vada dance collective

Krista Armbruster is from Skippack, PA, where she began her dance education.  She graduated from DeSales University with a B.A. in Dance.  During her time at DeSales, she had the privilege of dancing for multiple professional dancers and choreographed several works both in the theatre and site specific on campus. Outside of DeSales, she attended the American Dance Festival, where she performed in pieces set by several prestigious choreographers from the New York and Philadelphia areas.  Currently, Krista is the co-director of New Street Dance Group.  Her work has been shown at the Inhale Series this past January, along with two self-produced shows at Touch Stone Theatre in Bethlehem, PA.   Krista is excited to continue dancing and collaborating with Vada Dance Collective.

Christa Campbell is originally from Wisconsin where she began her dance training locally in Madison. She attended summer programs at Virginia School of the Arts and Joffrey Ballet and went on to attend Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA, graduating with a BA in dance. Christa currently dances professionally with ContempraDance Theatre, Vada Dance Collective, Melange Contemporary Dance Company and 180 Dance Company. She has performed with Dance Kaleidoscope, REALM, Theatre Mama, Public Eye: Artists for Animals, Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective, as a guest artist with the Schuylkill Valley Regional Dance Company (SVRDC), in the TV commercial for Versa Fit Studio, in the promotional video for Nelson Illusions and at a Pittsburgh Pirates game. Christa teaches at several area dance schools and is the co-director and choreographer for the ContempraYouth Dancers. Christa has taught master classes and workshops for Cirque du Soleil, Temple University, Marywood University and several local dance schools. She has choreographed for the ContempraYouth Dancers, Melange Contemporary Dance Company, 180 Dance Company, Temple University Opera Theater, Nelson Illusions, Public Eye: Artists for Animals and the Villanova Wildcat Dancers. Christa serves as publicity manager for ContempraDance Theatre, Executive Director for 180 Dance Company and is the Vice President of the Board of Directors for SVRDC.

Diana Jewell holds a Professional Diploma in Dance Studies from the Laban Centre for Contemporary Dance in London. While there, her choreography was one of eight student pieces chosen for public performance. Prior to that, she studied on scholarship with Philadanco's Training Company. Since returning from London, Diana has continued to present work throughout the Philadelphia area. She has performed nationally and internationally, and is currently a company member with Dance Del Bello, Vada Dance Collective, and 180 Dance Company.

Kathleen Kerner is from the Outer Banks of North Carolina. She graduated in May of 2007 from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a BFA degree in Dance Performance and Choreography. Kathleen was a member of Hoctor's Dance Caravan Company in the summers of 2004 and 2007, traveling around the U.S. and Canada performing and holding workshops. She was a member of the John Gamble Dance Theatre from 2004-2007, and performed with them numerous times in the North Carolina Dance Festival and Fringe Festival. In 2005 she spent six months studying dance at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Perth, Australia.  Kathleen has danced for ContempraDance Theatre and Plasma Dance Theatre.  She is currently a member of Keila Cordova Dances, Between Movement Contemporary Dance Company, Vada Dance Collective, and Melange Contemporary Dance. Kathleen recently traveled to Poland with Melange to perform in an international dance festival.

Danielle Lyons’ dance education stemmed from her hometown of Warminster, PA. Danielle’s passion for dance led her to continue her development while earning her BFA in Graphic Design at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She has had the privilege of dancing with Sanbrooka Productions: Imprint Dance Theater under the direction of Samuel Reyes. Currently, she is teaching hip-hop at Kelly Richards School of Dance in Warminster, PA. In addition to teaching, she holds a part-time senior graphic designer position at Kelsh Wilson Design and is co-owner of LoveLeigh Invitations, LLC. The Vada Dance Collective logo is one of her creations. Danielle is excited to be back performing with Vada Dance Collective.

Lindsay Murray is a graduate of DeSales University where she received her BA in Dance.  She began dancing at age three and is trained in all genres. Lindsay participated in the Sean Curran Residency at DeSales and performed his work on campus.  She has attended and performed at the American College Dance Festival and attended Pro-Danza Italia/USA Summer Dance Workshop in Tuscany, Italy.  Lindsay has attended the Dance Teacher Summit NYC and the Robert Battle Intensive.  She has danced professionally with ContempraDance Theatre and choreographed for the ContempraDance Youth Ensemble and the IDA Repetoire Company.  She coached the Temple University Diamond Gems Dance Team, and has been a teaching artist at various elementary school dance residencies.  Lindsay has formerly worked as a Health & Fitness Specialist for MediFit.  She teaches dance at Institute of Dance Artistry and also teaches Pilates and Zumba.  Lindsay is pursuing her graduate degree in School Counseling.

 Emily Perkins has graduated Cum Laude with a BA in Dance from DeSales University. She worked with a variety of noted professionals including Dan Joyce, Sean Curran, Trinette Singleton, Tim Cowart, Lynne Mariani and Angeline Wolf. In 2007 she brought Modern Dance and Ballet to Bangalore, India with the DSU Dance department. Professionally,Emily has worked with the Pennsylvania Youth Theatre; in 2010 she worked with playwright Christopher Weaver in a workshop performance of Rivers Current in New York City as both a dancer in the film portion of the show and Stage Manager for the stage production; she has also danced with Angeline Wolf in the COTA Festival in the Delaware Water Gap, PA. Emily currently also dances with FuSia Dance Company, based in Stroudsburg, PA. This is Emily's second season with Vada Dance.

Stephanie Vasta is a graduate of Penn State Abington where she earned a B.A. in Psychological and Social Sciences. During her four years at Penn State she participated in the University's Dance Company as a dancer and student choreographer, and after graduating she moved on to become one of the Company's Associate Directors. Stephanie currently teaches at the Academy of Dance Artistry, Edge Dance Company, B.C. Discoveries Dance & Theater Arts Company, Carol Ann's School of Dance and Stars Studio of Dance, where she trained from age 6 to 18. Stephanie has performed around the country with New Vision Cirque and Dance Company, and she toured Poland in July 2006 with Contempra Dance Theatre, a modern-jazz company with which she has been performing professionally since 2004.