Staff - Diana Alexis Dance Academy

D.A.D.A. Staff

Mercede Boden

Combo, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Competition Team Choreographer, and Summer Camp Director

Favorite Quote: “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” – Babe Ruth

Favorite Styles of Dance: Contemporary and Hip-Hop

Miss Mercede-Lynn Boden is a 2017 Paul VI graduate who was a part of their dance team ‘The Eaglettes’. Mercede began dancing at the age of two and has had a passion and love for it ever since. She has studied Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Hip-Hop, Tap, and some Irish Tap dancing for over 18 years. Mercede has also been a teacher’s assistant in the previous years. She was a part of her dance studios competition team for many years and competed at ITDI, DMA, and Dancers Inc. Mercede also had the magical opportunity to compete for Disney’s Performing Arts Program in Walt Disney World. As a teenager, she had the chance to take a Broadway Dance Masterclass at Ripley-Grier Studios in New York City under the Broadway Star Rachelle Rak. Mercede’s other passions include music, traveling and photography. She is in the process of starting her own photography business ‘mlab photography’. Miss Mercede is very excited to be a part of the D.A.D.A. family and looks forward to sharing her love and passion of dance with the dancers and having fun this year.

Gab Byrnes

Ballet and Contemporary Instructor

Gabrielle is from Voorhees, NJ and began dancing at the age of three at the Academy of Ballet NJ in South Jersey and was taught by David Gallagher. She studied ballet and pointe and performed in many full length productions. She has attended summer intensives at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Paradosi, Princeton Ballet School summer intensive, Paul Taylor and Mark Morris Dance Group. Gabrielle attended Adelphi University in Long Island, New York and received a BFA in Dance and with a minor in Art and Design Education. At Adelphi, she has worked with choreographers Orion Duckstein, Tamara Babic, Jennifer Kreichman, Fernando Carrillo and Frank Augustyn. She interned at Long Island High School of the Arts and the Waldorf School of Garden City, teaching her choreography to students. In the summers Gabrielle is the dance director/choreographer for her church’s musical theater drama camp for kids ages 8-14. It is her favorite part of her summer. Currently, Gabrielle dances for a contemporary ballet company in West Chester, PA and substitutes at a Montessori preschool. She has a passion and love for teaching dance to young children. She is excited to be teaching at Diana Alexis Dance Academy this year!

Christina Diamantis

Stregnth & Conditioning Instructor

Christina Diamantis is a dancer and physical therapist. Born and raised in South Jersey, she formally began her dance training at age 7. Her favorite styles of dance are modern and hip-hop. She completed her undergraduate education at Rowan University, earning a B.S. in Exercise Science and B.A. in Dance. She then completed her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Rutgers University and just graduated in May! Her most recent performance was at Project Moshen’s Artistry Unfolded Showcase in 2022, and she continues to take classes at Powerhouse Dance Studio. She is passionate about injury prevention and bridging the gap between the dance and fitness worlds.

Anna Donahue

Hip Hop Acro, Musical Theatre, Contemporary & Summer Camp Instructor

Anna has studied dance since the age of two in various styles such as ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, contemporary, modern, gymnastics and many more! At a very young age Anna knew that she wanted to be a dance teacher. During high school she joined the dance company where she took part of many shows and performances and from there her teaching inspiration grew. Miss Anna has had the opportunity to dance at the 76ers games, Philadelphia Soul games and many more local places. She continues to take master classes and workshop classes to gain even more knowledge in hopes of passing it to her students. She is currently attending Rowan College at Gloucester County for Business and Accounting. Miss Anna loves sharing her passion with her students and watching them grow and get stronger through the year!

Christina Dunnington

Competition Choreographer

Born and raised in Hamilton, New Jersey, Christina Dunnington has been dancing since she was a young girl. At the age of sixteen, she began studying ballet at the Central New Jersey Ballet Theatre.

A graduate of Towson University, Christina received her B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography, as well as her B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. During her time at Towson, she trained under some incredibly acclaimed teachers, such as Linda Denise Fisher-Harrell and Runqiao Du. Upon graduation, Christina received the “Technical Excellence” award from the Towson University Department of Dance.

Christina had the opportunity to perform consistently during her time at Towson. Some of her highlight performances include being a Towson University Dance Company member for two years, where she performed as Nikiya, in the restaging of La Bayadere and Odette, in the restaging of Swan Lake. Christina had the opportunity to perform pieces by renowned choreographers such as, Will B. Bell, Amy Hall Garner, Therese Gahl, and Peter Pucci. She was a featured dancer in ADDICT, a collaborative show created by Madeline Maxine Gorman, to raise awareness for the Helping Up Mission in Baltimore, as well as a guest artist with ASEID, under the direction of Alison Seidenstricker. More recently, Christina danced as a company member with Vanessa Long 2 Dance and Project Moshen for a season each.

Christina has attended the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago summer intensive, as well as completed Administrative Internships with both AileyCamp Baltimore and FringeArts Philadelphia. Christina’s choreography has been featured in many showcases including; “Artistry Unfolded,” curated by Project Moshen in Philadelphia; “The Ascending Choreographers Showcase” at the Warehouse Theatre; “Open Marley Night,” curated by The Collective in Baltimore; “Bailar al Sol” in Asbury Park; and “VLD2 Final Showcase” in Philadelphia.

Currently, Christina serves as the Development and Communications Coordinator for Philadelphia’s premier ballet company, BalletX, and is one of the co-founders of Flair Dance Festival, helping choreographers and dancers share their artistic voices. Christina has a passion for teaching dance and loves bringing a fun, light-hearted energy to all her classes!

Ryan Fiedel

Tap Instructor and Competition Choreographer

Ryan grew up in South Jersey and started his dance training at the age of three, having trained in all styles. He spent many years as a student performing on countless competition stages before graduating in 2013. He attended Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports, Arts, and Entertainment Management in 2017. Tap has always been Ryan’s true passion, and he feels so grateful to be an educator who shares his love of tap with younger generations. He always strives to challenge his students and watching them shine on stage brings him so much joy. Ryan continues to stay updated in the industry, including being hand-selected for a closed professional tap workshop in NYC with tap icon Jared Grimes. He also received a full scholarship to DC Tap Fest from this workshop from world-renowned tap icons and creators of the Syncopated Ladies tap group, Chloe and Maud Arnold. Ryan is excited to join the D.A.D.A. family!

Christina Fuscellaro

Combo Instructor

Christina is a professionally working actress who holds EMC status for her work in the Greater Philadelphia theatre scene. Although dance was Christina’s first love, she received her BM with a concentration in Musical Theatre Performance from Rider University in 2012 and has been working as a dancer/singer/actor since. She has had the pleasure of performing at some of the area’s greatest regional theaters such as The Walnut Street Theatre (PA), The Media Theatre (PA), Montgomery Theater (PA), Bucks County Center for the Performing Arts (PA), Candlelight Theatre (DE), and The Broadway Theatre of Pitman (NJ). Favorite roles include: Eva Peron (EVITA), Mona Kent (Dames at Sea), Nickie Pignatelli (Sweet Charity), and Betty Jean (The Marvelous Wonderettes). Christina is also known for her choreography, her directing skills, and her real estate business in the Tri-State area! Off-stage, you can find Christina helping people find the homes of their dreams through her business, Call Christina for Homes with Long & Foster! Bringing her passion for dance, storytelling, and changing people’s lives, Christina is thrilled to join the D.A.D.A. team!

Elena Markoulis

Strength & Conditioning Instructor

Elena graduated from Drexel University with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2021. After graduating, she joined the 3DPT team and is practicing in Haddon Heights! Elena was a competitive dancer throughout middle and high school, so she has a passion for helping dancers work through their injuries (or even to prevent them) as she can relate to them on a deeper level. She also has personal experiences with recovering from hip surgeries, so she has a special interest in helping others rehab through their hip injuries. If you have any questions regarding dance-related injuries, injury prevention for dancers, or hip pain, Elena is here to help!

Brianna Rowland

Acro & Contemporary Assistant, Advanced Hip Hop Instructor, and Competition Choreographer

Brianna Rowland (Bri) is from Pennsauken, NJ. Bri started dancing with L&L Dance Company located in Philadelphia when she was 3 years old. Then after, transitioned to dancing at Halliday Dance Studio in Pennsauken, NJ until graduating High School in 2017. Upon graduating Bri was accepted into Wilkes University’s Musical Theatre Program where she graduated with her B.F.A. In Musical Theatre with a minor in Hospitality in 2021. Throughout her college career she has performed in several faculty and student pieces. During the summer of 2023, Bri has taught various styles of dance at an all girls summer camp in North Carolina. If she is not performing, Bri is teaching and giving back to the community. She is so ecstatic to be joining the D.A.D.A family!

Brittany Sylvester

Hip Hop, Jazz Instructor and Competition Team Choreogrpaher

Brittany was born and raised in South Jersey where she began dancing at age 2. She was trained in all traditional styles at Mulford Dance Studio for 15 years. While training at Mulford Dance Studio, Brittany performed in the Philadelphia Thanksgiving day parade, Miss America Show Us Your Shoes Parade, performed in Disney World, and competed in multiple competitions.

For 12 years, she has trained with South Pacific Island Dancers learning all styles of Polynesian dance. With the South Pacific Island Dancers, she has performed all across the tri-state area. Some of these performances include Margate Beachstock, Laurita Winery Luau, and many other special events.

She attended Paul VI high school and was a member of the dance team all four years. While a student at Paul VI high school, she was a part of a student teaching program with the dance department.

Brittany is currently pursuing her Bachelors in Business Marketing at Rowan University. She is also currently a member of the Rowan University dance team. The team competed at UDA nationals in Florida and took 5th in the nation open HipHop. Brittany has had the opportunity to train with many different choreographers and is excited to share her knowledge with the D.A.D.A students!

Grace Szczepkowski

Combo, Ballet, Jazz, and Musical Theatre Instructor, and Admin Manager

Grace is a professional actress and proud EMC member. She holds a BFA in Acting from Arcadia University and completed a professional internship at The Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble. Recently Grace has performed at The Media Theatre (PA), Candlelight Theatre (DE), The Broadway Theatre of Pitman (NJ), and Bucks County Center for the Performing Arts (PA). Grace has served as the Dance Captain in multiple professional productions and is also a Teacher, Director, and Choreographer. Currently Grace is the choreographer for Harmony Show Choir and she also co-runs the Drama Program at Lumberton Middle School. Grace is excited to share her love of Dance with D.A.D.A.’s students.

Fang Ju Chou

Adult Ballet Instructor

Fang-Ju, born and raised in Taiwan, came to the United States to further her study of dance. She earned an Associate Degree of Dance in Australia from Queensland University of Technology Academy of Arts/Dance, and received her BFA in Dance Education from the University of the Arts. She is trained in a wide variety of dance styles and stagecraft. Fang-Ju joined Koresh Dance Company in 1998 and currently travels to perform and teach across the U.S.