Meet the Faculty

TRAINING: Julia began dancing at various local studios at the age of three. She trained with the Benvin Dance and Performing Arts Center from 2002-2010. She danced as a member of the Pittsburgh Community Ballet Company from 2006-2010 and continued her training as a company dancer with Ideal Dance when it opened in September 2010 until June 2012. In college, she attended tap classes led by Barry Blumenfeld and continued to perform with Ideal Dance.

TEACHING: Julia demonstrated at Ideal Dance from Sept 2010 to June 2012, and has been teaching all genres at Ideal Dance since 2016.

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY: Her promise is to promote a love, appreciation, and passion for dance in each of her students by enhancing individual knowledge of dance, technical skills, and creativity of movement.

OTHER CAREER: Julia graduated from New York University in May 2016 with degrees in Psychology and Architecture/Urban Design Studies. She currently works for the University of Pittsburgh as a research specialist at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and is also pursuing a Master’s in Data Science from the University of Pittsburgh.

We're so happy to have Miss Julia on faculty! She will be teaching ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary, and tap during the 2025-2026 academic year.

TRAINING: Ms Kait is a graduate of Penn State University with concurrent BAs in Theatre and Integrative Arts/Dance. Since then Kaitlin has trained with masters of dance, voice, and theatre in Pittsburgh, New York City, New Hampshire, and London.

TEACHING: Since 2007 Ms Kait has been teaching dance, musical theater, adaptive movement, and kinesthetic wellness all over Western Pennsylvania. 

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY: Ms Kait loves working with people of all ages and abilities and finding ways to enhance life through movement. Seeing the inherent dignity in all students and holding space for all to find comfort in their own skin, she firmly believes that everyone can dance. She aims to inspire her students by igniting their passion for movement, meeting people where they are, nurturing their abilities, and promoting a strong sense of self confidence.

OTHER CAREER: Ms Kait puts her multiple tallenta to work in her business "K8 Do It! Handy-gal services!" If your home needs help, don’t fret, let K8 or her Handy gals do it for you. Learn more at www.K8DoIt.com

Yet her favorite "jobs" in the world are being a wife to Stephanie, mommy to Sidney, and daughter to Terry who all dance her at the studio with her.

We're so happy to have Miss Kait teaching ballet, jazz, and special needs during the 2025-2026 academic year.

TRAINING: Aeriana began dancing at the age of 4 at the Benvin Dance and Performing Arts Center and has
been with Ideal Dance since 2010. She has experience in tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop, pointe, and contemporary and trained more in college from 2021-2025 where she took classes in modern, jazz, and ballet.

TEACHING: Aeriana demonstrated at Ideal Dance from 2018-2022 and has been teaching since late 2022.

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY: Aeriana hopes that she can help dancers build a connection not only with themselves, but also with their movements, their music, and the space around them when dancing. She wants dancers to be able to express themselves however they want or need to and put whatever they are feeling into their movement without being afraid. She also hopes to continue to foster a safe and close-knit environment for dancers to allow them to express themselves more freely.

OTHER CAREER: Aeriana graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a BA in Theater Arts and a Minor in Africana Studies. She is currently pursuing a career as an actress while still giving her teachings and support to Ideal Dance.

We're thrilled to have Miss Aeriana teaching tap, jazz, contemporary, and hip hop during the 2025-2026 academic year.

TRAINING: Nevada began dancing at age 4 at Benvin Dance and Preforming Art Center and has been with Ideal Dance since 2010. She also danced under Joe Nikel in her high school musicals and apprenticed with him to choreograph the musicals after she graduated. She continues to take any class she can, including taking ballet and modern under Kevin Maloney in college, classes with Attack Theatre and other community and online classes.

TEACHING: Nevada started demonstrating at Ideal Dance in 2012, was a substitute teacher since 2019, and has been teaching regularly since 2024. She is also the head choreographer for Penn Hills High School Musicals and the coach for the Penn Hills Dance team.

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY: Seeing taking dance class as an act of self love, Miss Nevada strives to have students know that they deserve to take up space and make decisions that are kind to themselves. Dance is not a contest but rather a way to better dancers’ relationships with their bodies by working hard for themselves and their dance community.

OTHER CAREER: Nevada is a bartender for both Kingfly and The Abbey, mixing drinks and pleasant conversations. She also spends her time at Penn Hills High school teaching their dancers for the musicals and dance team.

We are so excited to have Ms. Nevada back to teach ballet and jazz in our 2025-2026 season.