Artistic Director/Owner: Tiffany was born in Nutley, New Jersey where she began dancing at the age of 3 to later study all areas of dance including tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, contemporary, modern, lyrical, musical theatre, and hip hop. Tiffany had the honor in her Parsippany Hills High School years of being selected into the NJ Honors Choir, Morris County Honors Choir, and Female Women's Ensemble where they performed at Carnegie Hall. Tiffany has performed in over 18 musicals. She was the lead dancer and captain in her college performances: Kiss Me Kate, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast, all under the direction of Marielaine R. Mammon and Colleen McArdle. She later was the lead as Maureen in an off Broadway rendition of 'RENT' in 2009 under the direction of Stan Barber. She began competitive dancing at Dancers In Motion of Nutley under the direction of Taheerah Allen in addition to taking classes at Broadway Dance Center and Alvin Ailey. While majoring in Dance Arts, Tiffany was under the ballet direction of Tammy Klinck, Modern direction of Trayer Run Kowzun, and Jo Ann Jones. Tiffany was a NYC semi-finalist on SYTYCD, 2nd round pick for Legally Blonde on Broadway, 4th round pick for the Brooklynettes and Jets Flight Crew. Tiffany has been on various televised events/shows such as, ESPN's PBA U.S Open, X-Factor, Karaoke Battle USA, Good Day NY, American Idol, and Lifetime's Dance Moms. From 2008 to 2013 Tiffany taught at 3 different dance academies in New Jersey prior to opening Diamond Dance where she taught, directed, office managed, and created lifelong bonds with those directors/owners whom she is still in contact with today. In 2012 Tiffany, at the age of 23 decided to take a chance and open Diamond Dance. Diamond Dance will be entering their 13'th dance season and continues to teach competitive and recreational dance as well as prepare all Diamond Dance students for future professional and college careers while teaching them the essence of bonding, teamwork, and self-esteem. Under her direction, the team has won top scoring overall awards at regional and national competitions, most recently being awarded the 2019 ADCC Studio Excellence Award and the 2022 & 2023 High Point Overall Award scoring the highest Solo/Duo/Trio and highest scoring Group number. 2023 NATIONAL DANCE OFF CHAMPS!
"I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying"
Michael Jordan
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CPR/AED Certified
K-12 Certified: Dance & Gym USA
Continued Training: BDC, Alvin Ailey, Steps
Dance and Theater: County College of Morris
Exercise Science: William Paterson University
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Courtney started dancing at the age of three and competitively since the age of five. She studied jazz, musical theater, tap, hip-hop, gymnastics, lyrical, contemporary, irish, ballet, modern, and pointe. Throughout her dancing career she has won numerous awards including many title and special awards. She won nationals with her solo her freshman year of high school where she appeared in Dancer Magazine and was on the flyer for On Stage America's national competition. She also won nationals her sophomore year in high school with her duet partner. Courtney was a competitive cheerleader and has cheered since the age of five. Her high school cheerleading team won nationals her sophomore year of high school in Orlando, Florida. After college, Courtney went on to study business for the arts, dance, and special education. She later went on to get her masters in education. Courtney has danced in three professional dancing tours: The Spirit of Christmas, Jim Linehan, and as Tinkerbell at an amusement park. She appeared on So You Think You Can Dance with her duet partner who recently made his Broadway Debt last year. Courtney was a finalist for the Bring It On, National Tour and made the top 3 for Big Red. At the age of nine, she was part of the final nine for Annie on Broadway. Courtney has taught competitive dance for 12 years and loves it! She is a special education teacher and play director at Franklin Borough School.
Ryan grew up in South Jersey and started his dance training at the age of three, having trained in all styles. He spent many years as a student performing on countless competition stages before graduating in 2013. Ryan attended Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports, Arts, and Entertainment Management in 2017. Tap has always been Ryan’s true passion, and he feels so grateful to be an educator who shares his love of tap with younger generations. He always strives to challenge his students and watching them shine on stage brings him so much joy. Ryan’s choreography has won numerous overall placements as well as judges awards such as “Best Tap Choreography” (Beyond The Stars 2021) and “Critics Choice Nomination” (New York City Dance Alliance 2023). He continuously challenges himself to grow as a choreographer, pushing the limits of what he can offer to his students. Ryan continues to stay updated in the industry, including being selected for a closed professional tap workshop in NYC with tap icon Jared Grimes. He spent eight hours training at this workshop where he also received a full scholarship to DC Tap Fest from world-renowned tap icons and creators of the Syncopated Ladies tap group, Chloe and Maud Arnold. Ryan has been seen performing in the Philly Thanksgiving Day Parade as well as on stage as a featured tap dancer in Flair Dance Company’s production of “Cracked Nuts”. Ryan looks forward to continuously spreading awareness of and appreciation for tap as an art form, and continues to challenge himself to create new and innovative tap choreography.
Raleigh Ledford began her dance training at Quenedit Ballet School in San Antonio, Texas. Ms. Raleigh studied at the Rock School of Dance Education on scholarship for two years where she performed in the International Dance School Festival at the David H. Koch Theatre and as the Sugar Plum in Nutcracker 1776. She studied at the English National Ballet School on scholarship. Ms. Raleigh joined New Jersey Ballet in the fall of 2022, performing roles in NJB’s The Sleeping Beauty, Harrison Ball’s Purcell Suite, George Balanchine’s Rubies, NJB’s Nutcracker, and many more. This will be Ms. Raleigh’s third season with NJB. Ms. Raleigh started teaching at Diamond Dance a year ago, this will be her second year with us. Raleigh has been the ballet teacher at diamond dance for two seasons and hopes to continue to help our students grow and hopefully fall in love ballet as she did.
Miss Ava started at Diamond Dance in 2013. Before teaching at diamond dance miss Ava was a top competitive dancer on our team where she won many regional and national awards and titles. She has been in numerous first place overall routines/duos and won the Overall High Point highest scoring group at Elite Dance Challenge. Miss Ava has also always been involved in every team activity as well as every fundraiser/charity event that we have held.
She is and always has been a philanthropist at heart which continues to do in her sorority at ramapo college. Miss ava is a sophomore at ramapo and manages to keep school, her sorority, and her dancers all a top priority. Miss Ava has learned many styles of dance including; tap, ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hiphop, musical theater, modern, street jazz, and even some salsa! She is extremely versatile and is shinning on sharing her passion and knowledge for dance with her students.
Deanna Drago is a dancer, choreographer and artist located in the New York/ New Jersey area. She recieved her early training from Dancers in Motion in Nutley, NJ under the mentorship of Taheerah Allen. She also has trained with New Jersey School of Ballet under the artistic direction of Carolyn Clark. Ms. Drago went on to further pursue dance at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA, under the direction of Donna- Faye Burchfield. Graduating with honors and a Bachelors in Fine Arts in May 2016 from the University, Deanna has had the opportunity to dance works by Gary Jeter, Meredith Rainey, Tommie-Waheed Evans, Wayne St. David, Sidra Bell, etc. From 2016- 2017 Deanna performed at sea with Royal Caribbean Productions as a dancer/aerialist. From summer 2017 until present day, Deanna has been performing with Norwegian Creative Studios as a dancer/aerialist and most recently in 2022 performed on the NCL Gem. She has gotten the opportunity to dance and fly in Broadway choreographer, Patti Wilcox's "Elements" and was recently the Aerial Captain on her last contract aboard the Norwegian Spirit (2019-2020). Deanna has had the opportunity to dance and fly as a featured guest in Headliner and Holiday Shows at sea as well as train with acrobats, dancers, and talented performers from Cirque Du Soleil and all over the world. Besides dancing professionally, Deanna also has a passion and hunger for teaching and choreographing. She has taught summer intensives at North Jersey studios since 2012 until present day, as well as assisted Taheerah Allen, her mentor, at conventions around the tri-state area. Ms. Drago looks forward to learning, growing, and sharing, as an artist in the dance community for many more years to come! Miss Deanna also just got engaged this summer in Italy!
Alyssa grew up in Warwick, New York where she began dancing at the age of 7. Alyssa began competing her freshman year of high school and is trained in Jazz, Hip Hop, Musical Theater, Lyrical, Modern, Contemporary, Ballet, and Pointe. In her senior year, she became an assistant teacher for Jazz at her studio. After High School, Alyssa went on to study at Arizona State University, where she joined ASU’s Hip Hop Coalition Level 1 Competitive team her Sophomore year. The team performed at various campus events and each week was challenged with new choreographers coming in to teach in all different genres of Hip Hop. Alyssa graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication and Media Studies. After graduating college, Alyssa moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in TV/Film Production, where she worked on various scripted and reality television shows. Her credits include being the Executive Assistant to the Executive Producers on So You Think You Can Dance (Season 17) and Dancing with the Stars (Season 31), where she worked behind the scenes in the creative direction behind producing dance for television. Alyssa is currently an Administrative Assistant for ORIGINS, a plant-based skincare brand. Alyssa’s favorite styles are Jazz and Hip Hop and is so excited to begin her first year teaching at Diamond Dance!
Kathryn has been training amongst many styles of dance for 17 years. With various training background from different studios and styles, she has gained great knowledge within the industry. Kathryn is well trained in contemporary, ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, acro, and ballroom. Kathryn is a 3x national champion winner and was proudly announced undefeated for the 2021-2023 competition seasons, while obtaining a 2x nomination for the industry dance awards. Kathryn currently dances for Fairfield University’s dance ensemble team, while earning her dual degree in marketing and management with a minor in business analytics. She is an advanced dance teacher with five years of experience, specializing in choreography for both solo and group dances for competitive teams, infusing each piece with creativity and precision. Her expertise extends to teaching classes, private lessons, workshops, and leading summer intensives, where she instills a strong foundation of technique while fostering artistic expression and teamwork. With a dedication to excellence and a passion for guiding dancers to reach their full potential, Kathryn is committed to shaping the next generation of skilled and passionate performers.
Ashley Patterson was Diamond Dance's first student and went on to the University of Tampa where she double majored in Film & Media Arts and Communications.
Liza Castello
Muhlenberg College 2019 BA in Theatre
BA in Psychology
Lena film 2021
Claire Liskiewicz graduated from Towson University with a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography and a BS in Economics.
Allie Cimaglia is a double major at Sacred Heart University in musical theatre and media arts.
Alfonse Napolitano
Montclair State University
Magna Cum Laude
BA in Dance Education K-12 NJ Certification; Completed credits for BFA in Dance Performance
Emma Wilcox performed in the national tour of Legally Blonde in 2022-2023.
Ava DeAngelis
Ramapo College- Communications and current Diamond Dance teacher.