Instructor

Brandy Graff – Owner

Brandy Graff, owner and instructor, has over 30 years of dance training in jazz, tap, ballet, gymnastics, lyrical, hip-hop, ballroom and Latin dancing. She has competed at the national level for over 10 years, and had attended the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where she studied dance and was fortunate to work with numerous renowned choreographers and instructors. She taught and choreographed for several local studios, including Arthur Murray®. Brandy’s dancing has led her to travel the world as a member of cast shows for both Celebrity Cruise Lines and Holland America! Since retiring from cruise ship entertainment, Brandy’s admiration for dance has driven her into opening her own studio which has now been in business for 11 years! Although her focus is on teaching dance, she also instills integrity, discipline, manners, confidence, attitude, team-work, patience, and perseverance to her students. She wholeheartedly admires training and leading her kids on a journey packed full of art, passion, movement and the love of…Dance!

Instructor

Victoria Strnisa

Victoria Strnisa graduated from Slippery Rock University with a BFA in Dance: Performance & Choreography with a second major in Theatre: Design & Technology. During her four years at Slippery Rock, Victoria performed in and choreographed for many SRU dance concerts and was seen in the theatre department’s productions of Julius Caesar and Heathers: The Musical. Additionally, she performed the historic Martha Graham work Celebration at The Joyce Theatre in New York City and at Jacob’s Pillow. Prior to this, Victoria graduated from Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School where she majored in dance. While there she performed in many dance shows and musicals. Highlights include 5 years of The Nutcracker, The Wizard of Oz, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Tommy in concert.

Instructor

Scarlett Shola

My name is Scarlett Shola and I have been dancing at Dance n’at for 9 years. I have been trained in many styles including jazz, tap, hip hop, ballet, lyrical, musical theater, pointe, and gymnastics. I have also been dancing competitively for 6 years. I have attended the Bold Dance Project clinic and have participated in many workshops at various competitions. I am very excited to be able to teach creative movement this year!!

Instructor

Menzi Sherwin

Menzi Sherwin is a senior in high school instructed by Brandy Graff for 9 years where she studied ballet, jazz, lyrical, tap, musical theater, gymnastics, and pointe. She has been apart of the competition team for 7 years and plans to go to college where she will dual major in communications and dance. She is excited and honored to be teaching at Dance n’At this dance season.

Instructor

Alycia Dorsey

Alycia Dorsey attended Bethany College where she majored in Mathematics Education.  Growing up, Alycia danced with a local dance group, the Joyce Ellis Dancers and taught the various levels in the studio.  Alycia has continued to enjoy dancing and has thoroughly enjoyed the Adult Jazz/Hip Hop class for the last four years at Dance N’At! 

Currently, Alycia is a mathematics teacher for the South Fayette Township School District.  She loves spending time with her family, travelling, and gardening.   Alycia is very excited to be in the studio teaching one of the Adult Jazz/Hip Hop classes!

Instructor

Karen Hodgdon

Karen Hodgdon attended Bucknell University where she earned a BA in English and then went on to Chatham College to tack on a  Master’s Equivalency in  education.  She holds teaching certifications for Prek-4th grade and 6-12grade English.  Although she has several years experience as a dance mom and now dance grandmother, she is not trained in dance but approaches her Creative Movement classes more from a child development angle and aspect. 

Her teaching experiences span all ages from 12 month olds in daycare settings to senior adults in a “drop back into high school” program. Currently she teaches 3 year olds at Hickory Christian Preschool and K-2nd graders at a hybrid homeschool called The Third Cord Study Center where she is co-founder with her daughter. Karen is excited about introducing the love of movement and dance while fostering social development with her young students. 

In her free time (if there is any left over) she enjoys singing and playing the flute for her worship team at church, reading, cross stitching, writing- mostly children’s books to someday publish, and the adult dance classes she attends. She also enjoys acting in local plays and christian movies!  But mostly, she enjoys spending time with her family, especially her 4 grandkids!

Instructor

Lynn Bobzin

Lynn VanNasdale holds a BA cum laude in Theater and Dance from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and an MFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah. At U of U, She instructed collegiate courses in Hip-Hop, Dance Composition, Contact Improvisation, and Beginning Modern. She also traveled to Panama with Movement Exchange in 2012-2013, a dance and cultural exchange program, teaching classes to at-risk youth in local schools, foundations and orphanages as well as the University of Panama and La Nacional Escuela de Danza. Ms Lynn has worked with internationally recognized artists Netta Yerushalmy, Elena Demyanenko, Johannes Wieland and Andrea Miller.

Her choreography has been presented at the American College Dance Festival, Southern Illinois University’s X-Fest and Dance In Concert and Consuming Kinetics Dance Company of St. Louis, MO., Ruby Slipper Fringe Festival in NC, Rephrase Dance Collective, The Laboratory Dancers, Inaside Chicago Dance Company’s Choreographic Sponsorship Event, Alliance Dance Company’s Kaleidoscope Choreographic Festival, Side Street Studio Art’s Going Dutch Festival and Joel Hall Dancers and Center’s Dances in the Hall. Ms. Lynn has been teaching kids and youth for the past 15 years, 7 of which were spent as Director of recreational and competitive dance programming. She has enjoyed staging choreography for junior musical productions, recitals and competitive dancers over the years. In 2022, Ms. Lynn’s work Vivaldi in Bloom earned Choreographer of the Year at DreamMaker National Dance Competition in Virginia Beach.

Her pedagogy hinges on creating a positive, communal environment where students embrace struggle and maintain a sense of play, wonder and exploration. She supports her students in overcoming doubt, judgment and fear while also teaching that the greatest breakthroughs come from challenging what is comfortable and seizing the unfamiliar. Ms.Lynn hopes that within her classroom each student finds ownership and empowerment in their dancing, unleashing their inner artistry to share their stories with the world. She is grateful for the opportunity to return to teaching in Hickory, PA. with the Dance N’At community!

Instructor

Rachel Shento

Rachel Shento attended West Virginia University where she majored in Journalism with a focus on Public Relations and minored in dance. While at WVU, Rachel was a member of the WVU Dance Ensemble, formerly known as Orchesis. During her time in the company Rachel performed in a number of ballet pieces as well as a contemporary dance choreographed by guest artist and New York choreographer Jenny Rocha. Rachel also choreographed for a number of company productions and studied pedagogy under the direction of former Indianapolis Ballet soloist, Renee Nicholson.

While at WVU, Rachel also taught a variety of classes for the WVU Creative Arts program, including ballet, tap, wedding survival and beginner classes for adults. Rachel also taught ballet for a year at a Clarksburg, West Virginia studio, Momentum.

Currently, Rachel works full time as a Communications Consultant at NOVA Chemicals and enjoys spending her free time with her husband (Mark), two-year old son (Benjamin) and her Aussie Doodle (Schmosby). She also enjoys reading, running and watching movies.

Rachel is incredibly excited to join Dance n’AT and get back into the studio this year!