Staff—Dance

Ahna Bonnette
    Ahna grew up in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona where she trained, taught and set solo competition dances at Dance Connection Scottsdale. At 18, she was accepted into SUNY Purchase to pursue a BFA in dance. After a year there she left to explore concert dance firsthand. In 2021, she traveled with choreographer Peter Chu, repetiteur Roger Van der Poel and Jenni Gordon to aid in setting repertoire and host dance intensives at competition dance studios in Texas, Florida, and California. She then spent 5 weeks assisting Chu and Van der Poel in Germany as they set a work on Augsburg Ballet. In addition to performing, Bonnette over her career, has also developed a deep passion for creating with, and teaching young dancers. 

Ahna is currently a company dancer with the nationally recognized Groundworks Dance Theater located in Cleveland Ohio.

 

Bethany Eilean
    Bethany’s dance education began in Akron at Studio West Performing Arts Center under the direction of Mark and Erin Smith. Her training continued throughout college and graduated with a BFA in Acting and a minor in Children’s Creative Dance. After graduation she settled in the mountain west, performing at theaters in Utah and Colorado, and training with Frantic Assembly – which led to an invitation to their International Summer School. She spent 10 years with Creede Repertory Theatre as a resident actor and choreographer, working closely with their nationally recognized KID SHOW program. Some of her favorite choreography credits include The Wizard of Oz, 9 to 5, Little Shop of Horrors, and Guys & Dolls. 

After relocating back home, Bethany devised and choreographed The Tree Watcher, an original physical theatre piece that was featured in the New York Times. She also worked with Tony award winning choreographer, Dave Nuemann, on the Netflix film White Noise. This is Bethany's third season with Rock City Dance and is thrilled to be bringing her love of Musical Theatre back home.

 

David Darrington
    David is a talented hip hop dancer who was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He started dancing at the age of 8 alongside his older brother, Clarence at many schools talent shows. Mr. David has been teaching and performing with Rock City since 2010.  David is one of the founding members of the award-winning adult dance crew RemiCxD that opened for Carly Rae Jepson in 2012 as well as taking second place at Cleveland's Best Dance Crew dance competition. 

David debuted his acting career in the Lifetime movie Surviving Compton. He has performed at numerous venues for plenty of prestigious events such as the 2013 National Senior Games as well as multiple events at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the House of Blues, and the IX Center. Mr. David was one of the dance team members personally invited by America’s Got Talent to try out for the well-known TV show in 2012. 

Outside of the studio, David is a published author with his books selling at Barnes & Noble.

 

Gweneth Amalong
    Gwen has had a passion for dance from the time she took her first dance class.  She was a natural talent and performer and trained in styles including Ballet, Pointe, Contemporary, Jazz and Hip Hop.  Gwen became an Elite competitive dancer for many years receiving top awards at the Regional, National and Worlds levels. 

Gwen is a previous member of the student teaching program at RCD where she has gained knowledgeable years of experience teaching under lead instructors and choreographers.. She is super excited to begin her third year teaching which includes styles in  Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz and Hip Hop. 

When Gwen is not teaching she is currently attending college to obtain her business degree.

 

Jacob Glendenning
    Jacob is not only a talented professional dancer/teacher but also an accomplished actor starring in musicals such as Newsies, The Addams Family & Anyone Can Whistle.  You may also recognize him in the Netflix film White Noise. 

Jacob started his training right here at RCD in styles including Ballet, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Tap  & Jazz.  Jacob continues his dance studies in the Cleveland area as well as studying in New York City  working with choreographers including  Luther Brown, Rhapsody James,Parris Goelbel & Nick Demoura. Jacob also was selected as a prestigious Showstoppers “All Star Cast” and worked with Taylor Quinn. 

Jacob competed in styles including Contemporary, Jazz and Hip Hop and received two Title Awards after only competing in his third year of competitive dance!

When Jacob is not at RCD he attends college studying Psychology and minoring in dance.

 

Jenna Mey
    Jenna Mey started her dance education at Rock City Dance at the age of 10 under the direction of Sharie Stuart-Ican. Jenna continued to study various forms of dance such as Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Hip-Hop, and Ballet. Jenna was a part of the first technical competition teams at Rock City Dance and competed at an advanced level for 6 years. She competed at Star Dance Alliance’s World Dance Championships helping to bring home 2nd place (2014), 1st place (2015), and 4th place (2016) trophies to RCD. 

Jenna’s experience competing led her to study with top choreographers at dance conventions such as Hollywood Vibe and Monsters of Hip Hop. Jenna has had the opportunity to take workshops and classes with Parris Goebel, Kent Boyd, Andrew Baterina, David Moore, Derek Piquette, and Ian Eastwood. 

Outside of competition Jenna has performed en Pointe in various roles of North Pointe Ballet’s production of the Nutcracker. She has had the privilege of dancing in promotional videos such as Dreamworks’ animated film Trolls, local artists’ music videos, and performing for the Paralympic Games.

Jenna is currently a senior at John Carroll University studying to earn a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Major in Marketing and Minors in Communications and Spanish.

 

Karina Brown 
    Karina has a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Dance from Case Western Reserve University with only 10 credits short of her doctorate!

Karina has been involved in the dance industry for over 27 years. She has extensive background in ballet/pointe, tap, ballroom, jazz, lyrical, contemporary/modern, hip hop, musical theater and acrobatics. Karina has been a valued instructor at multiple studios spanning from Sandusky to Cleveland where she has also worked with many competition teams. As an accomplished dancer in the competitive field, she has won countless awards, scholarships, titles and top honors at regional, national and international levels including best choreography, most entertaining act and top overalls at regional and national competitions. Karina also works as a director for Fly Dance Competitions. 

Karina is a 2010 graduate of Heidelberg University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Musical Theater. She received her Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Contemporary Dance from Case Western Reserve in 2014. Karina has been a faculty member of Lorain Community College and the adjunct professor of Movement and Dance at Heidelberg University. She has danced with RED Company and Cleveland Dance Project. Karina is signed with Pro-Model and Talent Management for dancing, singing, acting and modeling. 

Karina has an amazingly warm personality that lights up the room. Her passion for dance and teaching in a manner that brings out the best in each student is apparent in each class she teaches

 

Luca Sportelli
    Luca was born in Italy where he studied dance along with competing at an international level!  After moving to the United States he resided in Nashville TN and became a Company Dancer with the prestigious Nashville Ballet and also worked alongside Marissa Milele at her Dance Academy as the head of her Ballet department in addition to working as a technical coach for competition teams. Luca believes in his students and guides them towards their goals in a classroom that is filled with encouragement and empowerment. 

When Luca is not dancing, he is a professional photographer for his own company called Luca Sportelli Creations.

 

Nico Oliveros
    Nicolas (Nico) also called “Loconico” for his daredevil tumbling moves has been dancing and tumbling for over 13 years.  It was no surprise that the Cleveland Cavaliers wanted Nico to be a part of their organization and was hired to dance professionally with the prestigious Cleveland Cavaliers Scream Team for 3 seasons.  Nico is an experienced coach and hands on trainer and has been teaching for over 6 years.  Nico teaches levels from beginner to advanced in break dancing, tumbling and acro skills. 

When Nico is not teaching, he is attending college to become a Physician's assistant.

 

Orlando Mercado 
    Orlando has been dancing since He was 15 years of age and has focused his training in Hip Hop choreography and freestyle. Orlando has trained with multiple instructors from Cleveland to Columbus including a former member of the Cleveland Cavaliers Scream Team Daisun Santana (aka Bz Brooks).


Orlando x-factor has been performing for years including being a Cavs Scream Team Dance memeber and still performs till this day for school events, festivals, artists, community events, music videos, and dance competitions. Orlando was part of the 2014 and 2015 New Years event in downtown Cleveland. He has performed for Spanish artists Cosculluela, Plan B, and Yomo. He also performed for artists such as Montel Jordan, Flo Rida, Biz Markie, MGK and Lil Jon at the quicken loans arena. He has performed for local artists such as K. Davis, Bori Q, J Jigs, Jonathan El Romantico and many more. Orlando has had the privilege to travel to Atlanta, Florida, and Chicago to teach master classes and perform at multiple events and studios. He has taken classes with Alex Fetbroth, Laura Edwards, Tony Tzar, Lee Daniel and Parris Goebel who all have danced and choreographed for celebrity artists such as Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber and many mor..

 

Rachael Parso 
    Rachael started taking gymnastic classes at the age of 5 years old and started competing only one year later.  Rachael competed for over 12 years in all events including bars, beam, vault & floor.  She won State in level 4 for two years in a row. 

Rachael has been teaching acro and gymnastics for over 5 years to students of all ages and levels from beginner to advanced.  Rachael was a coach at Xtream Gymnastics for 5 years in addition to becoming a coach at Pinnacle Gymnastics. 

In addition to her gymnastics background, she also has a vast dance background spanning over 6 years and was on RCD’s first Hip Hop competition team. You may have seen her at World of Dance competing in “Fight Club”.  Rachael also performed with Misha Gabriel during the Step-Up tour. 

Rachael is also working towards her degree in teaching for K-5.

 

Sharie Stuart-Ican
    Sharie is the founder and Director at Rock City Dance and began her dance education studying in Cleveland and New York City with top choreographers including Parris Goebel, Andrew Baterina, Ian Eastwood, Chuck Maldonaldo, Joe Lanteri, David Moore and Sheila Brown. 

Sharie is known for her creative choreography and she has been hired to choreograph for stage and television.  She has choreographed for events and organizations including professional Football Teams, Carnival Cruise Line, Television Series, Senior Olympics,  American Heart Association,  Susan G. Komen events, Mini Cooper, Fashion shows and Recording Artists. 

Sharie received an invitation to audition for America’s Got Talent and made it to the final round in Columbus Ohio! She has danced professionally for recording artists, sports teams and movie premiers.

Over the last 9 years Sharie has taken her artistic vision to train students for the competition teams at Rock City Dance.   Rock City Dance was the first Hip Hop studio from Cleveland Ohio to compete at World of Dance in Chicago and Sharie received an award for “Best Theme” for her boxing concept “Fight Club”.  Her routines have been selected to compete at World Level Competitions and her teams received first place World Titles, National Champions Titles and she received the prestigious Choreographer of the Year award for two years in a row.

Prior to opening Rock City Dance,  Sharie was a Paralegal working in the Financial Industry as a Sr. Retirement Consultant managing multi-million dollar accounts for corporations in addition to managing the staff at two large Financial Planning/ RetirementConsulting Firms in Cleveland, Ohio. 

 

Guest Instructors

Daniel Natal
    Daniel’s inspiration for dance started back in 2007 when he watched the movie “Stomp the Yard”, which inspired him to begin taking dance lessons.  Daniel joined Bellas Artes school receiving a full scholarship to one of the best ballet academies in Puerto Rico. 

Daniel was a company dancer for Over the Top Dance Complex and toured with artists including Nicky Jam, Daddy Yankee, Arcangel and many others.  Daniel has traveled and performed in cities including Argentina, LA, Miami, Philadelphia and New York.

Daniel now resides in Cleveland and is a company dancer with North Pointe Ballet.