FACULTY PROFILES

Jennifer Dite Weaver (Director) holds an MFA in dance from Temple University and a BA in Theater and Dance from Muhlenberg College.  Her performance credits include “On Task,” with Co-Art Dance Company as part of Muhlenberg’s Spring Dance Festival in 2007, Telly Monster and Jitter bug dancer in Sesame Street Live, and various work with Eidolon Arts, The NYC Broadway Cheerleaders, The Princeton Opera, The Pennington Players, and The Muhlenberg Theater Association. Her TV/film credits include "He Said, She Said" with Talk TV international, Marci X with Paramount Pictures, and commercials with Adidas, Bell Atlantic, and Time Warner. She is also a member of Actor's Equity Association. Jennifer has choreographed "Bye Bye Birdie” and “The Wizard of Oz,” for Ohev Shalom, “Jack and The Beanstalk,” for Playful Productions, “Candide” for The Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre and was assistant choreographer for MTA's "Cabaret.”  She has taught dance at Temple University, Mercer County Community College, Carol Wilson Studio One, Joyce Harrigan Dance, and the Jewish Community Center in Allentown, PA. She is presently full time dance faculty at The Lehigh Valley Charter School for the Performing Arts.

Joyce Pencek Yoder is a former professional member of the DanceGing Company where she danced several original classical and contemporary works and lead roles in their productions of The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty,choreographed by company founder Margo Clifford Ging. While performing classical repertoire with the Ballet Theatre of Scranton, she received a scholarship to the PA Governor's School for the Arts, participated in several Russian ballet seminars with Alla Sizova, Irina Kolpakova, and Dimitri Nechayev of the Kirov Ballet, and furthered her dance education at the Pennsylvania Ballet School. Over the years, Joyce has studied with numerous well-known teachers and choreographers. She has appeared in featured dance roles with Pennsylvania Youth Theatre in their productions of Wizard of Oz, Babes In Toyland, Snow Over Bethlehem, Narnia, and Alice In Wonderland. She also served for the past two years as choreographer for Trexler Middle School’s musical productions of Once on This Island Jr. and Cinderella. She earned her BA in Fine Arts/Dance and Elementary Education from Cedar Crest College and has been a member of the Muhlenberg College Community Dance Center faculty since 2002.

Tara Repsher holds a BFA in dance performance and education from Towson University.  She received her early training from Patricia Bartholomew at Stage Door Studio.  Her teaching experience covers many genres of dance such as ballet, modern, jazz, pointe, lyrical, musical theatre and tap.  While performing with the Towson University Dance Company she was asked to perform in a restaging of Martha Grahams "Panorama".  Tara was recently the company director and dance teacher at Meade Senior High School in Maryland for five years.  Her choreography has been seen at the Maryland High School Dance Festivals, Northampton Community College, and Walt Disney World.  She currently teaches dance at The Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performing Arts and is adjunct faculty in Muhlenberg College’s dance department. 

Shannen Curran is a senior Dance and Natural Science double major at Muhlenberg College. She danced and performed for 10 years with Repertory Dance Theatre of Allentown, PA, receiving extensive training in ballet and pointe. She later performed for 2 years as a part of their professional company. Shannen was a scholarship student with the Richmond Ballet in 2006. She choreographed St. Thomas More's Summer Theatre Magic productions of Oliver! and Brigadoon. She has performed in numerous Faculty and Student concerts with the Muhlenberg Dance Association. On Campus, she tutors General Chemistry and has been teaching pilates with the Muhlenberg Pilates Center for over one year. Shannen is looking forward to teaching with MCDC for her first year.

Carin Fenstermaker is a senior double major of dance and accounting at Muhlenberg. She graduated from William Allen High School in 2005 where she received the “Outstanding Dance Student Award”. At Muhlenberg she teaches numerous classes with MCDC, is President of the Perkulators (Muhlenberg's Dance Team), and is Treasurer of the Muhlenberg Dance Association (MDA). With the MDA she has participated in and choreographed for numerous Faculty, Student, and Informal Concerts. In 2006, she danced in "Jungleland" during Arts Week, which was a tribute to the works of Bruce Springsteen. Off campus she has taught at the Sharon Plessl School of Dance, Civic Theatre on 19th Street, and currently teaches hip hop the Patricia Bostick Dance Center.

Stephanie Flackman, from Montville, NJ, has been studying dance for 16 years with intensive training in jazz, tap, ballet, pointe, lyrical, and modern.  She performed in the 2008 Master Choreographers faculty concert and a 2007 Ashleigh Edwards benefit at Muhlenberg.  Stephanie taught beginner and intermediate tap for MCDC, and was a substitute teacher for advanced ballet and jazz, in 2007 and 2008.  Stephanie's prior recognition includes All American Talent Awards National Miss All American Dance 2004 and National First Place Soloist 2005 for Ticket to Broadway.  She choreographed "All That Jazz" for the NJ Teen Arts Festival and was featured in an instructional pointe video, Sleeping Beauty, produced by Hoctor Dance.  Stephanie has danced in Las Vegas, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Walt Disney World as well as at fundraisers for the International Red Cross, PSAHPERD, and the Joanne Marie Cardillo Foundation for Music Therapy.  She studied tap with Tapaholics founder and star, Mike Minery, the "tapping Justin Timberlake."  Stephanie credits her passion for dance to legendary studio director, Miss Kelly Allen, and she looks forward to sharing this passion as she continues teaching for MCDC.  

Lynn Lisella is a sophomore dance and communications double major at Muhlenberg College.  Lynn is from Peekskill, NY and has studied ballet, modern, jazz and tap for more than 12 years.  She previously held positions as an assistant ballet and jazz instructor and head counselor at a theater camp.  Lynn performed in many semi-professional productions including Godspell, A Christmas Carol and Peter Pan. During her first year at Muhlenberg, she danced in both fall and spring semester Informal Concerts and in Oklahomaat the PA Playhouse in Bethlehem.  She will also be performing with the Muhlenberg Community JazzTap ensemble under the direction of Shelley Oliver this year.

Janel Sipala is returning for her third year as a MCDC teacher. She has been involved with numeous informal, student and faculty concerts as both a choreographer and performer. She is also a member of the Perkulators dance team. On campus, she serves as the president of the Muhlenberg Dance Association, is a campus delegate and is a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Honor Society. She is a dance major and is studying to receive her certification in elementary education. Janel is looking foward to her last year with her wonderful students.

Mary Jean Stack is from Great Falls, VA and is now in her sophomore year at Muhlenberg. She began her ballet training at the age of 3 at the Margaret Haddad Studio of Classical Ballet. At the age of twelve she was accepted to the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington DC ( formerly The Universal Ballet School). Here she studied under ballet teachers Ludmila Morkovina, Angelina Armeiskaya, Jaqueline Achmedova, Vladamir Djoulukhadze, and Anatoli Kucheruk. She graduated from the academy in 2007 receiving an artistic degree after five years of study. She has also completed various summer programs, some with scholarships, at the Harid Conservatory, The Kirov Academy, Washington Ballet, Pittsburg Ballet Theatre, Kattsbaan, The Russian Ballet Society in Scotland, and The Royal Ballet of Flanders in Belgium. She attended the Kennedy Center Ballet Master Class series in 2006 and was taught by ballet greats from American Ballet Theatre and the Bolshoi Theater. Most recently she was awarded the 2008 Nicholas Legat and Nicolaeva Legat Memorial Scholarship by the Russian Ballet Society allowing her to attend on full scholarship the society’s two week summer course in Scotland. In addition, she has completed her examinations by the society through the advanced exam in which she earned honors with distinction. She is now working on her soloist exam and teaching certification in the Legat System. She has performed in the Muhlenberg Faculty performance and guest performs with the Margaret Haddad Studio of Classical Ballet. Last year Mary Jean was an assistant teacher at MCDC and looks forward to teaching this year.

Ashley Taylor is a junior at Muhlenberg College. She is a dance major, and will be going into her second year teaching classes for MCDC. On campus she will be a Student Advisor for Orientation weekend this fall and is also a member of Delta Zeta. She has been dancing since she was a little girl, but began to train intensively in ballet, modern, and jazz as a freshman in high school at The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York. In her senior year of high school she was awarded the Karen Kristen Excellence in Dance Award. She has attended various dance intensives including the Point Park University Summer Dance Intensive, the Paul Taylor Summer Intensive, and the Parsons Dance Summer Intensive. Through her dance career at Muhlenberg, she has been involved in dance performances each semester. Most recently she choreographed a piece for the spring 2008 Informal concert. This summer she worked at Linton Dance in her home town of Westchester, New York as a summer resident and teaching assistant to the director for the studio's summer arts camp working closely with children ages 3-7. Ashley is looking forward to continuing to teach classes for MCDC this year!