Jamie Lee Dain is the Owner and Artistic Director of Dain Dance Academy. She is a native of Delaware County and a graduate of St. Joseph’s University with a Master’s Degree in Education as a Learning Specialist with a certification in Special Education and Reading. Jamie is certified by test to teach all phases of dance. She caught the dance bug at the tender age of four and hasn’t stopped dancing since. She received the majority of her training under the tutelage of Dolores McHenry at McHenry Dance Centre where she taught for 22 years before buying the studio in 2015. Her dance and teaching experience span a wide spectrum, including: ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical and acrobatics.
Jamie has served in the faculty of several dance studios throughout PA and NJ, served as the director of the Villanova University Dance Company for 13 years and has been a guest teacher at several conventions and universities throughout PA, DE, MD, NJ and NY. Jamie is a long standing member of both Dance Masters of America. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Chapter #25 Pennsylvania Association of Dance Teachers as President and Chairperson for their annual Performing Arts Scholarship Competition which raises money to further the dance education of both students and teachers. Jamie is a Nationally Certified Examiner for DMA and has happily served on the National Board of Directors as PADT’s Delegate.
She has choreographed many award winning pieces for several national championship studios and college dance teams and has earned numerous awards for outstanding choreography. Several of her students have gone to study dance in college, serve as nationally ranked title holders, work for recording labels, have been spotted on VH1, the “Ellen” show and gone on to tour with world renowned pop stars. However, she is most proud of the four little dancers she has at home…her daughters Isabella, Thalia, Sabrina and Nadia.
Sandra graduated from Delaware County Community College with an Associate degree in Liberal Arts in 2005 and then went on to graduate from Temple University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Italian Studies. She is certified through Dance Masters of America’s Pennsylvania Association of Dance Teachers’ Chapter 25 in Acro and Ballet. She is also certified by Acrobatic Arts of Canada to teach their Module one curriculum and completed their aerial and handspring workshop as well. Recently, Sandra completed her third year of Dance Masters of America’s Teachers Training School at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Currently, Sandra works full time as a 911 operator for Delaware County Emergency Services in Middletown, Pa
Martha began her dance training at the Shenandoah Academy of Dance in Lexington, Virginia. As part of her training, she studied with Louisville Ballet, the Rock School, and the Kirov Academy in Washington, D.C. during summer intensives. Martha graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, emphasizing in ballet. While at BYU, she performed with the Ballet Showcase Company. Martha has had lead roles in contemporary and classical works, including excerpts from Paquita, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, and the Nutcracker. She found her passion for teaching while working with young dancers at the Children's Creative Dance program at BYU. Ms. Martha's goal as a dance teacher is not only to give sound and fundamental ballet instruction, but to inspire and motivate each dancer to be an artist.
Devon Larcher is a native of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where he graduated from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and trained at Shannon O’ Brien School of Dance. Devon started his career traveling the world on the Royal Caribbean cruise line as a dancer and aerialist. He has been a member of the Bill Evans touring company as well as Urbanity Dance Company since 2014. Devon not only loves the stage but also to choreograph and create which he has had the opportunity to do both in the states and internationally. Devon is both blessed and excited to be joining Koresh Dance Company in the fall of 2018.
Jan McDonald began her training in Okinawa and continued on in the United States. She received scholarships to study at the School of The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Houston Ballet, Oakland University, and Marygrove College Ms. McDonald received a BFA in Dance from Marygrove College concentrating in Ballet and Modern, and a M.S in Ballet from Indiana University.
Her professional career began at age 16, performing with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in their Lazer light shows and at 17 joined the Dayton Ballet. Other professional credits include performing with The Atlanta Ballet and the Indianapolis Ballet Theatre in works such as Giselle, Swan Lake, Agnes De Mille’s Billy the Kid, as well as, Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, Raymonda Variations, and the Nutcracker. Ms McDonald has performed as a guest artist for Regional Ballet Companies in the United States and Canada.
Her teaching credits include a position as an Associate Instructor of Ballet at Indiana University and an Instructor and Dance Chairperson at Arts Academy in the Woods (a Performing and Visual Arts High School). She has also served as the Chairperson at Marygrove College’s Summer School for the Performing Arts. Other credits include a Career award in Dance from the National Society for Arts and Letters and a Choreography Award from NARB (National Association of Regional Ballet) to study at their Craft of Choreography Conference. Her students have been accepted into schools such as the Joffery, American Ballet Theatre, Cincinnati Ballet, The Rock School, and The Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Numerous students have received college scholarships for dance. They have also had performance opportunities with The Joffery Ballet, The Cincinnati Ballet, The Moscow Ballet and the Kirov of Russia.Some of her students have gone on to perform on Broadway, at Disneyland, in the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular and in television commercials..
Melissa Vella Salcedo is a well-established professional dancer and choreographer. You know her best as one of the final four women in the first season of the hit reality show So You Think You Can Dance? Following her success with the show, she has become a sought after choreographer and teacher around the country. She has performed as a featured dancer in Toni Braxton’s National Libra Tour. She has also served as a choreographer for Jaxum Record Label; performed on “Ellen” the “big in ‘05” awards on VH1, and was a guest on the “T.V. Guide Channel” and “Good Day L.A.” A native of Springfield PA, she grew up training McHenry Dance Centre in Havertown, PA. under the direction of Dolores McHenry and Jamie Lee Dain, as well as studying at Point Park University.
Meghan Killian is a Philadelphia native who was introduced to the art of dance at the tender age of 3. She trained at McHenry Dance Center in Havertown, PA and was exposed to years of dance performance and competition under the guidance of Dolores McHenry and Jamie Lee Dain. At the age of 18, Meghan received a dance scholarship to continue her studies at Point Park University in the Conservatory of Dance program in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While there, she had the privilege of training under and performing works by Kate Skarpetowska, Kiesha Lalama, Aszure Barton, KiKi Lucas and many other renowned artists. She had the opportunity to perform at the David L. Lawrence Convention Centre for the Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital 125th Anniversary Gala in 2015, and at the Pittsburgh Playhouse Grand Opening in 2018. She graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Accounting.
Currently, Meghan teaches and choreographs throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. She was a member of Philadelphia’s only all-female jazz dance company, “Project Moshen” from 2020-2022, and became a degreed member of Dance Masters of America Chapter #25 in 2022. She has a passion for dance education, and is excited to share her love of dance with the next generation of performers!
Rachael Murphy, a Delaware County native, is a recent graduate of West Chester University. She began her dance training at the age of three, studying and competing in a variety of different styles during her time at McHenry Dance Center/ Dain Dance Academy. While pursuing her degree in communication studies at WCU, Rachael became a member of the nationally ranked West Chester University Dance Team, as well as the University Dance Company. With her participation in these organizations came opportunities to work with a number of notable choreographers and dance artists. Rachael was selected to perform in the American College Dance Association conferences in 2018 and 2020, adjudicated by a panel of choreographers and professionals from across the country. Following her graduation in 2021, Rachael became a member of Project Moshen Dance Company in Philadelphia, and recently began her third season dancing with the company.
As a teacher, Rachael strives to instill confidence in each individual student while celebrating a shared love of dance!
Bella started dancing at the age of 2 and continues to study at Dain Dance Academy and Ovations Dance Studio, where she has been for the past 15 years. She has had the opportunity to assist on convention circuits such as Titans of Dance and Revel Dance Convention as well as perform in Disney Springs and local parades. From these experiences, she has fallen in love with the idea of choreographing and teaching dancers of all ages. Bella is in her second year of teaching, and mainly teaches acrobatics for kids between the ages of 6 and 15 years old. She is also an on-call substitute teacher, and uses her versatile training to teach any style of dance. This year Bella started choreographing solos, and cannot wait to see her work hit the competition stage.
Miss Debbie's bio coming soon.