Directors
Abby Slater, Founder & Artistic Director
Blythe Alexander, Director of Administration and Children's Program
Blythe Alexander, Director of Administration and Children's Program
Abby Slater began dance performance in
1985 and choreography in 1998. She grew up dancing at Northeast Theater Dance Academy under the direction of Lisa Becker Padula and April Goldberg. She has also studied under Jimmy Sutton and Alexi Ramov. Abby graduated from East Stroudsburg University with a degree in Media Communications and a Minor in dance and dance production.
Abby was a member of the University Dance Company under the direction of Elizabeth Gibbons, Ph.D. and Catherine "Kitty" Culnane. She was the coordinator and head teacher of the Community Dance Program and taught adult ballroom and children’s dance classes in all styles. She is a former member of Pennsylvania Dance Vision’s Repertory Ensemble.
Abby is the Founder & Artistic Director of Symmetry Dance Company and was a guest choreographer for the East Stroudsburg University Dance Company for over 15 years. She has choreographed and directed the ArtsAlive Program at the Newton Ransom Elementary school in addition to various school programs in the region.
Abby holds additional certifications with Yoga Ed™., allowing her to bring yoga into public schools and train classroom
teachers to bring yoga tools into the classroom. She received her 200-hr Yoga Teacher Training certificate in 2010 and received her 500-hr certification from the Always-At-Aum Yoga School in New York.
Blythe Alexander, Director of Administration and Children's Program
Blythe Alexander, Director of Administration and Children's Program
Blythe Alexander, Director of Administration and Children's Program
Blythe Alexander began her dance career at age 5 at Northeast Theatre Dance Academy under the direction of Lisa Becker Padula, studying ballet, tap and jazz techniques. She has also studied under Kathi Jo Hubner at NTDA and Alexi Ramov and Jimmy Sutton at Tiffany Falls Performing Arts Center.
Blythe joined Symmetry Dance Company in 2013 and joined the staff as an instructor in 2014. She partnered with Abby in 2017 and was the Director of the Children’s program before becoming the Assistant Director.
She is the oldest of six children and has an intense love of family and dance, so Symmetry was the perfect fit for her. She mainly teaches tap and jazz techniques at Symmetry, along with the Creative Movement class. She developed the Turbo Tap Fitness class that is taught at Symmetry. She is also a Basic Level 1 Zumba instructor.
Blythe attended The University of Scranton for both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biochemistry. She also completed her MBA in Marketing and Operations Management at The University of Scranton. Besides teaching dance, she works as the Director of Innovation, Sales Support and Quality Management at i2M.
Staff
Janel Naro
Janel has been a choreographer/instructor for Symmetry since 2014. She teaches Contemporary, Modern, Musical Theater/Theatre Jazz, and Hip Hop.
Prior to college, she studied acting at The Northeast Theatre’s Griffin Theatre Conservatory in Scranton under Mary Ethel Schmidt. She earned her B.A. in Theatre Arts with a Dance minor from Wilkes University, training extensively in Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Fosse, Tap, and Composition under Kristen Degnan-Boonin, Broadway’s Lynne Mariani, Sean Harris, and Kris Cross. Janel performed in numerous productions for Wilkes University’s Theatre, Dance, and Music Departments as she studied many elements of theater including, directing, voice, and scenic design. She had the honor of being teacher’s assistant under Lynne in Modern Dance as well as dance captain for the musical “Carrie.”
Ashley Tomko
Ashley Tomko is a 2002 graduate from Northeast Theatre Dance Academy under the direction of Lisa Becker Padula and became a teacher on staff in 2007. She has studied with Kathi Jo Hubner at NTDA as well as Alexi Ramov and Jimmy Sutton at Tiffany Falls Performing Arts Center.
Ashley participated in master classes with Savion Glover, Dorothy Wasserman, Mary Ann Strilka, the cast of 42nd Street, among others. She was a chorus member for “Chicago” at the Diva Theatre and for “The Broadway Cinderella” performed at the Manhattan Center NYC. She was also a member of the “Red Rocket” Dance Team. Ashley is currently a member of the Symmetry Dance Company since 2012.
Michele "Mick" Wieckowski
Michele, affectionately known as Miss Mick, began her dance journey at age 5 at the Moosic Youth Center School of Dance. A former competitive gymnast until age 13, her gymnastics background instilled strength, agility, and discipline, which she brought to her ballet training.
She trained for 5 years with Helen Gaus at the Civic Ballet Company and another 5 years with Julie Ardito. For the past decade, Michele has performed as a key member of Symmetry's adult company, blending athleticism and artistry.
Outside the studio, Michele is a personal trainer and a proud dog mom to Cash. While she enjoys various dance styles, ballet remains her passion, reflecting the grace and elegance that define her dancing.
As a teacher, Miss Mick emphasizes both technical ballet skills and personal growth, inspiring students with her mantra: "When in doubt, always relevé," encouraging them to rise above challenges in dance and in life.
Alyssa Noll
Alyssa is a dance teacher, choreographer, and studio owner from Kingston, PA. She began dancing at age 2 and was an assistant teacher and choreographer by age 10. She was co-captain and choreographer of the Nazareth High School Dance Team and competed in Acro and Dance at Miss Tanya’s Expression of Dance.
Alyssa earned her Bachelor's in Management, Marketing, and Dance from ESU, where she was part of the University Dance Company, teaching children's classes and choreographing student pieces. After graduation, she taught at various studios across Nazareth, the Poconos, and Wilkes-Barre.
In 2017, Alyssa took over Dance Til Dawn, renaming it Levels Dance Studio, where she founded the Levels Elite competition team. She has earned numerous choreography and recognition awards. Teaching dance is her true passion, and she looks forward to sharing it with her students.
Caitlyn Metz
Caitlyn Metz has immersed herself in the performing arts, studying voice, theater, and various dance styles, including ballet, Pointe, tap, jazz, modern/contemporary, and hip-hop, for 26 years. In 2008, Miss Caitlyn began her dance teaching career at Major Performing Arts Center and continued to become the Artistic Director and Owner of Take the Stage Center for the Performing Arts.
In 2018, Miss Caitlyn furthered her dance education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, receiving her Dance Teaching Certificate, and in 2019 at New York University, receiving her Performing Arts Essentials Certification. Miss Caitlyn also has certificates in Stretching & Injury Prevention and First Aid & Basic Life Support. She is a National Certified Instructor by the Youth Protection Advocates in Dance and is an Ambassador for the National Dance Foundation. While creating a welcoming and fun space for creativity and learning, Miss Caitlyn focuses on the needs of each student to ensure they can grow and express themselves in the best environment.
Katherine Minella
Katherine Minella is originally from Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and started her extensive dance training at Longwood Performing Arts at the age of 2. She has been dancing with them for 18 years and has studied all styles of dance, including ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, modern, lyrical, and contemporary.
Katherine was a member of the Longwood Dance Company for 6 years until she graduated high school, and was also the founder and captain of the dance team at Kennett High School. Currently, she is a student at the University of Scranton earning her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Neuroscience as well as her Master’s in Health Administration and Business Administration.
She is enrolled at the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) to earn her certification in dance education. Katherine will be teaching ballet, pre-pointe and hip-hop this year at Symmetry as well as assisting in other classes.
Michelle Mazzei
Michelle started her dance training at the age of 4 under the direction of Alexi Ramov and James Sutton. She continued on with Lisa Becker Padula who carried on the Ramov-Sutton traditions at Northeast Theatre Dance Academy. After graduating from NTDA, Michelle became a part of the staff and has been teaching children's ballet, tap and jazz classes for several years. She also takes adult and yoga lessons at Symmetry Dance Company.