We are fortunate to have a wonderful staff of dance teachers, voice coaches, and office personal, who bring a positive, family oriented vibe to the studio.
Sherri Shortell Director / Owner
Sherri Shortell is the Director of Center Stage Dance and Performing Arts Center and the Center Stage Dance Company. Sherri has been teaching and performing in the Washington Metro area since 1979 after studying in New York and Connecticut. She has performed at the Kennedy Center, the White House, the Smithsonian Institution, and Wolf Trap […]
Laurel Cherrier Acro classes and team, preschool dance
Laurel’s love for dance began at an early age and has continued to grow. She started her career as a studio dancer and began choreographing and performing her own competitive numbers at age 17. She later went on to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Dance. During college, Laurel had the opportunity to study […]
Alisa Claire Broadway jazz classes
A Washington, D.C. native, is the Founder, Artistic Director, and Choreographer for NYC’s LMproject. She earned her degree from Dean College School of Dance. Alisa has directed and/or choreographed several shows in regional theatre including “Newsies”, “A Chorus Line”, “La Cage Aux Folles”, “Mary Poppins” (original Broadway choreography), “Spring Awakening”, “Big Fish”, “Legally Blonde”, “The […]
Amanda Cook Hip hop, hip hop teams
Amanda Cook is a Street Styles dancer/choreographer from the Washington DC area and is teaching our hip hop classes! She is a people person and is always looking for new creative ways to help others learn dance. She grew up as a competitive dancer in all styles but later found her love for Hip Hop. […]
A.J. David Boys ballet and conditioning
Addison James (A.J.) David was born and raised in Northern Virginia. He is currently a senior in George Mason’s School of Dance BFA program. His background consists of rigorous ballet training, including the completion of the Royal Academy of Dance ballet exams. Influenced by his modern, contemporary, jazz, tap, and hip-hop experience, as well as […]
Emily Haman Ballet and pointe
Emily Haman will be teaching some of our beginning to intermediate ballet classes on Thursday evenings. Emily is originally from Raleigh, NC where she trained at the Triangle Academy of Dance under the direction of Annette Hagopian and Margaret Severin-Hansen from Carolina Ballet. While at the Triangle Academy of Dance she trained in ballet, jazz, tap, […]
Michael Hibbs Coaching, partnering and tap master classes
Michael Hibbs is a graduate of Oklahoma City University as a dance performance major and a Center Stage alum. Michael is currently performing on Norwegian Cruise Line but will be back between contracts for master classes and coaching. Michael has been a featured performer on Holland America Cruise lines. Prior to that, he danced at […]
Bella Leonard Advanced ballet
Bella Leonard is a current George Mason dance major originally from Birmingham, Alabama. She trained at the Alabama School of Fine Arts as a dance major in 2022 and decided to further her training at George Mason. She has attended several summer intensives including American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey, Point Park International Summer Dance, Alabama […]
Zoe Varacalli Tap, jazz, competition teams
Zoe Varacalli is a dance instructor at Center Stage currently specializing in tap, with a vast portfolio of different dance styles such as jazz, hip hop, contemporary, and modern dance. Cultivated at Encore Performers and an alumni of the Fairfax Academy, Zoe has deep roots in the Northern Virginia area. They are also certified with […]