Diana Horvath (Miss Diana) has studied dance for over 45 years and has over 30 years teaching experience. Diana began her dance training at age three often attending classes three days a week for Tap, Jazz and Ballet. She also studied music, the clarinet and organ. She played in her high school band and was the organist for her church. This background in music and dance has been an asset in teaching students how to use music effectively.
When she turned 18, Diana began teaching at Dusti O'Connors in Parma while attending college. Diana obtained her bachelor's degree and continued her dance training in college which included Modern Dance. She also auditioned and performed in college showcases.
In 1994, 11 years after college, Diana left Dusti O'Connors and opened Strongsville Dance Company. She continued her training each summer by taking Master Classes with such notables as Sandman Sims and Savion Glover for Tap, Stepp Stewart, Steven Boyd, Bob Rizzo for Jazz, and Rennie Davis for Hip-Hop.
Diana is certified to teach Tap, Jazz, Ballet, and Acrobatics after undergoing extensive testing by a panel of examiners with Dance Masters of America.
Mikaela Clark is a native of Houston Texas. She began her dance training at the age of ten under the direction of Sonja Stains where she studied Ballet, Pointe, Modern, and Lyrical dance. In 2003 she left her home to travel to Australia for eight months where she continued her dance training and experienced cultural dances from there and The Solomon Islands.
Upon her return to Cleveland in 2004, she entered the Inlet Trainee Program to experience life in a professional dance company. One year later she returned to Australia to study contemporary dance at Wesley Institute for the Arts. She returned to Inlet Dance Theatre as an apprentice and after eight months was promoted to a full member in the dance company.
Mikaela continues to enjoy her professional career with Inlet Dance, performing both locally and internationally. She was recently awarded the 2010 Creative Workforce Fellowship which she used to teach and perform in Thailand.
Denise O'Brien held the position of Director of Dance at Lake Erie College. Denise grew up in South Jersey where she was a member of The Thomas Cannon Ballet Company of Philadelphia where she performed in Lakme'. She also performed Carmen with the Philadelphia Opera Guild and Aida with the Miami Opera. While raising a family, Denise continued to take classes at Cleveland Ballet and she formed a class called "Co-motion" for elementary school students exploring creative movement and jazz. She has taught "Backstage Jazz", an aerobic jazz class for adults at Beachwood Place and the JCC. Denise also played the part of Sheila in "A Chorus Line" at the the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre. Denise graduated from the highly selective Butler University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in dance.
Erin(diLauro) Fodor graduated Summa Cum Laude from Ashland University with a B.A. degree in Musical Theatre. Erin teaches acting, dance and musical theatre classes all over NE Ohio and directs children and teen theatre productions at Cassidy Theater, Lakeland Theater, Huntington Playhouse and numerous other locations. She has performed in over 50 shows from 1998 to 2010 and directed and choreographed many others.
Mackenzie Cunningham interned with the Verb Ballets of Cleveland performing with the company in FusionFest '08. She received formal ballet training at The Joffrey Ballet School of NYC, The Kirov Academy in Washington DC and the Ohio Conservatory of Ballet. She recently made the Lake Erie Monsters Dance Team. Mackenzie was also a student of Strongsville Dance Company for 8 years. Mackenzie graduated with honors from Strongsville High School where she was a 4 year member of the Mustang Express Show Choir and served as Dance Captain. She received both academic and dance scholarships for the University of Akron.
April Beard - April began studying the art of dance at the age of three from Dusti O'Connor. Her training included Acrobatics, Jazz and Tap. She is the proud recipient of numerous competition awards from across the United States and was one of the best Acrobats in northeast Ohio. At the age of 12 , April began student teaching with Dusti O'Connor and participated in cheerleading and drama while in High School. In 1995, April began teaching for Strongsville Dance Company.
April continued her dance education by taking master classes with Savion Glover and continuing education workshops through Dance Masters as well as college classes at CCC. April enjoys sharing her love of dance with her students. April holds a Bachelors degree from Notre Dame College and is the proud mother of twin boys.
April Hirsh is a Jazz/Musical Theater/Tap instructor from Syracuse, New York. As a youth she studied dance at Miss Colleen's School of Dance in New York. April has a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Geneseo in English and Sociology. While in college she taught dance as an after school program for city youth, choreographed dance routines for her college's student dance association and taught at Kasey's Creative Dance studio.
April also has a Master's degree in Social Work from Case Western Reserve and is an employee of the University. April is a member of the tap company, Cleveland City Rhythm, and also teaches at Cleveland City Dance. April works primarily with our Competition Dancers.
Melinda Taylor - Mellinda is a first grade teacher and is currently working towards her Masters degree. She studied dance for 7 years after spending several years studying gymnastics. Mellinda was a 4 year varsity cheerleader at Lutheran West High School and also was a 4 year collegiate cheerleader. Her high school cheerleading squad was selected by the Cleveland Browns, after winning a tough competition, to cheer at a Browns game.
Michelle Tomeo has been a student at Strongsville Dance Company since it opened where she studied Jazz, Hip-Hop and Acrobatics. She has won numerous awards at dance competitions throughout the years. She continues her education by attending workshops at Dance Masters of America. Michele returned to Strongsville Dance Company to teach after completing her Bachelor's of Science degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Cincinnati.
Kristen O'Brien our newest instructor has been a student at Strongsville Dance Company for 14 years where she studied tap, jazz, ballet, musical theater, hip hop and lyrical dance. Since they age of 9 years old, Kristen competed in multiple dance competitions where she won numerous awards. Kristen is a graduate of Brunswick High School and is currently pursuing a Bachelor in Health Sciences and Physical Therapy degree from Cleveland State University.
