Dana Shelley

Instructor & Ballet Director

Dana Shelley grew up dancing at Encore, then continued her dance education concentrating in performance/choreography and arts administration graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Goucher College. She performed works by choreographers such as Paul Taylor, Amy Marshall, Robert Moses, and Adrienne Clancy, along with performing in ballets including her favorite, Don Quixote. Dana completed John White’s Vaganova grades 1-6 teaching seminars at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet. She has learned a great deal from several local mentors including Nadine Revene, Chet Zercher and Carolyn Trythall. Dana danced with Opus 1 Contemporary Dance for six years and has been teaching for twenty!

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Dana Teaches

Ballet

In Ballet class, emphasis is placed on age appropriate training, terminology, classical form and training each individual dancer to reach their personal goals. Our ballet program begins with a movement vocabulary that caters to the young mind and body which is shown in our creative movement classes. Ballet at Encore is taught with a passion and love for classical ballet movement.

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Pointe

With safe technique practices being a priority, our pointe program begins with the basics. Dancers will begin their pointe studies in our pre-pointe classes to allow for a focused study of very specific movement exercises. Focusing on core movement control and muscular strength throughout each dance season allows for each pointe dancer to build tools needed to succeed. Dancers are evaluated before moving to the next level to ensure the dancer is strong and technically ready to execute the movement.

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Modern

Modern dance is an expressive style of dance created in the early 20th century that moved away from the structure of classical ballet technique. Modern dance is an integration of technique, floor work, dynamic athletic, and abstract movement. Modern dance is constantly evolving and growing with the contemporary movement of today while staying true to the technique created by the pioneers of modern dance.

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Encore has been our daughter’s dance studio for the past 5 years. With the help of the caring staff at Encore we have watched her dance skills and confidence grow. The staff meets each child where they are and helps the dancers to better themselves both on and off the stage. The welcoming environment of Encore encourages relationships between the younger and older dancers, providing our daughter and many other young dancers with exceptional role models. Miss Alvina has worked hard to build this amazing studio and we consider ourselves lucky to have found such a great dance home for our daughter.

Becky & Jason Lutz

The Encore teachers helped me to become a dancer instead of just taking dance classes. Through dance, I have developed my performance skills and my confidence. The friendships I have made here will last a lifetime. Encore is not only a dance studio, it’s my 2nd home.

Kaitlyn Colosi

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