Meet The Team

Destiny was already written for Miss Sharon as dance was constantly present in her family. Her mother, (so fondly known as) Mrs. "D", was a professional ballroom teacher and performer and was a driving influence in Sharon's life. Miss Sharon started her formal training, at the age of four, in her home town of Whippany, NJ with Betty Welsh Clemens, a former NYC Radio City Rockette. Miss Sharon started teaching at the age of thirteen and immediately fell in love with children, teaching and passing on the fun and joy of dancing! She knew then, this would be her life. Sharon continued her training at the age of seventeen with the New Jersey School of Ballet and performed in the Nutcracker Christmas Shows. At the age of nineteen she was offered a position as a NYC Radio City Rockette and also, to compete in the "The Harvest Moon Ball" ballroom championship competitions. However, Miss Sharon chose to open the doors to her school because her true passion and love was in teaching. Miss Sharon is honored to have second and third generation dancers attending her school and feels this is the highest compliment. Many of Sharon's students have gone on to professional acting, performing and teaching careers, and have opened their own schools. Over forty years and tens of thousands of students later, Miss Sharon is still doing what she loves to do best, pass on the joy of DANCING!

Miss Tammy began dancing at the age of 2 and started teaching dance while still in high school. Over the course of a 46 year teaching career, she trained under many respected industry professionals including Betty Welsh Clemens, Sharon Deventer, Frank Hatchett, Art Stone, Al Gilbert, Linda Gache and Luigi.

She is widely recognized for her choreography in local middle and high school musicals and has been honored by the Rising Star Awards at the Paper Mill Playhouse - a prestigious program modeled after the Broadway Tony Awards for high school musical theatre. Miss Tammy has also served as a judge for numerous dance competitions throughout the years.

Since retiring from teaching Miss Tammy has taken on the role of managing the dance and music studio. She remains deeply committed to the growth and success of the students, teachers, and families who are part of the studio community. Having been involved with SSDM for over 50 years, she takes great pride in helping the studio continue to thrive for future generations

Susan Deventer-Zakosky began studying dance at the age of 3. She fell in love immediately and could not get enough. Luckily her older sister opened Sharon's Studio of Dance & Music in 1975. This gave Susan not only the opportunity to study every day but also to teach alongside her sisters. She has won national dance titles and has performed professionally in the tri-state area. Susan has been teaching all styles of dance to all levels and ages. She has also taught Broadway performers at the world known Broadway Dance Center in NYC.

Amanda began her dancing career at the young age of three. She is experienced in teaching a variety of dance styles which includes ballet, contemporary, gymnastics, hip hop, jazz, lyrical, modern, pointe, and tap. She is a graduate of Montclair State University (MSU), where she achieved Cum Laude honors while receiving a Bachelor's degree of Fine Arts in Dance. While attending MSU, her extensive training in ballet, modern, and choreography provided her the opportunity to work with acclaimed choreographers such as Maxine Steinman, Jose Limon, Joelle Van Sickle, and Shapiro & Smith. Additionally, she was a member of the Six Degrees Dance Company which performed at various notable venues including the Tsunami Benefit, and the Garden Opening Concert. She began her career as a professional dance instructor in 2000.

Penn State University graduate Victoria Scanga began her teaching career in 2002 at the Madison Area YMCA. Her experience spans both recreational and competitive dance instruction, as well as serving as an adjunct dance instructor at Penn State University. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Arts with a concentration in Dance from Penn State in 2008, where she performed with the University Dance Company and Volé, the Penn State Ballet Club.

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Following graduation, Victoria danced with ETCH Dance Co. and continued her professional training in Simonson Technique, modern dance, and ballet while studying at Dance New Amsterdam in New York City.

As a choreographer, Miss Vicky served as the Artistic Director of Victoria Scanga / scangadance from 2009–2012. Her work has been featured at numerous festivals and performance series throughout New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, including 60×60 Dance at the World Financial Center Winter Garden, DanceFest at Tompkins Square Park, the Fertile Ground Performance Series at Green Space NYC, the Koresh Artist Showcase in Philadelphia, WAXworks at Triskelion Arts in Brooklyn, and the Mish Mash Performance Series at Sukha Arts Center.

In the competitive dance world, Miss Vicky is a multi-time regional and national award-winning choreographer whose work has earned numerous Top 10 placements for solos, duos, and group performances. She also serves as a judge for DreamMaker National Talent Competition.

In addition to her dance career, Miss Vicky holds an MBA from Rutgers Business School and works as Director at NX3 Corporation, where she provides automation support for Fortune 500 companies. She also brings her marketing expertise to the studio as its social media content creator.​

Max, aka Bboy Airmax, has been dancing for nine years, seven of which have been with souljerz crew, competing and doing performances with souljerz all over the world. Mr. Max's most memorable shows include MTV, the US Open, Disney, Pepsi and the Super Bowl. Mr. Max is most known for his aerial abilities and power moves. He can be seen judging competitions worldwide, in commercials and of course, in the air. Mr. Max has been teaching break dance at Sharon's since 2009.

Noel began dancing at Sharon’s Studio of Dance at the age of 3 and continued her training there through age 18. During her years at Sharon’s, she trained under Miss Tammy and served as an assistant teacher, developing both her technical skills and passion for teaching young dancers.

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Noel graduated from Muhlenberg College with a Bachelor of Arts in Finance. While attending Muhlenberg, she continued her dance education, studying ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and hip-hop. She is also an active member of Associated Dance Teachers of NJ, where she continues to take classes and attend workshops each year to further her professional development. Noel later earned her MBA in Finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

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Noel lives in Florham Park with her husband, three children, two dogs, and two cats. In the summer, you’ll most likely find her at her favorite place — Long Beach Island.

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Over the years, Noel has taught dancers of all ages at Sharon’s Studio of Dance, but her favorite role is being your little one’s very first dance teacher.​

Kari has been dancing since the age of three. She has been formally trained in tap, jazz, lyrical, and ballet. Kari began student teaching where she learned that she had a passion for helping to educate young dancers. She has been teaching dance since the age of 18 at East Stroudsburg University, as well at other local dance studios throughout New Jersey. She has danced professionally with the NFL for two years. She was afforded the opportunity to dance with Lenny Kravitz in the Thanksgiving halftime show, as well as dancing with Lilian Garcia. Kari currently holds a Masters Degree in Administration, a BS in Education and a minor in dance, Kari is an avid student and teacher. She grew up dancing in Rockaway, NJ where she trained under numerous choreographers. She was a member of the competition team, and selected for a performance at the home of Bon Jovi. While at East Stroudsburg University, Kari was a member of the Dance Team, Cheerleading Team, and University Dance Company. There she was able to learn and perform new styles, while being instructed by top choreographers. Upon graduating, she was able to coach and choreograph for a semi-professional dance team for two years. Miss Kari has been a judge for numerous cheerleading teams. She is proud to be a member of Miss Sharon's Dance and Music and share her passion for dance with her students!

Janine started dancing with Sharon’s at the age of three. During her time at Sharon’s, she was trained in ballet, jazz, contemporary, tap and was a member of the Performing Group and Competition Team. After 15 years of dance and several years as a student teacher at Sharon’s, Janine decided she wanted to continue her dance career at Muhlenberg College. Janine studied under Karen Dearborn, Jeffrey Peterson, Randall Anthony Smith and Teresa VanDenend Sorge in ballet, modern, African studies, choreography and educational techniques. Janine was a member of the department's dance company where she got to perform annually in the mainstages in both faculty and student pieces. While also in college Janine was a member of the school’s dance team, The Perkulators and taught at their local community arts program, Muhlenberg Community Dance Center (MCDC). This opportunity gave Janine the experience to work as one of the performance managers behind the scenes of the MCDC shows. When Janine graduated she received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Dance with a concentration in Dance Education. Since Muhlenberg, Janine spent a year in Washington DC working and teaching at studios down there and has since moved back to New Jersey, where she is excited to teach at Sharon’s Studio of Dance & Music.

Tina has been dancing since the age of three and started teaching at the age of 14. Growing up as a competitive dancer at Totowa Dance Center under the instruction of Barbara Bruno Campbell, she trained in many forms of dance such as lyrical, ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, hip hop, and contemporary. She has won numerous platinum, first overalls, titles and special awards. Tina has taught and choreographed to a diverse group of students including preschool to adults and began choreographing dances for national competitions with her students also winning numerous accolades. Tina has also performed at various venues such as Six Flags and has taken multiple classes at Broadway Dance Center and workshops under the instruction of Ray Leaper, Frank Hatchet, and more. Tina loves to share her passion for dance with her students.

Mariahclare, or better known as MC, was basically born into dance. Being born just two days prior, she was in attendance at her sister, Miss Janine’s first recital at Sharon’s. Ever since then, dance has been a major part of her life. She took recreation classes at Sharon’s up until she was in third grade and was able to join the Competition Team. She served as captain for two years and has won several awards under choreography done by Miss Vicky and Miss Kari. She is trained in ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary and modern. She attended American University and graduated in May of 2022 with a Bachelors of Science in Environmental Science. She made it on her school’s nationally ranked D1 Dance Team and served as Captain her Junior and Senior year. During her time at American, she choreographed halftimes for basketball games and competed in NDA against hundreds of other dance teams from all over the nation. She was trained in jazz, hip hop and contemporary at American. While in DC, she taught various after school programs and coached an extensive amount of sports to elementary school students, including soccer, dance, hip hop, tennis, running club, basketball, and fencing. She is so excited to be back at Sharon’s and doing more of what she loves. 

Erica, born and raised in Piscataway, New Jersey, is excited to teach at Sharon’s. Erica started in dance classes at age 3 and continued training and competing in a variety of genres through high school. Erica started teaching students in the Central New Jersey region in 2015, while in high school, when she discovered her passion for dance education. After graduation, she enrolled at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania to earn her B.A. in Dance Education and a B.A. in Finance, where she graduated from in 2021. While attending Muhlenberg, she performed in several student and faculty shows and supported several arts education programs in the Allentown School District. She loved teaching dance classes in elementary after-school programs and the college-owned Muhlenberg Community Dance Center (MCDC). Since graduating from Muhlenberg, Erica moved to Tampa, Florida to begin her career as a financial analyst and continued teaching local youth and adult dance classes. She danced with Odd-o-Tees entertainment company doing seasonal shows at ZooTampa, where she made her professional debut in 2022. She has since returned home to New Jersey and is excited to continue educating young dancers at Sharon’s Studio of Dance and Music, where she encourages her students to bring their authentic and creative selves to dance class.

Tanvi grew up dancing at Sharon's. She began at age 3. During her time, she was trained in ballet, pointe, jazz and tap by many of the teachers at the studio. She was also part of the Performing Group for two years. Tanvi began training as an assistant teacher when she was in eighth grade, and has taught alongside Miss Susan, Miss Nicole, Miss Erica, and Miss Josephine. She is very excited to be teaching on her own this year, and hopes to share her love for dance with her students. Tanvi is currently a senior in highschool and plans to go to college to major in Elementary Education.

Dia started taking dance classes at the age of two and continued to train and compete in a variety of genres of dance until high school graduation. Following graduation, Dia attended Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Throughout her college career she gained experience teaching dancers of all ages and levels from 18 months to adults. She was a member of NSU’s Dance Team, danced and choreographed in the dance program’s student showcase, and had the opportunity to train with well-known choreographers within the Miami dance community, including Maria Malu and Susie Garcia. She graduated in three years with her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Marketing. Dia has since moved back home to New Jersey and is pursuing her professional goals by continuing her dance training in New York City where she is training vigorously with Debbie Wilson and Courtney Sauls, as well as performing in various shows. While pursuing her dance career, she is also working as a freelance marketing assistant at Virtue Wealth Management in Sparta, New Jersey. She is excited to teach and share her passion at Sharon’s Studio of Dance & Music!

Bella began dancing at the age of 3 and fell in love with performing. Throughout her childhood and high school, she studied and competed in various styles and techniques, as well as assisted dance classes and dance camps. After high school, she attended DeSales University in Center Valley, PA, where she received not only a B.A. in Dance but also a B.A. in Theatre (MT Concentration). Immediately following graduation in 2024, Bella toured all over the country with Missoula Children's Theatre and had the opportunity to work with children everywhere to spread her passion for the arts. She has also performed in several musicals throughout the NJ/NYC/PA area where her talents have ranged from dance captaincy to musical direction to ensemble work and more! Bella is very excited to share her love of dance with all of those at Sharon's Studio of Dance and Music!

Sarah grew up dancing at Sharon's Studio of Dance and Music from the age of 2 to 19. She trained in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, and contemporary. She is a second generation Sharon's student, her mom, aunts, and sister also danced at the studio. Sarah student taught a variety of ages and genres for over 7 years with many teachers, primarily Miss Amanda and Miss Susan. Sarah is currently studying finance at Rutgers University. She has been working in the studio office since fall 2022. She loves sharing the joy dance brings and seeing the growth in young dancers throughout the year!

Jeanette, voice teacher and vocal coach, sang her first solo at age seven and became a soloist in church at age 12. She went on to study voice with the best teachers in Chicago. Later, she joined two prestigious Chicago choral groups. One group sang music of the Middle Ages and the other was devoted to Baroque music. Miss Jeanette has soloed with several choirs, chamber groups, and orchestras and sung with many of the best musicians in the United States and abroad. As a vocal teacher, she has coached students for auditions to highly sought after solo singing positions. Miss Jeanette's piano students advance rapidly and some have gone on to study music in college. Miss Jeanette holds a B.M. degree in Musicology from Roosevelt University (The Chicago Musical College). In addition, she received a Certificate of Music Therapy from The Institute for Music Health and Education in Boulder and is a lifetime member of the Sound Healers Association. Not only does she teach piano and voice, but she has led courses in music therapy both here and in Scandinavia. Miss Jeanette was also a music critic for several years and has conducted several choirs.

Wayne has been a musician all his life, starting on piano as a child, and continuing his studies into singing and acting. He holds a BA in Vocal Pedagogy from TCNJ and was a fellowship recipient from Indiana University where he graduated with a MM in Vocal Performance in 2013. He has performed as a principal artist in over 30 professional opera and theater productions with his singing career allowing him to travel to over two dozen countries and many of the major cultural centers of the world. With a children's/youth ensemble in nearly a third of the productions Wayne has been in, he often gave private lessons and coaching to many of the children's cast and has always enjoyed helping others find their voice in studio and on stage. He is equally adept at coaching voice for teens and adults and can help with auditions or college prep. With the uncertainty of the effects of the current pandemic, Wayne has decided to explore the field of teaching at a more permanent basis and is thrilled to join the wonderful team at Sharon's Studio of Dance and Music.