Ms. Alyssa Zolnowski
Owner/
Artistic Director
Miss Alyssa began dancing at age 2 and has never stopped. She is trained in many genres of dance. Upon graduation, Miss Alyssa auditioned and was accepted onto the nationally ranked Rutgers Dance Team where they were consistently in the top 4 in the nation during the four years Miss Alyssa was on the team and she became Team Captain her senior year.
Since dancing at Rutgers, Miss Alyssa has choreographed award-winning routines and has received awards for her choreography. She was a member of the Miss America organization where she competed for the title of Miss New Jersey as Miss Middlesex. She won the talent portion of the qualifying pageant in which she became Miss Middlesex.
Miss Alyssa was also a first-grade school teacher in addition to coach of the Highland Park Dance Team. She has performed as Clara, multiple times, in the Duke Ellington version of the Nutcracker. Miss Alyssa is certified by Dance Educators of America and has been teaching dance for over 20 years in many genres for all ages and levels of children through adults. She was on staff at Metuchen Dance Centre, where she also received her training, and School of the Arts.
She is looking forward to taking her love of teaching the art of dance to students and opening a studio where she can share her love of dance and performing on a bigger scale. Miss Alyssa currently lives in Millstone with her husband and four children. She is proud to have this opportunity to own a studio in the town she loves and is raising her family.
Miss Kolbi Buckholz
Miss Kolbi is excited to join the Millstone Dance Community!
Miss Kolbi began dancing at Jackson Dance Center at the age of 2. She trained in ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, contemporary, and lyrical.
She furthered her dance education by attending the Grunin Performing Arts Academy in high school. She was able to train in various styles of jazz and modern techniques, while continuing her ballet education. She trained in styles of Graham, Limon, and Horton for modern. She also trained in styles of jazz, including vernacular and Fosse. She was also exposed to various cultural styles, such as Flamenco, Umfundali, Mexican Folk, and Classical Indian dance.
After high school, she continued her dance career by joining the Suffolk University Dance Company for her second year of college. There she was able to perform in various shows, choreograph a piece, and even dance for a Boston Celtics game.
Miss Sara
De Furia
Miss Sara is excited to join us this winter!
Miss Sara grew up dancing, singing, and acting locally. At age 9, she was invited to join her dance studio’s competitive company. She competed in jazz, lyrical, tap, and hip hop while also training in ballet, pointe, acro, acting, and musical theatre. In 8th grade, she auditioned for FPAC, the Freehold Regional Performing Arts Center, and was accepted. At FPAC, Miss Sara trained in ballet, jazz, modern, musical theatre, voice, acting, and aerial silks. Enjoying modern dance and wanting more of that, she stopped competing to pursue conservatory-style training. She enrolled at the New Jersey Dance and Theatre Ensemble, training in ballet, pointe, various styles of modern, and contemporary.
After high school, Miss Sara attended Indiana University, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance and her 200-hour Vinyasa Yoga Teacher certification. At IU, she trained in contemporary, modern, ballet, jazz, tap, house, Afro-Cuban, and African diaspora, musical theatre, and aerial silks. She also studied choreography, dance pedagogy, movement analysis, kinesiology, and adapted physical activity. She was awarded the Korinek Merit Award by the National Society of Arts and Letters, Indiana chapter, for her solo adaptation of her senior thesis.
Professionally, Miss Sara has performed with Buglisi Dance Theatre, WellBeing Dance, Petty Love Productions, Legoland New York, and Kings Dominion. She has taught dance, yoga, and fitness to all different types of movers in a variety of different settings, including some choreography for Red Bank Theatre for Young Audiences.
Miss Karlie danced for 16 years of her life and became a competitive dancer at age 5. Miss Karlie found her love for dance where she trained at Freehold Academy of Performing Arts. She trained in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, contemporary, etc.
During her dance career, Miss Karlie has one multiple nationals and World Of Dance titles. Aside from dance, Miss Karlie was a varsity cheerleader at her high school. She also found a passion for yoga.
Miss Karlie attended Rowan University. She is currently a teacher at the Millstone Primary School. She wanted to continue her love for teaching and dancing, and is excited for the year ahead with dancers!
Miss Karlie
Ives
Miss Michelle LaGrasso
Miss Michelle started singing and dancing at age 5. From church choir to tap, jazz, and musical theater, performing has always been a part of her life. At 16 she started teaching dance for the Edison Recreation Department. She was on the dance team at Middlesex County College. She graduated from Kean University with a bachelor’s in degree in Physical Education and health. She found her love for performance and began to dance, sing and act various shows. Some include Blood Brothers at George Street Playhouse You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown off Broadway Theater, The Wiz at Count Basie Theater and Rocky Horror Picture Show South Mountain Theater Works.
Michelle is an avid lover of Disney, especially visiting the parks with her husband and two children, Angelina and Anthony. She loves teaching and has been helping Girl Scout troops in multicultural day by helping to bring dance into their education. “There is nothing more rewarding than helping students to find their passion and help them grow.” Miss Michelle will be returning to teach a variety of classes including Jazz, Tap, & Musical Theater!
Miss Grace
Loufek
Miss Grace began gymnastics at the age of three and has developed a strong, well-rounded movement background through years of training and competition. She is a USAIGC State, Regional, and World Champion title holder with extensive competitive experience.
In addition to gymnastics, Miss Grace has trained in ballet, tap, jazz, acro, and hip-hop, building a solid dance foundation. She is currently a varsity cheerleader at Allentown High School and holds dance teacher certification.
Miss Grace enjoys working with students of all ages and is especially interested in helping younger students build confidence and strong fundamentals, while supporting older students as they continue refining skills and working toward new goals.
Miss Kayleigh started her dance career at two years old and has spent the last 14 years training in lyrical, contemporary, jazz, tap, ballet, and musical theatre. In addition to this, she dances for her high school dance team. In the future, she would like to pursue a career as a professional dancer and plans to study dance in college. Aside from dance, Miss Kayleigh works in theatre and choreographs for companies in Howell.
When teaching, Miss Kayleigh strives to instill life skills in dancers that can be used in and out of the studio. She is dedicated to helping her students grow and thrive as dancers through an inclusive and encouraging environment.
Miss Kayleigh is thrilled to be a part of the Millstone Dance staff and get the chance to help young dancers grow their love for dance as her teachers did for her.
Miss Kayleigh Meagher
Miss Becca Ruimy
Miss Becca began dancing at the young age of 2 years old. From the moment she saw those pink and pretty pointe shoes, she knew that would be her future. She has danced with the Atlantic City Ballet and the Moscow City Ballet during her adolescent years. Miss Becca placed Gold for her ballet performance ‘Once Upon a December’ and continued to study the principles of strength and technique through her years at her studio.
Miss Becca has a wide variety of knowledge in tap, ballet, hip hop, lyrical, jazz, pointe, acro, and theater. Miss Becca continued to dance through high school and decided she wanted to take it to the next level in college.
She then studied on a full ride to Georgian Court University and finished with a BA in Dance Education and a BA in English & Writing. While in college, Miss Becca was captain of Georgian Court University’s dance team and danced at many of their pep rallies, athletic games, and school events.
After college, Miss Becca continued her journey in Dance Education and worked with Ivy Rehab Physical Therapy to learn how to help her students overcome their injuries and bring them back to their full strength and capacity. She took courses to learn anatomy and physiology, dance wellness, and athletic nutrition to be able to help her dancers to the best of her ability!
Miss Becca has been teaching for 10+ years and is super excited to start her newest journey at Millstone Dance with all her students!
Miss Andrea
Scafuri
Miss Andrea is a mom of two amazing girls, one of whom is already part of the Millstone Dance family, so she knows firsthand how meaningful these early dance experiences can be. Watching children discover something they love, build confidence, and proudly show off a new skill has always been one of her greatest joys.
She has always had a special place in her heart for working with young children. Their big personalities, endless imaginations, and excitement for learning make every class an adventure. As a self-proclaimed "big kid" herself, Miss Andrea loves bringing energy, creativity, and plenty of smiles into the classroom while creating an environment where every child feels safe, supported, and excited to participate.
Miss Andrea believes these first dance experiences should be about so much more than learning steps. Her goal is to help every little dancer feel welcomed, loved, and confident while having fun, making friends, and falling in love with dance. She strives to create a positive classroom where children can grow not only as dancers, but as confident, happy kids.
When she's not at Millstone Dance, you can usually find Miss Andrea cheering on her daughters at their activities, spending time with family, or working as a permanent makeup artist. She feels incredibly fortunate to have careers that allow her to combine creativity, connection, and helping others feel their very best.
Miss Cami Smith
Miss Cami grew up as a competitive dancer at Freehold Academy of Performing Arts, where she began training at age two and started competing by seven. She proudly earned national titles as Ms. Backstage 2023 and Ms. Starbound 2024, reflecting her unique blend of intricate musicality and commanding stage presence.
She attended Howell High School's Dance Program where she expanded her dance artistry and a new love for apparatus like aerial silks and lyra work. After High School, Miss Cami was accepted into Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.
Cami trained with Menina Fortunato through The Business of Dance mentorship program and was a featured guest on the Business of Dance Podcast multiple times. She also appeared in the "Journey" competition ad campaign (2023) and continues to grow her influence in the commercial and concert dance spaces.
Miss Cami is so excited to build meaningful connections with both the students and their families while sharing her love and passion for dance at Millstone Dance!
Miss Sarah Warren
Miss Sarah has loved dance for as long as she can remember. She began taking class at the age of 5, starting with Ballet and Hip Hop. Over the years, Sarah trained in all styles such as Jazz, Tap(her favorite!), Lyrical, Contemporary, Modern, and Musical Theater, as well as continuing with Hip Hop and Ballet.
At the age of 11, Sarah was accepted to train with the New Jersey Dance Theater Ensemble where she worked with many professional instructors to train in Ballet and Modern and perform for 2 years. Sarah has also learned from choreographers such as Kenny Wormald, Mischa Gabriel, Mandy Moore, Stephen “Twitch” Boss, Al Blackstone, and Lisa and Mikey Minery.
After high school, she attended MCCC where she studied dance. Sarah is not only a certified dance teacher, but is Barre and group fitness certified and loves to teach and take fitness classes.
Miss Sarah is excited to continue teaching at Millstone Dance and share her passion and love for dance with her students.