MEET TEAM LARKIN

KELLEY LARKIN & DANIELLE LARKIN

OWNERS, CHOREOGRAPHERS,DIRECTORS

KELLEY LARKIN

DANIELLE LARKIN

Nicole LaGuardia Danced and trained under the instruction of Studio L owners, Kelley and Danielle Larkin. Nicole then attended Arizona State University where she earned her B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies. She spent four years on the nationally ranked Sun Devil Dance Team, two of which she was captain. Some of Nicoles credits include dancing for the Superbowl XLII Halftime Show, Jonas Brothers, Wyclef Jean, she was featured as Sports Illustrated’s Cheerleader of the week, is a Knicks City Dancer alumni and danced for the TV Show Lip Sync Battle.

Nicole has now been the director of Studio L Dance Co.’s Hoboken Location since its inception 6 years ago!

NICOLE LAGUARDIA

DIRECTOR OF STUDIO L HOBOKEN

Jamie Gallo began dancing at a young age in Plymouth, Michigan and fell more in love with the art as she grew older. She trained in all disciplines in dance throughout her life and knew she wanted to become an instructor to inspire and share her knowledge with others. Jamie grew up dancing competitively and attended multiple workshops, competitions and conventions where she received numerous scholarships, awards and overall title achievements at the regional and national level. Jamie moved out to New Jersey immediately after high school to teach, learn and train from Studio L Owners Kelley and Danielle Larkin. Jamie graduated with a communications degree from Ramapo College and continued to study and train in New York City at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway. She has performed on Good Morning America’s “Amber Ready Alert” on ABC, she has appeared on Dance moms, danced in multiple Pistons pre shows and half time show performances, choreographed for the Bergen Stars New Jersey Jets and Pop Warner Bergen Allstars, as well as performed with the amazing Wyclef Jean and other artists. She has also acted on the show Extreme Forensics on Investigation Discovery and has participated in a couple of movies. On top of all this, Jamie has been teaching for many years now and has received multiple high score achievements for her dances and has received an abundance of choreography awards. She is the Director of our Bridgewater location and loves every minute of it. She has trained many talented dancers that have won numerous titles, overall achievements, and students that are now on Nationally ranked Collegiate Dance Teams. Jamies goal as a teacher is to not only give her students the best training possible, but to inspire and motivate her dancers to always take a risk and to step out of their comfort zones to push themselves to be the best dancers and people they can be.

JAMIE GALLO

DIRECTOR OF STUDIO L BRIDGEWATER

Jessica was born in Pembroke Pines, Florida. She started dancing at the age of 3 and turned professional with the Miami City Ballet at the age of 14. She has been trained in various forms of dance including; Lyrical, Broadway Jazz, & Latin Ballroom, with many South Florida teachers such as: Vivian Tobio, Vivian Saenz, Liana Navarro, Lila Martinez, Tammy Ferris, Janet & Jennifer Mathy. Jessica has performed in many Classical, Neo-Classical, & Contemporary Ballets. She has performed Principle, Soloist, & Corp de Ballet roles in the Nutcracker, The Firebird, La Fille Mal Gardee, La Vivandiere, Coppelia, Paquita, Don Quixote, Esmeralda, Diana , & Acteon under the direction of Magaly Suarez of “The Art of Classical Ballet” and Vladimir Issaev of “The Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida”. Her collaboration with Ms. Suarez resulted in the Gold Medal Award at “The American Ballet Competition/2004” and as a Finalist at “The New York International Ballet Competition/2005” under the direction of Ilona Copan & Eleanor D’Antuono. At 18, she became a soloist with Ballet Gamonet & Miami Contemporary Dance Company. Jessica then went on to be a part of the Top 20 on ” So You Think You Can Dance.” After touring with SYTYCD, Jessica toured with Shakira along with various other artist. Since then Jessica has spent the last 10 years training / choreographing for young dancers to pursue their dreams of becoming professional dancers. She has won multiple prestigious awards for her choreography and continues to do so today.

JESSICA FERNANDEZ LOSCALZO

Growing up as a Larkin Dancer, Tyler has been apart of our program for nineteen years. From being a competitive dancer to instructor, he has learned so much about what it takes to build a strong competitive team. He’s done some professional television work like America’s Got Talent, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and more! Also, becoming involved in a passion for the Universal Dance Association (UDA) on the collegiate and high school level. He’s done choreography for Florida State University, University of Alabama, Marist College & Temple University! Being the head coach of our All-Star program alongside owner Kelley Larkin, Tyler wishes to continue his professional career in choreography and performance while training the youth of today!

TYLER GLOVIN

Jessica West Regan (RAD, RTS) began her dance education at age 3 in Toronto under the instruction of Linda Collins. She earned her Honors B.F.A. in Musical Theater from The New School University in NYC, diploma in Dance and Musical Theater from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC, and Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies from the Royal Academy of Dance in London, with additional training at the National Ballet of Canada.

She has been trained in multidisciplinary ballet teaching curriculums including RAD, CPYB and ABT, and continues her professional development annually. In addition to her 15 years of competitive dance and ballet examinations, her NYC performance career includes 10 years of starring in and dance captaining the off Broadway show, The Awesome 80s Prom, being featured in DANCE SPIRIT magazine, and numerous dance, choreography, acting, and singing jobs in theater, TV and film in NYC and across North America.

JESSICA WEST REGAN

Trained under the instruction of Kelley and Danielle Larkin, Natalie received her dance education at Studio L, where she grew up as a competitive dancer. There she was exposed to a variety of dance styles and technical training including lyrical, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, tap, contortion, and much more. Throughout the years, Natalie has attended many dance conventions and master classes, which has given her the ability to learn from top choreographers in the industry. In addition to competitive dance, Natalie has performed at the Harlem Globe Trotters Half Time Show and has appeared in Wyclef Jean’s “Kiss the Sky” music video. After saying goodbye to the competitive dance scene, Natalie continues to keep her passion for dance strong by taking classes at Broadway Dance Center and attending professional dance conventions. It was the consistent determination and motivation she received by Team Larkin that shaped her into the dancer and teacher she is now. Taking those skills with her, Natalie hopes to implement the same teaching techniques to help her students push themselves beyond their limits.

NATALIE SOBIESKI

Jessica has been dancing since the age of three and is professionally trained in tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, hip-hop and musical theater. Jessica trained at Center Stage Dance and Theater School and studied under the guidance of renowned teachers and choreographers. Jessica has also received professional training in voice. On the regional and national competition circuit, Jessica has been on the receiving end of numerous awards for her group performances with C.A.T.S., and more notably for her solo performances in both tap and jazz. For the past five years she has earned the opportunity to dance at Radio City Music Hall at the prestigious Rockettes Invitational Week. Now attending Montclair State University with a major in Biology, Jessica has continued her training as an executive board member of the Montclair State Dance Team earning a National Title in Division III Team Performance. Jessica plays double bass and the piano and in what little free time she has, she is a competitive sailor.

JESSICA CASTIGLIONE

Patrick Daniel is a professional dancer, teacher, and choreographer living in Brooklyn, New York. While attending high school he had extensive training with Orlando Ballet, ABT Austin, The Rock School, and Joffrey Ballet. Upon completion of high school he attended the University Of The Arts in Philadelphia on full scholarship for 2 years. After his second year in college Patrick began touring with Bad Boys of Ballet for 5 years across Europe and performing at various industrials. Patrick has also danced with Stacey Tookey’s Still Motion Dance Company, shot a music video for Logo TV and recently shot a commercial for the brand OPPO. Now residing in New York he teaches and choreographs for professional and preprofessional students globally and signed as a dancer with MSA Agency.

PATRICK DANIEL

Mike Burke has been teaching gymnastics and Acro for over 30 years including being a clinician for State and Regional Clinics in Minnesota and many well known clubs. For years he worked with the Men's & Women's Junior Olympic program and was head of administration for one of the largest gymnastics facilities in the U.S. Michael has judged NGJA for the Men's Artistic program at the Junior Olympic, Collegiate, Regional, and National levels.

He started working with dancers from Minnesota in 2006 at many various dance studios. Many of his former dancers and gymnasts have moved on to performing in Cirque shows and even on broadway.

Mike has also judged for Dance Competitions in Minnesota & Wisconsin in the past years including teaching at dance workshops in the Midwest areas specializing in tricks, balance, creative combos and acro skills for dancers routines. Mike graduated from University of MN with a BFA and spent much of his life specializing in tumbling & performing on numerous Minnesota stages in countless musicals & shows.

MIKE BURKE

Michayla Dunne grew up on the Jersey Shore and began her ballet training at The Academy of Dance Arts in Red Bank, NJ, under the direction of Jennifer James Church. There, she achieved the grades of Distinction in the Royal Academy of Dance examinations in Grades 4 through Solo Seal. In 2009, she continued her training at The American Repertory Ballet, in Princeton, NJ, with Douglas Martin. During her training, Miss Dunne attended Summer Intensives at The Rock School for Dance Education, The Harid Conservatory, where she was one of 40 students worldwide accepted to attend, and two consecutive summers at The Boston Ballet where she was invited to perform in the prestigious “The Next Generation”. In 2010, Miss Dunne was accepted into the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City to be apart of their second company where she was then asked to be a full-time company member in 2011. From there, Miss Dunne studied dance Choreography and Education at High Point University, as well as being apart of High Point University's Dance Performance Company. Some of Miss Dunne’s favorite performance credits include; The Nutcracker as Snow Queen and Lead Marzipan, Cinderella as Cinderella, La Bayadere, Sleeping Beauty, and Don Quixote. Since retiring from dancing herself, Miss Dunne has shared her love and passion for dance with over 500 students of all ages. Miss Dunne is a certified teacher of The Royal Academy of Dance as well as a certified Gaynor Minden pointe shoe fitter. Miss Dunne was most recently a Ballet Mistress at The Piedmont School of Music and Dance in Charlotte, NC, where she created an accredited pre-professional ballet curriculum as well as choreographed full length ballets such as The Nutcracker, Le Corsaire, and Cinderella. Miss Dunne is also a the founder of “Ballet is for Everyone” which is a non profit organization that teaches the art of ballet and love of creative movement to underprivileged children.

MICHAYLA PARKER

Helen McCafferty began her training at the Dancers Workshop in Wall, New Jersey at the age of two. She continued her studies at her high school and also participated in various extracurricular activities outside of the studio that took her training even further. She was apart of the Lakewood Blueclaws Dance Team, Junior Rutgers Knights Dance Team, Red Bank Catholic Dance Program, and The Seacoast Dancers. Helen McCafferty just recently graduated Montclair State University with a bachelor’s in the arts with a minor in child advocacy. At Montclair State she was apart of the Montclair State Dance Team where she won the NDA Collegiate National Championship in 2019, and was awarded with All American Dancer. Today, Helen is pursuing her dream of being a professional dancer and auditioning for various professional dance teams across the nation! She is eager to continue her love of dance through teaching, and cannot wait to inspire her dancers to reach for the stars!

HELEN MCCAFFERTY

Lexi Johnson grew up as a competitive dancer in Minnesota and became a teachers assistant by age 11. Right after graduating high school she moved to NYC and trained in Broadway Dance Centers professional semester program during the fall of 2015. Directly after she started auditioning in the city and kept up her training by taking classes at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway. Since then she has been blessed with a couple contracts during the Christmas seasons. Her favorite experience was performing for Disney at Saks 5th avenue Christmas light show in 2017.

Lexi Johnson started teaching at Studio L in the fall of 2018. Her favorite style to teach is Contemporary. Now after teaching for a couple years, she can’t imagine not sharing her love and passion for dance with our Studio L Dancers.

LEXI JOHNSON

ROCKY SMITH

Rocky's been dancing since the age of three. He comes from a family who all share the love of dance. Rocky has had extensive training in all styles of dance including ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary and hip hop. After studying with the School of American Ballet in New York, Rocky moved to New Jersey and began training From the age of 12, he's been instructed primarily by Kelley and Danielle Larkin. After graduating Rocky began his journey with Rasta Thomas's Bad Boys of Dance in which he toured Europe for the 2 years. Rocky’s work also includes performing in the off broadway hit “Illuminate; Artist of light, appearing on the Netflix series “The Get Down” and industrials for Google, Microsoft and Samsung.

Dani Loewen began dancing at the age of 3. She grew up in NJ, training primarily at the Dance Academy of North Jersey. Here she studied under Mark Burrell, Tom Richardson, Jaclyn Walsh, Amber Perkins, Jason Luks and Joelle Cosentino. Dani’s passion led her to The University of the Arts under the Direction of Donna Faye Burchfield. While at UArts Dani performed works by Katie Swords Thurman, Jesse Zaritt, Sidra Bell, Roni Koresh, Wayne St. David, Teddy Tedholm and Netta Yerushalmy. During her last semester she was an apprentice/intern for Project Moshen Dance Company. During her final semester she interned for Project Moshen Dance Company and joined At the Brink Dance Projects. She performed in Fertile Ground and DUMBO Dance Festival 2018 with At the Brink Dance Projects. Dani was the assistant choreographer for DanceXplosion National Finals 2018 in Lake George, NY and Wildwood, NJ. She has performed in APAP 2019 and New Wave 2019 with JKing/Joyce King Dance Company. After a year of performing with 2 contemporary dance companies she has changed her focus to commercial dance and teaching. Dani is currently auditioning for regional theatres, Broadway, Off-Broadway and National Tours. Dani joined the Studio L family in 2019 as a teacher in the recreational dance program along with directing and choreographing for the Pre-Competition team. She is excited to see what the future holds.

DANI LOEWEN

Lori Carlucci is an accomplished performer, choreographer, and dance educator. Lori trained is trained in Ballet, Jazz, Baton Twirling, Hip-Hop, Lyrical, Pom-Pon/Dance, Tap, and Modern dance. Lori attended New Jersey School of Ballet for several years along with other studios in New Jersey. She competed across the United States and also performed in the Soviet Union and Denmark. In addition to being a member and former Captain of a World-Champion Baton and Dance Company, she later returned to teach and choreograph them. Lori was Captain and Choreographer of the University of Maryland Dance Team and has been the Director of 2 successful dance studio for many years and has been teaching and choreographing for competition teams throughout.

As a professional, Lori has taught Jazz, Hip-Hop, Baton Twirling, Pom Pon, Pre-Ballet/Tap, Ballet, Tap, and Lyrical to dancers from ages 3-adult. Her students have won National and World Championships. She was also a model/dancer for Sashay Entertainment, performing in industrials sponsored by MCI, Tower Records, Bubbles Hair Salons, and County Seat Clothing Company in the DC Metro Area. In addition, she served as Head Instructor/Choreographer for the Eastern Dance Association, instructing technical workshops and dance camps along the East Coast. In addition to her dance experience, she was also a qualified judge with the Mid-Atlantic Pom and Dance Association in the DC Metro area as well as a judge for dance competitions in the tri-state area.

Lori also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Maryland along with a Minor in Dance. She currently works in the Flemington Raritan School District and has also completed a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration, as well. Miss Lori looks forward to continuing to challenge each student to strive to improve in all aspects of their dance ability, and to be lifelong learners. She is excited to be a part of Studio L and to share her love of dance and fitness with them!

LORI CARLUCCI

STEVE HIGGINS

Steve Higgins is a USAG certified instructor and has been coaching since 2013.

Steve has been tumbling since he was a toddler and competed in Artistic Gymnastics for most of his life until 2013. After this, Steve continued to advance his tumbling skills in other areas. For two years, he competed in competitive cheerleading where he excelled in perfecting difficult skills on a foam floor.

As if that wasn’t enough, he found the world of competitive dance at Studio L where he was a company dancer for 2-3 years. Found a home at Studio L, the one student changed gears to become one of the instructors at the Studio L Acro Lab and head coach of pre-team and Levels 1 through 5

When Steve is not at Studio L, he is a stagehand, working for the Night Crew at Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center

Vanya Spirova has over 10 years of experience in professional acrobatics and gymnastics. She is an Acrobatic Gymnastics Youths World Champion. Vanya has a Bachelor degree from National Sports Academy Bulgaria. Her education and work experience have shaped her valuable skills in persistence, diligence, impeccable focus, and attention to detail. She also has undergone training in interpersonal skills, team building, and team work. Vanya achieves her goals with a steady mind and hard work. She has a friendly and open demeanor. Vanya’s most valuable asset is her positive outlook on life.

VANYA SPIROVA

Danny Flips is a USAG Certified Gymnastics Coach and is the Head Coach of our Competitive Trampoline & Tumbling Team. Danny has trained in gymnastics since the age of three and competed until he was 15 years of age. After retiring from the competitive world of gymnastics, Danny continued training in tumbling in various arenas; some of which include:

2005-2008 NBA Seasons New Jersey Nets- Captain & Co-Choreographer
2007-2015 NBA Seasons NBA Fan Patrol Team Member & Captain
2008-2011 NBA Season New York Knicks- Acroback Tumbler
2012-2013 NBA Season Brooklyn Nets- Team HYPE Member
2013-2015 NBA Seasons Air Elite Dunk Team Member/Tumbler
2017 WWE Stunt Coordinator for WrestleMania
2017 SNL Performance as seen here: https://youtu.be/eIdXxDARU_
Performed at 9 NBA All STAR Games

Of all his accomplishments, his most proud is performing at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games as a Team Member of the NBA Fan Patrol. During the Olympics Games, Danny performed at 52 Men’s and Women’s basketball games over a 3-week period representing the United States.

When Danny is not coaching at Studio L, he is a full time stage hand at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center and has been there since 2010.

DANNY FLIPS

Katie Antonucci competitively danced her entire childhood in Monmouth county where she grew up. She always wanted to teach and choreograph, so she l continued her education at Towson University, concentrating in both dance and theatre. Upon graduation, She taught full time at varies studios and choreographed for several award winning dance companies. During that time, she also took on numerous dance gigs performing and choreographing for local talent, was featured on the Style Network, guest judging at varies established competitions, and even filmed a pilot reality dance show following her and her selected students in the dance world. Katie's most recent students have gone on to star in Disneys, “Stuck in the middle”, "Dog with a Blog", Broadway's "Priscilla Queen of the Desert", "Matilda", MTVs “Making the band” and “NYC Rockettes" just to name a few. She has been rewarded by professional credits on screen and in Broadway playbills from her students for the training they received by her. She is highly skilled in conditioning dancers into professionals and helping students reach abilities far past their expectations. She continues her training by attending and teaching professional classes, workshops and intensives to keep her classes and students current. Today, Katie is not only super excited to be teaching at Studio L, but for her daughters, Kylah and Kinzley, to be studying dance under such amazing direction!