DARLENE PALLOTTA JASION - Owner/Director/Choreographer

Darlene has been teaching dance for more than 30 years.  She was trained by Judy Debenedicty, Helen Douglas and BDC.  She earned a bachelor’s degree from Centenary College, where she majored in Early Childhood Education and minored in Dance. 

Darlene has won hundreds of choreography, top studio, top group, and top duet/trio awards when she owned Dance By Darlene, a competition school.  Darlene closed the competition school after deciding to stay home and raise her three sons. 

After a short while, she started teaching again in the Hackettstown area.  In 1997, she opened Dance Expressions, a performance school where the emphasis is on a friendly, family-oriented atmosphere, and where the students are trained and geared towards all aspects of performing, not strictly competition.  Darlene and other members of her staff have had their students dance on Carnival Cruise Lines, Walt Disney World, the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade, Hershey Park, baseball games, Morey's Piers in Wildwood, the New Jersey Devils at MetLife Stadium, and various locations in Myrtle Beach including the Palace Theater, the Carolina Opry, and Broadway on the Beach.  They have also performed at many community events.

MONIKA AIMOVA 
Monika has over 25 years teaching experience in all levels of ballet, pointe, contemporary and gymnastics.  She was trained in the Vaganova method by Czech and Russian teachers.  She was also the Owner/Director of Ballerina-European Dance Academy for 14 years.  She choreographed hundreds of dance recitals, workshops, auditions and competitions.  Monika was also a member of the Czech Junior Olympic Gymnastics Team, and is certified in Pilates. 

Monika had an extensive professional career as a dancer with major Eastern European ballet companies.  She was a member of the National Ballet of Prague, as well as a Solist and Leading Ballerina for the State Theatres in Pilsen and Ostrava, Czech Republic.   Her career includes over one thousand performances at major theatres, operas, musicals and television shows in the Czech and Slovak Republics, Germany and Poland, including Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Carmen, Giselle, Peer Gynt, Cinderella, Don Quixote, and Romeo and Juliet.  She is a very gifted teacher, and a wonderful asset to our studio.

SARAH ARCONA

SARAH BOVAT

KARA CORTES

CASEY DRUGA

AMANDA KINNEY 
Amanda has been teaching at Dance Expressions since 2013, but it seems like she has always been here.  She came to us with more than 8 years of experience as a dance instructor and choreographer, teaching Jazz, Hip Hop, Modern, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Musical Theatre.  She has a degree in Theatre Arts/Dance from Rowan University.  She is energetic, creative and passionate about teaching our dancers, and it shows in everything she does.  

MARION KNORR
Marion received a BA in Dance from the University of Maryland and an AS Dance degree from County College of Morris. While in college, she was a member of the University of Maryland Dance Team and also performed throughout the DC area. She also performed and choreographed for the CCM Dance Theatre group. She studied in NYC at Broadway Dance Center and Steps Studio, as well as in NJ at local dance studios. Marion loves teaching and is a seasoned Dance Instructor for over 30 years.

LAUREN PALMIERI
Lauren holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and has worked professionally as a performer for the past 10 years. She appeared in the first National Tour of Elf the Musical, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast National Tour (Belle cover), and regionally in Funny Girl, Tick Tick Boom, My Fair Lady, Carousel, Ragtime, Guys and Dolls, Anything Goes, and West Side Story. She most recently appeared as a headliner on a World Cruise with Princess Cruise Lines. Lauren has also been a teaching artist and choreographer for the NJPAC, MAYO PAC, Steps on Broadway, and Vanguard Theater Company. She previously choreographed pieces for an NYU Steinhardt School Showcase, The Atlantic City Jersey Boys concert at the Borgata Hotel and Casino (A.C), University of the Arts Theatre Dance Senior Showcase, the Teen Summer Showcase for Action Theatre Conservatory at The Producer’s Club in NYC, and various school musical productions around NJ. Lauren is currently working on her Master’s degree in Educational Theatre at NYU!

MONICA PESEK

MARIANN WALSH

RISING STAR STAFF:
Our rising star staff consists of Senior Advanced Students who have assisted and subbed in our classes, and are hand-picked to teach.  This is their first opportunty to teach their own classes, to start their dance teaching career.  Classes are overseen and approved by Darlene.  

JADA LARSEN
REESE PUMA
MORGAN SMITH
ELENI THERMENOS