Instructors
Interested in joining our Lucky Star Staff?
Email a resume, cover letter, and portfolio to brianna@luckystar.dance

Owner â‘ Lead Instructor â‘ Lead Choreographer
Miss Bri
Bri Clemente began dancing at three years old at Health Quest, which soon developed into Q-Dynamics Dance Company in Flemington, New Jersey. Ages three to eighteen- Bri studied hip hop, ballet, tap, lyrical, contemporary, jazz, and modern. At twelve years old, Bri shifted from being a student in the classroom to a teacher by covering hip hop classes, soon leading her to discover she not only had a passion for dancing but teaching as well. Shortly after, she continued her dance journey at FrameWorks Dance Studio to grow and develop as a choreographer and instructor. At the age of thirteen, Bri began dancing competitively at numerous regional and national competitions, and judge’s awards proved her asset was her intense emotional connection. As a result of her passionate performances, Bri received an invitation to be a part of Cathy Roe’s Heart and Soul Dance Company along with the opportunity to perform in Starbound National Talent Competition’s opening number at their Atlantic City Nationals, with the top ten competitive/elite soloists. In her freshman year of high school, she was accepted onto North Hunterdon High School’s Varsity Dance Team and continued with them until her graduation in June 2018, where she ended her time as the captain. During her sophomore year of college at The Pennsylvania State University, Bri joined Hot Styles Dance Company and worked closely with their State College and Bellefonte competition teams. During her junior year, she choreographed seven dances and became the founder of their mini-aged competition company. During her senior year she choreographed 23 routines that won at their regional and national competitions. While taking on these positions, she continued her dance education on CLI studios with world-renowned instructors. Some of the instructors include- Shannon Mather, Teddy Forance, Molly Long, Delaney Glazer, Lex Ishimoto, Misha Gabriel, Blake McGrath, Kathryn McCormick, Mark Meismer, and more! Now, Bri is the founder and owner of Lucky Star Dance Company. She has dreamed of starting her dance studio since she was ten years old and is so excited that the day has arrived. Bri believes this is only the beginning of her companies future, as well as her choreography career. She cannot wait to share her love for dance the way her previous instructors did with her. She sends thanks to all the teachers, mentors, colleagues, students, friends, and family who helped get her to where she is today.

Instructor
Mrs. Victoria
Victoria was born in New York, but spent a large part of her childhood playing in the rural landscapes of central Pennsylvania, where she resides now. Having a mother who was also ballet dancer, she was exposed to dance at an early age. Victoria would put on costumes and dance along with VHS tapes of CATS The Musical, and Gelsey Kirkland in ‘The Nutcracker.’
Victoria was a freelance artist and guest artist for multiple productions around New York City and Long Island. She has experience performing and teaching classical repertoire from major ballets such as; The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, La Bayadère, Giselle and more. She also performed with a contemporary ballet company for several years before moving to Pennsylvania in 2021.
But her path in dance was not a linear one. While she always studied ballet in the background, she was also drawn to activities like gymnastics, dirt bikes, skydiving and climbing precarious objects. It wasn’t until after Victoria graduated with her psychology degree that she found herself seriously considering a career in dance.
She traded her perilous pastimes for the vigor of the Vaganova method, a ballet technique and training system that fuses elements of traditional French style from the romantic era with the athleticism and virtuosity of Italian technique. It is designed to involve the whole body in every movement, with equal attention paid to the upper body, legs and feet. This approach increases consciousness of the body, creating a harmony and fluidity of movement and greater expressive range.
Victoria received a majority of her training from former Prima Ballerina, Ms. Irina Lebedeva, as well as other former principal dancers from the Mariinsky Ballet and Bolshoi Ballet. In 2012, Victoria traveled to Saint Petersburg, Russia to visit the Vaganova Academy of Classical Ballet to observe the students and expand her knowledge of this beautiful method. Furthermore, she took advantage of the most prestigious schools and teachers that NYC had to offer, including; Gelsey Kirkland, Katherine Healy, Leslie Browne, Lupe Serrano, and collegiate programs at American Ballet Theatre.
Revisiting serious training as an adult made Victoria a very analytical dancer and a pragmatic teacher. In 2015 she began teaching students of all ages and skill levels in Long Island, New York. She emphasized technique and small artistic details to help her students become more empowered performers.
Her practical and approachable teaching style also gained popularity on her YouTube channel that is dedicated to breaking down ballet technique for adult beginners. She currently has 12.5K subscribers from all around the globe, all of whom insist that “no one else explains things as well as she does!”

After relocating to Pennsylvania, Victoria continued to teach online, but she was missing the energy of being in the studio with other dancers. While researching studios, she discovered Lucky Star Dance Company! She quickly reached out to Miss Bri and is now thrilled to be a part of this school. Victoria has a passion for making ballet accessible to everyone. She hopes to inspire young dancers with her teaching, and aspires to keep the community engaged by starting up a professional performing company as well.

Instructor
Miss Robyne
Miss Robyne was a competitive dancer at All That Jazz dance company for 15 years where she studied acro, baton, ballet, hip hop, jazz, and tap. Robyne has several regional and national titles in dance and twirling. Her most notable achievement was Miss petite acrobat of Western Pennsylvania. With over 10 years of teaching experience, she has taught gymnastics, cheer, and dance. Robyne is excited to bring her love of dance and tumbling to Lucky Star!

Instructor
Mrs. Eleanor
Eleanor dance at 3 years old, in Blue Springs Missouri. She learned a combination of Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, and Ballet, with a little Tumbling and Rhythmic Gymnastics mixed in. At the age of 11 Eleanor received a scholarship to train at the Kansas City Ballet School, and she performed with the professional company in the Nutcracker, and with the Kansas City Youth Ballet, under the direction of Alecia Good, in several performances. During this time, Eleanor attended summer intensives at Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Eleanor was accepted into summer intensives with School of American Ballet in New York City as well. Eleanor eventually received a scholarship to train full time at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet when she was 14. Eleanor rained here under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary for two years, where she continued her ballet education and additionally studied modern dance, jazz, and lyrical dancing. At 16, Eleanor ended up tearing my ACL, and she realized that my career as a professional dancer wasn’t plausible. However, Eleanor started training at the Ribbon Mill Ballet School, and received instructor training from Leslie Hench. During her two years here, Eleanor taught Creative Movement, Mommy and Me, Levels 1, 2, and 3 of classical ballet, as well as beginner and intermediate Modern and Lyrical, Beginner Pointe, and Variations. Additionally, she taught an intensive stretching and technique class using therabands, yoga blocks, and other apparatus. Eleanor attended Penn State University for college where she danced with the Volé Dance Group for all four years and performed in several works. Eleanor also choreographed the first and seconds acts of their Nutcracker performance. She has 4 years of gyrotonic and pilates training and hope to get her certification soon! She is CPR certified and a BLS provider as well. Eleanor recently moved back into State College after graduating, getting married, and having a baby of my own. Dance has always been her absolute passion, and she is so excited to work with the next generation of dancers at Lucky Star.

Instructor
Miss Madison
Madison Palmer is thrilled to join the Lucky Star family! Growing up in Kansas, she participated in a robust dance and theatre community. She was trained and has taught classes at Midwest Dance Mechanix in Wichita, Kansas. A competitive dancer from the age of 7, Break the Floor has been a second home to her and has given her many opportunities to hone her craft while working with the best choreographers and teachers in the industry. She has competed with choreography from Anthony Morigerato, Danny Lawn, Ricky Mallouff, Brian Marcum, Chad Vaught, among others. She also specializes in cleaning competitive dances. A highlight for her has been performing in many Music Theatre Wichita productions including The MTW Holiday Special (Regional Emmy Nominated), and last summer she performed in the ensemble of 42nd street. She also received a Kristi Award while filming the Documentary 1,300 Miles to Broadway With Kristin Chenoweth and Kenny Ortega. She is a Musical Theatre BFA major at Penn State and is thrilled to find a home to share her love of all things dance.

Instructor
Miss Aleena
Aleena is from the Bronx, NY and started dancing at the age of 3. She trained in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, and lyrical at Performers Edge Dance Academy where she danced competitively for 13 years. Aleena also attended a performing arts high school for dance located in Manhattan, New York. Growing up she experienced numerous professional opportunities such as dancing for the NBA team Brooklyn Nets for 7 years, performing alongside Justin Bieber during his Purpose Tour, and got casted for various commercials. Aleena is currently a Junior at Penn State University majoring in Special Education. At Penn State Aleena is a part of Orchesis Dance Company and has now taken on the role as the Treasurer. As a member of the team, Aleena has choreographed different dances focusing on contemporary and jazz, which are two of her favorite styles. Dance has always been her passion since she was a little girl, and she is so excited to grow that passion and pass it on to the dancers at Lucky Star!

Instructor â‘ Choreographer
Miss Kenzie
Mackenzie Kay Leitzell started her dance journey in State College, PA at the age of 3. She trained at local studios, where she danced competitively. She fell in love with Hip Hop when she was selected to attend the Westsiders Camp created by Hannah Gosset in Youngstown, OH. At The Westsiders Camp, Kenzie was first introduced to the history of Hip Hop and it’s foundations as well as funk styles like Waving, Popping, Locking and Gliding. In 2019 she had the opportunity to begin touring with Artists Simply Human Dance Convention as a Company Member. Under this program, she received mentorship and training from ASH faculty in all styles of dance. When Kenzie was 15 she received the opportunity to assist choreographer, and her idol, Hannah Gosset. Under Hannah’s mentorship, Kenzie was able to watch and learn how a kind and knowledgeable teacher operates. She also got to see effective ways to choreograph, connect with students, and ensure that her classroom was a safe and encouraging place. Kenzie received training from “In My Feelings”, a program dedicated to performance and emotion. She also trained with “The Westsiders Virtual Camp” where she had the opportunity to learn from masters like Speks, Randi “Rascal” Fritas, Jesse Sykes, and Tracey Wong. Kenzie is always looking to expand her knowledge of dance and recently has been training in styles like House and Waacking, which are her favorites, in hopes of passing that knowledge to her students!

Instructor â‘ Choreographer
Miss Anna
Coming soon!

Instructor
Miss Aurora
Aurora White started dance at the age of thirteen, taking tap originally to get more roles in musical theatre. Quickly dance became her main focus. With guidance she began training up to 4 hours a day at home. At 15 she was taking as many dance classes possible in all genres including ballet, tap, modern, contemporary, hip hop and acro dance. Many teachers saw her dedication and asked her to compete the following season. Aurora advances at storytelling and was often recognized for emotional commitment in her dances. Behind the scenes she was either choreograhing her own solos, assisting on larger group dances, or filling in for teaching classes.Aurora has been through many hardships and dance has always been a way for her to express herself. The studio has always been like a second home to her and she is so excited to join a new family at Lucky Star.

Instructor â‘ Choreographer
Miss Lucy
Also Known as Larsy, and Lucy, Lucinda started their dance journey in Spring Mills, PA at the age of six. Starting their training in Jazz classes, and then quickly expanding to Ballet, Tap, and Lyrical. At the age of 9 they joined a pre-professional Tap company, allowing them to train and perform all across the northeast. At the age of 14, Lucy started competing for the Hot Styles Dance Company competition team in Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip Hop, and Modern. When they were 17, Lucy got a chance to train at the famous Millennium and TMILLY studios in Los Angeles California. They competed as a part of Lucky Star's Elite competitive team during the 2023 competitive year, earning multiple awards and scholarships - Including getting the Highest Score of the Weekend at TrueTalent in Harrisburg. They also hold the title of Regional Miss Starbound in Pittsburgh PA, and The Title of National Miss Starbound of Atlantic City with their Self-Choreographed Tap solo "Strange". Lucy now eagerly anticipates the next chapter in their dance career, as they embark on a journey of teaching and continued education at LSDC.

Instructor
Miss Julia
Miss Julia is from Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. She has been dancing since she was three years old. She is currently a senior at Bellefonte Area High School. She has been a competitive dancer for six years now, and is currently a part of Lucky Star's Spark Program - competing as an Elite dancer across the country. Miss Julia's favorite style of dance is Ballet and loves sharing her love for Ballet with her students.
Guest Choreographers + Instructors

Derek Mitchell

Hannah Gossett

Trevor Sones

Lauren Hummel