Where Your Child is a Star!

Meet the Ella Marie Faculty

Miss Christine: started dancing when she was 2 years old. She began at Ella Marie School of Dance when she was 10.  Christine studied ballet, pointe, tap and jazz.  She attended the University of Miami, with a minor in dance.  She was captain of the UM Dance team.  After graduating UM, Christine coached the St. John's University dance team and worked for the Universal Dance Association (UDA) teaching at dance camps along the east coast.  She rejoined the Ella Marie dance family in 2005.  She resides in Merrick with her husband, Mike, and their two daughters, Grace and Faith, both Ella Marie dancers.

Miss Jeanette: Started dancing at the age of three and joined Ella Marie when she was 10 years old. As a child, Miss Jeanette competed in many dance competitions such as Star Marker, Star Power, Dance Olympus, Dance Educators of America to name a few and received many awards.  Miss Jeanette has been a teacher and choreographer at Ella Marie since 1999.  She has continued her love of dance by attending numerous dance conventions from professional choreographers and dancers.  A few years ago, Miss Jeanette had the opportunity to be a part of an independent film as a student on a college dance team.  Miss Jeanette has also been a counselor at LuHi Summer Programs teaching Dance, Kickline, Cheerleading and Here's to Me since 1997. She had the opportunity to coach the LuHi Varsity Dance Team.  Miss Jeanette was also able to be involved with Dancing Classrooms Long Island, where she taught and coached fourth and fifth grade students how to ballroom dance and prepare for competition.  Miss Jeanette attended Hofstra University and has a B.A. in Early Childhood Education, Childhood Education and Psychology, as well as a M.S. and Certificate of Advanced Study in Literacy.  She currently works at Northwest Elementary School in Amityville as a Literacy teacher for students in first through third grade.

Miss Christina: began her dance training at the age of 3 for Miss Maryann's Dance Studio before joining the Ella Marie family in 2004, and the teaching staff in 2011. She has been trained in tap, jazz, hip hop, ballet, pointe, and lyrical. Miss Christina auditioned and was chosen to train with Rockette choreographers and current Rockettes for a week at the Rockette Summer Intensive. She also auditioned and was accepted to tour as a Dance Olympus VIP. Miss Christina has continued her dance education at LIU Post and dance conventions in the area with choreographers such as Mia Michaels, and dancers from ABC's So You Think You Can Dance competition. In high school, Miss Christina was captain of the Oyster Bay High School cheerleading team and assisted with choreography for games and competitions. After high school, she continued as a coach and choreographer for Oyster Bay's local cheerleading team. Miss Christina choreographed dances for a local performance entitled, "There Ain't Nothing Like a Dame" and for the Festival of Trees and Tree Lighting performed by Ella Marie students. She is majoring in sociology and minoring in equine studies at LIU Post. She hopes to always continue to dance, choreograph, and work with children.

Miss Amanda: started her dancing career at the age of 3 at our studio Ella Marie School of Dance. Throughout her time at Ella, she trained in tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, and lyrical. After graduating high school she went on to dance for the Stony Brook Dance Team at UDA Nationals where they placed 5th in the nation for pom. After graduating from Stony Brook, Miss Amanda went on to audition for the New York Cosmos Girls where she danced at MCU Park in Brooklyn for a year. She then went ahead and auditioned for the inaugural dance team, The Breakers, for the New York Riptide and danced for the first season ever at Nassau Coliseum.  

Miss Melissa: has been a part of the Ella Marie family since 1994 and has been teaching since 2008. Miss Melissa received a scholarship and graduated from the LIHS for Performing Arts, where she was dance and"fight" captain. While there, she performed in many productions and collaborated with students with special needs from the Rosemary Kennedy Center. Miss Melissa was a member of the Kennedy HS kickline and dance team and assisted with choreography for both. Miss Melissa was part of an award winning hip hop team as well. She has attended many dance conventions, most notably, the Pulse Teacher Workshop. Miss Melissa has a A.S. degree in Education with a minor in dance. She is continuing her education to become a Dance Therapist for special needs children.

Miss Joanna: has been part of Ella Marie since 1998.  At Ella Marie she has been trained in tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical and pointe.  She attended Division Avenue High School where she starred in Bye Bye Birdie (Penelope Ann Henkel/Sad Girl)  and Beauty and the Beast (Babette).  She also choreographed numerous solos and group numbers for Division Avenue’s dance program.  She now attends Hofstra University where she is getting her B.A. in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences with a minor in psychology.  Her most recent performances include The Drowsy Chaperone (Choreographer/Gangster #2), Danceworks Productions Dance Concerts and Masquerade’s Musical Revue.  Miss Joanna most recently choreographed Bare: A Pop Opera at Hofstra University and Schoolhouse Rock Junior at Copiague Middle School.  She continues to expand her knowledge by going to dance conventions such as The Beat and Dance Olympus, by taking master classes with esteemed tap dancers such as Hillary-Marie, Jenai Cutcher West, and Ryan Casey, and by studying modern and tap at Hofstra University.

Allie Kronick: began her training as a competitive dancer in Cleveland, OH. She then attended Point Park University where she graduated magna cum laude with a dual BA in Jazz and Modern Dance Performance. Allie was a four-year company member with Houston MET Dance, performing works by renowned choreographers including Peter Chu, Sidra Bell, Larry Keigwin, and Kiki Lucas, to name a few. While in Houston, she taught and choreographed for numerous studios and high schools, and was also a judge for Crowd Pleasers Dance. Allie recently relocated to NY and is currently working as a freelance dancer in the city. She has been seen at the DUMBO Dance Festival, Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out series, and in numerous performances with Joe Celej, The Next Stage Project, and Ariel Rivka Dance. She has taught master classes in TX, NY, OH, and FL, and is excited to be joining the staff of Ella Marie this year.