Brooke Hull
Mrs. Brooke Stoughton Hull is the owner and director of JDSD and the founder of Dancing For Life, a breast cancer benefit. She is from Mansfield, Ohio where she began her dance education at the age of three. Since then she has had intense training in ballet, jazz, lyrical, modern, hip hop and acro. Brooke has won many awards during her dance career and was the first to hold all three titles of Little Miss Dance Ohio, Jr Miss Dance Ohio and Miss Dance Ohio. She holds a degree in early childhood education from The Ohio State University where she was a member of The Ohio State Dance Team and a Delta Gamma. Brooke was a member of the MSL Columbus Crewzers professional dance team and a choreographer for the AFL Columbus Destroyers dance team. As a choreographer, she has won numerous national titles as well as choreography awards. Many of her students have gone on to dance professionally. Brooke has traveled the country teaching dance camps and doing choreography for many studios. She continues her dance education by attending numerous conventions and taking classes from some of the top instructors including Chris Judd, Travis Wall, Dave Scott and Tyce Diorio. Brooke has also judged for multiple dance competitions and pageants. Brooke enjoys running the studio with her husband Chris Hull and is a proud mother to her daughters, Harper and Chloe. "It has always been a dream to share my passion of dance with dancers of all ages. I believe everyone should be given the opportunity to have their hearts touched by the art of dance."
Tiffany Schlater
Tiffany Schlater currently resides in Delaware, Ohio with her husband Doug and daughter, Tara. She has extensive training in ballet, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, musical theater and several styles of tap dancing including Broadway to Hoofing. Growing up as a competitive dancer, she won many Regional and National Titles and even performed and served as Dance Captain for the Ohio State University at age 16. Due to her accomplishments, Tiffany was nominated as a Who’s Who of American High School Students and at the age of 17 and received a full dance scholarship to the prestigious Gus Giordano Dance Center in Chicago, Illinois. While teaching and choreographing for the Gahanna Lincoln High School Chorale, dance studios, conventions, pageants and parades, she has captured many top awards including the titles: Teacher of the Year & Elite Top Choreographer of the Year on a National Level. She has been recognized by the Stanford Who’s Who Of America and the Ohio House of Representatives for her dedication to the Arts and is a member of the International Tap Association. Her students can be found on television, Broadway, movies and professional dance companies. Tiffany was especially honored to have her choreography and JDSD students featured in the New York City, Tap Extravaganza and one of only six tap dances across the country to be nominated at the KARTV Awards, Las Vegas in 2012. Another highlight in 2012 was being chosen to Choreograph 2 national competition opening numbers in Las Vegas. She continually elevates her own dance education by attending local and national workshops, including travels to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Currently, Tiffany proudly serves as a Head Adjudicator for the Kids Artistic Revue National Dance Competition and continues to travel the country as a Master Teacher and choreographer. Since joining JDSD, in 1998,she created the Elite program and is the Elite Company Director. Tiffany is committed to sharing her love of dance through mentoring, educating and teaching proper technique across the country.
Roni Petersen
Roni Petersen graduated from Franklin Heights HS and the Fort Hayes Performing Arts School. She then graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. Roni is the former Executive Director of Showcase Camps & Productions were she helped in the production of the Capital One Bowl halftime performance for several years. She is also the past Director of Dance for AmeriDance were she ran summer dance camps and competitions. In 2006, she choreographed the halftime of the All State Sugar Bowl. She was a founding member of the Columbus Crewzers dance team (Columbus Crew-MLS), she served as captain, choreographer and Assistant Director. She is a former coach of the Columbus Destroyers professional dance team "The Bombshells". Roni currently resides in Gahanna with her husband Chris and two beautiful children, Carter and Reagan.
Corinne Advani
Corinne Advani has been not only a dancer, but a member of the Judy Dollenmayer Studio of Dance since she was three years old. She has studied various forms of dance including tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, and hip hop throughout her life and continues to study. She has had the extreme privilege to take tap classes from some of the best tap dancers in the world including Savion Glover, Sam Weber, and Lane Alexander. She graduated from The Ohio State University in 2006 with a B.S. in Human Ecology. In addition to working at the dance studio, she is employed as a pre-Kindergarten teacher and caregiver.
Alexis Collier
Alexis Collier is a Columbus, Ohio native and has been dancing and teaching in the area for over 10 years. Growing up, she was a recreational, competitive, and elite dancer at Judy Dollenmayer Studio of Dance training in ballet, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, and musical theater. Alexis was a student apprentice all 4 years of high school, where she was given the opportunity to assist and teach JDSD students of all ages and skill levels. She choreographed her first competitive routine in 2016 and never looked back. While in high school Alexis was also the co-founder of the JDSD mascot, Patrice the Peacock, which was created in 2018! Since becoming a staff member of JDSD in 2018, she has been able to work with students at the recreational and competitive level to help them in becoming skilled dancers and performers. She prides herself on giving students the tools to be successful in dance outside of the classroom by focusing on things such as audition preparation, adaptability, and creating an environment that is safe for students to make mistakes in, because that’s how you learn! She teaches jazz, hip hop, lyrical and musical theater, which is her specialty. Alexis has won a variety of awards and accolades for her choreography, including a ‘Best in Choreography’ award and National Championship in 2021 as well as a National Grand Championship in 2022. Outside of the studio, she has choreographed high school theater productions, competitive cheerleading routines, wedding dances, and just about anything else you could think of. Alexis is also a licensed and practicing social worker, and she enjoys using her knowledge of mental health to help her students become great dancers, but also great people. She prides herself on cultivating inclusivity and incorporating social justice into her classes while also providing top-notch dance education to her students. Alexis is incredibly grateful for her students here at JDSD who teach her just as much as she teaches them!
Megan Smith
Megan Smith has been a student at JDSD for over 14 years. She was selected as a member of the JDSD Jr Elite Company at the age of 11, and at age 13, was the youngest member ever chosen to be in the Senior Elite Company. By age 16 she was also a teacher’s assistant, a part of the Apprentice Program, and the first to be invited as a member to all four Senior Elite Companies. While taking every class and genre possible, she continued as a student at JDSD and choreographed a dance for the Apprentices Program before she graduated. Due to her dedication, she has received many scholarships and National High Point Awards including title of 2011 Grand Champion while being a featured member in the dance piece "Army Of Rhythm". Megan is also a strong advocate for using her talent to help others. She has volunteered to perform for the National Heart Association, Strides For Pride, Relay For Life and was a featured dancer in the JDSD's own Dancing For Life. To her credit she has also performed in 42nd St, Varsity Varieties, Promotional videos for the Kids Artistic Revue, and most recently featured in the New York City Tap Extravaganza 2011. Always striving to be top in her field, she continues her dance education all over the country by attending national dance workshops such as The Pulse, Chicago Human Rhythm Project, and Company Dance to name a few.
Tiah Cressy
Tiah started her dance career at the young age of 3 at Judy Dollenmayer Studio of Dance. She began teaching in 1995 as an instructor while attending The Ohio State University and continuing her dance education. With her combined experience and eduction she teaches her passion for dance to our youngest of dancers. She specializes in Combo classes, of ballet and tap, for ages 2-8 years of age. With her experience and training this allows her to share and teach the love of dance, proper technique, and the skills that the dancers can use for years to come. JDSD has been a major part of her entire life, not only does she love this studio, she is loved by her husband Jason and their two amazing children..
Sara Russell
Sara grew up with a passion for dance, dancing at Judy's since the age of 5, participating in competition and Elite classes as she grew older. After graduating high school, Sara joined the JDSD staff in 2006 to teach and assist in a variety of dance classes, including tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop, and gymnastics. Sara graduated from The Ohio State University in 2009 with a Bachelor's Degree in Human Development and Family Science and currently works for St. Vincent Family Center, a non-profit agency in Columbus, Ohio. Sara now teaches and assists with several dance and fitness classes at the studio and feels so blessed to be a part of the JDSD family.
Denise Leithart
Denise Leithart has been a dance instructor at JDSD since 1985. Her dance education began at Georgia Gay Studio when she was five years old. She also studied under and received scholarships from Richard Kimble, who was a renowned Columbus, Ohio dance instructor. Her specialty was ballet and Denise was a member of the Columbus Civic Ballet Company, which was the forerunner to Ballet Met. She was featured on the cover of the Columbus Dispatch Sunday Magazine section. Her performances included appearances at the Hartman Theater, Ohio Theater, Columbus Museum of Art, Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus Festival of Arts and many other local venues. She studied ballet at the Princeton Festival under Madame Valentina Pereyaslavec, who was one of Nureyev’s favorite teachers. She also took classes with instructors from the School of the American Ballet.
Following her dance career Denise became a Licensed Practical Nurse. She remained in the dance world and taught ballet to students for several years. In 1985 while performing with the dancers in the local production of The Music Man, Denise met Judy Dollenmayer and soon she was teaching at the studio. Her three daughters, Megan, Molly and Abby were all students at JDSD. Abby has continued her dance education at Wright State University and also is a member of Dayton Contemporary Dance Company II.
Denise enjoys teaching dance students of all ages at JDSD. When she is not at the studio, Denise loves being a wife to her husband, Columbus attorney Paul Leithart, a mother to her children – Megan, Molly, Abby and Andrew, and grandmother “Anna” to her grandson, Drew.
As a JDSD ballet instructor, Denise wants to instill a passion for dance but more importantly to teach her students to be disciplined, hard working and mature young people, because those qualities will last them a lifetime.
Blaire Warner
Blaire Warner is an Otterbein University graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a Minor in Dance. She has studied tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, modern, musical theatre, pointe, hip hop, and gymnastics/tumbling throughout her years dancing at Otterbein and JDSD, where she began dancing at two years old. Blaire began competing at the age of five and was invited to join the JDSD Elite Company when she was eleven years old. Throughout her time as a student of the studio, she earned many awards and high placements at regional and national competition levels, and performed for various fundraising events. Blaire had the honor of travelling to New York City with her team to perform their national award-winning dance “Army of Rhythm” at the 2011 Tap Extravaganza celebration, where many other well-known tap dancers from across the country also performed. Blaire loves to share her passion for dance with others through performing and teaching her students. She is so grateful to be a part of her JDSD family again.
Blaire Warner
Tara Schlater
Tara Schlater is a native of Columbus, OH. She started modeling at age 2 and dancing at age 3. She continued her dance in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary and hip hop, at Judy Dollenmayer Studio of Dance, until graduating from Bishop Watterson in 2017. Her performances have earned Tara many awards & scholarships, including national acclaim at the Industry Dance Awards in Hollywood, CA, Best Performance, Regional Champion and National Grand Champion. During her time at JDSD, she has been a competitive dancer, assistant instructor, a selected member of the apprentice program, an Elite Company member & a scholarship recipient. She furthers her training by attending dance conventions and tap festivals. Her performances include Varsity Varieties, Dancing For Life, Strides For Pride, recitals, Kids Artistic Revue opening number & festivals. Professionally, Tara is an assistant choreographer at Gahanna Lincoln High School & tours the country, as an assistant, teaching master classes, conventions & setting choreography. Tara made her debut as professional performer in 2017 as a solo tap artist with a live orchestra. She looks forward to persuing her dance career and teaching at JDSD.
