Marla Leonow is owner and artistic director of MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE DANCE. She was a Nets Dancer in the NBA for 4 seasons. She has extensive dance training in all areas including jazz, tap, hip-hop, ballet, pointe, lyrical, modern and competitive gymnastics training. She has trained at Broadway Dance Center in NYC, Millenium Dance Complex, The Edge Performing Arts Center and Debbie Reynolds Professional Rehearsal Studios in LA. She was a 4-year member of the nationally ranked Rutgers Dance Team and majored in dance at Mason Gross School of the Arts (Rutgers University). She also received a B.A. degree in Communication while at Rutgers. During college, she began teaching dance and acro classes and has been teaching ever since. Ms. Marla has her elementary teaching certification and was an elementary school teacher for 10 years. She has coached and choreographed for various teams, including the Nets Senior Dancers, West Point Cheerleaders, WAM cheerleaders, Ridge H.S Cheerleaders and North Plainfield H.S Cheerleaders. She was featured in the movie, “Gotta Dance,” (directed by Tony Award-winning Broadway producer, Dori Berinstein) which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2008 and received numerous awards. She has performed on Good Morning America and Good Day New York. She was also featured in the Capezio ad campaign for their Frontline Dancewear line, Dance Spirit Magazine and a Nets billboard on the NJ Turnpike. She was represented by Bloch Talent Agency, one of the most well-known talent agencies in NYC. She received the 2014 Star Dance Alliance Teacher Excellence Award and the 2022 ADCC Studio of Excellence Award. Marla is passionate about her students and the art of dance! It is a dream come true for her to have the opportunity to share her talents and love for dance with others!

Aanyse Pettiford- Chandler was born and raised in Carteret, New Jersey. Ms. Aanyse is an accomplished professional dancer, and educator with a BFA in dance from the prestigious Mason gross school of the arts at Rutgers University. Now in her third season with Carolyn Dorfman Dance, she has performed works by Tessandra Chavez, Martha Graham, and Camille A. Brown, among others. With eight years of teaching experience specializing in acro, technique, and contemporary, Aanyse is also an award-winning choreographer, receiving the 2019 Margery Turner Choreography Award. She is thrilled to begin her first season with Maximum Performance Dance!

Ms. Alexa started dancing at he age of 4 and began competitively dancing when she was 7. She is trained in many styles of dance ranging from ballet, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, acro, tap and more! Ms. Alexa was a 4 year member of the Rutgers Dance Team, and graduated with a Bachelors in Nutritional Science. During her time at Rutgers, she was a member of he United States National Pom Team. In addition, she was named the head captain her senior year. She recently graduated from Simmons University with her Masters in Nutrition and Health Promotion and Certificate in Sports Nutrition and began her career working as a registered dietitian. Ms. Alexa is excited to continue to share her passion and love for dance through teaching at Maximum Performance Dance!

Ms. Allyn began dancing at age 4. She is trained in various styles, including Flamenco, Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Tap, Hip-Hop, Modern, Contemporary, and Acro. Ms. Allyn is a dedicated dance educator and an award-winning choreographer. She has a B.A. in Theatre & Dance from Rowan University. Besides her role at Maximum Performance Dance, she is a first grade teacher and serves as the director and choreographer for all the school musical productions. Ms. Allyn is also the proud director of our All Stars Performance Team. She truly enjoys working with MPD students and sharing her passion for dance with them! 

Ms. Andrea’s love of dance started at the age of 5. She began dancing competitively in ballet, lyrical, jazz and acro and won numerous awards. She then went on to train at Princeton Ballet School. Here she was invited to join the pre-professional company, the Career Track program, and dance with the American Repertory Ballet company. Some of the performances include Swan Lake,The Nutcracker, Coppelia, and Sleeping Beauty. With a focus on ballet and pointe, she was also trained in Pilates, modern, folk and Spanish dance. At Rutgers University she studied Dance and Dance History and choreographed for the Rutgers Dance Company. Now she teaches yoga, meditation, and mindfulness to young adults. Ms. Andrea started at MPD last year as a substitute dance teacher. She is passionate about dance and movement, and is excited to share that love with the fabulous MPD dance family!

Ms. Candace has an extensive background in all forms of dance. She received her early training with Appalachian Ballet Company, Atlanta Ballet and Terpsichore the Traveling Performance Company, affiliated with the University of Tennessee. Ms. Candace received her Bachelor's degree in dance education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville 1984. Upon moving to NYC to pursue dance professionally, she received training with Christine Neubert. After taking a 3 week workshop with the famed Margot Fonteyn at the Jofffrey Ballet School, she was given a scholarship to study with the school. This lead to many professional company experiences with Windemere Ballet Theatre, Balinese American Fusion Dance Theater, American Ballet Theater and Joffrey School/Company. At Joffrey, Ms. Candace began working in the children department as an assistant teacher, as well as a rehearsal assistant for the children's productions and Joffrey's Nutcracker. Eventually, at the school director's request, she began teaching her own classes at Joffrey. Ms. Cadace has now lived and worked as a ballet, tap and jazz instructor for the past 25 years in New Jersey. She has taught at New Jersey Ballet, Studio Allegro, Ballet Forte as well as choreographed many local Musicals in Morris County. She loves teaching ballet and pointe at Maximum Performance Dance! She is mother to Tyler and Max and has been married to her husband Mike for over 30 years.

Ms. Claudia has been dancing since the age of 5 and still works everyday to fulfill the highest expression of herself as a person and an artist. Claudia studied and competed in just about every genre of dance and loves all things creative! From the funk of hip hop and jazz to the elegance of lyrical and ballet, channeling and expressing emotions through dance is one of Claudia's favorite things to do! Ms. Claudia has also performed at World competitions dancing alongside students from all across the globe. She has earned many regional titles along with judges awards. She was invited to dance with the Star Dance Alliance’s “Star Squad” and qualified and took part in the “Clash of the Stars”. Claudia is still continuing to advance her dance career and enjoys every second of being in the studio. Ms. Claudia loved teaching summer classes at MPD and she is so excited to continue to share her passion with the MPD students this season!

Ms. Deonna has been dancing since age 4 and is trained in the styles of tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop, lyrical, acrobatics, contemporary, musical theatre, and modern. She has taken master classes with Chloe & Maud Arnold, Jason Wise, Christopher Rice-Thomson, Nathaniel Hunt, Tiffany Mills Company, among many more. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and a B.S. in Health Science from Stockton University where she also minored in Dance. Additionally, Ms. Deonna is a First Company Dancer with the Lady Hoofers Tap Ensemble in Philly, signed with Carson Kolker Organization (CKO) for theatre, film, and TV, and frequently enhances her training by attending classes, intensives, and auditions all over the tri-state area. She so excited to continue sharing her passion and knowledge at MPD!

Ms. Felicia grew up as a competitive dancer for over two decades and has trained at studios including Broadway Dance Center, STEPS on Broadway, Alvin Ailey, and her local NJ studio. She received scholarships to attend University of the Arts (Philadelphia), Rutgers University, and Point Park University. Felicia was a member of the nationally ranked Rutgers University dance team. She has modeled for Dance Spirit magazine, Bodywrappers, and the Dance Teacher Summit fashion show. She appeared on TV shows including The Apprentice, The Rachel Ray Show, Aeropostle commercial, American Gladiator, and many nationally televised news specials. In 2008, Felicia appeared on MTV’s Season 2 of America’s Best Dance Crew. Following she became a member of the NJ Ironmen and New Jersey Devil Dance Team and was part of the New Jersey Devils Dancers for six years. In 2013, Felicia appeared in the Kelly Clarkson, “Stronger” music video. She also has worked closely with many choreographers such as, Mia Michaels, Mandy Moore, Shelia Barker, Talia Favia, Sonya Tayeh, and Tabitha & Napoleon. Felicia can also be found backstage or judging for well-known competitions. Ms. Felicia is thrilled to be teaching technique and working with our MPDC this year!

Ms Fotini was born and raised in Athens,GR.

She began her early dance training at the age of 4 in the Vaganova and I.S.T.D. syllabus at Isadora and Raymond Duncan center and then under the direction of acclaimed professor Mioara Popescu.

Later she was accepted to the Higher professional dance school N. Kontaxaki - Bakali after examinations the ministry of Culture. She graduated with her B.F.A in dance in 2012(recipient of full scholarship).

Over the years she performed a wide range of classical and contemporary roles including Don Quixote, La Bayadere, Giselle, Cinderella, Dega’s little dancer etc. in theatres all around Europe (National opera of Bucuresti, Moscow Ballet)and the greatest area of Athens.

In addition to her dancing education Ms Fotini got certified in the Pilates Method and in the Progressing ballet technique.

She attended numerous workshops with international instructors ( L. Basova (Kirov Academy), L. Lambrou, Y. Zaharieva, M. Antonichev, E. Korfia, A. Neskov, T. Stoffer, L. Kapetanea, M. Anthimidou, A. Kanelopoulou, K. Clippinger, R. Isacowitz) specialising in movement, anatomy and rehab for dancers.

Since 2012 she has had the privilege of teaching students of all ages and levels until today, a mother of two and relocated now to NJ she is constantly seeking to develop her teaching methods to boost her students abilities and support learners in a safe and enjoyable environment.

She is thrilled to join the Maximum Performance Dance family!

Ms. Katie is a former MPDC dancer. She studies all styles of dance and competed with the MPDC for many years. She was captain of the MPDC her senior year. She is no the MPDC assistant director.

Ms. Kelly was born and raised in New Jersey and received her BFA in Dance/Theater from Montclair State University. Kelly recently was seen in her second production with Rand Productions performing in the ensemble of Grease, in addition to being the Dance Captain/Swing. Her first performance with Rand was over the holidays at MGM’s Beau Rivage, where she was the Dance Captain and Ensemble/Waitress in Elf. Previously, she was the Associate Dance Captain and a member of RWS Global’s, Step One Dance Company, onboard Holland America Cruise Line. Some of Kelly’s past credits include: Bloom at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO (Dance Captain/Dancer). Norwegian Cruise Line Production (Dancer/Featured Singer). Guys and Dolls (Dance Captain/Ensemble) and Cinderella (Ensemble) both back home on the East Coast. In addition to performing all over the globe, Kelly is an assistant teacher and choreographer to faculty at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway in NYC. She has also been seen in creative music videos and dance on film.

Ms. Lauren started dancing at 3 years old and has trained in all styles of dance including; ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, musical theatre, and hip hop. She danced competitively with her home studio for over 10 years. Later, she was selected to be a member of the Rutgers University Dance Team. She is now working towards her Masters Degree in Special and Elementary Education at Rutgers. Ms. Lauren is excited to be joining the Maximum Performance Dance family this year!

Bio coming soon!

Ms. Vanessa started dancing when she was 12 years old after switching over from gymnastics. She trained at Dance Etc., in Milford, Ohio, where she competed in jazz, tap, contemporary, lyrical, acro, musical theater and and hip hop. When she graduated from Indian Hill High School, she attended the University of Cincinnati and was a member of their varsity dance Team. During her time at college, she also joined a contemporary dance company called Exhale. During this time, Ms. Vanessa also taught at a nearby dance studio where she choreographed competition routines as well as taught technique and various styles of dance classes. Now that she has graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a BA degree in Psychology, she is so excited to teach at Maximum Performance Dance and looks forward to having an amazing season with all of the dancers!