LAMBARRI DANCE ARTS

FACULTY

Alexa Sanniola has been a dance educator for over 15 years, advocating for "smart" dance training. Alexa graduated magna cum laude from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts 2014 with a B.F.A. in Dance and received the University Dance Works Scholarship & Dance Express Choreography Award. Alexa is a Relative Motion Master Teacher, a NASM Certified Personal Trainer with Corrective Exercise, Youth Exercise, & Performance Enhancement Specialties & is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique (Level 3), Progressing Contemporary Technique & is a T Spheres Certified Teacher. She has taught workshops across the country at various conventions and competitions and as a guest at studios including prestigious locations like Broadway Dance Center. Her students have gone on to perform in the National Tour of Matilda, the North American Tour of Mean Girls, North American Tour of Hadestown, and attend Boston Conservatory, UArts, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Montclair State, Alvin Ailey, Springboard Danse and more! Alexa has worked with Larry Keigwin, Brian Brooks, Julia Ritter, Ginger Thatcher, Pamela Levy, Stefanie Batten Bland, & Sidra Bella & performed at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington D.C.). As a member of Zella Dance Company, Alexa performed across the United States & she toured internationally with the production Uma Saudação à Whitney Houston. In 2017 Alexa founded Lambarri Dance Arts, in memory of her grandmother Nilda Lambarri who passed from Dementia, to provide a space for young dancers to grow as artists while developing their technique incorporating functional methods to train in "smart" and more efficient ways. 

ALEXA

Marlon Santana is a professional teaching artist, dancer and creative from Elizabeth, NJ. After being self-taught for many years, he began his formal training at the age of 19 studying Hip Hop, Commercial Jazz and Contemporary Fusion. His credentials include: BTS, “The Soul Spot” Directed and Choreographed by Candace Brown, Carnival NYC, Club Jeté in LA, Sybarite and many more. Past dance companies: Motus, Royal Thieves, Kreativ Mndz, and Enigma Dance Collective. For the last few years, his main focus has been towards teaching and bettering the NY/NJ community in studios such as Broadway Dance Center, Peridance Capezio Center and Brickhouse NYC. Marlon is looking forward to more opportunities facilitating safe environments where people can grow in ways they never thought possible.

MARLON

Gabrielle Cardinale (She/her) received her BFA in Dance from Rutgers University under the direction of Gerald Casel and John Evans. Gabby has performed the work of restaged José Limón, Baye and Asa, Julia Ritter, Nicolette Alberti, Andres Zachery, Ani Javian and John Evans. She has performed works in Dumbo Dance festival, Koresh Artist Showcase, Yang Lin Inhale Showcase, and at Steps on Broadway’s Spring Lab Choreographers showcase. She trained abroad at The Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy—under Alessio Trevisani and Helena Fernandino. Her choreographic work has been chosen 1 of 5 from American Collegiate Dance Association to perform on Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out stage in the Summer of 2025 and at The Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Gabby currently dances for Davinara’s Dance Collective, a Kazakh-contemporary NJ/NY based company.

GABRIELLE

Kristen Brown has a strong passion for educating dance to all ages and levels. She grew up in North Haven, Connecticut where she trained as a competition dancer in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, and hip hop. She has worked with renowned choreographers such as Anthony Morigerato, Denis Jones, and Jared Grimes. She is the associate director/choreographer for the national tour Stuntboy, In The Meantime which performed at the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem. She is also the associate director/choreographer for The Christine Jorgensen Show which performed Off-Broadway at HERE Arts Center and 59E59 Theater. Performance credits: National Tour: Elf On The Shelf: A Christmas Musical. Regional: Anything Goes (MUNY), Chasing Rainbows: The Road To Oz (Paper Mill Playhouse), Seussical (Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera), 42nd Street (Sacramento Music Circus), Elvis: A Musical Revolution (North Shore), White Christmas (Bucks County Playhouse), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Mary Poppins; Wonderland (Tuacahn), Little Women (Skyline Theater Company). BFA Syracuse University.

KRISTEN

Melanie Sanniola, through over a decade of teaching, continues to put technique first while furthering her own education to provide science-based, proven training to all of her students. A graduate of Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in 2016 with a B.F.A. in Dance, cum laude, Melanie was a recipient of the prestigious James Dickson Carr Scholarship. She has worked with choreographers Jessica Lang, Nick Bruder, Kate Weare, Jennifer Freeman, Kim Gibilisco, Keith Thompson, Pamela Levy, Doug Elkins, and Julia Ritter. As a member of the Movement Playground, she has performed at the John F. Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Jacob’s Pillow, and other noteworthy NYC venues.
Melanie is a Relative Motion Master Teacher, T Spheres Certified Teacher, and certified in Alixa Flexibility (Level 3), Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) Level 3, and Flexistretcher (Advanced). She has taught workshops across the country at various conventions and guest-taught at studios including prestigious locations like Broadway Dance Center.
Most recently, Melanie was selected as part of the first inaugural class of the Ailey Horton Teacher Training Program, continuing her dedication to advancing her craft and passing on the Horton legacy to future generations of dancers.

MELANIE

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