About

Christopher Marinelli is a professional dancer, teacher and choreographer from Staten Island, New York. He grew up training in a local studio, competing in national dance competitions from 8 to 18 years old, where he has won numerous awards consisting of not just overall placements, platinums, perfect platinums and elites but special judges and student choreography awards as well.

Then he chose continued his training as an adult at the professional level all around NYC, dancing under choreographers such as Luam, Candace Brown, Miguel Zarate and Miles Keeney at Broadway
Dance Center, Brickhouse NYC and Peridance Capezio Center. He has a diverse repertoire being trained in almost every style of dance from Hip Hop to Ballet, including Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary and
Musical Theatre. To this day you can find Mr. Chris continuing to train, to adapt with the ever changing dance industry and ensure his training is always relevant to the culture of right now.

Mr. Chris has performed all over the tristate area including Six Flags Great Adventure, Richmond County Fair, Hudson Terrace, and Somy Hall just to name a few. You can find him featured in some pop
star music videos as well, including Todrick Hall. While teaching is his priority he still finds time to perform and you can find him performing in a Lady Gaga Tribute Show for New Hampshire Pride this
Fall.

He has taught students across the tristate as well including the prominent Mark Morris Dance Group and Brooklyn College’s Children/Teen Dance Program. His choreography is designed to challenge a
student enabling them to grow while also storytelling and entertaining an audience. Mr. Chris brings a vibrant energy and intense passion to every class he teaches and loves creating a lasting impact on
students who he believes are the next generation of dance.

Bettina Mahoney graduated Cum Laude with two BA degrees in Dance Performance and Psychology. While growing up dancing for renowned dance studio The Gold School, where she served as a company member for their affiliated 501c3 Project Moves under the direction of Rennie Gold, she learned about the power of bridging the gap between empowerment and dance. After being recruited to dance at Dean College , Bettina back up danced for Flo Rida for the Season Opener for the New England Patriots dancing in front of 70k in stadium and over millions of TV viewers. Later on Bettina would win numerous awards for her choreography at festivals such Boston Contemporary Dance Festival and more as well as many dance competitions.

In 2019, Bettina survived a traumatic experience, and turned her pain into purpose by opening up the only triple threat dance convention in the country, and within the first three months of opening hosted her first ever convention in NYC, and throughout the years bringing in some of the most sought after artists over the years such as Miles Keeney, Amanda Jane Cooper, Natalie Weiss, Desi Oakley, Take 3 Talent, and more. During 2020, in addition to hosting online events during the pandemic she hosted a private pre-professional intensive training cohort where she scouted serious intensive triple threat artists into her exclusive 25 student program. Bringing talent agencies to scout, the top voice, actors, and dance artists in the industry to actively coach, mentor, and break out some of the most talented up and comers in the industry. Bettina superpower is helping others find theirs, by pulling out the potential no matter age and or skill level. Mahoney is launching a 360 holistic wellness platform for everyday life in the coming days as an extension to her media company.

In addition to educating and choreography, Bettina has worked collaboratively with one of the longest running A-list agencies in the world, William Morris Endeavor to close major A-list deals for her business for celebrity endorsements, partnerships and exclusive collaborations with some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry. After 23
years as a trained dancer, she is proud to pay it forward with her extensive skillsets to the next generation. Miss Bettina looks forward to teaching at Next Level Dance this season, and is excited to help
each student reach their full potential in a safe and encouraging environment.

Kristi Tartaglione, a performing and visual artist, has been dancing since the age of 4 and teaching dance throughout the tristate area for the past 10 years. She is a graduate of Eugene Lang The New School for liberal arts, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in dance. Langs unique structure and academics allowed her to curate a course of study focused on teaching and choreography. She continues to further her education through courses and classes in both performance and teaching. Currently she holds certifications in: Acrobatic Arts Modules, Alixa Flexibility, Sugarfoot Therapy, & 200hr Yoga Teacher Training.

Kristi’s classroom is a high energy environment that uses strength and technique to facilitate a fusion between acrobatics and dance. Class will include drills to improve tumbling and limbering skills allowing students to excel on and off the mat. Students will engage in improvisational exercises and choreographic practices to prepare them for seamless transitions between acrobatic skills and choreography in various genres. She strives to make her classroom accessible and challenging to all levels and abilities, an environment in which the students understand their body which results in a smarter more capable dancer.

Over the course of her ever evolving career she’s had the privilege of dancing works by Rebecca Stenn, Neil Greenburg, Shirleen Quigly, Merceditas Manza Manago-Alexander, Lacina Coulibaly, Karla Wolfangle, Miri L. Park, and Evan J. Rapport. As well as showcasing her own work at The Secret Theater, Mark Morris, Tishman Theater, The Tank, NYLA, and Actors Fund Center. She continues to have the privilege of training and working with some of the most esteemed choreographers in NYC and LA.

She is currently on staff at Broadway Dance Center’s Children and Teen Program, Northeast Dance Project, and Next Level Dance. She hopes her work with children allows them a safe space to explore
themselves and dive deep into issues both in and out of the studio.

Julia, originally from White Plains, New York, grew up dancing all around Westchester. Started her training at New York Dance and then went on to train under Hoshia Aaron Thao and Valentina Kozlova. In her early years, she danced for the 2012 Olympics in London and performed at Lincoln Center. She also attended summer intensives such as Bolshoi Ballet and American Ballet theatre. She began her professional career as an apprentice for Hudson Ballet Theatre then later moved on to be a company member. She’s performed in ballets such as Sleeping beauty, Cinderella, Mid Summer Nights Dream, Alice in Wonderland, Nutcracker, and was on tour with the company to perform “Diaspora”. While her main focus was ballet, she also enjoyed dancing jazz, tap and contemporary. She loves that she now gets the chance to share the passion she has for dance with her students.

Mia LoPresti is a sophomore at Fordham University with a love and passion for both teaching and working with kids. While attending college, Mia still continues to teach classes and work with the competition team at Next Level Dance. She has been trained in jazz, ballet, acro, hip-hop, pointe, contemporary, and tap throughout her dance career. She begun dancing at a very young age and continues to consistently dance all the way into college. Mia was a competitive dancer for almost 6 years before continuing her dance career at Fordham University. After two years as captain of the Next Level dance team, Mia is now on the choreography board for her dance team in Fordham. She is currently in the process of an online acro certification course by the acro dance teachers association. She has experience in teaching and choreographing for ages 2 all the way through 18 in both contemporary and jazz. Mia’s choreography has placed first and been recognized among many dance competitions. Ms. Mia brings passion and joy into every class and loves to teach in an individualized manner, giving attention and care to each student. Ms. Mia is beyond excited for the upcoming dance season and hopes to continue to build a strong relationship with the students, so that Next Level Dance may be their home away from home.

Tim is thrilled to be joining the staff at Next Level Dance. He is an actor, comedian, and dance teacher based in NYC with a Bachelor’s in Dance Performance from Oklahoma City University. In his career, Tim has been lucky enough to work with renowned directors and choreographers such as A1 Blackstone, Bill Burns, Denis Jones, Josh Rhodes, and Richard J. Hinds. His favorite credits include: Paper Mill Playhouse, Asolo Repertory Theater, BCEFA’s Gypsy of the Year, HBO, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The YAAAS Fest Comedy Festival.

Winter Sellers grew up in Arizona as a competition dancer training in all styles. After high school she was accepted into one the the most prestigious programs in New York, Professional Semester at Broadway Dance Center. There she trained as a commercial dancer and teacher under well known choreographers and mentors such as Neil Schwartz, Emily Greenwell, and Shannon Atkins to name a few.

Currently she is performing in a variety of showcases and performances across the city while also teaching and choreographing for competitive and recreational studios on the east coast.

Alex, originally from White Plains, New York, is a professional dancer currently based out of New York. He started recreational gymnastics before getting into dance. But his dance career took off from the New York Performing Arts Center in Harrison, New York. While most of his hip hop training is self taught, he’s gotten amazing training from the likes of Jona Biddle, Miles Keeney and Casie “Tynee” GoShow. He’s honed his hip hop fundamentals such as popping, waving, house at Joffery’s Summer of Hip Hop Intensive for three years. While his specialty is hip hop, Alex is also trained in contemporary, jazz and contemporary/ hip hop fusion! He has been choreographing since he was sixteen years old and has won numerous choreography awards. Currently he is a dance major at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.