Meet Our Teachers
Miss Tracy
Studio Owner/Director, Dance Teacher
Miss Tracy has studied dance for over 20 years. She was born and raised dancing in the Pittsburgh area. She continued her love for dance by attending Point Park University majoring in Dance.
She carried out her love and passion for dance through teaching and choreographing through post-graduation. Miss Tracy has experience teaching all levels of dance from those dancing for the first time to experienced competition teams. Miss Tracy has been honored to win multiple awards including best choreography, most entertaining, and studio excellence.
In 2011, Miss Tracy’s dream came true by opening her own studio, Premier Dance Academy. She prides herself on making sure her dancers have fun and have one common goal: DANCE!
In the last several years, she has taught and mentored over 500 students by aiding in the development of their dance skills and providing her students with emotional support.
Miss Ellen
Assistant Director
Miss Ellen began dancing at age 3 in her hometown of Meadville, PA. Growing up she took classes is ballet, tap, modern, and pointe. Miss Ellen continued her love for dance while attending Westminster College. During her time at Westminster, she actively participated and choreographed for Dance Theatre, a student run-dance program and showcase. Miss Ellen also comes to Premier Dance Academy with teaching experience in ballet and jazz from Lakeside Dance in Conneaut, PA. She is extremely excited to join the Premier Dance Academy family!
Miss Maddie
Artistic Director, Dance Teacher
Miss Maddie grew up dancing in Morgantown, West Virginia at Pizazz Dance Academy. She attended numerous summer intensives, including American Ballet Theatre, Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet, Broadway Dance Center, and Ballet Magnificat. She went on to study dance at West Virginia University and later performed professionally as a cast member at Walt Disney World and as a company artist with Confluence Ballet.
Maddie is an ABT® Certified Teacher and has completed training in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She joined the Premier family in 2021 after moving to Pittsburgh to work as a teaching artist at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School. Maddie loves sharing her passion for dance with her students and is committed to creating a positive, encouraging, and inspiring learning environment for dancers of all ages.
Miss Abby
Dance Teacher
Miss Abby grew up in Washington, PA where she began dancing at the age of 9. Abby became diverse in several dance genres specializing in Hip-Hop, Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Lyrical, Contemporary, Modern, and Acro. In 2016, she graduated from Synergy Performance Arts Academy and Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter High School, focused in dance!
She went on to pursue her dance career at Slippery Rock University. While at Slippery Rock, she ran a Hip-Hop dance team, Jam Rock, and rehearsals. In 2020, post graduation, she came back to the Pittsburgh area to continue her dance career in teaching at Synergy. She is very excited to expand her teaching career at Premier Dance Academy!
Miss Lauren
Dance Teacher
Miss Lauren has been dancing since the age of 4 and has loved being a part of several dance groups over the years. Growing up in her hometown of Greenville, PA, she studied ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, and hip hop. She went on to serve as captain of the Westminster College Danceline and Dance Theatre president. She has been a choreographer and dancer in several musical theatre and opera productions during her undergraduate and graduate studies in Music Performance, recently graduating with a Masters in Music from Youngstown State University. She joined the Premier Dance Academy family in the winter of 2021, and is so excited to continue sharing her love of dance!
Miss Brianna
Dance Teacher
Miss Brianna grew up in Wexford, PA where she started dancing at the age of three. She began her training locally and studied several summers at Point Park University. She has studied ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, hip-hop, and contemporary. She was a member of the competition team at Michele’s Dance Center and Dance Mechanics where she had won many awards, titles, and scholarships throughout the
years. She was on the North Allegheny Dance team all four years of high school where she served as a Co-Captain her senior year. Her passion of dance continued throughout college at Duquesne University where she served as the social media officer, National’s Co-Chair and Fundraising Officer; furthermore, was apart of the winning team that received a National Division 1 Championship Award in Team Performance. During her time at Duquesne, she helped choregraphed their national’s routines, halftime shows, and showcase performances. Miss Brianna studied Middle Level Education with a concentration in Mathematics. She recently graduated this Spring of 2023. During the day, she is a teacher at a local school district. She joined Premier Dance Academy to continue her passion of dance to share the dedication and love of this art to the next generation. She is super excited for the season to start!
Miss Chelsie
Dance Teacher
Bio coming soon!
Miss Hope
Dance Teacher
Miss Hope has been dancing for over 20 years, including 8 years of competitive dance, and she's trained in ballet, jazz, tap, acro, contemporary, lyrical, and hip-hop. During college, Miss Hope choreographed for Ohio University’s club dance team OU Vibrations, and served on its executive board, where she helped lead and inspire fellow dancers. Miss Hope has experience teaching dance to children ages 2-14 and has worked with kids as a preschool teacher, youth cheerleading coach, and babysitter. She's so excited to share my passion for dance and create an environment where every student can shine and most importantly have fun!
Miss Caroline
Dance Teacher
Caroline has been dancing for over 20 years, beginning her journey in both recreational and competitive dance at local studios throughout the Jacksonville, Florida area. Her training includes prestigious intensives with the Florida Ballet School and the Orlando Ballet School, as well as workshops with renowned Broadway choreographers like James Kinney.
After high school, Caroline earned her bachelor’s degree in Clinical Psychology with a minor in Dance from the University of Central Florida. During her time there, she choreographed and assisted in the production of various university arts festivals, while also teaching and choreographing at local studios in the Orlando area. Through her work, she aimed to inspire young dancers and demonstrate the many ways dance can be a meaningful part of their lives.
Caroline was later accepted into the Master of Social Work program at the University of Pittsburgh. She and her fiancé relocated to Pittsburgh, where they now live with their beagle mix, Lucy. Caroline is excited to continue sharing her passion for dance as a teacher at Premier Dance Academy.
Miss Penny
Hampton Dance Program Teacher
Miss Penny is a 2025 graduate of Seton Hill University, where she earned her Bachelor's in Musical Theatre. Though she grew up dancing in the Pittsburgh area, she later discovered her passion for singing, acting, and theatre. Now she pursues all aspects of the performing arts. Some of her favorite performances have been in “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Pippin,” “Cats” and “The Secret Garden.” She has choreographed for several schools and local theaters, most recently “Tarzan the musical” for the Geyer PAC. She has extensive training in ballet, jazz, tap, musical theatre, and commercial style dance. In addition, she is a trained singer and musician who loves to play the saxophone. Miss Penny is thrilled to have joined the Premier Team and is excited to share her love of dance with all her students!