Tara Russomanno
Director Owner
Jazz, PBT, Modern, Ballet, Lyrical, Contemporary, Conditioning, Yoga, & Rehearsal Instructor
Tara has been dancing since the age of two and has never stopped. Her attention to detail and dedication to discipline have allowed her to train with renowned companies and artists such as The American Ballet Theatre, NYCDA, Parsons Dance Company, Steven Vaughn, Silvana Cardell, Sidra Bell, Stephanie Batten Bland, and many more.
In 2015, Tara was a member of Ramapo College of New Jersey’s nationally ranked dance team before continuing her dance education at Georgian Court University. During her college years, she performed at The American College Dance Association, where her senior thesis was selected for presentation. She was also a member of “Redef Movement,” a professional hip-hop company based in Central Jersey, and “Open Category,” a contemporary company founded by former Parsons dancer Steven Vaughn.
After graduating, Tara began teaching at several studios, but ultimately, Starz Dance Studio captured her heart. In September 2025, she proudly purchased the studio, fulfilling a lifelong dream.
As a teacher and studio director, Tara’s mission is to provide her students with a safe, supportive, and inspiring environment. She strives to deliver not only a strong and enriching dance education but also to equip her dancers with skills and values they can carry far beyond the studio and into every aspect of their lives.
Marina Vasquez
Preschool, Kinderballet, Lyrical, Jazz, HipHop & Tiny Tumble Instructor
Marina Vasquez is from Howell, New Jersey, and has been dancing for over twenty-four years. She is a performer as well as a trained instructor and choreographer in various dance styles, including pom, lyrical, contemporary, musical theater, modern, hip-hop, ballet, tap, pointe, tiny tumble, and jazz techniques. She has traveled and trained all over the country with artists such as Tokyo, Franco De Vita, Adam Cates, Michael Susten, and Al Blackstone.
Marina is an alumna of the American Ballet Theatre and has performed with their company in Le Corsaire at The Metropolitan Opera House of Lincoln Center, The Nutcracker at The Brooklyn Academy of Music, and ABT’s Spring Performance at Pace University. She has also performed at the Ailey Citigroup Theater in a ballet piece choreographed by Yuka Kawazu. Marina trained at The Hussian College In Studio in Los Angeles, California, where she acquired industry experience dancing and acting for the camera. She has both created and performed in a variety of short dance films and promotional videos. Marina has also served as an assistant to Adam Cates at Steps on Broadway and the Broadway Dance Center, a Roadie Apprentice for Dancers Inc. On Tour Convention, and worked as an on-site assistant and staff member with the New York-based dance company Man In Motion. She is also an alumna of The Fine and Performing Arts Center of Howell High School and Starz Dance Studio.
Marina has a Bachelor of Science in Dance and Marketing from Rutgers University. She most recently served as a captain and inside choreographer for the Lady Bearcats Dance Team. With the Lady Bearcats, Marina has been able to perform at multiple home/away Jersey Bearcats games as well as on the court during the NBA Brooklyn Nets vs. Los Angeles Lakers game and WNBA New York Liberty vs. Connecticut Suns game at Barclays Center. She has also represented the Jersey Bearcats brand at community events, appearances, and during pre-game media interviews. For over twelve years, she has taught students of all ages and levels the art of dance. Her goal is not only to teach her students how to be the best dancers they can be, but to lead them by example and be a mentor to them, just like her grandmother, Mrs. Patricia Smith, the founder of Starz was to her.
Patti Crumrine
Choreographer
Patti Crumrine has been dancing since the age of 3 and has trained in various classical and street styles of dance. She has graduated with her certificate in dance from University of The Arts in Philadelphia. Patti has had the opportunity to be an understudy in the off broadway show “Beyond Babel”, dancer for BTS Love Yourself Tour, performer in “Stravinsky Reimagined” directed by Jennifer Webber and Shinsa The Collective company member based in New York City. Patti also is a Competitive Judge for True Talent Dance Competition. She is currently a co-choreographer for 6 Flags "Dead Man's Party" Great Adventure and an associative choreographer for the latest Shinsa The Collective immersive show "B_TTERLAND" under the direction of Bo Park. Patti has been teaching & choreographing for about 7 years now. Patti loves being able to work with students and see them grow into beautiful dancers.
Victoria TIGHE
Musical Theater, Ballet, Choreographer & Rehearsal Instructor
Victoria Tighe is a dedicated dance educator with comprehensive training in ballet, jazz, contemporary, modern, tap, and musical theatre. She studied at Montclair State University, where she earned her Dance Education Certification.
Her training includes advanced ballet technique (Cecchetti), modern dance (Horton, Graham, and Humphrey), aerial silks, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and musical theatre. She has had the privilege of studying under teaching artists at Montclair State University, Freehold Regional Performing Arts High School, and through numerous master classes.
Victoria’s performance career highlights include dancing with the Lakewood BlueClaws Dance Team, with appearances at The Harlem Globetrotters, Eagles Stadium, and Trenton Thunder Stadium. She has also performed with the Cleo Mack Dance Project, appeared in musical theatre productions, and competed in national and regional dance competitions. Victoria has also received recognition for her choreography.
As a dance educator, Victoria is passionate about inspiring the next generation of dancers. She strives to encourage creativity, discipline, and confidence in her students in a safe and encouraging environment where dancers of all ages can learn, grow, and find love in dance!
Sarah Warren
Tap Instructor
Sarah has loved to dance for as long as she can remember. Since age 5, Sarah took dances class of all styles including ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, and hip hop. She especially excelled in tap and hip hop, which stand to be her two favorite styles today. Through competitions and conventions, Sarah has worked with choreographers like Kenny Wormald, Stephen “Twitch” Boss, Misha Gabriel, and Lisa and Mike Minery. Aside from dance, Sarah was a cheerleader for her school teams in middle and was team captain in high school. In high school she was a member of a pre-professional hip hop company who trained in popping, locking, breaking, and other street hip hop. During her time in the company, Sarah performed at many festivals and showcases around New Jersey and New York City, including a performance for the TedX “Chaos” in Asbury Park. After high school, Sarah went to college to become a math teacher, but always knew she would go back to dance. She later attended MCC, where she studied dance and was so excited to return to dance and continue to share her passion.
Amanda Rodriguez
Choreographer
Amanda Rodriguez is 23 years old from New Jersey. She began dancing at the age of two and is trained in contemporary, ballet, modern, jazz, improvisation, hip hop, musical theater, and tap. Amanda trained with Nitrogen the Company in New York for three seasons. As a member of Nitrogen, Amanda danced in several concept and music videos. She also performed at the Gramercy Theatre for Sybarite. Amanda graduated as a dance major from the Ocean County Vocational Technical School’s Performing Arts Academy where she has been a part of several concert performances. She continued to pursue dance at Marymount Manhattan College for a year as a modern dance major. She attended Starz Dance Studio as a member of the competition team since the age of six. Amanda has won numerous scholarships and awards at national dance conventions/competitions, including several choreography awards in most recent years. She was also crowned Dancer of the Year in 2019 and Teen Miss in 2017 at Dancers Inc National Competition. Through Dancers Inc, Amanda had the opportunity to travel along the east coast working backstage at competitions, assisting master teachers, and performing at regional and national events. Amanda has been choreographing and teaching for four years now. Amanda’s goal is to inspire the next generation of artists to be true to themselves and explore all they are capable of becoming.
Bethanie Loffredo
Tumble & Contortion Instructor
Renee Mattson
Contemporary Instructor
Renee, an alumna of SUNY College at Fredonia, holds a major in Speech-Language Pathology and a minor in Dance. Her performance credits include the NYC Dance Now Festival with Via Dance Collaboration and the Off-Off Broadway production of "Nutcracker Rated-R." Upon relocating to Charleston, S.C., Renee joined ARC Experiments in Dance before ascending to a principal dancer role with Charleston Dance Project. Beyond her contributions as a principal dancer, Renee also served as the Director of Project II, Charleston's teen contemporary jazz dance company. In 2014, she transitioned from professional dance to focus on starting a family. Renee's two daughters, Ana and Vivienne, began their dance journeys at STARZ Dance Studio in 2022, and Renee is now honored to share her passion for dance as a valued member of the STARZ teaching staff.
Isabella Sutero
Pre-K Dance Instructor
Bella has been dancing for 15 years and has grown up at Starz, where she has trained her entire life. She is trained in jazz, contemporary, ballet, lyrical, hip hop, tap, and various technique classes. She grew up competing, participating in many competitions and conventions, and has been recognized through programs such as the Dancers Inc. Title Program and the Ticket to Broadway Elite Solo Showdown. She has also taken classes at Grunin Performing Arts Academy to further expand her training and experience. In addition to her own training, Bella began assistant teaching at the age of twelve and has now been teaching her own class for a year, where she loves sharing her passion for dance with younger students. Dance has been an important part of her life for many years, and she plans to continue to grow both as a performer and a teacher.
Alison Goskowsky
Ballet, Jazz, and Hip Hop Instructor
Allison Goskowsky has been dancing all her life and continues to explore movement. She began her training at Starz, where she discovered her love for dance, and later became a proud Starz alumni (Class of 2021). After high school, she danced with a company in Long Island, New York for two to three seasons, gaining valuable performance and repertory experience.
Following her time with the company, she immersed herself in Gaga, the movement language created by Ohad Naharin, studying it for three years (and continuing to this day). In April 2024, she trained in Italy with Nuova X/Nod, working with numerous choreographers including Lea Ved, Moritz Ostruschnjak, Olivia Ancona, Ella Rothschild, Matan David, Pau Aran Gimeno, and many more.
Alongside performing, Allison has cultivated a choreographic practice for the past four years, often blending dance with visual art and photography to explore movement as both expression and image. Back in New York, she continues to study with choreographers she has strong artistic connections with, such as Ben Green and Ohad Mazor, while creating independent works. Allison remains dedicated to dancing and choreographing, exploring new collaborations, and deepening her practice at the intersection of dance, art, and personal voice.
Sarah Edwards
Hip Hop Instructor
Sarah has been dancing for 8 years and is such a big part of Sarah’ life. She has trained in numerous styles of dance including, Jazz, Contemporary, HipHop, Ballet, Modern, Tap, Musical Theater, Lyrical and many others. Over the years Sarah has participated in regional competitions, national competitions as well as the Dancers Inc title program. She has been awarded numerous scholarships from conventions and competitions over the years of being a competitive dancer. Sarah is a Senior at the OCVTS Grunin Performing Arts academy as a Dance Major, where gets the opportunity to perform in several concert performances, as well as being intensely trained in Ballet, Modern, and Jazz techniques, while also getting the opportunity to learn dance history and theory. Sarah has been assisting dance classes since she was 13. As a first year teacher, Sarah is so excited to expand her dance practice into teaching and inspiring younger dancers!