite class is Language of Medicine. After participating in gymnastics and lacrosse for a few years, Amelia realized that she really enjoyed performing and joined the AVID Dance Team. While dancing year round with Centre Dance for the past 8 years, Amelia has trained in ballet, jazz, lyrical, tap, hip hop, modern, acrobatics and stretching and conditioning. Amelia has competed and trained at numerous conventions including DanceMakers, Nuvo, Jump, 24 Seven, Ash, NYCDA and Radix where she has received many scholarships and recognitions. This past summer Amelia trained for many weeks at Centre Dance and at the DanceMakers National Convention. Amelia is passionate about sharing her love of dance with younger children. She lives in State College with her Mom and Dad. Amelia has two sisters, Hannah and Bella, who attend college.
IAN SCHMOKE
Ian Schmoke, from Altoona, Pennsylvania, began dancing at the age of 8 at Pauline Baker Rodgers School of Dance where he trained for 8 years in all styles of dance. He especially enjoys contemporary and ballet. In high school he furthered his training with the Allegheny Ballet Company and the Abby Lee Dance Company. Ian attended several conventions every year and got to learn from world- renowned choreographers like Travis Wall and Liz Imperio, where he won national scholarships to training programs all across the country. Shortly after Ian graduated high school in 2015, he booked his first professional contract as a dancer for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. In 2016 after he finished his contract for Royal Caribbean, and began teaching at the Blair Dance Academy. Ian is currently attending Penn State studying kinesiology, and plans to move to New York in the near future to pursue his dream of dancing on Broadway.
KAYLEY SWOPE
Kayley Swope began dancing at the age of 3 at Centre Dance. She participated in The Nutcracker and annual spring recital every year until high school graduation, and at 10 years old, Kayley joined Centre Dance’s Avid Dance Productions competition team. After graduating from high school, she began studying at Juniata College and joined Fluidity Dance Company, led by Jocelyn Hrzic, for one year. She teaches a variety of styles of dance at Centre Dance and other studios in central Pennsylvania. Kayley graduated in May 2015 as a premedical student from Juniata College where she was the treasurer and a choreographer for the Juniata College Dance Ensemble and a co-captain of the Juniata College Kickline Dance Team. Kayley recently graduated from Penn State College of Medicine in 2019 and is currently completing her residency at St. Margaret UMPC in Pittsburgh. She continues to teach for us in her free time.
SABRINA VELEGOL
Sabrina Velegol is a senior at State High and has been dancing at Centre Dance for seven years. Through her years on the competition team she has grown to love dancing and competing. She has also grown a love for teaching after assisting classes for three years. She is excited to be teaching Ballet 2 and Tap 2 this season!
GUEST FACULTY
DEJAN TUBIC
ABBEY BARCLAY
SPENCE FORD
JANELLE GINESTRA
KIKI LUCAS
HENRY NEWBY
CHANNING COOKE
BRADLEE LAIGHT
JAMALE GRAVES
ALEX PETERS
HUMBERTO TEIXEIRA
MARI SAGAWA
JAMES LANE
MICHELE DUNLEAVY
J. AUSTIN EYER
JAMES WASHINGTON
