Lisa Wasserman
Artistic Director
Lisa Wasserman has been teaching ballet in the Delaware Valley area for fifteen years. Originally from New Jersey, Miss Wasserman began her dance training at Irine Fokine School of Ballet and on scholarship at the New Jersey Ballet School. She continued her training at New York City Ballet’s renowned School of American Ballet, at American Ballet Theatre School and the Pennsylvania Ballet School. Miss Wasserman began her professional dance career with apprenticeships at New Jersey Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet. She then toured the country as a soloist with Omaha Ballet and Ballet Arizona, and as a principal dancer with Des Moines Ballet. Miss Wasserman has worked closely with distinguished choreographers Peter Anastos, Loyce Houlton, and Jean-Paul Comelin. She has choreographed such ballets as The Four Seasons, Orpheus in the Underworld, and Peter Pan. Additionally, she created a full-length Nutcracker, as well as the crowd pleasing Alice in Wonderland and the brand new Evening By the Lake. Miss Wasserman is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Temple University. She would like to thank her husband, Michael, and her 3 beautiful daughters for their love and support in building DVDA.
Valerie Kuzmick Graufelds
Valerie Kuzmick Graufelds began her ballet training in the Philadelphia area at the age of four. Several years later she began studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet in Narberth and at age twelve was awarded a scholarship to train in John’s White’s Vaganova program. Following high school, Valerie danced as a guest artist with the University of the Arts and several local companies and troupes. She then danced in New York for three years before returning to Philadelphia to attend college. Her featured roles included leading parts and solos in Don Quixote Grande Pas de Deux, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Paquita, Swan Lake, and several other ballets, as well as original choreography. In addition to teaching ballet classes, Valerie continues to dance as a soloist with DVDA. When not dancing, Ms. Graufelds enjoys spending time with her husband and baby son.
Charity Eagans
Charity Eagens began her dance training at the age of seven at the Valley Forge School of Dance. She then trained at the Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet. Miss Eagens became a trainee with the Hartford Ballet before joining the Pennsylvania Ballet Company as an apprentice in 1996. She was promoted to the corps de ballet in 1998 where she danced until her retirement in 2005. Her featured roles included the Lead Butterfly in Midsummer Night’s Dream, White Cat and Energy Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, Pas de Six in Taming of the Shrew, Calliope in Apollo, the Spring Fairy in Cinderella and the trio in Lynn Taylor Corbett’s Great Galloping Gottschalk. Charity has performed in most of Pennsylvania Ballet’s repertoire including Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, George Balanchine’s Rubies, Serenade, Who Cares?, The Nutcracker and Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, Alvin Ailey’s The River, Peter Martin’s Fearful Symmetries and Mathew Neenan’s Vicissitudes.
Natalie Stairiker
Born and raised in the Philadelphia area, Natalie received her professional training at Point Park University’s Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Pittsburgh where she strained with Nicolas Petrov, Patricia Wilde, Kenneth Johnson, Susan Stowe, Judith Leifer, Doug Bentz, Jodi Welch, and Ron Tasson. Natalie received a lead role her freshman year in the original children’s musical Pied Piper and danced numerous roles in ballets and original works in the university dance company. After graduating with a B.A., Natalie moved home to continue teaching and choreographing throughout the area. She spent her first two years as Temple University’s Dance Team Coach training the girls to compete on a national collegiate level. Natalie continues to choreograph the musicals for Montgomery Theater Project, where she started her senior year in high school. In addition to teaching, Natalie continues her studies with Koresh School of Dance in Philadelphia, Broadway Dance Center NY, and Steps on Broadway NY.
Tara Caponigro Halikiopoulos
Tara Caponigro Halikiopoulos, A.R.A.D. is an accredited dancer with the Royal Academy of Dancing, London. She received her ballet training from the late Alison Gjermo, A.R.A.D. and Alexi Yudenich of Russia. Tara also trained with Victor Moreno of the Ballet Russo and Shaun Doyle from Joffery Ballet. Tara was offered numerous scholarships to dance with Philadelphia Civic Ballet, Ballet Lubbock of TX and attended classes at The Pennsylvania Ballet, Princeton Ballet, Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway in NY. After joining Ballet South in South Jersey and rising to the level of Principal Dancer, she was also asked to become their Ballet Mistress. Some of Tara’s featured roles include “Sugar Plum Fairy” in the Nutcracker, Cinderella, “The Wicked Queen” from Snow White, “Aurora” from Sleeping Beauty, “Peter” in Peter and the Wolf. Tara is a high school Math teacher. During her time teaching at Paul VI High School in NJ, Ms. Halikiopoulos instituted a ballet program at the school and produced several school plays such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Sound of Music and Bye Bye Birdie. She was the choreographer for Big the Musical, Annie and 42nd Street. When Tara is not teaching dance she spends her time with her husband, Nick and their two children, Sophia and Isaac.
Jenna Smith
Ms. Jenna Smith is in her third year teaching at DVDA. You all recently had the pleasure of seeing Ms. Smith in the role of Doc in our spring production of Snow White. Ms. Smith grew up training with Lisa Wasserman. She supplemented her dance training with summer dance intensives at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Ms. Smith graced our stage in such roles as the Snow Queen in the Nutcracker, the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland and Peter in Peter Pan. Ms. Smith is the proud mother of little Evelyn.
Tony Jackson
A native of Philadelphia, Tony began his formal training at the Philadelphia High School for Creative & Performing Arts. He later went on to study at PHILADANCO, the Rock School for Dance Education, and Dance Theatre of Harlem. He was a 2004 Coca-Cola Arts Award Scholar and Presidential Scholarship recipient to the University of the Arts. In 2008, Tony received a B.F.A. from the University of the Arts in ballet performance. He has performed with the Eleone Dance Theatre, Rebecca Davis Dance Comapny, Philadanco’s D/2 & the Smoke, Lillies & Jade Arts Initiative. Tony has performed works by Louis Johnson, Christopher Huggins, Roni Koresh, and Darrell Grand Moultire, to name a few. Mr. Jackson teaches and choreographs various forms of dance throughout the tri-state area.
Talya Wasserman
Ms. Talya Wasserman teaches Pre-Ballet 2 and Ballet 1 classes. Most of you know Ms. Wasserman from her role as Snow White in our Spring 2010 production. Talya has supplemented her dance training at DVDA with summer intensives at Burklyn Ballet Theater, S. Carolina Summer Dance Conservatory and Syracuse summer dance intensive, where she has studied with former principal dancers with American Ballet Theater and New York City Ballet. This will be Talya’s third year as an instructor at DVDA.
Hannah Wasserman
Hannah Wasserman is currently a junior pursuing a B.F.A. in dance and education at The Ohio State University. Training in ballet, pointe and jazz at Delaware Valley Dance Academy, she held roles such as “Snow Queen” in the Nutcracker, “Tinker Bell” in Peter Pan, and “The White Rabbit” in Alice in Wonderland. She later went on to become an instructor at DVDA, teaching classes such as creative movement, pre-ballet I & II, beginner hip-hop, and jazz. For the past three summers she has enjoyed running the summer dance camps at DVDA, including both the Princess Ballet Camp and the Musical Theatre Camp. While at the Ohio State University Miss Wasserman had performed in various concerts including three consecutive years in the prestigious Drums Downtown, student concerts, and independent projects.
Courtney Klinger
Courtney Klinger has been dancing since the age of 5. She is trained in Ballet, Jazz, Modern, and various forms of Hip Hop such as Popping, Locking, House, Social Dances, and Breaking. Courtney has worked with many Philadelphia companies and is currently with Rennie Harris RHAW and RHPM. As a performer she has danced all over the U.S. as well as Poland. She won first place at B-boy Hodown’s Locking Battle in 2007. Recently she volunteered to teach a dance camp to under privileged children in New Orleans. She is also the vice president of the Jessica Karrat Dance Scholarship Fund. Courtney instructs Hip Hop around the country and enjoys spreading the love and knowledge of the dance form.
Donna Cockenberg
Donna Cockenberg, DVDA’s Broadway Kids instructor, is the Founder/Director of Kids Theatre Workshop at Playcrafters in Skippack. Ms. Cockenberg has been singing, acting and dancing on community and professional stages since childhood. She has written and performed for numerous corporate clients including TV Guide, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and SMS. Donna composed and sang The Philadelphia Flower Show jingle. Her TV experience includes being a reporter on “KYW-TV’s PM/Evening Magazine.” Ms. Cockenberg has taught the youth acting program, Kids Theatre Workshop, for the past 16 years. In addition she has directed children, teens and adults in numerous plays and musicals at middle schools, high schools and at community theaters. Donna is the Creative Director of the professional improvisation group, GiggleMill. She teaches Art for the Centennial School District.
Lisa Camarena Fries
Lisa Camarena Fries will be teaching Ballet 1 and 2 classes. Ms. Fries grew up in northern New Jersey and began her serious ballet training at the renowned School of American Ballet in New York City. She studied under many gifted teachers including Alexandra Danilova, Suki Schorer, Stanley Williams and Melissa Hayden. At the age of fifteen, Ms. Fries was chosen to dance the Vivaldi Pas de Deux for the SAB Workshop performance. Ms. Fries’ professional dance career was cut short due to injury, so she followed her other passion and attended art school in Philadelphia. Ms. Fries has been teaching ballet in the Philadelphia area for almost 20 years. From teaching and coaching to setting choreography, what she loves to do the most is pass on the tradition of the highest levels of ballet training to all of her students. Ms. Fries lives outside of Valley Forge, PA with her husband. She has two grown children and three dogs. They all know how to dance!
Jennifer Laucella
Jennifer Laucella began her dance training in the Philadelphia area at the age of four. She continued her training at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford where she graduated with a B.F.A. in Dance Performance in 2011. While at the Hartt School, Jennifer was fortunate enough to study under world-class faculty including Hilda Morales, Stephen Pier, Nina Watt, Katie Stevinson-Nollet and many more. She has also studied at the Julidans festival in Amsterdam, as well as Pilobolus and Koresh summer intensives. Jennifer has performed with the Rebecca Davis Dance Company, DancEnlight, and Music and Motion Dance. In addition to teaching dance, Jennifer has completed her Pilates Mat teacher certification from the Pilates Center of Western Massachusetts. Jennifer teaches Creative Movement, Pre-Ballet, Ballet levels 1-4, Hip Hop, Tap & Jazz.