Allegro Staff

Lillian Freeman - Director

Miss Lilly grew up in central New Jersey and has been studying dance since the age of eight. She attended Serova Dance School and The New Jersey School of Ballet. A Dance major, with concentrations in Music and Theater, she earned a BFA from Kutztown University. She held a position as Interim Professor at Kutztown University and has instructed in private studios for more than ten years. Miss Lilly's pieces are known for their energetic quality and many changing spacial pathways. Her choreography has been performed at The Magic Kingdom, in Walt Disney World, for National Tap Dance Day, at Cedar Crest College, and for Disney's Cinderella's Kids, at Brandywine Heights Middle School. As the director of Allegro, it is her hope and mission to teach and encourage a love of the arts to each pupil that comes through her doors.

Erin Kratzer

This is Miss Erin's second year teaching at Allegro. She has been dancing since she was three at different studios in the valley. Most recently she taught at Encore in Emmaus. Also, she has trained at Ohio State University, DeSales University, Broadway Dance Center and various conventions with top hip-hop choreographers. Miss Erin has choreographed for numerous shows including Walt Disney World MGM, Magic Kingdom and Disney Cruise Lines. Also she choreographed Easton Area High School's musical for three years.

When she is not teaching dance, she is an eighth grade English teacher at Easton Area Middle School in Easton Area School District, pursuing supervisory certification at Moravian College. Additionally, she coaches cheerleading at Moravian College.

Aja Ernst

Aja has had a love affair with dance since conception. Aja says, “Dance was, is and will always be apart of some aspect of my life. Dance just simply fills my soul. Dance from your heart and let your talent’s shine."

As a child Aja trained with Contempo Dance Center under the direction of Maxine Chen and at the Muhlenberg Community Dance Center for Children and Teens under the direction of Kim Maniscalco. Aja had her first taste of modern dance in high school when she was accepted into the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for Arts majoring in modern dance. While at University of Pittsburgh, Aja trained with former Pittsburgh Dance Alloy members, Susan Gillis- Kruman and Jennifer Keller, and trained at the Dance Alloy community center. She also had the opportunity to work with Pittsburgh based choreographers Andre Koslowski, Gillian Beauchamp, Mark Taylor, and Gwen Hunter-Ritchie. She also danced with Pittsburgh based company LABCO. Aja feels that she has been extremely lucky to have the opportunities she has had with dance. She continues her training by taking classes at Dance New Amsterdam in New York and Broadway Dance Center.

After graduating with a movement science degree from the University of Pittsburgh she taught modern classes for six years with Muhlenberg Dance Center for Children and Teens. Most recently she taught modern dance classes with Encore Dance. Currently she shares her love of dance with her daughter, Sofia.

Jeanann Oleksa

Jeanann Breslin Oleksa has been dancing her whole life with her formal training at LaRoux School of Dance under the direction of Lillian LaRoux Williams, Director and Alexendra Ramsey, of the Greek National Ballet Company.

While following a career in business, she continued her dance education at Muhlenberg and Cedar Crest Colleges and Lehigh University. Jean has choreographed for groups performing in Disney's Magic Kingdom, Universal Orlando Studios, Carnival Cruise Lines and The New York City Youth Theatre. She has taught ballet, tap and jazz at various studios around the Lehigh Valley before opening Encore Dance and Performing Arts in 2003.

Abigail Pattishall

Abby has been dancing since she was three years old and has been teaching ballet for the past 11 years. As a teenager she studied with Alexi Ramov at the Lehigh Valley Ballet Guild and in college she was a performing member of Millersville University’s dance company. Abby continues to study ballet and jazz at Lehigh University under the instruction of E. Laura Hausmann. In her spare time she enjoys taking ballroom dance classes with her husband, traveling to far off places, and studying foreign languages. Abby holds a Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from Lehigh University and is currently the Director of the Rivers Conservation Department at Wildlands Conservancy.

Ballet requires unparalleled strength, focus and grace. I teach because I believe ballet can help young people develop the self-respect, self-discipline and self-confidence they need to reach their full potential.