Meet the Owner & Lead Instructor
Miss Emily Ricci – B.S. Business Management, Minor in Dance
Miss Emily has danced since the age of five, she minored in dance throughout college, and has educated students in dance for over ten years now. She has studied many styles of dance including ballet, Pointe, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, modern, hip hop, heels, popping, locking, breaking, house dance, and has also taught all of these genres. She is also a certified yoga instructor through the International Sports Sciences Association. Over the years, she has performed in countless dance events. She has danced in Walt Disney World’s Dance the World Parade, the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Miss America Parade in Atlantic City, Fourth of July Parades, and much more. Miss Emily has also attended numerous dance workshops and competitions in various states along the East Coast. She performed professionally with ContempraDANCE Theatre Company for two years, dancing in shows, such as Philly Nutt Crak-Up. She has taken master classes at Koresh Dance Company in Philadelphia and Broadway Dance Center in New York City. She is a member of the Dance Studio Owner’s Association which allows her to constantly refine her business skills and stay up to date with current dance studio analytics. Her choreographing career includes competitive and noncompetitive solos, duets, trios, and group numbers, some of which are award winning numbers. Miss Emily has not only choreographed for dance studios, but also for grade school, high school, and college students as well as weddings.
Our Teachers
Miss Kelley Campbell
Dance Program Supervisor & Instructor
Miss Kelley has been teaching dance for the last 20 years in her hometown of Columbia, Maryland. She has choreographed award winning routines that are nationally recognized. She has had the pleasure of training students for both collegiate and professional dance teams. Her professional dance career includes cheering for the Washington Capitals during the 2018-2020 seasons. She is a certified Cecchetti ballet student and instructor. She specializes in ballet, tap, jazz, and lyrical instruction. She is also a nurse in the Philadelphia area and enjoys making dance not only a hobby, but a way of life for herself and her students!
Miss Sophia Pinkham
Administrative Coordinator & Instructor
Sophia Pinkham began dance classes at age 3 and fell in love with movement. She began assistant teaching at age 12, where she learned her of love teaching dance. She has performed many leading roles in her pre-professional dance career and placed top 12 at YAGP her senior year for classical variations. After high school, she spent two years dancing with Nashville Ballet Company in the trainee program and taught her second year there. Afterwards, she went to Eastern University where she earned a degree in exercise science. She is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine. She currently dances with the Roger Lee Dance Company and teaches ballet/pre-pointe/pointe, contemporary, lyrical, and conditioning classes. She has choreographed for competitions such as YAGP, Elite, Elevate, and Access Broadway. She has also choreographed for independent shows and Eastern University’s Dance Department Showcases.
Miss Christina Brown-Kirby
Instructor
Christina Brown-Kirby has taught dance at many dance studios throughout Philadelphia, the surrounding suburbs, and Baltimore, MD. She began teaching dance as an assistant at age 13, and became a lead dance teacher at age 16. Miss Christina is trained in classical ballet, tap, jazz, modern, hiphop, and African. She currently teaches dance full time to Kindergarten through 12th grade students at a charter school in Chester. She is a member of the National Dance Education Association, and continues to educate herself on the latest in dance pedagogy. Miss Christina has a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education, and a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership. She plans on pursuing a Masters Degree in Dance in the upcoming year. Miss Christina loves how dance expresses what is in your soul. She is passionate about properly educating the younger dance generation, and helping them reach their highest potential as a dancer.
Administrative Coordinator & Instructor
Miss Cassandra Kaeppel
Instructor
Cassandra “Cass” Kaeppel is a dancer, choreographer, and educator from Allentown, PA. She earned a B.A. in Dance and Psychology from Eastern University. She has been dancing in several genres (ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, pointe, lyrical, modern, contemporary, and African) for 17 years. She loves teaching improvisation to students of all ages! Cassandra currently teaches at several dance studios and performs with Roger Lee Arts in Philadelphia.
Miss Inaijah Meaux
Instructor
Inaijah began dancing at the age of three and has trained extensively in Ballet, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Jazz, Lyrical, Pointe, and Tap. She trained at West Chester Dance Works, performed with several companies throughout Pennsylvania, and portrayed the title role in Rachel Harris: One Woman Over the Line. Inaijah began teaching at age 15 and has since led classes, workshops, and masterclasses across Pennsylvania and Maryland. Currently a Psychology student at Towson University, she is passionate about developing confident, versatile dancers through strong technique, creativity, and a love of movement.
Miss Aubrey Gallagher
Instructor
Aubrey Gallagher was born and raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania where she fell in love with the art of dance at the age of three. She trained at the Ballet Theater of Scranton for sixteen years, she studied ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, modern, and hip hop. In sixth grade she began demonstrating classes and saw the impact teachers had on young performers. She began teaching and choreographing around the Scranton area at 18 in all styles for dance schools, theater programs, and cheer teams. In college, she was president of The University of Scranton Cheerleading team while continuing her love of dance professionally. Aubrey is thrilled to bring her love of this art form to the Philadelphia area and join the Emily Rose Dance Creations family!
Miss Samia Gibson
Instructor & Receptionist/Administration
Samia Gibson — dancer, choreographer, and lover of all things music and movement!
Samia has been dancing since the age of 2 and has trained in Majorette, Hip Hop, Jazz, and Ballet at two dance schools in Philadelphia. Throughout high school, she continued performing on Majorette and Hip Hop teams while also developing her passion for choreography and teaching. She has years of experience working with dancers and creating choreography, and loves helping others feel confident, comfortable, and proud of what they can do.
Outside of dance, Samia has a passion for music and DJs as well. She believes music and dance go hand in hand, and both allow her to connect with people in different ways. Whether she’s teaching, choreographing, performing, or simply making someone’s day a little brighter, Samia loves creating positive experiences and making a difference in the people around her.
Miss Julia Vignali
Receptionist/Adminstration
Julia Vignali began her dancing career in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. She has trained in hip hop, ballet, jazz, and gymnastics. Dancing is one of the fondest memories from her childhood. Julia also participated in cheerleading for many years, some of which she captained. Throughout middle school and high school, Julia found her passion for musical theatre. This is where she was awarded the opportunity to choreograph for the first time. She graduated from West Chester University with a B.A. in English, while minoring in Communication. Following graduation, Julia worked in various inside sales jobs, which included a variety of administrative work. Julia is excited to apply her admin. experience in a creative environment and join the ERDC family!
Miss Natalie Mancini
Instructor
Miss Natalie began her training at the age of three and now attends Penn State University with a major in Education. She has studied various styles of dance, including ballet, Pointe, contemporary, jazz, tap, and hip-hop. She has performed in the Walt Disney World’s Dance the World parade, the Miss America Parade in Atlantic City, numerous dance competitions, local park performances, Fourth of July parades, and yearly dance recitals. She was a member of ERDC’s Senior Dance Company for years and performed with the company at several events, such as parades, festivals, and competitions during the regular dance season in addition to performing in ERDC’s annual recitals. She served as an apprentice during both seasons 2021-2022 and Summer 2022 and then began teaching her own classes in Season 2022-2023 for ages 3-6.