As creative director, Carol Baskinger brings her show business experience and the theatrical skills of a professional performer and choreographer to the students of Dance Designs. This accomplished actress, dancer, vocalist and choreographer has captured audiences throughout the United States, Canada and the Bahamas. Included among her extensive credits are "The Rodney Dangerfield Show", Hotel Tropicana, Las Vegas; "Metropolitan Life Insurance Convention", Hilton Head, South Carolina and Waldorf Astoria, New York City; "Dance Uptown Series", Broadway; No No Nanette at the Garden State Arts Center, Holmdel; and a two-year appearance on the CBS Soap Opera, "As the World Turns". Her starring roles include shows at the Rainbow Room, New York City; the Bahama Princess, Freeport; the Hyatt Regency and Peachtree Plaza Hotels, Atlanta; the Bonaventure Hotel, Montreal; the Harbour Castle Hilton, Toronto; and many others. Carol is recognized as an outstanding choreographer. Her dance creation of the national awardwinning show "Mandrake", performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., earned the Award of Excellence in Choreography, She haschoreographed countless professional shows, nightclub acts, television spots, pageants and industrials, and has been coaching professionals and aspiring performers for special appearances. Carol's choreography has sent her and her entertainment company to international acclaim in Bogota, Columbia. In addition to her professional experience, Carol's warm personality and extensive formal education make her especially effective as a dance instructor. She holds a B.A. Degree as well as Teacher's Certification in Dance and Theatre, and still maintains her studies to keep an open mind to innovative ideas and methods of instruction. Her eclectic education includes the techniques of Peter Gennaro, Edward Villella, John Medeiros, Bob Audy, Christine Neubert, Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis. She also maintains active membership in Actor's Equity, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Associated Dance Teachers of New Jersey. Through her dance expertise, her knowledge of the show business trade and her vision of what dance/ theatre training should be, Carol expertly guides the faculty, students and future of Dance Designs.

Rebecca Almeida, born in Sao Paulo, Brasil, began formal dance training at the age of 13. She first studied Latin dance and later discovered the fascinating world of Flamenco. She traveled through Southern Spain to learn more about the rich culture of the dance. She then began formal training in Flamenco and ballet in New York City at Ballet Hispanico. She also took up hip-hop at Broadway Dance Center. Later, she moved to the Boston area, where she attended Tufts University. There she choreographed and danced for the Spirit of Color Dance Troupe. She was also the co-founder of the Latin dance group La Salsa. After earning her Bachelors degree in Child Development, she returned to New Jersey and continued studying hip-hop, Latin, and belly dancing. Rebecca also gives Flamenco and Latin dance demonstrations at elementary and middle schools.

Sarah Beard received her early dance training under the instruction of Alan Howard, Paul Sutherland, Brunhilda Ruiz, Olga Dvorovenko, and Larissa Shevaldina. She has attended summer intensive programs at The American Academy of Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. As a member of the SUNY Purchase Dance Corps, Sarah studied with Ted Kivitt and Bettijane Sills and performed with The American Ballet Theatre Studio Company in original choreographies by Stanton Welsh and Robert Hill. Miss Beard, who has instructed students in the Pennsylvania area, recently relocated to New Jersey after receiving a M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology from Lehigh University. She is very pleased to have joined the Faculty at Dance Designs.

Gloria Boucher : Bio Coming Soon

Nancy Delano : Bio Coming Soon

Kathleen Fetter performed professionally in equity dinner theatres and summer stock in New Yorkwhile earning credits as dance captain and featured dancers in shows such as "42nd Street", "La Cage Aux Folles", "My One and Only", "Sweet Charity" and "West Side Story". With a Bachelor's degree in dance and a Masters in dance-movement therapy, she consults as a licensed clinical therapist and also teaches dance and acrobatics at Dance Designs.

Diego Funes has had more than 16 years of experience performing in musical theatre on Broadway, national tours and regionally, as well as on television and with dance companies. His credits include Hello Dolly, Cats, Riverdance, Anything Goes, Dancing with the Stars, and many more. More recently, he has been working as a choreographer for theatre and motion pictures. He has worked with well-renowned artists and choreographers throughout my extensive career, and is very passionate about sharing what I’ve learned with others. To that end, he is a strong teacher because he devotes himself to pushing each student to his/her personal best, demanding 100% of each student's emotion, technique and body, as was demanded of him as a student at the School of American Ballet.

Rhonda Holland is pursuing a modeling and theatre career in the NY/Philadelphia area but still finds time to instruct and choreograph for various dance studios. She is the assistant artistic director of Umoja Dance Co. in Montclair and recipient of a BFA in dance education from Temple University inPhiladelphia.

Jennifer M. Juliano has studied dance for 17 years with training in ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, hip hop and ballroom/Latin dance. She has been trained in both competitive and non-competitive dance forms. Jennifer has been proudly co-directing SYNERGY, Dance Designs’ elite performance company, since 2006.

Jackie Lewis has trained in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and ballroom/Latin dance. She continues her studies at Broadway Dance Center after receiving the Maria Torres Scholarship Award in 2002. She began competing in Latin dance at the age of 15 and teaching soon after. Since then, she has taught students ranging in age from 2 1/2 through adult. Jackie is certified to teach Classical Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, and Acro-Tumbling through Dance Educators of America. Jackie has been proudly co-directing SYNERGY, Dance Designs’ elite performance company, since 2006.

Nina Lorusso has been choreographing since the age of 15 and holds a BFA in dance at Montclair StateUniversity. She was awarded a scholarship three years in a row to train intensively at DukeUniversity's American Dance Festival in North Carolina. There she was selected to create new works for Sasha Pepelyae from Russia 02 and Dominique Boivin 03 from France, which premiered at the Reynolds Theater in NC. She has studied in Italia where she had the opportunity to perform works by Arthur Aviles in Montescudio and Casilioncello. She has also performed at City Center, NY, Limon Institute, NY, Jennifer Muller Studio, NY, Hunter College, NY and throughout the tri state area. She also performs consistently with DDM entertainment for almost 10 years throughout NJ, NY, and CT. She is trained in modern, ballet, hip hop, jazz, lyrical, tap and yoga. Besides sharing her love of dance with her students, she hopes that she offers them a learning experience that is fun and that they will never forget.

Marcus Maurice holds a B.F.A. from Ohio University and has been performing for several years now. Most people will remember his electric performance in THE JACKSONS-AN AMERICAN DREAM in which he played “MARLON”. HBO’s original series OZ is another credit in which he played Farai Gyrobile, possible kidney donor for Rebdo’s grandson. He is currently developing and producing his own television series GET WYLDE. Some of his featured theatrical credits include: THE OLD SETTLER, SPUNK AND PRIMETIME PROPHET, CITY CANYONS, & CARMEN JONES, TEN LITTLE INDIANS &EQUUS. Marcus’s philosophy is “Always Live the Dream”. Marcus has also choreographed for regional dinner/theaters and music videos.

Ready : Bio Coming Soon

Charisse Pagan is a graduate of the High School of Performing Arts in New York City. She has also studied with Alvin Ailey, Broadway Dance Center and the Ballet Hispanico School of Dance. At the age of 17 she was accepted to the Ballet Hispanico Company and toured the tri-state area. Charisse has also worked professionally as a choreographer and back up dancer/singer for several latin recording artists such as C&C Music Factory, Grupo Sancocho, and George Lamond. She appeared in many latin videos and has toured all over the world. Charisse is a member of DDM Entertainment Co. and continues her work as a choreographer/instructor for Dance Designs.

Pamela Travers began performing at the age of 12 as a soloist with the Westchester Children's Ballet Company. For several years, she appeared at Radio City Music Hall in the Corps de Ballet. Pamela received extensive training in ballet, pointe, and character dancing at the School of American Balletand at the Igor Youskevitch School of Ballet in NYC. She went on to teach at the Igor YouskevitchSchool and currently at Dance Designs. She is also an award-winning choreographer for Fair LawnHigh School's Varsity Dance Team.

WIZ is a self taught B-boy whose beginnings emerged from the actual “streets” of New York City. Wiz started performing almost a decade ago escalating his talents to a level of incredible skill and ability. Over the years Wiz toured the tri-state areas and excelled in the competition arena as well. Wiz is also a seasoned performer for DDM, our entertainment company. He is an accomplished choreographer and entertainer.