DONNA GREENFIELD

Ms. Donna is in her 15th year as in instructor at The Dance Depot. Donna received her dance education through the University of the Arts and Temple University. In 1982, she joined Waves Dance Company under the direction of Shimon Braun. In 1985, Donna opened her own dance studio where met and employed world renowned Rennie Harris of Pure Movement. Its was then her love for funk and Hip Hop began, as they taught and performed together. Donna has also choreographed for local television spots such as Dance Party USA, Teen Video, Lip Sync (MTV) and Be My Witness. Donna has taught in many dance studios in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but is now proud to call The Dance Depot her true dance home. In addition to her many musical theatre, jazz and hip hop classes, Donna is now the director of our Dream Catchers Performance Team, which she solely developed to share the love of dance in community events and for several charities, including The Make a Wish Foundation. Ms. Donna is a studio favorite as her love for dance, teaching and her students is exceptional and genuine.

ERIKA SPEER

After graduating from Brentwood High School on Long Island, New York, Erika moved to Philadelphia where she received her BFA in Dance Education from the University of the Arts. Erika continues her dance education yearly by attending Teacher conventions and workshop. Her dynamic and well-rounded experience and teaching style allows her to teach students of all ages, preschool to adult, in almost every dance genre. Erika's students have excelled both on the recreational level and in the competition circuit as her dancers have won Platinum and High Gold awards in many competition platforms. Erika currently teaches at Pennsylvania Leadership performing arts charter school in West Chester PA. Her love and passion for dance is evident in her day-to-day life as she continually seeks ways to further her own dance education and that of her students. Erika plans to continue this profession for many years to come.

ROCHELLE HAYNES

ROCHELLE MARIE HAYNES is a native of Dallas, Texas, where she began her dance training at the age of three. She attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Miss Haynes continued her dance training in Philadelphia while attending college at the University of the Arts, where she received her BFA in modern dance.

Rochelle joined Tap Team Two and Company as a principal dancer in 1997 where she traveled throughout the United States teaching the history of tap and promoting tap dance as an American art form. In 2012 she was asked to become the Dance Captain of the company. She has been teaching tap throughout the Pennsylvania and New Jersey area for over 30 years. Rochelle has also taught master classes in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Maryland, Louisiana, New York, Maine, and Prague, Czech Republic. Miss Haynes has had the privilege of teaching a few Master Classes for Philadelphia’s own, Lady Hoofers. In October of 2018 she taught in Brazil at their 19th Brazilian Tap Festival. She was on faculty for Temple University’s Dance Department for three semesters and in 2021 she was asked to join Temple University School of Theater, Film and Media Arts. Rochelle is in her nineteenth year as the Guest Artist in Residence for Tap Ties at Cedar Crest College. Since 2005, Miss Haynes was on faculty from 2005 to 2022 at the University of the Arts which lead her to teach the tap classes for the Summer World of Dance for two years, Pre-College Program and at the High School Dance Festival. Rochelle was the Tap choreographer for five years for the Garden State Dance Festival. Her choreography has received high accolades, special awards, choreography awards and Title winnings in the competition industry.

Miss Haynes has studied with and taken classes from the Masters of tap for over 20 years. Her studies have taken her within the United States, Brazil and Prague, Czech Republic. She has been fortunate to perform in the Philadelphia area for over 20 years and has taken the stage with tap greats Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, Nicole Hockenberry, Germaine Ingram and Dorothy Wasserman of the movie TAP. She performed the choreography of Germaine Ingram in “Danceboom 2005”, Philadelphia Folklore Project’s “Dance Happens Here” 2006 and 2008, the “Tap Extravaganza” in New York City, and at the University of the Arts in 2005 and 2008 which were special tribute performances to the late great LaVaughn Robinson. In 2011 she had the wonderful opportunity to perform original choreography of Bill BoJangles Robinson and Charles “Honi” Coles of the Copasetics in New York at the Symphony Space Theater. In the summer of 2018 Rochelle performed the choreography of Lynn Schwabb in ATDF’s Tap It Out! One of her favorite performances was “Prague-DC-Philly” in Prague, Czech Republic.

SHANNON BICKEL

Shannon Bickel has been dancing at The Dance Depot for more than ten years. She has experience in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and hip-hop. Shannon began student teaching for The Dance Depot at the age of thirteen. She has gone through The Dance Depot's student teacher program, graduating to teaching her own engaging classes. This is her tenth year as a Pre-School/General and Tap teacher, and she is truly endeared by her students. In addition to her exciting work in the classroom, Shannon has been a member of The Dance Depot office staff for more than ten years. She loves seeing how all of the hard work both behind the scenes and on stage come together into a wonderful recital for parents and students! She also has experience as an assistant and lead teacher in a daycare setting. Shannon graduated from West Chester University with a major in Business Management with an additional minor in Elementary Education. When she's not dancing, Shannon enjoys spending time with her family and her dog, Cliffy.

ASHLEY JOHNSON

Atlanta native, Ashley Nichole Johnson began her formal dance training at the age of two. It was at Norma's Academy where she discovered her love of dance. Her training and company experience comes from Norma's Academy of Dance, Ballethnic Academy of Dance, Total Dance, and North Carolina School of the Arts. While attending Tri-Cities High School, Ms. Johnson was a dance major, but was also seen in several musical theater performances, and was accepted into the Governor's Honors Program. After high school, Ashley continued her education at The University of the Arts. Ms. Johnson had the privilege of training and working with dance masters Carmen DeLavallade, Milton Myers, Cleo Parker Robinson, Ron K. Brown, Christopher Huggins and many more. During her college career, she had the pleasure of becoming a member of Philadanco's Second Company D-2. In 2007, Ms. Johnson returned to Atlanta and while there she became a member of The NBA's Atlanta Hawks A-Town Dancers. In 2008-09 Ms. Johnson was a member of the up and coming Dance Theater X and also auditioned in Memphis, TN for Season 9 of Fox's Hit TV Show "So You Think You Can Dance". Ms. Ashley made it through to Las Vegas being picked to move on over thousands of dancers. After four years as a member of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers Dream Team, Ms.Johnson decided to fully commit herself to the development of youth through the art of dance.

POMPEIA POHLAND

Pompeia started dancing with us here at The Dance Depot when she was 3 years old. She continued to train with us and went on to graduate and continue her dance education at the University of the Arts. She was professionally trained in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Modern, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Hip Hop. AFter a dedicated year she moved to Los Angeles, California to train with professional dancers and choreographers in mainly Hip Hop and Jazz. She trained and performed out west for two years, and then decided to move home and began teaching at The Dance Depot. She now teaches mainly Hip Hop with a sprinkle of other styles as well.

LEROY CHURCH

Leroy Church is an actor, dancer, producer, creative director, and master teacher originally from Baltimore, Maryland. He is a Chita Rivera Award winner and Black Broadway Award winner, recognized for his groundbreaking work both on stage and in digital theater innovation.

Leroy earned his BFA in Dance from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. While there, he performed principal roles with Brandywine Ballet and was a guest artist with The Western Ballet of Puerto Rico. He was the only student selected through the university audition to join the creation cast of Cirque du Soleil’s Viva Elvis in Las Vegas, where he performed for two years. His work with Cirque included featured performances at the NASCAR Awards and as a guest on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance. He went on to become a principal dancer with the world-renowned Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco) before joining the North American tour of The Lion King. Afterward, Leroy moved to New York City where he made his Broadway debut in King Kong the Musical.

His commercial work includes national campaigns and features such as a Times Square billboard for Vivitrol, a Stella Artois holiday campaign, a GAP Khaki commercial, and Miracle-Gro Ortho Defense. On screen, Leroy appeared on NBC’s Smash alongside Jennifer Hudson and is featured in the Netflix film Passing starring Tessa Thompson.

During the pandemic, Leroy pioneered one of the most innovative projects in virtual theater by producing, casting, and creatively directing the viral Clubhouse production of Dreamgirls. On an app with more than ten million users, he brought together Emmy winner and Tony nominee Sheryl Lee Ralph and Olivier Award winner Amber Riley to judge alongside him, while Henry Krieger, the original composer of Dreamgirls, joined as a special guest. The production was featured in CNN, Essence, Playbill, Broadway World, and more, and Leroy became the top trending topic on social media for his now-iconic audition catch phrase, “Thank you, Happy New Year.”

Following Broadway’s reopening, Leroy returned to The Lion King as a Universal Swing/Understudy covering thirteen roles on both Broadway and the national tour, and made his Broadway principal debut as Ed.

In addition to his stage and screen career, Leroy has become one of the most sought-after masterclass teachers in the United States and Canada. He has been a master teacher for The Lion King Outreach, the Zumba World Conference in Orlando, the HumanGood Affordable Housing Focus and Lead Conference at the Flamingo Convention Center in Las Vegas, and has taught at schools and studios nationwide through Broadway Connections, where he is regarded as one of the most impactful and highly reviewed educators.

He is now a proud teacher and competition team choreographer at The Dance Depot, where his students consistently achieve top placements and where he has been honored with the Excellence in Choreography Award. 

KJERSTI SØBERG

Kjersti Søberg is no stranger to the stage or screen in any part of the world. While attending the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Kjersti worked with the NFL as a Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleader for 3 seasons. As an ambassador for the organization, she was chosen to travel to Iraq and Kuwait on a military goodwill tour. She graduated with honors with a BFA in Jazz Dance Performance and was the sole recipient in her graduating class to receive the prestigious award of “Excellence in all Styles.”

Immediately after graduating, Kjersti danced with Holland America Cruise Line, where she completed several world tours. She also broke into the South African entertainment industry, dancing under renowned choreographer Debbie Rakusin. While living in South Africa, she could be seen dancing in commercials, corporate performances, and on TV. Kjersti toured internationally in Dirty Dancing the Musical as an on-stage swing, where she understudied/played the lead role of “Penny Johnson.”

Kjersti was an equity performer and Dance Captain at Walt Disney World for 10 years. She performed in Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire, Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration, and the aerialist/adage act in The Festival of the Lion King. She also helped create and performed in Celebrate the Season as well as a featured performer in several of ABC/Disney’s televised Christmas parades with Neil Patrick Harris under critically acclaimed and Tony Award-winning choreographers, including Christopher Gattelli (Newsies/SpongeBob Square Pants) and Emmy award-winning NappyTabs (So You Think You Can Dance/America’s Best Dance Crew).

Kjersti not only has a passion for the stage, but also for the sky. She became a fully licensed helicopter pilot in 2016. Most recently, she graduated with a second bachelor’s degree and a master’s in Intelligence and Security Studies. When she is not in the studio, she works as a national security investigator. You can find more information about Kjersti at https://kjerstiportfolio.com/.

Kat (Sullivan) Gonzalez

Kat (Sullivan) Gonzalez was raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania where her passion for dance began at a very young age. Starting out as a heavily competitive dancer and performer, Kat shifted her focus to more technical training by joining The Pennsylvania School of the Performing Arts as a full-time company member in 2008. Performing at the Philadelphia Fringe Fest and at ComeUnity in collaboration with Lustig Dance Theatre, she has studied dance under Kristin Scott Naylor, Richard Pierlon, Denise LaPoint, and others. Eventually Kat began Classical vocal training under the tutelage of soprano Maria Pappas, later to perform in a production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame as Esmerelda. Kat now choreographs and teaches, guiding young dancers on their own performance journeys. 

Kristen Chynoweth

Kristen began her formal ballet training at the Green Street Dance Company in Souderton, PA where she was introduced to the disciplines of ballet, pointe, jazz and contemporary dance. At GSDC, Kristen was exposed to regular Master Classes with notables such as Cherie Noble, Olga Kostritsky, Wendy Whelan, Katrina Killian, Jeffrey Gribler, Martha Chamberlain, Amanda Smith and later at the Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet with Jeffrey Lyons, Christopher Flemming, Maiqui Manosa, Benjamin Millipied, Eva Szabo, Finis Jhung and Mark Morris. She also studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet in Narberth with John White and Margarita de Saa where she was introduced to the Vaganova Technique.

In 1999, Kristen was selected as a scholarship student at the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts. She continued her dance education at the Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet in Philadelphia Rock School for Dance Education) under the direction of Stephanie and Bo Spassoff. After high school, Kristen danced as a scholarship student at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet, performing with their Ballet Society. Kristen danced with Opus 1 Contemporary under the direction of 

Lina McMenamin and Tim Early, and as a soloist with Contempra Dance. Kristen graduated with honors from Rosemont College with a degree in Sociology and World Theologies. She completed her Progressing Ballet Technique training in 2023 and enjoys studying anything dance-related. Kristen loves sharing the gift of dance with her students while supporting them in their own dance journey.

KRISTA MONTRONE

Krista began her training at the age of three in Hudson, NH at Melissa Hoffman Dance Center. After moving to Connecticut in 2000, she continued her training at D’valda and Sirico Dance and Music Centre where guest faculty included Franco De Vita, Raymond Lukens, Charles Kelley, and Alicia Cruzado. In 2004 Krista was offered a contract with Boston Ballet II. After high school, Krista moved to NYC where she was represented by MSA and involved in many projects including the opening of the tap/rock show Revolution at the Joyce Theatre and subsequent tours, and various commercial projects ranging from Aflac to Juicy Couture. She has performed with the contemporary company Evolution from 2009-15 under the direction of Robin Cotler, performing and teaching in the US and Poland at the Ladek Zdroj International Dance Festival in both 2009 and 2011. From 2011-18 Krista was a member of the world-renowned Koresh Dance Company under the direction of Roni Koresh. She has had the privilege of touring extensively both nationally and internationally, performing, and being deeply involved in the communities they visited through the extensive outreach/education programs provided by the company. Krista is currently based in Philadelphia and teaches/choreographs locally and throughout the country.

BOB TYLER

Bob Tyler grew up in Batavia, NY and began dancing at the age of 10. He studied under the instruction of Robin Cotler, director of Images in Dance, and competed at the national level until he graduated from high school in 2008. Later that year he began studying at The University of the Arts and graduated in May 2012 with a BFA in Dance Performance majoring in ballet. While at school, he studied and performed works by choreographers such as Brian Sanders, Ronen Koresh, Scott Jovovich, and Paul Sewlyn Norton as well as excerpts of works by William Forsythe under the direction of Douglas Becker and was selected to perform at the Joyce Theater in NYC to represent The University of the Arts. In the summer of 2010 and 2011, he worked with Evolution Dance Company, and performed at the International Dance Festival in Ladek Zdroj, Poland. Other than his performance career, he also sets choreography and instructs students from all over the country. Currently he is a member of the Koresh Dance Company where he performs regularly and is active in teaching and sharing dance in communities locally in Philadelphia as well as internationally.