Pottstown Dance Theatre
EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION IN THE ART OF DANCE
PDT Staff
Michelle Jones Wurtz
Pottstown Dance Theatre — Owner/Director
Melange Contemporary Dance — Artistic Director
PDT Repertory Ensemble — Artistic Director
ContempraDance Theatre — Assistant Director
Michelle holds a BFA in Dance from the University of the Arts as well as an MPA in Non-profit Management from Strayer University. She studied with Barbara Sandanato (who was trained by George Balanchine), Judith Jamison (former lead dancer of the Alvin Ailey Company) and Milton Myers who was also a lead dancer at Ailey and now serves as head of the Contemporary Division of the world famous Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Michelle began her professional career during her junior year at University of the Arts when she started dancing for Group Motion in Philadelphia, PA.
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Michelle studied pedagogy techniques at The Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet and later became a master instructor. In 2004 she was chosen to be the first American instructor invited to the International Dance Festival in Ladek Zdroj, Poland where she teaches more than any other instructor. She has been asked to teach at various festivals throughout Europe. Michelle has also completed Pedagogy training at the Martha Graham School in NYC and continues to train as an instructor there.
Michelle directs the professional dance group Melange, the Pottstown Dance Theatre, and assistant directs Contempradance. Her students were invited by the American Alliance of Performing Arts Educators to perform in London during the 2012 Olympic Games where a representative of the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (founded and partially funded by Sir Paul McCartney) saw Michelle's work and requested her instruction for summer of 2013. PDT students have since also performed with the AAPAE at Lincoln Center and Carnegie hall in NYC.
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When not teaching at PDT, Michelle is a Full Professor of Dance at Eastern University in St Davids PA, where she teaches Global Dance Forms, Intermediate Jazz Dance: Theory and Technique, Advanced Modern Dance Technique, World Dance, Dance Repertory and Anatomy & Kinesiology.
Kelsey Nieckoski PT, DPT - Instructor
Kelsey began dancing at the age of three at Ginny Lee Dance Studio. At the age of seven, she furthered her training at Pottstown Dance Theatre where she joined the intensive program focusing on Vaganova ballet technique as well as many other dance forms. She studied in the Academy program under Michelle Jones Wurtz, and privately under ballet masters Jerzy Golek, Phyllis Dersh Rudzitis, Andre Ustinov, and Elena Martinson. While a student at PDT, Kelsey had the opportunity to perform in London, England, during the 2012 Olympic Games. She has studied at a variety of intensive ballet programs including, The Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Berks Ballet Theater, Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet, Academy of International Ballet, and The Rock School Philadelphia. She was a member of the Schuylkill Valley Regional Dance Company where she performed many corp, soloist, and eventually principal roles. She currently performs professionally with Melange Contemporary Dance Company. Kelsey holds a BA from Widener University where she majored in Psychology and minored in Fine Arts with a concentration in Dance Performance. She graduated from Alvernia University in 2021 with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy and now specializes in treating dancers and other performing artists of the Philadelphia area. Kelsey enjoys collaborating in both her medical and dance careers.
Marissa Anuzelli - Instructor
Marissa began her dance training at LeRoux School of Dance in Royersford, PA when she was three years old. There, she studied various styles of dance including ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, musical theater, and lyrical/contemporary. She was also part of the LeRoux Steppers competition team for three years. She graduated from Eastern University with a BA in psychology and a minor in dance. While at Eastern, she studied dance under Michelle Jones Wurtz and was introduced to even more styles such as African and Modern. She has performed as part of Dance the World in Disney World and has also participated in the Big Apple Tap Festival. She has also been part of numerous recitals and shows such as The Nutcracker, Philly Nutt Crak-Up with ContempraDANCE Theatre, and Jazzerella with Mélange Contemporary Dance Company.
Janet LaCava - Instructor
Janet was born in and lived in New York City and began teaching dance in 1973. She trained at New York City schools, starting with George Connelly Dance Center, in Queens with Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Acrobatics and Ballroom. She was a 1969, full scholarship recipient to the Joffrey Ballet School. Janet also attended Phil Black's Dance Studio, Broadway Dance Center, and other schools. Many of her students have, or had, careers in major ballet companies, professional theater, television, theme parks, cruise ships, Radio City Music Hall, Las Vegas, and other dance venues, as well as becoming dance teachers, studio owners and choreographers. Many of her students have graduated from top college dance programs including The Julliard School, N.Y.University, Tisch School of the Arts, Point Park University, and University of the Arts. Ms. LaCava performed professionally in night clubs, musical theater, and special events for major New York professional sports teams, on television, for the armed forces, plus has choreographed for regional ballet companies, theater productions and competitions, and winning several choreography awards at national dance competitions. Janet ran her own successful dance academy before retiring from studio ownership, after which she continued to teach dance at area dance schools. She was a member of Dance Educators of America, and a past guest instructor for National Association of Dance and Affiliated Arts, Inc. (NADAA). She founded and organized The Road to Broadway Talent Competition, and the Road to Broadway Pageants. Additionally, Janet worked as a stage manager for dance performances for dance schools and other charitable dance events, and judged for many, regional and national competitions in the USA, and Canada. Ms. LaCava has years of experience as an amateur competitor in ballroom, and performing arts dance competitions, winning many awards in the USA and the UK. Janet has written columns and articles on dance for newspapers and dance periodicals and magazines, is the former Vice President of Dancers for Dimes, a dance performance charity event to raise funds for the March of Dimes, and a past board member, Vice President, and later President, for the Arts Academy Elementary Charter School.
David Heller - Instructor
David Heller, aka Dr. Moose, was born in Manhattan, Kansas (The Little Apple). Since 1999, David has developed his skills in breaking, popping, tutting and liquid dance. “There are too many dance memories that are my ‘favorite,’ but if I really had to pick two, one would be the first time I saw someone breakdancing in front of me when I was 17 years old. The second would be earning my doctorate/PhD in dance from Temple University.”
Over the last 20 years, David has competed in multiple dance competitions throughout the United States. David has choreographed dozens of dance pieces that have been showcased in Hawaii, Norway, France, and Philadelphia. He earned his PhD in Dance at the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University in December, 2018. Currently, David teaches dance to undergraduate students at Temple, as well as studio classes and workshops in street dance styles throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey.
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“I believe that dance, in any form, is a deeply ingrained impulse we all possess. I found my passion through a desire to express myself. Dance is my life. Therefore, I teach what I love, and I love what I do.” --- David Heller (Dr. Moose)
Krysta Bernhardt - Instructor
Krysta is a lover and teacher of all things artistic. She began her dance training in upstate New York where she studied Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Contemporary Dance with the Filippetti's Academy of Dance Arts and Vaganova method Ballet with the Rafael Grigorian Ballet Theatre. In addition to dance she studied piano, voice an oboe. After many years performing as a singer, actress and dancer in regional NY theaters, her passion for the arts led her from New York to Philadelphia, where she graduated with honors from the University of the Arts with a BFA in Musical Theater. At UArts she added to her dance training with studies in Musical Theater, Modern, and Improv Dance. She worked for 20 years with the Meridee Winters School of Music in Ardmore, PA and did everything from teaching piano, voice and improv dance to graphic design, videography and photography. She helped set up the publishing arm of the company which publishes their own creative piano method and she is responsible for creating the prototypes of many of the original books. Krysta also creates her own visual art and has exhibited in local galleries throughout the Philadelphia and tri-county region and has self-published several books. When not teaching dance, you can also find her teaching art at Art Fusion 19464 or helping organize local artistic events like the Pottstown "Arts in the Park" which started in 2024. Krysta has spent over 25 years working in the arts in the Philadelphia area and she is thrilled to have the opportunity to share her love of dance with the students at PDT!
Brianna Sanders - Instructor
Brianna is a dancer and choreographer from Annapolis Maryland. She has been dancing in several genres for 18 years and choreographing mainly contemporary and jazz for nine years. Bri has also been training in acro and gymnastics since she was three years old. She has previously trained at Thrive Gymnastics (previously known as Severna Park Gymnastics), First Class Gymnastics and Level Dance Project. After graduating high school she continued her acrobatic training through college by maintaining skills that were developed in the earlier years of her career. She has recently been on the Eastern University Dance Team. Her recent performances include: 2023 Regional American College Dance Association conference (hosted at Mercyhurst University, Erie, PA), Found Wandering (hosted at Eastern University, Wayne, PA) and Fringe Festival (hosted in Philadelphia, PA). Brianna is a senior at Eastern University. She is currently working on her B.S. in Business Administration B.A. in dance. She has loved joining the PDT community and sharing her love of dance and acro with her students!
Selah Curcuruto- Instructor
Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Selah currently attends Eastern University studying Dance and Psychology. She began dancing at the age of ten taking modern dance and choreography classes with Temple Music Prep. Selah has trained in ballet, modern, contemporary, musical theatre dance, African, lyrical-jazz, and hip-hop. She has choreographed for multiple dance shows and festivals including Philadelphia’s Fall Arts Fest. In 2021, Selah began dancing at Wissahickon Dance Academy and joined their International Ballet Exchange program, performing at the Kimmel Cultural Campus and for schools in the Philadelphia area. As well as performing and choreographing, Selah enjoys teaching dance classes. She worked as a student teacher and summer camp counselor for two years at Ballet Sun Mi and is excited to continue sharing her love for dance at Pottstown Dance Theatre.
Vesa Pema - Instructor
Vesa is currently a sophomore at Eastern University majoring in Math(Pre-Engineering) and minoring in Dance. Vesa began dancing when she was 6 at the School of American Ballet in New York. She then studied at ABT for 7 years. Her passion for dancing never left and she decided to study it further in college. Vesa has trained in Ballet, Contemporary, Modern, Jazz, and musical theater. Her ballet training has been crossed with Balanchine, Vaganova, and Cecchetti. Vesa has performed at the Metropolitan Opera house and the David H. Koch Theater. She is excited to share her passion for dance with a class!
Adleigh Strickland - Apprentice Teacher
Adleigh Strickland is a dancer in training who loves sharing the gift of joy through dance. Adleigh has been dancing for nine years, focusing on Cecchetti, Vagonova, and contemporary ballet. She started dancing at Dance with Joy for the first seven years of her training, during which she learned Cecchetti and contemporary ballet techniques. During her time there, she had the opportunity to perform for fundraisers, nursing homes, traditional recitals, and the Nutcracker. Adleigh coupled her training with a studio named Miss Autumn Dance Class, where she first started teaching ballet classes for three to twelve-year-olds. For the last few years, Adleigh attended the summer dance intensive at Ballet Magnificat's summer dance-intensive, a Christian professional ballet company with dancers and teachers coming in from all over the world. Adleigh currently dances at Pottstown Dance Theater (PDT) and is so thankful for their instructor’s skill and dedication. PDT has allowed her to continue performing in churches, recitals, showcases, and teaching.
Teagan Lee - Apprentice Teacher
Teagan has been a student at Pottstown Dance Theatre since she was in second grade. In this time, she has studied many styles of dance including ballet and pointé, musical theater, jazz, contemporary, modern, acro, and Irish. With this training, she has been able to receive a plethora of scholarships such as a Performing Arts Scholarship for Pope John Paul II High School, where she attends, and multiple scholarships through the Philadelphia Youth Dance Festival auditions to schools such as Bucks County School of Performing Arts and Philadelphia Dance Theatre. Additionally, Teagan is a member of Studio 38 and Rhapsodies, which are the performing arts groups at her high school. Along with both of those, she takes a course specializing in the performing arts at PJP II. She is also a member of the National Honor Society for Dance Arts. Through this she has many opportunities give back to the community through dance. Furthermore, Teagan has played soloist roles such as Clara, the Sugarplum Fairy, and the Dew Drop Fairy in PDT’s Nutcracker, as well as many other leading parts in the spring performances.
Maddie Lobello - Apprentice Teacher
Maddie Lobello is a rising sophomore at Owen J Roberts High School and has been studying dance at PDT for almost 12 years. In addition to dance, Maddie has been trained in competitive gymnastics and has performed in many shows at The Steel River Playhouse. Recently she was given the opportunity to share the role of Dorothy in PDT's performance, "The Land of Oz," as well as performing as the Arabian soloist in PDT's "The Nutcracker." Maddie has also attended the Philly Youth Dance festival and is a member of the National Honor Society for Dance Arts, as well as being an honors student in school. She hopes to go to college in the future and and join a dance company to share her love of performing. Maddie is very honored to be an apprentice teacher at the Pottstown Dance Theater!
Haley Iannarino - Student Teacher
Haley is a high school student with a passion for dance that spans over 12 years, starting from the age of 3. With a strong foundation in dance, she has performed in numerous shows, including twice performing the lead role of Clara in the Nutcracker. In addition to her studies with PDT, Haley has completed dance intensives with the Philadelphia Youth Dance Festival and DeSales University. She has received multiple awards for academic excellence and is honored to be part of two national societies for school. Haley is also honored to be part of the national society for dance. Haley hopes to go to school to be a vet tech or vet nurse and would love to minor in dance or join a college dance team or company so that she can continue her dance studies into the future.
Ella Mazur - Student Teacher
Ella has been dancing since the age of 4 and has been at PDT for most of that time. She has performed in many shows with PDT while also having the honor of performing multiple solo roles. These include the Spanish soloist and soloist in “Dance of the Toy Flutes”, both in “The Nutcracker”. Ella has additionally danced as Dorothy in PDT’s performance of “The Land of Oz”. She is also a part of the National Honor Society for Dance Arts, as well as other honors societies through her school. In addition, Ella has participated in The Philadelphia Youth Dance Festival multiple times, allowing her to gain further experience by taking classes with many different teachers, and even earning a scholarship to a dance intensive. She hopes to continue dancing in the future while pursuing her college education.
Carol Hebert - Substitute Teacher
Carol Hebert graduated from the Hartford Conservatory of Music and Dance and received a BFA in Dance from the University of Massachusetts. She has taught at Hartford Conservatory, the School of the Hartford Ballet, and the New England Conservatory. As a member of the Deborah Carr Theatre Dance Ensemble, Ms. Hebert performed at the highly prestigious American Dance Festival in NC. She has studied with some of the most respected names in American tap dance including Brenda Buffalino and LaVaughn Robinson. Her students at the Pottstown studio enjoy her classes tremendously.
Madison Evans - Substitute Teacher
Madison began her formal training in acro/dance, and cheer at Studios on Main in Pennsburg, PA. There, she studied and trained in several genres of dance (ballet, contemporary, lyrical, modern, jazz, etc.). Madison was part of the elite competition acro/dance team, competitive cheer team, and the teen and elite competition dance companies. She performed and competed in many overall high-scoring groups, solos, and duos and received many special judges awards. Madison holds two titles at Aspire Dance Challenge as their talent title winner two years running. Additionally, Madison has studied musical theatre and voice and spent her high school years performing as a singer/dancer/actress and choreographer in several cabarets and musicals at Salem Christian School. She was selected to be a featured dancer and vocalist in the Freddy Awards broadcast on WFMZ Channel 69 and through the Freddy Awards, she received a scholarship to train at Pennsylvania Youth Ballet/Ballet Guild’s pre-professional summer intensive program. Madison also has trained in ballet at Premiere Dance Studio. Madison has danced professionally as a parade and mainstage dancer in Grand Carnivale at Dorney Park, Allentown, PA and Kings Dominion, Doswell, VA. She is currently a student at Eastern University where she is working towards her B.A. in Dance and B.S. in Business Administration with a Leadership Development Concentration. At Eastern, she has participated in dance concerts as both a dancer and student choreographer. She danced at the American College Dance Association conference in Erie, PA, and has been on the Eastern University Dance Team. Madison is currently also a member of Melange Contemporary Dance Company and she is excited to have the opportunity to share her love of dance with the students at PDT!
Megan Groth- Substitute Teacher
Megan is a student at Lebanon Valley College and has studied many dance styles for over a decade including Ballet, Pointe, Irish, African, Modern, Jazz, Breakdance, and Hip-Hop. She has danced in numerous productions with the Pottstown Dance Theatre Repertory Ensemble and has previously been featured in both Waltz of the Flowers and as the Harlequin Doll soloist. She also has performed at Lincoln Center and twice at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Megan currently studies sports medicine to become a physical therapist so that she may help other dancers with their injuries.
Sofia Bischof - Substitute Teacher
Sofia is a student at Dickinson College. She has studied dance for 12+ years with PDT and has mastered many styles including Ballet, Tap, Irish and Graham Based Modern. She has performed with the PDT Repertory ensemble in several productions including The Nutcracker, New World, The Best of PDT, Haunted Dance Theatre and she was an apprentice student dancer in Melange's production of Beyond Genesis. Her roles have included Clara, Flutes, Sugarplum, Snow and Flowers in the Nutcracker and she performed the solo role of Lead Child European in New World. She has danced at Carnegie Hall, auditioned for and was accepted to Jr. County Chorus and is the recipient of the Reading Music Foundation Esprit de Corps scholarship. In addition to dance she sings, plays oboe, enjoys writing and drawing and plans to go on to become a Paleontologist.
Jay Stolzenberg — Executive and Financial Advisor
Jay holds patents on numerous inventions used in varying industries. His knowledge of trademark, copyright, and patent law are invaluable when applying for grants, in kind donations, and gifts.