Darlene Giordano Cummings - Studio Owner & Director, Level 1-2 Ballet & Tap

Miss Darlene, the Studio Owner, and Director has been studying dance since 1972 and twirling since 1974. She started assisting dance teachers in 1981, at the age of 13, and has never stopped teaching and loving it. She has studied with various dance teachers at her alma mater schools and in the Philadelphia and New York areas. As a young child, she studied dance and twirling under the infamous Tony Award Winner Sue Strohman, choreographer of multiple Broadway shows such as “Crazy for You”, “Contact” and “The Producers” to name a few.

Miss Darlene opened the studio in 1993 after teaching elementary and junior high school for 3 years. She graduated from Padua Academy High School and then the University of Delaware with a degree in Education with concentrations in dance and theatre. She has choreographed for many Philadelphia and Delaware theatre groups as well as for various local high school marching band fronts. She has also worked on choreographing and directing industrial commercials. She now focuses the majority of her energy to American Dance Academy and teaches multiple levels at the studio at various times of the year.  Darlene is a certified instructor for the program Rhythm Works Integrative Dance which is an inclusive class for children with special needs that focuses on skill development, self-empowerment, and celebrating our differences. She was also recently M1 certified through the Alixa Flexibility Program and is excited to bring this program to ADA to increase all student's flexibility effectively while keeping a strong focus on safety and injury prevention.

Although she teaches various classes at the studio, you can find her busy at other places too.  Most recently, she choreographed the opening number for Miss Delaware 2017 & 2018 pageants. She was a judge for the 2019 Miss Delaware pageant. She has also been a choreographer for Salesianum High School's marching band twirlers. She attends multiple teacher training and business seminars each year and is a member of the International Dance Entrepreneurs Association. 

Miss Darlene is thrilled to bring in new and innovative choreographers and master teachers to her studio, to go along with her very professional staff, and strives to provide a wonderful and supportive atmosphere at the studio. She is married to Dr. William Cummings, a dentist in Avondale PA, where she also does bookkeeping and assists with business marketing. They have 3 teenage children of their own.…by far the greatest yet most challenging accomplishment amongst them!

Jessica Olinik- Company Choreographer

Mrs. Jessica Olinik began her dance journey in Philadelphia, Pa. In high school, she had the honor of performing in Disney World, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and has won numerous national titles and awards. On the college level, Mrs. Olinik attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts as a Contemporary major and University of the Arts on scholarship studied all genres of dance with legendary teachers. Some of her performance credits include the 76er All-Star Dance Team, cast member of the musical Grease, performed with the artist Pink, she was a principal dancer with Contempradance Theatre & Opus One. For several years Jessica had the privilege of assisting Lucille DiCampli in many different projects. She was chosen to be on exhibit as a Degas dancer at the Philadelphia Art Museum during the opening gala of the exhibit.

As a choreographer, she had the pleasure of working with the indoor fancy Mummers Brigade (The Avenuers), in Philadelphia, where her choreography was displayed on television. Her work has been the recipient of several overall scores, special, choreography & entertainment awards at numerous prestigious competitions. Notable awards include coveted NYCDA Critiques Choice Award, Regional SDA Champion Awards, the Artistic Excellence Award, High Point Award, Stand-Out Performance Awards, ASH Choreography, Technique & Entertainment awards, and several invitations to the World Dance Championships. In 2012, her piece “Hand Covers Bruise” was selected to perform at The Joyce Theatre in NYC for the Dancer’s Responding to Aids event. In 2017, one of her solos was featured on the Dallas Cowgirl Making the Team Tv Show; the soloist was the recipient of the desirable Artistic Excellence award from their head coach. Jessica also has the honor of judging for several prominent and well-respected dance competitions regionally, nationally & internationally. She is equally thrilled to be on the distinguished Impact Adjudicators judging panel. Currently, she is the High School Musical choreographer for Octorara High School; She has completed Seussical The Musical, Newsies, Grease & The Addams Family with their drama department (with over 60 students in production).

Mrs. Olinik has been educating dancers of all ages for over 20 years. Her training allows her to be versatile in most genres of dance providing the highest level of instruction. She has been with American Dance Academy and working with our dance company since 2004! She has been on faculty at several prestigious dance institutions such as The Rock School for Dance Education, Rock Outreach, Millennium Dance Complex-Philadelphia, Rock School West, University of Delaware-Delaware Dance Fever & several others. She’s thrilled to be on faculty with Epic Dance Convention. Under her guidance, she coaches & motivates dancers to receive numerous convention scholarships/awards, national titles, and outstanding achievements. Her goal as an educator is to enlighten and inspire students in a healthy and positive way. Along with dance, Jessica has developed a passion for costume design and embellishment. She is extremely honored to have her designs featured in costume catalogs. Mrs. Olinik is also proud of the “Inspire2Inspire” program she developed in 2015. The objective of this campaign is to spread positivity and support to dancers from other studios and build a bridge of inspiration between artists. She is thrilled to offer the Inspire2Inspire college scholarship to a graduating senior at Octorara High School. She is married and a mother to 2 beautiful children. Follow her dance adventures on Instagram @jwodance.

Jerzy Golek- Level 2-5 Ballet

Jerzy Golek has been teaching at ADA for over a decade. He began his dance career at the age of 12 when he won a national audition in his native Poland to receive a full scholarship to the National Ballet Academy in Gdansk. This residential school combines a full academic program with training to the highest levels of a professional ballet performance. Upon graduating from the Academy, Mr. Golek returned to his home, Lodz, and performed in the Lodz Ballet. He soon moved on to Warsaw and Mazowsze Dance Company, Poland’s premier international dance company for many years. He also continued his education at Warsaw University, obtaining a Master’s Degree in Dance Education. As a principal with Mazowsze, he toured the world performing from Korea to Brazil, and regularly in the US, performing in Philadelphia at the Academy of Music. Moving to the US to pursue his career in dance education, Mr. Golek currently teaches at West Chester University, Contempra Dance School, and the Pottstown Dance Theatre. He has produced much original choreography, including his signature piece, “Immolation” a tribute to the victims of the Holocaust, set to the score of Schindler’s List. He is President of Cultural Interchanges, which among other programs, annually takes American students and performers to the Ladek Zdroj International Festival of Dance in Poland. He also serves as Assistant Artistic Director of the Schuylkill Valley Dance Company.

Gabi Papa Hip Hop 5-7, Ballet 2, Jazz 4 & 5 

Gabriella Papa began dancing at the age of 5 and has never stopped!  She is an American Dance Academy alum who is thrilled to be back at ADA as a teacher! Throughout her time at ADA as a competitive dancer, Gabi has won numerous awards and scholarships being a member of the ADA Dance Company.  

Gabi is a recent graduate of the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance. During her time at Alabama, Gabi furthered her dance training under the direction of Lawerence Jackson, Cornelius Carter, Ja’Morris Rivers, Rita Synder, Sarah Barry, and Fen Kennedy. Gabi also performed in the University’s dance concerts~Dance Alabama and Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre. 

In 2019 Gabi was handpicked to be a member of ASH The Company~Artists Simply Human Training Program for dancers.  As a a member of this program,  she was able to travel and work closely with the ASH faculty members such as Lisette Bustamte, Brahman-Logan Crane, Tovaris Wilson, Hannah Gossett, JoJo Gomez, Desmond Richardson, Dwight Rhoden, and Gregg Russell. 

Currently, Gabi is working with Revolution Talent Competition as a tabulator and is also a certified Stott Pilates Instructor.  Miss Gabi is excited to pass on her passion and knowledge of dance to her students while working along side the staff who encouraged her passion to grow

Michelle Swift- Preschool & Kindergarten Ballet & Tap

Miss Michelle has been dancing at the American Dance Academy since it opened in 1993. In high school, she was on the A.I. Dupont Pom Squad while she took classes and was a student teacher at ADA.  She then continued teaching dance and trained to take on classes of her own once she graduated from college. She received a degree in Early Childhood Education from Delaware Technical and Community College.  She then furthered her education obtaining a BS at Wilmington University with a degree in Elementary Education.  She is currently a Kindergarten teacher at Richardson Park Elementary School and spends her Saturdays teaching our preschool and child level classes.  Miss Michelle and her husband, Brad, have two children of their own.

Kelly McAndrew- Elementary Ballet, Tap, & Jazz

Miss Kelly began dancing at ADA in its second season. She spent her childhood training and competing in gymnastics, before joining dance classes at the American Dance Academy. Kelly was a member of the Padua Academy varsity dance team in high school and the Penn State Altoona dance team. While an ADA student, she assistant taught for various age groups and genres before taking over her own classes in college. After graduation, she worked as a youth activities counselor for the Disney Cruise Line where she coordinated and lead programs for children ages 3-12, sometimes in groups of over 100 kids at a time!

Miss Kelly is AAC1 certified through Acrobatic Arts, which is a program that focuses on proper training, technique, and progressions to safely and effectively teach Acro Dance. She was also recently M1 certified through the Alixa Flexibility Program where she learned the skills to improve flexibility while keeping a strong focus on injury prevention and safety. She is thrilled to use her new knowledge along with both her gymnastic and dance backgrounds to grow the Acro program at ADA, and bring these new skills to our dancers!

Miss Kelly has her degree from the University of Delaware in Human Services, Education and Public Policy with a concentration in Education and Community Services, and a minor in Psychology. She is happily married with two pre-school-aged children keeping her on her toes at home!

Danielle Scalia- Assistant Director & Level 1-3 Ballet & Jazz Classes

Danielle Scalia started as a young girl of 2 with us at ADA. She went on to be a part of the ADA Dance Company while assisting classes and working at our front desk throughout her high school years. She attended George Mason University and was on their dance team for 4 years as a Masonette. She graduated with a major in business marketing and minors in economics and dance. She is currently working for Revolution Talent Competition and we are so happy to have Miss Danielle as the Assistant Director for our Dance Company, and teaches some of our Jazz and Ballet classes! She has also choreographed for our holiday show and Dance Company and helps to assist our dance company guest choreographers. You may also see her working at the front desk!

Margherita Carrieri-Russo-

Preschool & Kindergarten Ballet/Tap, & Hip Hop for Ages 5-12

Prior to capturing the title of Miss Brandywine 2014, Margherita has been dancing at American Dance Academy since 1993.  She has been an entertainer since the age of three and has performed in concerts, theater, plays, pageants, and a variety of competitions, not only for dancing but for her vocal skills as well. She is a professional opera singer, where she trained and performed in Italy, and in the Tri-State Area. She performed in the hip hop crew Flomotion and coached Padua Dance Team as their assistant coach for many years. Outside of her love for the arts, she opened an Italian-American Bistro in Northern Wilmington, with her sister, Vincenza. As 3rd generation restaurateurs, it was only fitting to continue the family tradition with Italian cuisine and pizza! V&M Bistro has garnered dozens of reviews and awards from Best Italian Restaurant, Best Homemade Pasta, Best Sicilian Pizza & Best Cocktails in Delaware! To make things sweeter, she owns Ice Cream Delight in Northern Wilmington for over 16 years.

Jen Jordan- Intermediate & Advanced Hip Hop

Jen Jordan started dancing at the age of 5 and competitively from the age of 7. She studied all genres such as jazz, ballet, hip hop, tap, contemporary, and more. During her competition days, she performed at numerous regional, national, and world competitions winning high-scoring awards and national titles. Jen attended Padua Academy, where she began her love for pom-style dance for Padua Dance Team studying under Miss Tori Closson and later became a Captain of PDT. She had the privilege to also be a part of the Blue Rocks dance team, FloMotion Dance Company, Beat Addikts United, and performed for the New York Knicks.

Following high school, Jen attended East Stroudsburg University and received her BS in Exercise Science with a concentration in Pre-Professional Therapy. During her college career, she was a member of the East Stroudsburg Dance Team. Jen later became a captain for the team her junior year and earned the role of Vice president her senior year. Jen choreographed many games, shows, competitions, and pep rally pieces during her time there as well as being a part-time dance teacher and choreographer for a local dance studio near campus.

After graduating, Jen wanted to continue her passion and become a professional dancer. She later auditioned and made The Philadelphia Wings Dancers and performs alongside The Philadelphia Wings Lacrosse Team at Wells Fargo Center. Jen has been teaching dance to students of all ages and is very fortunate to have had such great mentors and experiences throughout her career in the world of dance. Jen is very excited to join the ADA staff and share her knowledge and love of dance with her students.

Marie Swasy- Office Manager & Dance Conditioning

Ms. Marie started as an ADA student at the early age of 3 and continued through her high school graduation. She was a member of our very first dance company and an assistant teacher throughout college! Marie attended the University of Delaware graduating with a degree in Exercise Science and a Minor in Dance. After graduation, she taught ballet, tap, and jazz at ADA before attending chiropractic school at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Port Orange, Florida. She met her husband Dr. Brad Swasy, who is a local chiropractor, at Palmer and they moved back to Delaware after graduation to be close to family.

Marie is so glad to be back at her second home, ADA, and keeping dance in her life. She is our Office Manager and teaches our Dance Conditioning class focusing on injury prevention. She is a certified Sugarfoot Therapy teacher. We are excited to bring a Dance Conditioning class to ADA in which Ms. Marie combines her medical education and dance training to help our dancers properly condition to prevent common dance injuries and enhance performance.

You can contact Ms. Marie at danceatada@verizon.net with any questions or concerns!

Dana Liguori- Contemporary/Lyrical & Level 2 Jazz