MEET MS. MARIA
Owner/Artistic Director
Miss Maria began dancing when she was just 3 years old and has since studied Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop, Modern and Bellydance. She graduated from Manhattanville College in 2010 with a degree in Dance & Theater and has been teaching dance to students of all ages ever since.
Maria has had the opportunity to work with and learn from incredible choreographers such as Peter Pucci, Val Pullman, Keith Saunders, Bill Hastings, Nicole Hockenberry, Hannah Nour and Tabatha Robinson- Scott. And she has had the chance to perform in Washington DC, Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Lincoln Center, and the Joyce SoHo.
Since graduating, Maria has coached the Northampton High School Dance Team for several years, danced and cheered with both the Lehigh Valley Storm and Lehigh Valley Steelers Dance Teams, as well as danced with the Monarch Dance Company for 5 years.
Maria also has extensive experience choreographing for high school musicals, dance teams, competition soloists, performance projects and more.
In 2019 Maria opened Valley Dance with the goal of bringing her love of dance to the Lehigh Valley and creating a welcoming environment for all our dance families. The mission and goal of Valley Dance is to instill a great passion and love of dance, while inspiring self-confidence, discipline and respect of the performing arts. The goal is to give each individual dancer the tools they need to take dance as far as they dream to take it.
**We believe that if you can dream it, you can achieve it!**
MEET MS. MARI
Dance Instructor
Mari Perrella started dancing when she was 6 years old at Orlando School of Dance in Schenectady, NY, where she took ballet, tap, and jazz. She went on to major in dance at the University at Buffalo and graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in dance and psychology. While at UB, she choreographed for Emerging Choreographers Showcase ("live in technicolor,") and Dancer's Workshop ("006," "Peanut Butter Jealous"). Mari was also a teaching assistant for a number of classes in the program and was the President of UB's chapter of the National Honor Society for Dance Arts. For the 2018-2019 dance season, Mari had the pleasure of teaching tap classes at Lancaster Dance Center near Buffalo, NY, but her goals to pursue graduate school brought her to Bethlehem, PA. Mari is now a graduate student at Lehigh University studying school psychology. She is so excited to start sharing her love for dance again with the students at Valley Dance, and she cannot wait for fall classes to start!
MEET MS. JULIA
Dance Instructor
Julia Culver began her dance training at the age of 7 and has trained extensively in Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Modern, Lyrical, and Contemporary. Her favorite style of dance has always been Ballet and Pointe. Julia has performed in a number of showcases/recitals and has been in many dance shows and plays. She has performed in recitals, benefit shows/events, showcases, dance intensives, and at the IronPigs Baseball games along with many others.
Julia is currently in the process of graduating with a B.A in Dance from DeSales University. While at DeSales, Julia has danced in a number of performances including Dance Concerts, Senior Showcases, Composition pieces, as well as teaching for the DeSales Conservatory of Dance program, where she taught for two years under the direction of Jill Fitzgerald. At DeSales, she trained extensively under the instruction of Tim Cowart, Angela Sigley Grossman, Elise Jumes, Julia Mayo, Milan Misko, Trinette Singleton, and Caili Quan.
Julia loves sharing her passion for dance with her students, and hopes to inspire them to keep chasing their dreams and to keep dancing! Julia is excited to begin a new season at Valley Dance and cannot wait to meet all of the wonderful students!
Meet Ms. Becka
Dance Instructor
Becka Morris has trained as a gymnast and a dancer since she was three years old. She attended Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts as a dance major, and has had the opportunity to perform and choreograph throughout the Lehigh Valley. Becka has taught dance and gymnastics for the past ten years in the Lehigh Valley, West Chester, PA, and Philadelphia. Her favorite classes to teach are acro and modern! Along with teaching dance and gymnastics, Becka is also an ACE Certified Personal Trainer. She loves working with clients to help them meet their athletic goals! Becka has also been teaching group exercise classes for the past two years. As a dancer, runner, cyclist, and swimmer, she understands the importance of proper strength training for athletes and for everyday life! In addition to teaching dance and fitness classes, Becka teaches middle school Science and English at St. Jane De Chantal School in Easton, while working on her Master's in Education at East Stroudsburg University. Becka is very excited to work with all of the amazing students at Valley Dance this year!
Meet Lindsay
Adult Dance Instructor
Lindsay Fly is an accomplished & diverse dance instructor with a passion and
commitment to excellence in instruction. She has been dancing for 30 years and has a
B.A. from Rutgers University. Lindsay has taught dance in Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
and North Carolina. She enjoys teaching hip hop, where she integrates the hottest new
dance moves into her routines and instills her motto to others: “In life and in dance, keep
it fun and funky.” Lindsay also loves theatre dance and has performed in shows such as
Fame, Cinderella, and Thoroughly Modern Millie in North Carolina. From Broadway to
b-boy style, Lindsay is inspired by all genres of dance.
When she is not dancing, Lindsay works as the full-time Events & Marketing Manager at
Habitat for Humanity of the Lehigh Valley in Allentown, where she also lives with her
French bulldogs, Ziggy Smallz and Vivian Lynn. She enjoys practicing yoga, watching baseball & hockey, and volunteering in her community.
Meet Tammy
Adult Dance Instructor
The historical 1999 Women’s World Cup Final Halftime Show at the Rose Bowl with Billie Piper became Tammy’s first live TV performance (JLo filmed her “Let’s Get Loud” MV at the same game).
Since then, Tammy continued to dance for various artists/shows, including sold-out arena concerts, Freestyle Explosion, with Exposé (“Point of No Return”), Kristine W, whom Billboard Magazine named one of the top 3 #1 Dance Song Artists (Beyonce and Madonna were the other 2), Rockell (“In a Dream”), Cardin Nguyen at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre, Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City’s special project (filmed in L.A), a cardio dance fitness DVD to name a few.
Her non-dance credits include L.A. Marathon by Honda/NBC, Disneyland Resort, E! Entertainment Television, East West Players, Memoirs of a Geisha, and 5 straight seasons on House, MD. As a cast member of an Asian-American theatre company, hereandnow, she’s also toured all over the country.
Tammy was trained by SYTYCD, JLo, Britney, Janet, Justin, NKOTB’s choreographers including, Shane Sparks, Dave Scott, Wade Robson, Marty Kudelka, Kevin Maher, and Kay Cole, the original Broadway cast of A Chorus Line.
Due to relocation and her MS-like health conditions, Tammy retired from dancing 15 years ago, but her love of dancing’s never gone away. She’s thrilled to be back to dance studios and share her love and passion for dance with each one of you.
Meet Ms. Carly
Dance Instructor
Carly Watson has been teaching dance for over 10 years in the Lehigh Valley and across Pennsylvania! She grew up performing as a featured dancer in the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parades and competing in competitions throughout the state. She attended Lock Haven University where she studied Early Childhood and Special Education while also minoring in Dance. During her time at Lock Haven, she was heavily involved with Dance Consort, Modern Dance Company, and Revamp. She was both a dancer and choreographer. She also served as President and secretary of Modern Dance Company and Dance Consort. Carly was instructed by Tennessee's Ballet Artistic Director at Bucknell University and attended the American College Dance Festival at Penn State University. Aside from collegiate dance classes, Carly also taught professionally within the Lock Haven community. She also assisted the LHU Dance department as a volunteer instructor for local elementary schools. Carly graduated from Lehigh University with a graduate degree in Educational Leadership with a Principal Certification and currently teaches special education. Carly is excited to share her love of dance with the next generation!