Interested in becoming part of our team?
Our Faculty
Tiffany Spithas
Tiffany is a graduate of James Madison University where she received a B.F.A. in Dance. Tiffany has performed with the Montgomery College Dance Co., D.C. Dance Collective, The Virginia Repertory Dance Co. and The LA Contemporary Dance Company. Tiffany is enjoying her twelfth year as the Owner/Director of Impact Performing Arts and Artistic Director for DanceWorx.
Giavanna Hershey
Giavanna is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a BFA in Dance. While in school she worked with choreographers such as B.J. Sullivan, Jan Van Dyke, John Gamble and Gerri Houllihan. Gia has taught Modern, Jazz, Lyrical and Poms at several studios in the DC Metro Area. She has performed with and choreographed for companies such as FloydProject and Full Circle Dance Company.
Nicole Tapiero
Nicole is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park where she majored in Journalism. Nicole started dancing when she was 3 and is trained in ballet, jazz, lyrical, modern, hip hop and tap. She has worked at Impact for the past 10 years as the front desk manager and helps facilitate and organize programming, marketing and other Impact and DanceWorx initiatives.
Michelle Workman
While Michelle’s career path led her down the corporate path, her first love has always been dance and she is thrilled to be coming back to support Impact Dance Studio.
Michelle trained at Point Park College in Pittsburgh, PA, earning her degree in Dance. She also has attended classes in New York City at The Broadway Dance Center. Michelle has danced with various dance companies, including The Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. She has also taught dance for various studio’s, including Patricia Kelbaugh Dance Studio.
Casey Thurston
Casey is an award-winning choreographer and dance educator with over 15 years of teaching experience. With an extensive professional performance background in both commercial and concert dance and a passion for developing the next generation of artists, she has taught and choreographed throughout the country, bringing dynamic artistry, technical excellence, and real-world industry experience into every class.
Jasmine Waters
Jasmine fell in love with dance at the age of 7, and has been dancing ever since. She studied urban dance abroad in the Netherlands and while overseas, taught classes, performed and travel all over Europe to compete in National, European and World championships. After 10 years, Jasmine made her way back to Maryland. Jasmine teaches hip hop, afro hip hop, jazz and street jazz.
Ellie Cohen
Ellie Cohen is a dancer, choreographer, and dance educator who grew up training at Impact Performing Arts and was a member of the competitive DanceWorx Dance Company. A graduate of Syracuse University, Ellie served as the Executive Director and Executive Producer of the university’s largest student-run audition-based dance organization. Throughout her time at SU, she choreographed year after year, mentored dancers, and produced large-scale performances, all while continuing to grow as both a dancer and educator. Ellie began dancing as soon as she could walk, and her background includes years of competitive dance, choreography, and teaching students of all ages and skill levels. She strives to create a positive, encouraging environment where every student feels challenged, supported, and motivated to reach their full potential. Ellie is excited to continue sharing her love of dance and inspiring the next generation of performers.
Rex Mills
Rex started dancing at age 3, often causing trouble as an overly social butterfly in ballet. She later joined DanceWorx at Impact, where she trained in ballet/pointe, hip hop, jazz, modern, contemporary, and lyrical. During that time, she also participated in Kamotion at DancerPalooza, and choreographed for some of her school’s performances. Rex was a pom at both Our Lady of Good Counsel and Richard Montgomery as well as president and founder of UMBC’s skate club, where she taught both skating and rollerdance. In college, she coached students for NFL and NBA dance team auditions, before returning to Impact as an instructor during her senior year.
Maya Killings
Maya is a rising senior at Quince Orchard High School and has been training in dance for seven years. She has been a member of DanceWorx for three years, where she has trained in various styles, including jazz, lyrical, contemporary, modern, and ballet. Additionally, Maya has over four years of volunteer experience working with young children, includingassisting with dance classes.
Ella Fielding
Ella is an upcoming senior at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal School. She has been dancing since she was 4 years old, and been part of DanceWorx since she was in 8th grade! She was trained on classical ballet for many years as well as jazz, modern, lyrical, contemporary, and more. Her favorite styles are ballet, lyrical, and contemporary, and she is so excited to start teaching this summer!
Patience Wigginton
Patience is currently a rising sophomore at Gaithersburg High School. She started dancing at the age of 2, taking classes in ballet and tap, and later expanding to lyrical, jazz, and hip-hop. Patience joined DanceWorx when she was 9, continuing to grow in her technique and learning new styles. Patience is now continuing to work towards her goal of becoming a working commercial dancer. This year will be her first year teaching, and she is super excited to work with you all.
Noa Roberts
TBA….
Royce Kullen
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