Faculty

Andrea Agostini

Andrea is a 19 year old Venezuelan-American choreographer based in Philly and originally from South Florida. She was a dance major at the University of the Arts, and is a part of “The Âme Project” a company that creates raw, soulful dance short films. As a teacher and choreographer, her movement is based on a fusion of contemporary and hip hop, with focuses on mindfulness, honesty, and improvisational studies. Andrea is extremely excited to join the DanceXpress family!!

Ally Dyer

Ally is a recent Villanova University graduate, and now works full-time at Villanova's advancement communications team. During her undergraduate years, Ally danced on the Villanova University Dance Team. From philanthropic events on campus to the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden, she had the privilege of performing and representing her university on both a local and national level. Ally is originally from the St. Louis area, where she trained and competed in various dance styles under the creative vision of Tonya Reed-Simon at B. Elite Dance Academy (BEDA). Jazz and hip-hop became her favorite styles there. Through countless masterclasses and performances, Ally developed her passion for dancing, choreographing, and teaching. She is excited to carry that forward as she begins this role at DXP, and looks forward to dancing with everyone soon!

Madison Eichert

Madison has been dancing at Dancexpress since she was 3, and has been teaching since she was 13. She has taken tap, jazz, and ballet every year, but trained intensely in ballet for 6 years. In the past 3 years, Madison has fell in love with hip-hop from taking classes with Matt Steffanina, Dana Alexa, at the Pulse and most recently Rosero McCoy. In the summer of 2014, she went to L.A. and took classes at Millenium Dance Complex, and IDA Hollywood for more dance experience. She has also competed with Dancexpress multiple times throughout her journey with us. Madison looks forward to teaching while she finishes out her college degree at Eastern University.

Lucy Flippen

Lucy was born and raised in Ellicott City, Maryland. During her formative years, she studied dance at Kinetics Dance Theatre and Wilde Lake High School, under the direction of Christine Estabrook. She attended the University of the Arts Precollege Program (2018), the Kennedy Center Contemporary Master Class Series (2019) and the Company E Summer Intensive (2022). Lucy is currently a senior dance major and art therapy minor at University of the Arts. At UArts, she has worked with and danced for Katie Swords Thurman, Kim Bears-Bailey, Shayla-Vie Jenkins, Jung-eun Kim, Lily Mello, and Kali Petrizzo. She has performed in restaged productions of Connect Transfer (Shen Wei Dance Arts) DMan in the Water (Bill T. Jones), and Changing Steps (Merce Cunningham Trust). In her choreographic endeavors she researches questions both physically and theoretically: how people rely on each other, the functions relationships serve, and the purposes and effects of dependency. Presently, Lucy works as a dramaturg, choreographer, and teacher in Baltimore and Philadelphia. 

Magaly Gallagher

We are so happy to welcome Magaly to the DanceXpress family. Magaly Ayanna Gallagher is a dancer and choreographer born in Laredo, Texas, and currently based in Philadelphia. Magaly graduated in May 2023 from the University of the Arts with a BFA in Dance. She trained at Laredo School of Contemporary Dance under the direction of Jessica Zamarripa from 2016 to 2021.Magaly has also trained at summer intensives with San Francisco Conservatory of Dance and Boston Conservatory of Dance. 

Peyton McCue

Hello! My name is Peyton McCue, I am a 21 year old senior at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. My dance journey began at Premiere Dance Studio where I studied all levels of dance. I am blessed to have been apart of the Premiere Performance Team for 10 years, representing my studio competitively alongside my best friends. Here I fell in love with ballet and lyrical which have continued to be my favorite styles to this day. At my home studio I had student teaching opportunities in ballet and tap which sparked my love for teaching dance. As I transitioned to college I joined the Saint Joseph’s University Dance Club where I have continued to train and choreograph for my peers. College is where I discovered you can be a devoted student, volunteer, sorority girl, a member of multiple clubs and still be able to dance! Finding that “work”/ dance balance has been so important to me and i’ve found a new and ever growing passion for dance again! I have been lucky to choreograph and teach for other studios in the Philly area and I am so excited to continue my journey at Dancexpress!! 

Floyd McLean, Jr.

Floyd McLean, Jr., originally from East Orange NJ, began his pre-professional dance training at the age of 13 at Sharron Miller’s Academy for The Performing Arts In Montclair, NJ. He has trained with residencies/intensives such as The Dance Theater of Harlem, Ballet Hispanico, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, NYU Future Dancers/Dance Makers, and Dallas Black Dance Theatre.

He received his Bachelors of Fine Arts from Point Park University in 2018, with a concentration in Modern Dance where he was awarded the Don Craig Scholarship. During his time in college, he has trained with and danced for numerous choreographers and also found his love for choreography while enrolled in school! Choreography is now a huge passion of his and he plans to do it in a larger scale. After graduation, he began his first season with Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s DBDT: Encore! Under the direction of Nycole Ray, he has performed works by choreographers including Rennie Harris, Kate Skarpetowska, Joshua Peugh, Christopher Huggins, and many more. He is so excited to be in Philadelphia and beginning his first season with Philadanco and teaching at DANCEXPRESS too:-))

Linda OKeefe

Linda OKeefe has been teaching at DancExpress for over 15 years . Dancing and teaching the students brings her joy and it’s always a good day to dance especially at DancExpress!! 

Emma Singleton

Hello! My name is Emma, and I’m currently a 20-year-old student at Saint Joseph’s University, where I’m in my second year on the dance team. It has been an incredible honor to represent our school at various appearances and basketball games, as well as to compete at regional and national levels with my talented teammates. My journey in dance began at my home studio, where I trained in a variety of styles. Today, I am fortunate to share my passion by teaching at my home studio and other locations. It brings me immense joy to work with dancers of all ages, helping them refine their technique and elevate their performances. While I have a deep love for jazz and contemporary dance, I’ve recently developed a strong passion for pom as well. Dancing and teaching are not just hobbies for me—they are true passions that fuel my creativity and drive. I am genuinely honored and excited to be part of the Dancexpress family, and I can’t wait to see where this journey leads.

Brena Thomas

Brena Kashun Thomas (Chicago, IL) started her dance training at the Sammy Dyer Dance Theatre in 2005 before her formal training at Chicago High School for the Arts under the direction of Lisa Johnson Willingham. Upon graduation from “Chi-Arts”, Brena received a full scholarship to study at Alonzo King Lines Ballet and Ballet Austin. Relocating to New York City, she continued her training at Dance Theatre of Harlem and was a recipient of the Joan Weill Scholarship at The Ailey School. In 2019, Brena joined Ailey Il where she toured extensively before working under the leadership of Francesca Harper. While touring with Ailey II, Ms Thomas was invited to perform with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre during their 2022 US Tour and NY Lincoln Center Season. As a professional artist Brena has performed nationally and internationally works by Alvin Ailey, William Forsythe, Robert Battle, Francesca Harper, Andrea Miller, and Kirven Douthit-Boyd. Throughout her career, Ms Thomas can be seen on stage, videos, and television, including FX hit series Pose. She’s in her third season with Philadanco.

Kelli Thompson

Kelli Thompson is a movement-based performance artist and choreographer raised in Huntington Beach, CA. The bulk of her dance training took place at Huntington Beach Academy of the Performing Arts directed under Marie Hoffman, where she performed with the programs company (Repertory Ensemble). Kelli continued her dance education at the University of the Arts (UArts) where she earned her BFA in Dance spring of 2022 under the direction of Donna Faye Burchfield. While at UArts, Kelli performed in numerous works by artists including Curt Haworth, Jesse Zarrit, Doug Varone, Tommie Waheed-Evans. Mark Casserta. Shayla-Vie Jenkins. Katie Swords Thurman and more. Since the age of 18, she has spent many of her summers participating in B12 in Berlin where she trained and performed with artists Guy Nadar and Maria Campos, Fabian Wixe, Christina Mertzani, Lenka Vagnerova and others. Kelli's main focus in her performative and choreographic work is contemporary dance with an emphasis on floorwork but also enjoys curating alongside character work. 

Tammy Turberville

Tammy Turberville began dancing at the age of three at Touch of Class dance studio. She competed at the national level in New York City and Las Vegas. As an adult, she continued her dance education taking classes at Steps on Broadway in New York City, tap classes with Chloe Arnold, and the PULSE dance convention including classes with Mia Michaels, Wade Robson, and Brian Friedman. Tammy is a proud mom of two teenage children and her daughter Mia is a competitive dancer herself.Tammy previously instructed all forms of dance at Dancexpress for 10 years and is thrilled to be back!

Rose Williams

Rose is a 20-year-old choreographer and artist based in Philadelphia, originally from Dallas, TX. With 15 years of competitive training at Rowlett Dance Academy, she mastered a variety of styles, including ballet, jazz, hip-hop, contemporary, and tap. Rose also pursued dance studies for two years at The University of the Arts before its abrupt closure in June. Her work as a choreographer and artist is deeply influenced by jazz funk, modern, and contemporary styles. Her choreographic approach emphasizes allowing dancers to express their personal truths and connect with their innermost feelings through dance.

Brittany Wright

Brittany Leticia Wright, a recent graduate of Towson university and company member of Philadanco looks forward to sharing her knowledge and passion of dance. While learning from the creativity and exploration of the students. Let’s have a wonderful year!