Meet our wonderful faculty for the 2011-2012 Year!
Miss Ashleigh Cecil
Ashleigh Cecil has been dancing since the age of three. She began at the Olney Studio of Dance where she studied ballet,tap,jazz and hip hop. In 2005, she was a member of the Petite Elite team and the following year the Junior Elite team. She also competed as a soloist. In 2007, she made the award winning Sherwood Poms Squad. By her junior year she was a junior officer where she choreographed routines for the squad performances. By her senior year she became captain. Ashleigh lead her team to a undefeated season and capped off her senior year by winning the County Championship as well as taking the best choreography award. Ashleigh is now studying dance choreography in college.
Miss Joanne Finlay
Miss Joanne comes to us with a degree from Towson University with a Bachelor’s in Science degree in Mass Communications/ Television Production and Broadcast. At Towson she was part of the Towson University Dance Team. Miss Joanne studied under Linda Natoli and has been enjoying ballet, tap, jazz, modern, hip hop and gymnastics in the area for many years. She has performed at the Kennedy Center in the American Tap Dance Day and in the Jazz Dance World Congress-Dancer. In addition she has performed at RFK Stadium for the Redskins halftime show. Miss Joanne was a previous owner and artistic director of her own studio.
Miss Paige Friedeman
Miss Paige began with the Concepts in Motivation Family of studios in 2007. Currently, Miss Paige uses her energetic style to teach Hiphop but she also teaches Pom & Kickline, Jazz, Contemporary, Ballet and more. She has been dancing and performing since age 5, winning performance awards as well as choreography awards since 2000. Paige began her dance teaching/coaching career while studying to be an Art Studio Major at the University of Maryland. Paige participated in one of the largest creative and performing arts events in the DC/MD/VA Area - Art-O-Matic and not only showed her paintings but also taught four very successful Hiphop Workshops. She has taken classes/workshops from Teresa Espinosa, Fanny Pak, Brian Friedman, Dave Scott, The Boogie Bots, NappyTabs, Wade Robson, Jamile McGee and more. In 2009, Paige's competitive Hiphop team won 2 Maryland State Championships and placed 3rd in the USA! Paige is excited to bring her fun, creative side to share with her dancers.
Miss Jessica Hibbert
Jessica began to dance at the age of two and at age 11 started dancing with Concepts in Motivation. Not only was she a student for Concepts, she began her teaching career there. She first attended Oklahoma City University and performed in their Dance Spirit Team in the fall of 2002-2003. She then studied at Shenandoah University where she graduated in May 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. While at school, Jessica discovered her love of choreography and created many dances for her peers to perform in a variety of showcases. A member of Sigma Rho Delta, a National Dance Fraternity that specializes in service, Jessica was elected Historian for the 2005-2006 term. Jessica and twelve other dancers from SU and Kansas State traveled to Banyoles and Mataro, Spain on a performance/study tour in July 2006. Along with teaching since graduating Jessica has also performed in the DC metro area with local dance companies. She is happy to be back teaching at Concepts in Motivation and looks forward to this year and years to come teaching her love of dance with her students.
Miss Meredith Lazzaro
Miss Meredith attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, then received a full four-year scholarship to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County graduating with a BA in Dance. She has performed and presented choreography at many American College Dance Festivals, Dance New Amsterdam, Dance Place, Joyce Soho, and the Hippodrome Theatre. Over the past eight years, Meredith has worked for the Montgomery County School System teaching dance at Blake High School and Loiederman Middle School. Her greatest accomplishments to date are her two children, Adam and Sydney.
Miss Megan May
Miss Megan has joined us with 12 years of dance experience. She has been teaching dance for the past 5 years. Miss Megan was a student as well as an assistant teacher at the Mt. Airy Studio of Dance. Miss Megan has an A.A.T. in Elementary Education from Montgomery College and is pursuing a B.S. degree in Elementary/Special Education from Towson University. She is also pursuing an A.A. degree in American Sign Language. While continuing with her college studies, Miss Megan is a Vocalist/Dancer/Choreographer with Doc Scantlin and his Imperial Palms Orchestra.
Miss Lisa McKay
Miss Lisa has been dancing since 1988. She has been teaching since 2001 and joined the teaching staff at Concepts in Motivation in 2003. She has competed in many competitions including Dance Educators of America, Dance Masters of America, Dance America Preliminary, Dance Xplosion, Headliners, StarQuest, Star Power, Star System, On Stage New York Nationals, State Dance Championships, Hall of Fame and many others winning various medals. Lisa has taken part in many workshops and conventions including DMA, DEA, ADA, Teachers Intensive and many more. Her styles of dance include Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Hip Hop, Tap, Lyrical and Musical Theater. Her favorite is Lyrical. She loves teaching children of all ages and is looking forward to another great year.
Miss Brittany Rose
Miss Brittany has been dancing since 1995 and has studied ballet, tap, jazz and modern. She has danced at the Kennedy Center's Opera House, with the American Ballet Theatre, in their production of NUTCRACKER and LA CORSAIRE. She also danced with the Universal Ballet of Korea in their production of LA BAYADERE. Miss Brittany has spent four summers studying at the Miami City Ballet. Brittany’s other training has included for many years the Advanced Release Time II class at the Maryland Youth Ballet. Miss Brittany is the CM Premier Dance Camp Director and recently graduated from Winthrop University in South Carolina with a degree in Dance Education and is certified to teach K-12.
Miss Brittany has now taken over the role of director for Concepts In Motivation.
Miss Rhonda Rose
Miss Rhonda, a native Washingtonian, started her dance and baton training at the age of 9. She formally trained in jazz, tap, Hawaiian, and baton twirling. Rhonda taught dance and baton for many years. Rhonda was a competitive baton/dance twirler for over ten years (within the National Baton Twirling Association NBTA). Rhonda has held state and regional championships in Baton. Rhonda was also a former certified NBTA judge. She has held numerous titles within the Maryland Scholarship Pageant for the Miss America pageant. Rhonda is currently the director of the Chesapeake Bay Pageant held each June. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management. During the day, Rhonda is a Subcontracts Manager at Lockheed Martin Corporation in Rockville. Rhonda continues as Concepts in Motivation’s Mt.Airy Studio of Dance and is happy to be teaching young children.
Miss Carolyn Sanagursky
Miss Carolyn began dancing at the early age of 3 in Upstate New York at Botsford Ballet. After moving to Maryland, she attended Ballet Royale Institute of Maryland in Columbia and was later accepted in their Pre-professional Enrichment Program. Carolyn studied the Vaganova syllabus and received training from well known dancers and choreographers such as, Donna Pidel, Vyacheslav Mesropov (Recipient of the 2003 Youth American Grand Prix Finals- Outstanding Teacher Award), Olga Tozyiakova, Svetlana Kravtsova, Vadim Pisarev, and Tatiana Legat. She competed in the Youth America Grand Prix Philadelphia regionals and was a Top 12 Finalist in 2002, 2003, and 2004. In American Dance Awards regional she was awarded "Dancer of the Year Runner Up" and "Rising Star" in 2002. In 2007 Carolyn was accepted to attend Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts in Torrington, Connecticut. She received training and coaching from world renowned teachers Alexi Tchernichov, Victoria Mazzareli, Joan Kunsch, Eleanor D'Antuono, Terese Capucilli, Maria Youskevitch, and Emily Patterson. In 2008 she graduated high school and was accepted to the prestigious Joffery Ballet School's Trainee Program in New York City under the direction of John Magnus. She has returned to Maryland and teaches dance to all ages.
Miss Sarah Stoodley
Sarah Stoodley has over 15 years of teaching experience. She grew up in Maine, dancing with the Bangor based Robinson Ballet Company. She has been part of the DC Metro dance community for over 10 years now, having performed with jazzdanz/dc and CrossCurrents Dance Company, among others. Additionally, she has produced and performed in many of her own works. This past Spring, she graduated from the University of Maryland Dietetics Program with a BS in Nutrition and Food Science. During the day she works in the diet office at Holy Cross Hospital and intends to complete her dietetic internship to enable her to become a registered dietitian. She believes that nutritional status and one's relationship with food has a huge impact on one's life and hopes to continue to educate people about nutrition, as well as to inspire young dancers about the joy of dance and the confidence it can instill.
Miss Angelique Waldron
Angelique, a native Washingtonian has studied many styles of dance since the age of 3. She is formally trained in tap, jazz, ballet, and modern. Growing up, she competed at regional and national dance competitions as well as participated in many dance workshops locally and abroad. Angelique was captain of her high school pom pom squad. She was awarded NCA Superstar for two consecutive years and awarded first place Captain at the County Championships.
Angelique moved on to attend Shenandoah University where she majored in Dance. She was a member of the Shenandoah Dance Ensemble, as well as a member of the Shenandoah Sensations Nationally Competitive Collegiate Dance Team.
Angelique has been teaching dance in the Metropolitan area since 1996. Formally the Children’s Director & Artistic Director of Jr. & Teen Dance Company in Montgomery County. She is a former judge of the Washington Wizards Professional Dance Team. She has also served as head judge for the past three years with American Cheer and Dance Academy.
She earned her Early Childhood Education Certification in 1995. She resides in Olney with her husband and son.
Miss Christina Zarrelli
Miss Christina has been dancing since 1998 at Dawn Crafton and Olney Studio of Dance. She was on the Company Dance Team at Olney Studio of Dance from 2007-2009, attending competitions promoted by StarQuest and Showstopper. She currently teaches dance classes at Sherwood High School, Damascus Studio of Dance and Olney Studio of Dance. Her styles of dance include Ballet, Jazz, Hip hop, Tap, and Lyrical. She aspires to major in dance choreography and child development.
