DANCEWORKS DANCE CENTER
HOWARD BEACH EST. 2020
Fallon White - Owner/Director & Instructor
Fallon White began her journey at Danceworks Dance Center at the age of 10, under the direction of her mentor and founder of Danceworks Margaret Tapogna Gatzonis. A LaGuardia HS graduate, Fallon received training from the industry’s leading instructors in ballet and modern dance. Professionally, Fallon traveled as a dance ambassador to Beijing, China in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. She has appeared on MTV and choreographed for WKTU’s Summer Beatstock concert, working with recording artist Reina. Fallon has been interviewed and published in "Dance Spirit" magazine, as well as "Interview En l'air." You can read her expose with En l'air here: http://www.interviewenlair.com/fallon-white/
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Teaching has always been Fallon’s passion. In 2008, Fallon, acquired Danceworks Dance Center from her mentor Ms. Gatzonis. Since then she has worked to expand the Danceworks brand, while keeping roots in the true essence of what makes the studio stand apart from others. In a continuous effort to bring quality dance training to children everywhere, Fallon acquired a second space in 2019, Danceworks Howard Beach, in Howard Beach, NY. Fallon is an award winning choreographer and many of Fallon’s students have transitioned into the professional field, dancing on stage with the Ailey and Lar Lubovitch Companies. They’ve also danced & cheered for minor and major league NY sports teams, including the NY JETS.
In addition to running Danceworks Brooklyn & Queens locations, Fallon currently works as an adjudicator for many dance & talent competitions on the east coast.
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"I'd like to thank you for giving us the chance to share our love for dance with your children. Your continued support of our team, brand and small business is greatly appreciated and we look forward to providing your children with a quality dance education and tools for so much more!" - Fallon White
Joelle Messina - Co-Director & Instructor
Joelle Nicole began her training at Danceworks Dance Center in 1994. As her passion for dance grew she went on to attend & graduate from NYC’s premiere high school for the performing arts; LaGuardia High School of Music & Art & The Performing Arts. After high school, Joelle worked as a fellowship student at the one & only Ailey School in NYC where she had the honor of performing Ailey's "Memoria" alongside the Ailey Company for two consecutive seasons. Professionally, Joelle has traveled and danced with the SD Prism Dance Theater, DeMa Dance Company, Xhale Dance Company and Michael Susten & Company. She has performed works by: Milton Myers, Sidra Bell, Adam Barruch, Pedro Ruiz Jr, Sonia Dawkins, Yesid Lopez, Tyce Diorio, Tracie Stanfield, KC Castellano and Michael Susten.
Joelle has over 20 years experience on the competition scene, as a competitor, choreographer and adjudicator. As an instructor, Joelle encourages her students to strive for excellence and nothing less. She has trained many young dancers and helped them to prepare and successfully receive admission to their “dream” specialized Junior High & High School dance programs, including Mark Twain JHS & LaGuardia HS. Joelle’s choreography is consistently recognized and at both, regional and national dance competitions, including back to back grand national wins for her choreography, in 2017 & 2018.
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Joelle is excited to celebrate her tenth season as Co-Director at Danceworks Dance Center and wishes everyone a wonderful year ahead.
Leanna Capone - Instructor & Hip Hop Extraordinaire
Leanna, starting as a local dancer from ozone park Queens, Leanna’s passion for the arts quickly grew as she continued to pursue her career through professional performances and teaching opportunities all throughout NYC. Leanna is an award winning choreographer but most importantly a patient teacher, which allows her to deeply connect and enhance learning for her students. Leanna’s hip hop style fuses an array of different techniques such as street jazz, lite feet, and break dancing. Leanna is dedicated to making her students feel safe and confident in their environment in order to foster creativity and imaginative thinking within the next generation of upcoming dancers