Dawn Cargiulo
​Berman

Owner & Artistic Director

Dawn Cargiulo Berman studied at the University of the Arts and the Laban Centre for Dance and Movement in London, England, where she received a BA with Honors in Dance Theatre.

She began her professional dance career with Transitions Dance Company, a London based collaborative group where she performed and taught throughout Europe, Japan, and Taiwan. Dawn joined internationally acclaimed MOMIX Dance Company, performing throughout the US and Europe, as well as teaching master classes at the university level. Additionally, she performed with NYC-based companies Neo Labos, Shoestring, and Isadora Dance Legacy and also collaborated with Vienna-based Blue Moon Productions performing in Vienna, Belgium, and NYC.

Dawn created and directed the dance program at Mainland Regional High School in Linwood, NJ, for two years and then went on to direct the dance program at Middlesex Vocational and Technical High School. During this time Dawn continued her performance work with Philadelphia-based Junk Dance Company and Scrap Performance Group, creating and performing dance works throughout the Philadelphia area, including the Philadelphia Fringe Festivals and Princeton Arts Council galas. Dawn continues to collaborate with The Hopewell Valley Arts Council, The Princeton Ballet School, Rider University, and The Lawrenceville School.

Dawn has served on The Friends of the Pennington Public Library for the past 10 years, and has been a board member of the Hopewell Valley Arts Council since its inception in 2016. Dawn is married, has 4 children in the Hopewell Valley School system and has been a proud resident of Pennington & Hopewell Valley for 11 years.

Gabriella Proffitt
Administrative Assistant & Ballet Instructor

 Gabriella Proffitt holds a BFA in Dance Education with a specialization in Ballet Performance and a minor in Musical Theater from University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. While attaining her degree, Gabriella became a peer tutor in ballet for which she was acknowledged with an Excellence In Tutoring Award and an Outstanding Student Teaching Award. After graduation, she danced professionally with Ballet Fleming, Ballet 180, and Roxey Ballet. Gabriella has several ballet teaching engagements in central New Jersey and at Penn Ballet at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior teaching experience includes ballet instruction at Princeton Ballet School and Mill Ballet School, pre-ballet instruction at The Rock School in Philadelphia, ballet, lyrical, and beginning jazz, acro, and modern at Studio 180 in Paoli, PA, and ballet and lyrical at competition dance studios. In addition, Gabriella has a 200-hour certification in Prana Yoga from Princeton Center for Yoga and Health. Her supplementary interests lie in music, alternative somatic modalities, and multidisciplinary collaboration – all of which inform her work as an artist and arts educator.

Christina Eltvedt
Jazz Instructor

Christina Eltvedt "Ms. Chrissy" is a Philadelphia based dance artist and educator. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in dance from Temple University and is currently finishing her certification in Pilates at Drexel University. Prior to moving to the Philadelphia area almost four years ago, Christina lived and worked in Chicago IL as a performer, choreographer, and dance teacher. Within that time, she danced with the Joel Hall Dancers, was a Danszloop Chicago ensemble member, and worked extensively with dance master Paul Sanasardo. Furthermore, she co-founded Fôr Dance Co., and has produced several full-length concerts showcasing her choreography and the work of others. As an independent choreographer and self-produced artist, her work has been widely showcased on stages and site-specific locations nationally with an international debut in Gujarat, India in the summer of 2017. Christina is an adjunct professor of dance and Temple University and on faculty at The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia. In the upcoming season, she is looking forward to sharing her love for dance at The Pennington Studio.

Joey Schollenberger
Jazz Instructor & Administrative Assistant

Growing up on the Jersey Shore, Joey trained intensively at his home studio while attending dance competitions and conventions. He learned from a variety of educators including Joe Lanteri and Tyce Diorio. Joey moved to California where he attended Hussian College of Los Angeles  to study commercial dance. While there, he was a featured dancer in “Still” choreographed by James Tabeek, danced in Patee Sarasin’s Civil War music video, and starred as a featured ballet dancer and choreographer for the film “Forbidden Steps” directed by Iram Parveen.

​Joey has returned from the west coast ready to share his experience of the commercial dance industry and his passion for dance. He continues to stay involved in the dance community by judging and teaching for for Monmouth Teen Arts Festival and other workshops and intensives. He is a judge for one of the top dance competitions in the industry: East Coast Starz Pageant & Talent. Joey is devoted to providing a positive dance education to help dancers build confidence and achieve their goals!

Donna Heffner

Tap Instructor

Donna has been tap dancing her whole life, performing and learning with some of the most influential tap dancers of our time.  She is a company member of Uniting Colleges Through Tap- a Philadelphia based tap company that performs in Philadelphia, NYC and Washington DC.  She has performed in DC Tap Fest, Big Apple Tap Fest in NYC, in solo and group showcases, and in many tap shows in Philadelphia.  Donna has taken master classes with Jason Samuels Smith, Derrick Grant, Karen Calloway Williams, and Heather Cornell, among others.  She loves passing on the knowledge from these masters to her students  and being a part of keeping this great American art form alive.  She has also trained at University of the Arts Philadelphia and Broadway Dance Center NYC.

Donna is one of the few toetap dancers performing today, dancing en pointe in pointe shoes with custom made taps in the toes. She has performed with Lady Greys Lovelies, a vintage dance company from Upstate Pennsylvania.  

Donna is also a championship-level Irish dancer with the Crossroads Irish Dancers of Bucks County.

Flora McLeod

Ballet Instructor

​Flora is an alumni of Nashville Classical Ballet Academy and spent her most recent season dancing with Avant Chamber Ballet in Dallas, Texas. Flora is excited to now be dancing with American Repertory Ballet here in Princeton. She has studied with Atlanta Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Flora has also spent extensive time training in other disciplines, such as contemporary and modern dance. She has also spent many years training and performing in musical theatre.
 
Flora is incredibly passionate about teaching and understands not only the importance of technique and safety, but also of having a creative outlet for dancers of any age to discover and explore.  She wants every dancer’s experience to be a positive and constructive one.
 
Flora is extremely excited to share her knowledge and passion with the students and families of Pennington.