About – Dance Works by Amber

Amber opened the studio in 2010 and has loved every minute of it ever since! She has had 39 years of training in a variety of dance forms and danced competitively in Ohio where she grew up. Amber began taking dance lessons at age 3 and has not had a single year of her life that didn’t include dance in some way. She enjoys taking classes whenever she can to keep up to date with current styles and/or new skills.

Amber attended West Virginia University where she received her Masters in Secondary Education (specializations in French and Spanish) and minored in Dance. At WVU she was a member and student choreographer for both the Orchesis Dance Ensemble and the WVU Dance Team. With the Orchesis Dance Ensemble, Amber participated in the 2001 ACDFA with the ensemble and was featured as a soloist.

When she lived in Baltimore, Amber was a member of the Baltimore Collective Dance Company and also taught dance at Aberdeen High School in Harford County. Amber was also an assistant coach for the Harford Hurricanes, a girls competitive cheer team. In February 2016, Amber was selected as the Rehearsal Director for Koresh Dance Company’s Opening Act that performed at Bloomsburg University as a part of their 25th Anniversary Tour.

Amber currently teaches French & Spanish at Central Columbia High School where she coached the high school dance team for 12 years. She thoroughly enjoys working with dance students of all ages and teaching them to love dance as much as she still does after many years.

Miss Jess joined the DanceWorks Staff in 2013 as our Irish instructor. She has taught all three levels of Irish, including hard shoe and has also taught Pre-Dance classes. This year, she will teach Irish III, Pre-Dance I, Pre-Dance II, and Tiny Tots. Miss Jess will also choreograph one of our duets for the Competition Team.

She studied dance for 16 years including ballet, jazz, pointe, modern, and Irish soft and hard shoe. She studied Irish for 11 years. Jessica also participated in Central Columbia High School’s first Dance Team.

Jessica earned her degree from BU in Early Childhood Education/Special Education with a concentration in the Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. At BU, Jessica was also a member of the BU Dance Ensemble in which she participated in Irish hard shoe, Irish soft shoe, and taught the Country group.

Jessica is 5th Grade Learning Support Teacher at Central Columbia Middle School.

Miss Natalia teaches Hip Hop I, Contemporary II, and Hip Hop II.

Natalia is a Senior at Central Columbia High School and has danced for 13 years at DanceWorks. She is also a 9-year member of the Competition Team and has competed in many group routines, 7 solos, 4 duets, and 1 trio.

She is a member of our studio’s chapter of the National Honor Society for the Dance Arts for her dedication to academics and dance. Her dance study includes ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, acro, contemporary, lyrical, and hip hop.

Miss Melody joined the DanceWorks Staff in the 2019 as our Hip Hop I instructor. This year she will teach Hip Hop Fusion and Acro I.

Melody has a background in cheer and dance focusing on jazz and hip hop. She danced competitively at East Coast regional and national competitions with the former Marie Lynn and Superstar Dance Centers.

Melody is a nurse at Central Columbia Middle School and a local tax collector.

Miss Natalie joined DanceWorks in the fall of 2020 and she is thrilled to be a part of the staff where she can share her love of and passion for dance with the students. She works with the studio’s Competition Team and teaches the Stretch & Technique classes. Natalie has been dancing for 29 years and has trained in all styles of dance with her favorites being jazz and hip hop. Natalie continues to train at D&K Studio of Dance in jazz, lyrical, tap, and hip hop on a weekly basis and attends master classes whenever possible to further her education and dance training. She also has a background in cheerleading as both a coach and a participant, including high school, collegiate and competitive levels.

Natalie has danced competitively at local, regional, and national dance competitions throughout her youth and attended annual dance conventions. She was also a part of the Bloomsburg University Dance Ensemble throughout college and was a 4-year members of the award-winning BU Dance Team. Natalie has been teaching dance intermittently for 17 years, and has choreographed local high school musicals and other performance routines for dance and cheer squads.

Natalie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting with a concentration in Fraud Examination and a Master’s degree in Business Administration, both from Bloomsburg University. She is currently the Vice President and Controller at First Keystone Community Bank. Natalie resides in Bloomsburg with her wife Tara and her mini dachshund Zoey.

Taryn joined DanceWorks in the fall of 2020. She teaches Ballet/Tap Combo, Ballet II, Ballet III, and Pointe. Taryn has been dancing since the age of 3, studying ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, baton twirling, and pointe.

In January of 2023, Taryn joined the Bloomsburg Children’s Museum Board and the Bloomsburg Rotary. She is also a graduate of the Leadership Central Penn program that is coordinated by the Foundation of the Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce.

In 2016, she was chosen to be a judge for the Freddy Awards which are given out by State Theatre in Easton, PA for excellence in high school theatre. Also, she was a judge for the National Judges Association for the 2015-2016 Tournament Indoor Association season.

Taryn holds a BA Degree in Communications and a Minor in Dance from Eastern University. She is currently employed by the Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce where she serves as the Director of Member Engagement. She lives in Berwick with her husband Derek and their dog Millie.

Miss Bethany

Bethany

Miss Anastasia teaches Ballet I and has previous experience assisting studio classes including Pre-Dance I, Pre-Dance II, and Ballet/Tap Combo.

This is her 7th year of dance at the studio and her 6th year as a member of the Competition Team. She has competed in numerous group routines, 3 solos, and 1 trio. Anastasia has studied ballet, pointe, contemporary, jazz, hip hop, Irish, and tap.

Anastasia is a Freshman at Central Columbia High School.

Miss Sarah will teach Ballet/Tap Combo and Contemporary I this year. She has previous experience as our Tiny Tots Instructor and has also assisted Pre-Dance classes. Miss Sarah will choreograph a contemporary solo and trio routine for this year’s competition season.

Sarah has many years of dance experience and was a 5-year member of our Competition Team before she graduated in 2022. Sarah has studied ballet, contemporary, lyrical, and tap. She also competed a solo, a duet, and was a member of several group routines when she was on the Competition Team.

Miss Sarah currently works as a Licensed Cosmetologist at Blush Salon in Bloomsburg.

Miss Moria joined our staff this year in our 14th Season. She teaches Tap I.

She has danced at DanceWorks for 10 years where she has studied Tap, Ballet, African, and Contemporary. She is a 2-year member of the Competition Team and will compete a tap solo in the 2023-2024 Competition Season.

Moria is a Senior at Central Columbia High School.

Miss Ava joined our staff in 2023 as our Acro III instructor.

Ava has studied dance at DanceWorks for 8 years, 6 of which have been on the Competition Team. Ava has competed 2 duets, 1 trio, 2 solos, and numerous group routines. She has studied ballet, acro, African, tap, jazz, hip hop, and contemporary.

Miss Ava is a Junior at Berwick Area High School.

Miss Beatrice joined the staff last year as our Irish I/II teacher.

This will be her 11th year at DanceWorks and her 4th year on the Competition Team. She has competed in group routines and 2 contemporary solos. Beatrice has studied Irish (soft and hard shoe), contemporary, ballet, and jazz.

She is a Sophomore at Central Columbia High School.

Miss Raychel will assist Ballet/Tap Combo classes again this year!

She completed her 11th year at DanceWorks; three of those years on the competition team. She has competed a contemporary solo and duet and has also been a member of several group routines. Raychel has studied ballet, contemporary, jazz, and hip hop.

Raychel is a Junior at Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech.

Miss Josey will assist Pre-Dance classes again this year.

This is Josey’s 9th year of dance. She has studied ballet, jazz, hip hop, and contemporary. This year completes her She completed her 5th year on the studio’s Competition Team. She has competed in numerous group routines and 2 solos. This year she will compete as a contemporary soloist.

Josey is currently a 8th grader at Central Columbia Middle School.