Our Teachers

Laura Giacomelli- Huntwoski

Owner, Artistic Director, Teacher, & Choreographer

Laura Giacomelli is a native of Philadelphia and received her early training from Anna Maries Academy of Dance where she was an Elysian Dance Company member. Laura received the Elizabeth Ann Pulaski Memorial Scholarship in 2003. She was later accepted to The Ester Boyer College of Dance at Temple University. Laura performed in numerous student concerts and senior concerts, as well as having her own work featured in the Student Concert at Temple University. She received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Modern Dance with a concentration in Ballet, Modern, and Choreography. She also received extensive Hip Hop and Jazz training there as well. While at Temple University Laura received two full scholarships to participate in the Illadelph Hip Hop Festival ran by Rennie Harris's Pure Movement Hip Hop Company based out of Philadelphia.

Over the years Laura has taught at numerous dance studios, ran high school dance teams, studio competition teams, and choreographed for high school musicals in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. She was also a Master of Ceremonies, Event Coordinator, and Dance Company Director for one of the leading entertainment companies on the east coast, A Sharp Production for 12 years. Laura was a member of the Modern/Jazz/ Tap Company, Eclipse Dance Company based out of Fairless Hills, Pa. She is currently dancing for The Blind Faith Project under the direction of Tiffany Delio and Daniela Galdi, which is based out of Philadelphia, Pa. Laura most recently started dancing with Sammy Reyes’s SANBROOKA Productions with work featured in the Philadelphia’s “Come Together Festival”. She is so proud to be sharing the stage with The Koresh Dance Company, Pure Movement, Philadanco, Ballet X, and many other respected Philadelphia Dance Companies.

Laura's choreography and dancers have been recognized with many Platinum Placements, High Gold Placements, Numerous Judges Awards, Choreography Awards, and Top 10 Score Placements in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Laura continues to educate herself with taking classes at Koresh Dance Studio in Philadelphia and Steps On Broadway, Alvin Ailey, and Broadway Dance Center in New York throughout the year.

In August of 2011 Laura Giacomelli fulfilled her life's dream when she opened up Libra Dance Studio in Warminster, Pa. She is the sole Owner and Artistic Director of Libra Dance Studio today. She is a member of the International Dance Entrepreneur Association (I.D.E.A.) since 2016 and a Leader of the "Gold Alliance" since July 2019. She most recently starting helping to train other studio owners and presents at the Dance Life Teacher Conference hosted by Rhee Gold.

Dance is Miss Laura’s passion. She is one of the few people in this world who can honestly say “She LOVES her job!” Libra Dance Studio has been one of the biggest joys of her life and she is looking forward to the many years ahead watching your children make and share many lifelong memories at Libra Dance Studio.

Brittany Stanger

Libra Dance Company Director,Teacher, & Choreographer

Brittany Stanger was born and raised in Philadelphia where she started her earliest dance training at Anna Marie’s Academy of Dance for ﬁfteen years. While in high school, she received the Elizabeth Ann Pulaski Memorial scholarship for dance, performed in numerous plays and held leading roles in several ballets put on by En Pointe school of dance. In 2008 she was accepted into The University of the Arts, as a Dance major. During her college career, Brittany performed in works choreographed by Philadanco’s Tommie Waheed-Evans, world-renowned dancer and artistic director of Smoke, Lilies, and Jade Arts Initiative Zane Booker, Flamenco del Encuentro’s Anna Rubio, Philly PARD’s Curt Haworth and Frankfurt Ballet’s Douglas Becker. Her training at UARTS allowed her to learn from artists such as The Martha Graham Dance Company’s Jennifer Binford Johnson, Ballet X's Christine Cox, Philadanco’s Kim Bears-Bailey, JUNK’s Brian Sanders and Rennie Harris Pure Movement’s Dinita and Kyle Clark, among others. Also at this time, Brittany performed with The Blind Faith Project, a jazz and modern based company out of Philadelphia under the direction of Tiﬀany Delio and Daniela Galdi for six years. In 2012, she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts with a focus in Modern Dance Performance. Soon after graduation, she was selected to be a part of the then-emerging company JustSole! Street Dance Theatre under the direction of Kyle and Dinita Clark, formerly of RHPM. Brittany has been a principal dancer for the company for the past ﬁve years, performing in multiple places in Philadelphia as well as on the east coast including Koresh’s Come Together Festival, Philadanco’s Beneﬁt Concert, Project Moshen’s Reinventing the Standard, and many others. In 2016, the company performed at Jacob's Pillow in Massachusetts. In 2017 JustSole performed in New York at the Lincoln Center for The Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) and at the Summer Stage festival NYC.Dance has always been a part of who Brittany is and she loves teaching that passion to her students.

Allison Kelly

Teacher & Company Choreographer

Miss Allison has been formally dancing since the age of 7. She graduated from Holy Family University with a Bachelor's in Arts and Education and earned her Master's in Reading Instruction from the University of Phoenix. She has been an educator for eleven years and a dance instructor since she was 16. Miss Allison has danced in the 6ABC/Dunkin Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade in the FanTAPulous production. Her choreography has been featured at Nationals in the Starbound competition circuit, winning numerous awards. She is the proud mother of two and is currently a teacher in the Tacony section of Philadelphia. She is excited to be on-board as an official part of the Libra family and cannot wait to share her excitement with all of you in her classes!

Cynthia Matos

Teacher

Miss Cyndi began taking dance lessons at the age of 3. She joined Anna Marie’s Academy of Dance when she was 13 and was an Elysian Dance Company member for 4 of her 5 years there. She has studied and trained in many forms of dance from Classical ballet to Cha-cha. Cyndi has performed and competed locally in places such as NBC 10 and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. She has also performed with The Blind Faith Project, a jazz and modern based company and the Philadelphia All Star Salsa Team, a traveling salsa competition team. In 2015 she graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and received her Master’s Degree in Special Education soon after. Combining her passion for both education and dance, Cynthia has taught consistently since 2011. She has choreographed performances for parades, dance teams, and private parties. She looks forward to joining the Libra family in the Fall of 2022.

Daniela Galdi

Teacher

As a lifelong performer, Daniela is a multi-talented entertainment artist with a background in dancing, singing, television, improvisation, producing, and teaching fine arts, fitness, and on-camera presenting. She draws upon over 25 years of professional dance training, countless live performances and choreographic works, and attended University of the Arts in Philadelphia concentrating on performance, production and education in arts & entertainment media. In the Philadelphia community, she has performed with local companies & performed in stadiums as a former dance team member of the Major Indoor Soccer League. Her choreography has been presented in FringeArts festivals, various local venues, and at the Smithsonian Museum.

Daniela is a classically trained dancer with advanced training for over 3 decades in ballet, jazz, modern & contemporary style, street & hip hop, and social dance. She has two decades of experience coaching, choreographing & producing end-to-end live productions and teaching 1:1 to large group classes & workshops. Through entertainment, she helps the audience discover imagination & enlightenment by researching and applying every angle of thought & feeling into her work.

As a Fitness and Movement Expert, she specializes in Dance, Pilates, and Body Mechanics. Her passion for holistic wellness led her to become a teacher and trainer in fitness, functional movement, and Classical Pilates through Romana's International Pilates. Her approach is comprehensive with methods of prevention, rehabilitation, postural & corrective exercise, and overall health management for sustainable, personalized growth techniques.

She is also trained in Emotional Empowerment & Mindfulness techniques, Reiki Certified, and pursues continued education in Functional Wellness and Movement when she isn't working on-air at QVC with personal care and problem-solving brands. Daniela is very excited to meet all of her new students and help them achieve their goals. Happy Dancing!

Michelle David

Teacher

Michelle David is excited for her first year teaching at Libra Dance Studio. She is a former professional dancer who has trained for many years is all forms of dance that include, Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Modern and Hip Hop dance. She trained at many local dance studios before graduating from The Creative and Performing Arts HS in Philadelphia were she majored in Dance and Theater. She has performed locally in productions at the Bristol Riverside Theatre,Wilma Theatre, Freedom Theatre and Philadanco. Wanting to spread her wings, Michelle moved to Florida to dance for Walt Disney World as a (Kid Of the Kingdom). While in Florida she had the amazing opportunity to be a backup dancer for *NSYNC. Shortly after moving back to her hometown of Bensalem. Michelle was a dancer and ambassador for the Philadelphia 76ers. Influenced by her teachers, peers, environment and travels she started teaching dance in 2002. Michelle brings a unique sense of knowledge to her dance classes. She believes in empowering dancers by staying positive. Her goal is to have dancers leave each class feeling physically challenged and mentally empowered.

Regina Affatato

Teacher & Company Choreographer

Regina Affatato began her dance training at Anna Marie’s Academy of dance at the age of 4 with focus in ballet, tap, jazz and modern. She holds a Bachelor of fine Arts degree in Dance from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. She has performed at the Painted Bride Theater, Merriam Theater, as well as local theaters throughout the state. Her choreography has been awarded 1st place and received special recondition for dances at state/local dance competitions. Regina is very excited to share her knowledge and love of dance with the students at Libra.

Sharon Redrow

Teacher

Sharon started dancing at the age of two and a half. She has trained in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, modern, and gymnastics. Her biggest mentors being Sandy Zoeller and Alexei Charov, whom which she studied with for most of her adolescence. She danced lead roles in the productions of Peter Pan, The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, and Sleeping Beauty. In the same year, under the guidance of Sandy Zoeller, Sharon was given the opportunity to start her dream of becoming a dance teacher. Sharon has now been teaching dance for eleven years at various dance schools in New Jersey and Philadelphia. She has taught recreational as well as competitive dance. She has continued to develop her skills by taking classes at Koresh and Broadway Dance Center, attending ITDI’s and Dance Explosion’s teacher workshops, and taking several college dance courses throughout her time in school. About three years ago, she went to NYC to attend a seminar in the Acrobatic Arts curriculum, which she has continued to stay up to date with. Sharon attended Stockton University and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Psychology and Elementary Education. She currently is a teacher at a charter school in Trenton. There she created and directed the first ever dance team the school has had and can’t wait to continue the program, once Covid restrictions allow. Sharon believes that all students, whether it be dance or school, are capable of learning when given the opportunities needed to succeed. She always tries her hardest to make sure her students reach their fullest potential and achieve the goals they set together!

Maria Murry

Teacher

Maria is a native of Philadelphia. She started her training at Anna Marie’s Academy of Dance at two years old. She received her BA in Dance and minor in Business at DeSales University, in May of 2020. During her time at DeSales, she choreographed pieces for both the 2018 and 2019 Emerging Choreographer’s Concert. Her work, Supernova, was selected to be performed for The American College Dance Association in Plymouth, New Hampshire. She has also participated in previous DeSales Dance productions including a reconstruction of Donald McKayle’s Rainbow Round My Shoulder and work by Timothy Cowart, Tiffanie Carson, and Lora Allen. Maria has been teaching dance for six years and is enthusiastic to be joining Libra and share her love of dance with the next generation of dancers.

Natalie Flynn

Guest Company Choreographer

Natalie trained for fourteen years at Oxford Center for Dance and Crane Performing Arts. While training at these studios and dancing with ASH II, directed by Braham Logan Crane, she became versatile in many styles. Her focus has been mainly in contemporary, jazz, ballet, pointe, lyrical, hip hop, and tap. Natalie has attended many workshops, intensives, and conventions including Disney Magic Music Days, Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet, Rockette Summer Intensive, Joffrey Contemporary and Jazz Intensive, Monsters of Hip Hop, Artists Simply Human, and American College Dance Festival. During these fourteen years, she had many performance opportunities; Natalie has performed at "Choreographer's Ball" in New York City, "Come Together" presented by Koresh Dance Company, as well as competing and performing at many other venues in Las Vegas, Florida, Atlantic City, New York, and Pennsylvania. She attended West Chester University of Pennsylvania minoring in dance. While there, she became the Vice President and student choreographer for the University Dance Company. Natalie's choreography has won many awards and she continues to create and choreograph throughout the region. Also, Natalie continues to perform in different venues for artists and dances for Samuel Antonio Reyes in his company, SanBrooka. Natalie's passion lies not only in performing but also in choreography and teaching the growing artists.