About Us

Armonk Dance has been under the direction of Cynthia S. D'Angelo for the past seven years. Before she took ownership, she was a vital part of the artistic and administrative staff  of Armonk Dance for 20+ years-  creating a thriving modern program and  a pillar of the ballet program. 

​Ms. D'Angelo brings to the table a high level of professionalism, integrity, talent and experience.  She is a caring, knowledgeable  and generous teacher who works  to bring about the best in her dancers.  With a tremendous love and respect for this art form, and all it can provide your dancer in and out of the studio, Ms. D'Angelo shares her love of dance , its protocols, history  and etiquette with dancers from budding ballerinas to professionals. She is committed to making sure dancers are learning proper technique in a safe and appropriate  environment. Ms. D'Angelo is the director of the Modern Co. and the Competition Teams at ACD as well as the Artistic Director of the school.

Ms. D'Angelo, a native of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, began her training with Judi Drozd of the Joffrey Ballet. She joined the Junior Company of the Albany-Berkshire Ballet at 14 and was promoted to full company member upon graduation from high school. She supplemented her training at The Boston Ballet, Walnut Hill School of the Performing Arts and Jacobs Pillow 12 +12 program and toured throughout Russia.

Her professional career began as a corps member and moved to soloist with the Albany-Berkshire Ballet where she danced in ballets such as Cinderella, Giselle, Les Sylphides, The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Nights Dream and Our Town. She worked with choreographers such as Phillip Jerry, Mary Margaret Gianonne, Darryl Grey and Bill T. Jones. She then went on to attend the University of Missouri- Kansas City where she became an adjunct professor of dance and began dancing for Wylliams/Henry Danse Theatre (where she would later become the company administrator).

With WHDT she danced the works of Sean Curran, Kevin Iega Jeff, Leni Wylliams, Fred Benjamin, DeAnna Hiett, Paula Weber and more. While in Kansas City Ms. D’Angelo began and maintained the modern program for the Communiversity (A continuing education department of the University of Missouri-Kansas City) and taught at the Westport Ballet. Recently, Ms. D’Angelo was invited to show her choreography at the Byrdcliffe Theatre in Woodstock, New York and at the Riverside Theatre in NYC.  Ms. D’Angelo is the rehearsal mistress and choreographer for the Mooney-Cooley Dance Company. Ms. D’Angelo currently resides in New Jersey teaching and choreographing​. 

 
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STAFF

Ashley Albonetti started dancing at the age of four and quickly found out that it was her passion. Growing up she studied ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, lyrical and modern at Pinewood School of Dance and The Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance. She was a member of the Pinewood School of Dance Competition Company, Ridgefield Civic Ballet and Ridgefield Jazz Ensemble. Ashley performed in the “Nutcracker Ballet” with the Moscow Ballet, Danbury Music Center and Ridgefield Conservatory for 12 years in roles including Snow Queen and Dew Drop. Ashley was introduced to hip hop dance when she joined the Carmel High School dance team, with whom she won many awards including NDA All- American honors and 2nd place in the solo competition at the NDA championship in Albany.

She discovered her second passion, teaching, at the age of 15 when she was asked to be a teaching assistant at the American Academy of Ballet Summer School. Ashley attended Manhattanville College on a dance scholarship and graduated in 2009 with a B.A. in Dance & Theatre, with a minor in Psychology. At Manhattanville, Ashley worked with choreographers including Andrei Kisselev, Neta Pulvermacher and Peter Pucci. She was a member of the Manhattanville Dance Troupe all four years and a captain for two. With this team she performed at campus community and athletic events and competed at several competitions. Her choreography won the team three first place awards. In 2010 Ashley was a featured dancer in Athena Reich’s music video, “The Logical Song,” for MTV’s LOGO. She has been a co-coach for the Byram Hills High School Varsity Dance Team and has taught hip hop and jazz at Putnam Dance Center since 2006. She currently takes class at Broadway Dance Center. She loves passing on her technique, discipline and passion for dance to her students at the Armonk Center for Dance!



 Marissa Kretzmer, a Bronx, NY native, began her training with Barbra Walczak of the New York City Ballet and is a graduate of the High School of Performing Arts. Ms. Kretzmer continued her studies on scholarship at: STEPS on Broadway, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and the University of Akron. As part of her continuing education, she completed Peff Pointe Teacher Training in Chicago, IL.  

Ms. Kretzmer began dancing professionally in 1989 and has danced with Wylliams/Henry Danse Theatre, Albany Berkshire Ballet, Once Upon A Time, Inc., and the Ballet Theatre of Westchester.  She has had the pleasure of working with choreographers such as: Kevin Iega Jeff,  Frances Patrelle, Alan Hineline, Bill T. Jones and Annemarie D'Angelo. Ms. Kretzmer is the Artistic Director of Mooney/Cooley Dance, which produces an annual Nutcracker performance including many local children, at the Riverside Theatre in New York City and directs the Ballet Company at ACD. 
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Ms. Kretzmer has been an instructor at the Armonk Center for Dance since 1998. Her teaching experience also includes  Williams College,  Young Audiences, Wylliams/Henry Danse Theatre, School of Albany Berkshire Ballet, and the Cantarella School of Dance. Currently, she enjoys teaching dance and child advocacy in New York.

Kiana Gago-Davalos- Kiana  is an aspiring dancer and choreographer from Yonkers, New York. Without the luxury of being able to afford and take classes, she took matters into her own hands and made "something out of nothing." At age 13, when she first started she did everything from performing at street shows, birthday parties, and festivals. Now, she has performed and taught master workshops all over the world in places such as Cuba, Iceland, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and just recently finished her first International tour throughout Asia as head choreographer, artistic director and performer. Aside from touring and teaching Kiana has also been featured in Paper Magazine, New York Times, Music Videos, International Dance Battles, World of Dance, and much more. Kiana uses her networking ability, and passion for dance and the arts to reach out to different people of all sorts of artistic genres to exchange and collaborate. Kiana thrives off of inspiration, and working with others as well as branching out into other fields such as her own clothing line "DVLS". Her inspiration is driven by her past and present lifestyle, and those she has worked alongside with like her sponsors Sprayground, Staple Pigeon, Originate Clothing, and NBA sports wear. As well as those she has danced / choreographed for such as TKAY, 070 Shake, Justin Love, Xander, dancehall artist Wiz Kid, Akon, and Jadakiss.

Her goal is to travel the world, and share her knowledge, craft, and passion amongst anyone who is willing to be a part of the journey.




Devyn Ciccio-Rauf. Devyn is known as a rigorous yet inspiring dance instructor. In 2016, she began teaching creative movement at Rising Stars Academy in Millville, NJ, In 2018, Devyn joined Nadia’s Performing Arts Center in Queens, where she taught jazz, hip hop, acro, ballet, tap, and creative movement. As of 2022, Devyn works with Armonk Center for Dance, along with other schools in Westchester, where she teaches tumbling, and in Queens, where she teaches creative movement, tumbling, and acro.



Sarah Agrusa- Lyrical, Jazz, Hip Hop-Sarah Agrusa has been dancing for over fifteen years. She is originally from Michigan, where she trained at Deborah’s Stage Door on their competitive team. Sarah is trained in jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop,
lyrical, and contemporary! She is currently pursuing a BFA in Musical Theatre from the CAP 21
Conservatory/ Molloy College. Her dance career has led her to perform at the Detroit Symphony
Orchestra, Little Ceasar’s Arena, and Comerica Park. In theatre, Sarah was seen as Lullaby
League/Winki in the National Tour of the Wizard of Oz at the Fisher Theatre and Tommy in Galaxy
Quest at CAP 21. Recently, Sarah Choreographed a musical review of Pasek and Paul and
co-choreographed Galaxy Quest at Cap 21. She loves working with students of all ages and getting to
share her love of the arts with them!


Jaqueline Agrusa- Lyrical, Jazz- hails from Manhattan, where she is pursuing a career in musical theatre.  She most recently was an associate choreographer for the off broadway musical Only Human and danced for Arts for Autism at the Gershwin theater. Jacqueline worked at the Tuacahn Ampitheater, a regional theater in Utah, where she was a part of the casts of Newsies, Shrek, and Mamma Mia. She graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with a B.F.A. in Performing Arts. This dynamic young lady grew up competing and was a national top overall junior, teen, and senior soloist and has won numerous convention scholarships. Growing up, she trained at Deborah’s Stage Door in Rochester Hills, Michigan where she studied tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, hip hop, pointe, contemporary, modern, and musical theater. She was a Radio Disney dancer, and opened for Corbin Bleu, The Cheetah Girls, Raven, and the Jonas Brothers. In addition, Jacqueline has danced for Bernadette Peters, Chubby Checkers, appeared on Star Search with Arsenio Hall.   She has 20 years of dance experience and is a dance teacher in the city, as well as a choreographer, who works with kids of all ages.  Jacqueline loves sharing her knowledge and passion for the arts with children!  







Kenneth Hernandez- is a dancer and choreographer from The Bronx, NY. Growing up, he started to build his street style by training with many different dance teams based in NYC. He would perform in shows and competitions including Prelude, Elements, and World of Dance. He later continued his individual training at Broadway Dance Center, EXPG, BrickHouseDance, and MonstersDanceConvention. Kenny later became a part of the traveling faculty for Liberate Artists, where he found his passion for teaching. There he taught workshops and master classes all over the country and internationally for almost a decade. Kenny loves to inspire the youth and loves to share his knowledge and passion with all of his students.



Nicole Sharkey- Acro, Hop Hop, Contemporary Nicole Sharkey is a dancer and choreographer from Mahopac, New York. She started at a young age training in Contemporary, Jazz, Acrobatics, Ballet, Hip Hop, and Modern dance. Nicole quickly discovered that dance is something she could never let go of. She starting choreographing for her high school dance studio and team at age 17. She furthered her education at Manhattanville College, receiving a Bachelor degree in dance and psychology, as well as being Co-Captain of the Manhattanville Dance Troupe. Nicole hopes to continue performing for as long as she can, while sharing her passion by teaching dance to students who are ready and eager to learn!

28 Kaysal Court - Armonk, NY