Director

Jenna grew up outside of Boston in a family where performing arts was at the center. Trained in ballet, tap, and jazz, Jenna danced in countless recitals and musicals, and later enjoyed choreographing dances and musicals in college. Bethesda Dance Center has been a passion project for Jenna who, with her BDC Team, looks to establish a positive dance environment as well high quality dance education for the community. Jenna received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and her M.A. in Childhood Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Jenna’s experience as an elementary school teacher has gone hand-in-hand with her work as a Studio Director, seeking to connect with and nurture the growth of children, and in this case, specifically dancers. Jenna is also, importantly, a wife and the mother of three incredible children, Levi, Micah, and Bella.

Assistant Director

Meg is a Maryland native who grew up performing wherever she could– stages, backyards, and everywhere in between. She went on to receive a B.M. in Musical Theatre from Catholic University, where she was a performer, director, and producer of countless plays, musicals & cabarets. Meg is a Helen-Hayes nominated director and producer in the DC theatre scene, and is the Associate Artistic Director of Monumental Theatre Company. She brings her theatrical expertise and creativity to her work as Assistant Director at Bethesda Dance Center, where she has been on the team since day one, working with Jenna to grow the studio from a backyard class to a dance community for over 300 dancers. Among many things, Meg proudly leads BDC's Preschool program, and loves instilling the joy of movement in our littlest dancers!

AcroDance Program Director

Faith Rokowski (she/her) danced recreationally while growing up in Massachusetts from the age of 3, primarily in ballet, tap, jazz, jazz-funk, and lyrical. She earned her degree in Political Science from American University, where she danced and choreographed for AU In Motion. Since then, she has performed with groups around the DMV, and earned her choreographic certification from the ICONS Choreographic Institute in May 2023. In addition to her work with BDC, she is a co-founder of the Effervescence Collective, a professional dance collective based in DC. Her choreography has been presented at Atlas Performing Arts Center, Dance Place’s 2023-24 Open Call Co-Presentation Series, DanceArtTheater’s Open Dance Works, and in Dance Loft’s upcoming 2024-25 season.

Company Program Director

Carmen started dancing at the age of three and pretty much never stopped! Born and raised in Montgomery County, she grew up on the competition circuit through the DMV, winning countless awards as a soloist and group member. She began choreographing at the age of 14 while continuing to further her technical training in all styles from classical ballet to hip hop. Carmen attended Penn State University where she was a member of Penn State Dance Company, serving as a showcase choreographer, advanced technique teacher, and head choreographer of the company's select ensemble. After college, she moved back to the DMV area to continue pursuing dance education and a career in fitness. Outside of being a dance professional, Carmen is a nationally-certified fitness professional, which gives her an in-depth and highly technical approach to training her dancers. Carmen is known for her unique choreography and ideas, attention to detail, and ability to tell stories through dance. Carmen believes in the power of a positive and nurturing classroom environment, while simultaneously pushing her dancers to the next level. She continues to grow as an industry professional through classes and workshops and is excited to be leading BDC's company program!

Manager, Teacher

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Khail Bryant found her passion both on stage and screen at only four years old. Bryant began dance training at The Dance Theater of Harlem before settling at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, where she trained for 15 years under some of the most revered dancers in the world. While at Ailey, Khail was chosen to dance in The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and at The White House for the Obamas. In addition to her love for dance, Khail has turned her love for acting into a thriving profession, starring in over 50 national commercials––one of which received an Emmy. Additionally, Khail has starred in films such as, “The Perfect Holiday,” “Alex Strangelove,” “See You Yesterday,” “My B.F.F, “ and even starred as Young Nala in The Lion King on Broadway for three years. In 2021, Khail graduated from Brown University, Magna Cum Laude. Khail is excited to share her love and passion for dance with her BDC dancers and looks forward to watching them grow as dancers an individuals!

Manager

Jane Peterson is a proud Baltimore Native, MICA Graduate, Art Educator, and Performer. She has represented Team USA in the Figure Skating National Showcase and is proud to continue to inspire students to explore creative movement and storytelling as a Figure Skating coach. She has held various mentorship and educator roles at Baltimore Center Stage, Maryland Institute College of Art and Baltimore Social Studios where she encourages artists and storytellers of all ages to preserve a sense of curiosity about the world.

Teacher

Sydney grew up performing and teaching in South Jersey. She has studied ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, and pointe. Sydney spent two summers training with the Radio City Rockettes and was on a traveling competitive dancing team for 9 years. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Integrated Early Childhood and Special Education at Towson University. Sydney is a 1st grade special educator in Montgomery County and is excited to keep her creative side and love of dance alive as a teacher at BDC!

Teacher

Meghan Letizia (she/her) was born and raised in Connecticut. As a child she danced and did competitive gymnastics for several years before transitioning to field hockey and distance running. She went on to the University of Vermont where she continued playing field hockey on the UVM club team, and earned her Bachelor of Social Work with a minor in Dance and a minor in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. While studying with UVM’s dance program, Meghan discovered her passion for performing, creating, and exploring dance in environments that prioritize trust, vulnerability, and community. She has since worked as a teacher, residential counselor, and track & field coach. Meghan now lives in D.C. where she works in recruiting. Meghan has danced with local DMV collectives and recently co-founded The Effervescence Collective—a D.C. dance collective founded in principles of Community, Accessibility, and Levity. Her DMV performance credits include The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, Capital One Hall’s Vault Theatre, and the Atlas Performing Arts Center’s Lang Theatre. Meghan believes in the confidence and community our youth gain in creative and athletic spaces— and the impact of mentorship founded in mutual respect, intention, and care. She looks forward to creating a safe, meaningful, and fun environment where all of her BDC students can grow and gain valuable dance and life skills!

Teacher

Anna Carlisle is a Maryland native who began dancing at the age of three with Ballet with Cindee Velle. After high school she attended Towson University and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography. While at Towson University she studied Ballet, Modern, Pointe, Partnering and a composition series culminating in a senior capstone. After graduating, Anna moved to New York City and attended Broadway Dance Center’s Professional Semester, studying intensely under industry leading choreographers and teachers. After spending a year and a half in New York City, Anna is excited to continue sharing her passion for dance with the students at Bethesda Dance Center. Anna believes in creating a safe, inclusive space for dancers to express themselves through movement and most of all have fun!

Teacher

Native of Brazil, Talissa Bavaresco (she/her) is a NYC/DC based Dancer and Choreographer with expertise in Ballet, Jazz and Modern Techniques, as well as Theater and Commercial styles. Graduate from the Joffrey Ballet School’s Jazz & Contemporary Program, Talissa has performed with dance companies such as Keigwin+Company, Jennifer Muller/The Works, Joffrey Ensemble, Humans Collective, Jazz Ain’t Dead, TunanuT; and in independent works by Gabrielle Lamb, Patrick O’Brien, Manuel Vignoulle, Mark Caserta and more. Commercially, Talissa has performed with artist Kimbra, Andrew McMahon and Oriion, danced at PANORAMA Music Festival NYC and at Six Flags’ Fright Fest, to name a few. Choreographically, Talissa is the Artistic Director of BAVA Dance and has presented works at the Apollo Theater, Bryant Park Dance Series, DUMBO Dance Festival, Dixon Place, The New York Jazz Choreography Festival, WAXworks, HATCH Presenting Series, Holi Hai Festival NYC, Uptown Rising and NACHMO. Talissa is a seasoned dance instructor experienced in all styles, and has extensive skills in arts management and programming.

Teacher

A proud Maryland native, Laila Breakbill’s journey in dance began at the age of five and has since evolved into a lifelong passion. With extensive training in ballet, tap, acro, jazz, lyrical, modern, hip hop, and contemporary dance, Laila brings a diverse and rich background to her teaching. Laila’s dance career includes notable achievements such as her time with the X Squad Dancers competition team, where she earned numerous awards and scholarships. Her dedication continued at Bishop McNamara High School in the dance program, where she excelled as a Jazz Dance Scholarship recipient and was an active member of the BMHS Dance Team. Further honing her craft, Laila attended Louisiana State University, where she majored in English with a concentration in Rhetoric, Writing, and Culture, complemented by a minor in Dance. Her time at LSU was marked by significant performances and projects within the LSU Dance Program.In addition to her dance background, Laila’s commitment to the arts is paralleled by her role as a Middle School English Teacher in Annapolis, MD. Her teaching philosophy blends the creativity and discipline of dance with the structured environment of education, creating an enriching and well-rounded experience for her students.

Teacher

Kayla DeLise is a dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher from Allentown, Pennsylvania and is currently a third-year dance major at Peabody Conservatory. Over the summer, Kayla attended the Michael Nickerson-Rossi's apprenticeship program in Palm Springs, California. This summer, Kayla will be traveling to Amsterdam for a 4 week dance intensive where she will train and perform thanks to funding from Johns Hopkins University and Peabody Conservatory. Kayla has been dancing since the age of 10. She has worked with a variety of professional teachers and choreographers and has trained in many different styles including ballet, lyrical, contemporary, modern, jazz, hip hop, acrobatics, ballroom, partnering, tap, and pointe. Kayla also loves teaching younger students in ballet, jazz, lyrical, acrobatics and more. She was featured in singer/songwriter, Jordyn Kenzie’s, music video “Stir the Sky” and was also featured in the documentary “Why Dance”.

Teacher

Alex Miller has been dancing since age three, training at the Ballet Academy her entire life. She danced with the Dance Theatre of Harlem under Arthur Mitchell from ages 9 to 13. In college, she trained and performed with the Pulse Hip Hop Dance team for four years. Now, as a dedicated instructor since age 18, Alex teaches a variety of styles and finds inspiration in the creativity and passion of her students. She is thrilled to be teaching at BDC!