Instructors and Guests
Private Lessons (voice, acting, dance)
Audition Coaching, Career Coaching, Agent/Manager Coaching, Self-Tape Coaching, Artist Development
Jazz, Tap , Ballet , Contemporary, Hip Hop, Commercial Jazz, College Prep, Audition Prep, Musical Theatre,
Lisa Carlson has been working professionally in the entertainment world for over 20 years. Lisa’s career has allowed her to travel and work on 4 continents and 38 of the 50 states. Her performance career included National tours of The Buddy Holly Story and Sweet Charity, many regional theatre productions, film, TV, Dance Companies, and vocal groups. Lisa has performed singing the duet originally sang by Barbra Streisand “Enough is Enough” with Donna Summer in Atlantic City and Minnesota . Lisa was also a back up dancer for the Neil Young “Greenville Tour” choreographed by Russ Tamblyn (Riff in the Original West Side Story movie) at PNC Bank Arts Center and at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. Lisa also worked on the “Technical Side” of the entertainment industry with Michael Bolton, Meatloaf, and Donna Summer for six years.
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Lisa’s teaching career started at 17 and she quickly fell in love with the idea of education and giving back to her community. Her earlier dance training started at a local studios about 30 minutes north of Manahawkin, Broadway Dance Center, Joffrey, Steps, and Alvin Ailey. Lisa’s vocal training began in Watertown NJ at the Zone with Shannon Harris and was soon followed by Larry Delmasto and Carolyn Placa at Southern Regional High school and countless private voice coaches in NYC over the years. In total Lisa has training with 10 vocal coaches and credits all of them for helping her find her voice and teaching style.
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Lisa's students have gone onto Broadway, National Tours, Television, Netflix, Film, and Commercials. Lisa has coached her students into many college programs over the past 13 years such as University of the Arts, Marymount Manhattan, Wagner College, Westminster Choir College, Rider University, Montclair State University, The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Sarah Lawrence, Penn State, Pace University and more.
Lisa is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy’s NYC campus in Musical Theatre. Lisa's Choreography credits include Nunset Boulevard with Ocean Professional Theatre Company, The Sound Of Music (06) through Grease (12) on the Southern Regional Stage, many years of SRMS and SRHS choral and vocal ensemble concerts, SRMS drama productions and many competitive and recital dances over the years! Lisa’s choreography has one countless awards and special recognitions over the years.
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Lisa knows that a very small percentage of students in her studio will pursue it as a career, but she believes that every student deserves the best training possible, so the choice is theirs to make and so that they can experience all the arts can give them to be a leader in life in whichever path they choose.
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Jenny Stodd- Jenny@starlightpac.com
Assistant Director- Instrumental Program
Piano, Violin, Ukulele, Voice, Music Theory, Harmony, SpaCappella, Musical Theatre, Acting
Jenny grew up in Illinois, surrounded by a family of music educators! She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from St. Ambrose Univeristy and spent six years in New York City. Jenny's 20 years of performance credits have taken her to stages such as The Laguna Playhouse, Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, The Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre, Wayside Theatre, The El Dorado Casino, and more! She also performed in two National Tours of The Buddy Holly Story. In addition to theatre, voiceover, commercial and film credits, Jenny enjoys arranging music for Starlight's performance groups. For more, visit www.jennystodd.com
Elizabeth Trotta
Pre-School Dance, Special needs certified dance instructor
Elizabeth was 14 years old when she started assisting and teaching classes for local dance studios. Ever since, she has made it her goal to share her love for dance with the next generation of dancers. With a huge passion and over 20 years of dance experience, she has gone on to teach children’s ballet at the City University of New York, and has taught numerous Hip Hop classes at Broadway Dance Center. Elizabeth is trained in various styles such as Hip Hop, Contemporary, Jazz, Musical Theater, Ballet, Freestyle, and more! Her passion for dance is never limited. Being a versatile dancer and choreographer is something Elizabeth takes to heart. With having the chance to live in New York City for over 4 years, Elizabeth has performed with numerous companies, taught for various workshops, and has choreographed for music videos. Throughout her years of dance Elizabeth has learned a lot about teaching dancers of all ages, levels, styles and has picked up a variety of teaching methods from her instructors. Elizabeth is taking everything she has learned about teaching, dancing, performing and applying it to every class she teaches.
Daniella Castoria - Virtual/In-Person
Acting/Dance/Vocal Audition Coach
Career Coaching, Agent/Manager, Dance, Voice, Acting, Commercial coaching, Self-Tape coaching, Audition prep., On Camera.
Originating as an East Coast Native, born in New York and raised in New Jersey, Daniella Castoria is a bicoastal actress, dancer & singer. Daniella danced her way into the industry at the age of 5. She spent numerous years training on the east coast as a competition dancer and expanding her dance knowledge to singing and acting as well. On her off days, she commuted to New York City to attend Broadway Dance Center, Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre and she traveled with Triple Threat Talent Tour as an apprentice along the east coast. Daniella graduated from Studio School Los Angeles with a BFA in Acting for Film and Television and simultaneously continued dancing with the Commercial Dance majors during her time there. She has booked commercials, music videos, feature films, short films and even created a podcast, which has gone international in over 10 countries! Most, recently, Daniella has Choreographed Shrek The Musical on the West Coast and Directed her first Agent and Manager Talent Showcase on the East Coast, in addition to Directing 3 Virtual Shows and a Virtual Musical to 4th-8th Grade students at a Private School in North Hollywood, California.She continues to share her love and passion for her craft with the next generation of artists, and is looking to create her own path and leave a trail for those who come after her.
Paula Sloan
Ballet & Tap
Origianlly from Oklahoma, Miss Paula has worked as a Director, Choreographer and Educator ever since receiving her M.A. in Humanities from the University of Houston. Miss Paula served as the Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Houston for several years, where she taught graduate and undergraduate classes in Ballet, Tap, Dance Composition and Dance History. Miss Paula's long list of achievements include:
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Director of Creative Dance For Children (University of Houston)
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Co-Founder of the Texas Tap Ensemble (which toured internationally)
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Teacher Recognition Award for Excellence In Teaching from the National Board of Education
Miss Paula's teaching skills speak for themselves, as her students have gone on to attend Julliard, NYU, and perform with groups such as Tap Dogs and the Mark Morris Dance Company. In addition to teaching, Miss Paula has directed and/or choreographed professionally in many theatres around the country, including Theatre Under The Stars, Casa Manana, Plan B Productions and Surflight Theatre, as well as numerous national tours.