We hire the best so your dancers can be the best.
​We strive for excellence at Starpath Dance Academy, which is why we're so selective with our faculty. We think that teachers make the difference between good studios and great studios. With a team like this, we think you'll agree that we're a great studio.
OWNERSHIP

Lindsey Kaplowitz
Founder, Artistic Director, and Dance Teacher
Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz, Lyrical, Performance Team, Starlight Program, Tap

Lindsey has been dancing for 32 years, and teaching for 19 of them. She started training at a young age with former Radio City Music Hall Rockette Cheryl Andersen, and then trained as a teenager with Keith Banks, instructor to So You Think You Can Dance Season 1 winner Nick Lazzarini, as a teenager.

While the thrill of being onstage is indescribable, Lindsey's truest passion is sharing the joy of dance with her students and helping them fulfill their potential both inside and outside of the dance studio. Nothing can compare to the twinkle in a student's eye, and the smile across their face when they learn and perfect a new dance skill. Click here to read more about Miss Lindsey.

Janice Rava
Cofounder and Executive Director

Miss Janice is our Executive Director who works tirelessly behind-the-scenes to ensure all of our staff members and dance families are taken care of and in the best hands. Miss Janice is our secret weapon to organization and our incredible recitals and events. You can often find her in the office helping countless dance families along with her Boston Terrier (our studio pup), Mugsy!

Miss Janice has been to more recitals than you can count on fingers and toes, and loves being able to share knowledge and joy with our dance families. She is Miss Lindsey's mom and one of her greatest inspirations.
TEACHERS

Erica Bennett
Dance Teacher
Acro, Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, Hip Hop, Lyripop, Starlettes, Tap 

Miss Erica comes to us from Long Island, New York, where she started dancing at seven years old. She joined her studio’s competition team a few years later, competing in tap, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop and contemporary. Erica was also a member of her high school and college Kickline teams and served as a captain for both teams. After graduating from SUNY Cortland with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology, Erica began performing with a professional dance team in Syracuse, NY. She also began teaching at a local dance studio where she taught recreational classes and choreographed for the competition team. Erica moved to North Carolina in 2018 for her full-time job, which is working as a Case Manager for adults with Traumatic Brain Injuries. Erica is excited to return to teaching and looks forward to sharing her passion for dance with the next generation of dancers. 

Alex Giblin​
Dance Teacher and Front Desk Receptionist
Ballet, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Jazz, Starlight Program

Miss Alex is a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a double major in psychology and human development and family studies and is planning to pursue a career as a counselor or child life specialist. Miss Alex has many other hobbies (dance being her favorite - of course!) such as riding horses, doing her friend’s hair and makeup, and playing the cello, which she hopes to incorporate into her career at some point. While Miss Alex has had experience in a competitive dance setting studying tap, jazz, hip-hop, modern, and contemporary, her first love and favorite style of dance is ballet. In high school, she danced with the Charlotte City Ballet company under the directorship of Missy Coyle and Lisa Leone. She continues her dance education in college as a member of ModernExtension dance company and by taking technique classes at UNC and surrounding universities. Miss Alex is excited to combine her love of dance and children as a teacher at Starpath!

Caitlyn Lane
​Dance Teacher
Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, Musical Theatre, Pointe, Tap, Starlettes, Starlight Program

Miss Caitlyn has been dancing for 19 years, with an emphasis on Modern, Lyrical, Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, and Tap. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance and an Associate's degree in Business Administration from SUNY Potsdam. Caitlyn has had some amazing opportunities throughout her dance career including working with Paul Taylor Dance Company, receiving a scholarship for a dance intensive in Florence, Italy, and training at Perry-Mansfield in Colorado with Peter Chu and Chuthis Dance Company. Miss Caitlyn loves to teach and has taught all ages at a private studio in NY as well as at the University. She is so excited to be a part of the Starpath dance family.

Alison Levenberg
Choreographer and Professional Path Consultant

After relocating from the northeast where she was a Radio City Rockette, Broadway performer and Associate Choreographer (for Peter Darling - Billy Elliot) among other credits, Miss Alison comes to Starpath with a long career in performing, choreographing and dance education. Alison grew up in England where she began teaching dance at the age of 16. She trained at the prestigious Bird College in London where she gained teaching qualifications in the nationally taught I.S.T.D. syllabus and also trained as a professional dancer. Since becoming a mom herself, she has focused her energies on dance education and is very excited to join the Starpath family this fall!

Devin Siebert
​Dance Teacher
Acro, Ballet, Jazz, Starlight Program, Tap

Miss Devin has been dancing for 20 years, studying Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, and Hip Hop. She taught dance for many years to students of all ages in Pennsylvania before moving to North Carolina. While in Pennsylvania, Miss Devin gained a variety of teaching experiences, including serving as a Dance Instructor at Dancer's Edge in Millersville and a Youth Cheerleading Coach for the Eckert Fitness Group in York. Most recently, she planned and implemented her own dance curriculum at Get into GEARS, a recreation-based community center for kids and adults in Elizabethtown. Miss Devin is an elementary school teacher with a passion for working with and educating children. She is excited to share her love of dance with the students at Starpath!

Brittany Spartz
​Dance Teacher
Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap, Starlettes, Starlight Program 

Miss Brittany has been dancing since the age of four. She started competing at the age of 12 in numerous genres of dance including jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, hip-hop, clogging and musical theatre. Throughout her competitive career she was awarded numerous awards for solos, duets and group pieces she was part of. Her junior year of high school Brittany began teaching where she then discovered her true passion. After graduating high school Brittany attended Meredith College in Raleigh, NC where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a minor in Marketing. At Meredith, she was a part of the Meredith Jazz and Tap Company, Meredith Dance Theatre and President of Nu Delta Alpha. Throughout her time at Meredith she performed at the American College Dance Festival for three years and was chosen to dance under various guest artists including Julia Rhoads, Kristin Sudeikis, and Tina Marie Custer. Brittany also received numerous honors from faculty at Meredith such as the Outstanding Leadership and Metamorphosis awards. Brittany is so excited to be a part of Starpath and cannot wait to see her students grow and develop a love for dance just as she has.

Jené Ward
Dance Teacher and Director of Marketing and Client Relations
​​Acro, Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Starlettes, Starlight Program

Welcome, Miss Jene!! Miss Jene is a recent graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill where she was President, Choreographer and teacher for Blank Canvas — the same largest group on campus that Miss Lindsey was President of herself years ago! Jene loves all styles of dance and has been surrounded by it her entire life, as her mom owned a studio of her own for 20 years. Jene has been a dance teacher since high school and loves teaching kids of all ages! When not at the studio, you can find Jene at the Carolina Union! We are thrilled to have Miss Jene at Starpath!

Toni DePaoli
​Dance Teacher
​​Tap, Broadway Triple Threat, Hip Hop, Lyripop, Technique

Welcome, Miss Toni! Miss Toni double majored in Dance and Drama with a minor in Musical Theatre at UNC-Greensboro. She has worked professionally as a dancer and participated in several musicals and was the Dance Captain of South Pacific at Triad Stage. She was also dance captain of Heathers and Pippin at the University. She has experience teaching dance to ages 4-18 in a variety of styles, and when she isn't at Starpath she is the dance teacher at a charter school in the Triangle. She is so excited to be a part of the Starpath family!

Mariko Ishikawa
​Dance Teacher
​​Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Strength and Conditioning, Technique

Welcome, Miss Mariko! Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Miss Mariko is a dancer, collaborator, and educator. She holds her MFA in Dance Performance from the University of Iowa, where she was a recipient of the Iowa Art Fellowship and her BA in Performing Arts and Liberal Studies from Saint Mary's College (LEAP). Miss Mariko has performed professionally with Albany Berkshire Ballet, Mandance Company San Francisco, Menlowe Ballet, Imaginatio Arts, eMotion Arts, and New Ground Theatre Dance Company among others, and has been invited to perform with the Peninsula Youth Ballet, Diablo Ballet, DManagement’s “Performing in Chicago," and Youth American Grand Prix New York Finals (2009 to 2012). For the past 15 years, Miss Mariko has been devoted to educating students in the art of dance and performance. Miss Mariko has taught at the University of Iowa, as well as at numerous schools in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she set multiple full-length productions, mentored both students and instructors, directed and built dance curriculums, and served the community through artistic engagement. We are thrilled to have her join us!

Erica (Rickky) McCurdy
​Dance Teacher
​​Starlight Program, Hip-Hop

Welcome, Miss Rickky! Miss Rickky is a recent graduate of Western Carolina University, where she majored in English with a Professional Writing concentration and a double minor in Dance & Film Studies. While in school, she was a choreographer for the Miss. BSU Pageants (‘18-‘20), while holding leadership roles in SGA, BSU, Queens of WCU, Inspirational Gospel Choir and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She’s been dancing for 18 years and had the pleasure of taking workshop with Hiplet, Urban Bush Woman and Rhythm Street Movement. Miss Rickky is ecstatic to share her love of dance and creativity with our young students!

STAFF

Maggie Baugh
Marketing Associate

​Maggie is a graduate of UNC Charlotte, where she majored in Marketing and Innovation. She has danced all throughout elementary school, high school, and even college. Originally from a small town just outside of Pittsburgh, PA, Maggie moved to the Raleigh area after college and has been loving it ever since! Maggie's hobbies include yoga, trivia, and listening to all kinds of music. She has an eye for creativity, a passion for dance, and is eager to help achieve Starpath's goals!

Amanda Owens
Front Desk Receptionist

​Miss Amanda has been with Starpath Dance Academy since it opened as a dance mom, a Starlette team mom, and a dancer in the Adult Fitness and Adult Combo classes. When her daughter graduated in 2020, she found herself unable to leave the Starpath Dance Academy family, and is now working in the office. She is a huge Disney fan, and in her spare time, she loves to read, make crafts, do puzzles, and travel.

Georgia Atcheson
Office Assistant

Georgia is a rising Sophomore in high-school, and is a member of our Starlette competitive team. We love Georgia for many reasons, including her bright and bubbly personality! She can't wait to meet you!