Stephanie DeAngelo
Owner & Director
Ballet, Technique, Jazz & Contemporary Instructor
Miss Steph has been involved in the dance industry for the past 30 years as a student, teacher's assistant, instructor and now as a studio director. She took her first ballet class when she was 2 years old and has been dancing ever since!
Stephanie is trained in Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Modern, Tap, Turns & Jumps and Technique. She has trained in several different studios throughout her life, as well as attending numerous dance conventions and workshops taking class from Joe Lanteri, Suzi Taylor, Ray Leaper and Mia Michaels to name a few. She was also a competition team member of 2 nationally award winning dance teams. During this time she had the opportunity to compete at many different venues throughout the United States, as well as having the oppurtunity to perform in Disney and at Florida's Orange Bowl. Stephanie has been a dance instructor and choreographer since the age of 16, with many of her works being highly awarded. She is a graduate of Georgian Court University with her Bachelor of the Arts in Dance and Business, and was the sole recipient of her dance department's choreography award that year. Along with her BA in Dance, she is also a certified dance instructor through Dance Educator's of America. She continues her training by participating in teacher workshops such as Dance Teacher's Summit.
Stephanie would like to thank her mentors, Julie Young and Pat Smith for guiding and inspiring her throughout this journey. It has been Miss Steph's dream for as long as she remembers to have a studio of her own, where she can do what she loves everyday, and inspire the dancers of tomorrow!
Tara Russomanno
Assistant Director
Jazz, PBT, Modern & Rehearsal Instructor
Tara has been dancing since the age of 2 years old, and hasn't stopped since. Her attention to detail, and dedication to discipline, have helped her study and receive training by several Companies and Artists such as: The American Ballet Theatre, NYCDA, Parsons Dance Company, Steven Vaughn, Silvana Cardell, Sidra Bell, Stephanie Batten Bland and more. She also participated on Ramapo College Of New Jersey's Nationally Ranked Dance Team in 2015, and then continued her dance education at Georgian Court University. During her college years, Tara performed at The American College Dance Association where her senior thesis was chosen to perform. During these years she also was a part of a professional Hip-hop company located in Central Jersey, "Redef Movement", along with a contemporary company founded by Steven Vaugh, former Parson's Dancer, called "Open Category". After college, Tara continued teaching dance at several different studios, and has now dedicated her teaching time solely to STARZ Dance Studio. Tara is extremely grateful for her place on the STARZ Staff, and for the opportunities she has had through STARZ and her Studio Director, Stephanie. Her main goal as a teacher is to provide her students with a fun and safe environment, an educational dance experience, and most importantly, provide them with tools they can carry not only through their dance training but outside of dance and on through their lives as well.
Marina Vasquez
Preschool, Kinderballet, Lyrical, Jazz, HipHop & Tiny Tumble Instructor
Marina Vasquez is from Howell New Jersey and has been dancing for over twenty-one years. She is a performer as well as a trained instructor and
choreographer in Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Contemporary, Musical Theater, Modern, Hip-Hop, Tap, Tiny Tumble, and Jazz techniques. She has traveled and trained all over the country with artists such as Tokyo, Franco De Vita, Adam Cates, Michael Susten, and Al Blackstone. Marina is an alumni of The American Ballet Theatre and has performed with their company in Le Corsaire at The Metropolitan Opera House, The Nutcracker at The Brooklyn Academy Of Music, and ABT’s Spring Performance at Pace University. She has also performed at Ailey Citigroup Theatre in a ballet piece choreographed by Yuka Kawazu and in The Nutcracker at The Algonquin Arts Theatre. Marina has recently trained at The Hussian College In Studio in Los Angeles California in commercial dance. She has industry experience with dancing and acting for the camera and has had the opportunity to perform in a variety of short dance films and promotional videos. Marina has also served as an assistant to Adam Cates at Steps on Broadway and the Broadway Dance Center, was a Roadie Apprentice for Dancers Inc. On Tour Convention, and worked as an on-site assistant and staff member with the New York based dance company Man In Motion. She is also an alumni of The Fine and Performing Arts Center of Howell High School and of Starz Dance Studio. Marina is currently pursuing two bachelor’s degrees in both dance and marketing at Rutgers University. For over nine years she has taught students of all ages the art of dance. Her goal is to not only teach her students how to be the best dancers that they can
be but to be a mentor to her students just like Mrs. Stephanie DeAngelo, the
director of Starz, and her grandmother, Mrs. Patricia Smith, the founder of Starz, were to her.
Patti Crumrine
Contemporary & Hip Hop Instructor
Patti Crumrine has been dancing since the age of 3 and has trained in various classical and street styles of dance. She has graduated with her certificate in dance from University of The Arts in Philadelphia. Patti has had the opportunity to be an understudy in the off broadway show “Beyond Babel”, dancer for BTS Love Yourself Tour, performer in “Stravinsky Reimagined” directed by Jennifer Webber and Shinsa The Collective company member based in New York City. Patti also is a Competitive Judge for True Talent Dance Competition. She is currently a co-choreographer for 6 Flags "Dead Man's Party" Great Adventure and an associative choreographer for the latest Shinsa The Collective immersive show "B_TTERLAND" under the direction of Bo Park. Patti has been teaching & choreographing for about 7 years now. Patti loves being able to work with students and see them grow into beautiful dancers.
Victoria Maas
Musical Theater & Ballet Instructor
Ballet (Cecchetti), Jazz (Fosse, Contemporary, Lyrical), Musical Theatre Dance Technique, Modern (Horton, Humprehy, Graham), Aerial Dance with Silks, Choreography (Improvisation, Nature Studies), and Tap. Victoria attended The Freehold Performing Arts Center (FPAC) and then graduated from Montclair State University with a certification to teach dance. Victoria has competed competitively and appeared in various performances such as Musical Theatre Productions, Cleo Mack Dance Project performances, and the Lakewood Blueclaws Dance Team with performances at Eagles Stadium, Trenton Thunder, and the Harlem Globetrotters. Victoria is so excited to bring her love of dance and performing to her students at Starz. Her goal is to help the students become well-rounded in different styles of dance and provide the necessary skills and tools for her dancers to be successful.
tori Nicol
Kinderdance & Tap Instructor
Tori is from Brick, New Jersey and has been dancing since the age of 2. She has trained in Tap, Contemporary, Modern, Hip-Hop, Musical Theater, Ballet, and Jazz and is eager to educate the next generation. Tori is captain of the Brick Memorial Dance Team where she choreographs and performs at her high school football and basketball games. With her time training at STARZ, Tori’s tap solo has gotten her two regional titles, Teen Miss Backstage and Senior Miss Headliner, along with multiple other placing and special awards throughout the season. Tori is excited to further her dance career as not only a student but a teacher at STARZ. She is determined to have all of her students enjoy learning the art of dance and grow to love dancing. Tori would like to thank Miss Steph for being a constant mentor for her, and is blessed to have the opportunity to now work alongside her.
Sarah Warren
Tap Instructor
Sarah has loved to dance for as long as she can remember. Since age 5, Sarah took dances class of all styles including ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, and hip hop. She especially excelled in tap and hip hop, which stand to be her two favorite styles today. Through competitions and conventions, Sarah has worked with choreographers like Kenny Wormald, Stephen “Twitch” Boss, Misha Gabriel, and Lisa and Mike Minery. Aside from dance, Sarah was a cheerleader for her school teams in middle and was team captain in high school. In high school she was a member of a pre-professional hip hop company who trained in popping, locking, breaking, and other street hip hop. During her time in the company, Sarah performed at many festivals and showcases around New Jersey and New York City, including a performance for the TedX “Chaos” in Asbury Park. After high school, Sarah went to college to become a math teacher, but always knew she would go back to dance. She later attended MCC, where she studied dance and was so excited to return to dance and continue to share her passion.
Amanda Rodriguez
Choreographer & Rehearsal Instructor
Amanda Rodriguez is 20 years old from New Jersey. She began dancing at the age of two and is trained in contemporary, ballet, modern, jazz, improvisation, hip hop, musical theater, and tap. Amanda trained with Nitrogen the Company in New York for three seasons. As a member of Nitrogen, Amanda danced in several concept and music videos. She also performed at the Gramercy Theatre for Sybarite. Amanda graduated as a dance major from the Ocean County Vocational Technical School’s Performing Arts Academy where she has been a part of several concert performances. She continued to pursue dance at Marymount Manhattan College for a year as a modern dance major. She attended Starz Dance Studio as a member of the competition team since the age of six. Amanda has won numerous scholarships and awards at national dance conventions/competitions, including several choreography awards in most recent years. She was also crowned Dancer of the Year in 2019 and Teen Miss in 2017 at Dancers Inc National Competition. Through Dancers Inc, Amanda had the opportunity to travel along the east coast working backstage at competitions, assisting master teachers, and performing at regional and national events. Amanda has been choreographing and teaching for four years now. Amanda’s goal is to inspire the next generation of artists to be true to themselves and explore all they are capable of becoming.