Every Child Deserves To Learn The Art Of Dance
Ali Perzel Peters is the Owner, Director, and Founder of Branches of Dance. With over 17 years of teaching experience and more than 28 years of dancing, Ali has a passion for working with children, helping them discover their talents, express their emotions, and encouraging them to work hard in a loving environment. She has trained dancers both for fun and for careers, assisting students with college applications, auditions, and supporting them through their journeys.
Ali's extensive training includes Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, Hip-Hop, and Partnering. She has studied with Master Class teachers in Dance, Acting, and Musical Theater. In 2006, Ali was awarded a scholarship to attend the National Master Class Workshop in all styles of dance. She has won numerous 1st place and platinum awards at regional and national competitions and received a Choreography award at the 2012 Nex-Star Competition.
Ali has performed at many events, including Off Broadway in NYC with the Beginnings Workshop, and has judged and assisted in casting for professional dance teams and companies. She has trained dancers to perform on cruises and in various performances, and to prepare them for competitions. Ali has also choreographed for church musicals, Christmas productions, and the Harrisburg Heat Professional Dance Team. She continues her education annually by taking classes with top choreographers to bring the most current dance instruction to her students.
Salem loves to share her passion for dance at B.O.D. by working as a dance instructor. When she is not at the studio, she works full-time with Tuscano Agency as their Marketing Promotions Coordinator. And, when she isn't working, she likes to cook with her husband, take walks on Penn Avenue, and buy her black cat Mabel sweaters. Throughout Salem's 21 years of dancing, she has always enjoyed watching and encouraging others to grow as dancers and people. During the past eight years as a teacher, she has wanted to make sure her students feel important and know they are capable of anything they set their minds to. Furthering her education in dance, Salem takes courses focused on pointe shoe readiness. In addition, she takes dance classes. She graduated from Kutztown University and earned her B.F.A. in Communication Design with a concentration in Advertising Design. While in college, she choreographed and performed with Performing Dance Portmanteau, Kutztown University's Dance Company, from 2015 to 2019. She was a very active member of the executive board and became president in her senior year. In addition, she taught dance camps during the summers and was a part of the Reading Royals Ice Angels Dance Team from 2019 to 2020. She has dance training in ballet, pointe, lyrical, tap, jazz, and modern and is always eager to further develop her knowledge in all styles.
Amy Baranoski graduated from the Pennsylvania Institute of Massage Therapy in 2008. She specializes in Myofascial Release & Orthopedic/Medical Massage. Amy has worked in a variety of Medical/Professional settings & is dedicated to bringing the best possible treatment to her clients. She has been working with Young Living Essential Oils since 2008 & Aromatherapy treatments can be added to any Massage. Amy has been practicing Yoga since 2007 & has been teaching Yoga since 2014. She holds a 200 Hour Registered Yoga Teacher Certificate & is a member of the Yoga Alliance.
Maliya has been dancing for over 14 years. Maliya student taught under Ms. Ali for 4 years. She enjoys working with children and sharing her passion, which is dancing. Maliya is currently going to RACC. She hopes to continue and receive a degree in dance. Maliya has attended multiple dance competitions both regionally and nationally. She enjoyed performing in local community events, and The Nutcracker remixed. Recently, Maliya has choreographed Reading Area Community College's first ever all campus musical.
Miss Cheyanne graduated from Muhlenberg College with a BA in Dance and Theatre, receiving the Elizabeth A. Carlson Memorial Award for Creative Leadership in Dance. She was honored to attend the American College Dance Association annual conference for three years as an extension of her choreographic and performance education. Cheyanne currently teaches dance, theatre, and yoga throughout Eastern Pennsylvania, and continues to further her training through the National Dance Educators Association, and the Yoga Alliance. She is a 200hr Certified Yoga Teacher with additional training in pranayama, and trauma informed practices. She certified as a Fine Arts Club teacher in 2023. Miss Cheyanne has choreographed Seussical Jr. and The Little Mermaid Jr. at EPAC(2021,2022), and Oley Valley High School’s The Wizard of Oz (2023). In February 2023, she was a dance competition judge in Allentown, PA. Cheyanne’s experience also includes performing at The Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre, The Fulton Opera House, American Music Theatre, Muhlenberg College, and with Muhlenberg’s Summer Music Theatre professional company. She has worked in house and production management, arts administration, directing, special education, wellness, and STEM programming. Throughout her training and experience, her ultimate passion has been supporting students, asking them to work hard, be kind, ask questions, and know they are capable of amazing things.
Casey has been cheerleading since she was able to walk. It’s a passion of hers that she has found. Cheerleading teaches amazing life skills and friendships that last forever. Casey has coached middle school, high school, and competitive cheer. Her former competitive team reached 3rd in the nation at the D2 Summit. She was so excited to help people attain there goals with hard work and dedication. Casey hopes to instill passion and confidence through all choreography being taught while having fun along the way. In her free time she enjoys going to concerts, doing yoga and furthering her education. You’ll find Casey at B.O.D. teaching our new cheer/acro, advanced level acro, and conditioning classes.
Amber is a professional actress, singer and dancer. She holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Point Park University. Amber has performed at numerous regional theatres, theme parks, cruise ships and national tours. She is the resident choreographer at The Pines Dinner Theatre in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She has Directed and Choreographed musicals and show choirs at Kutztown and Tulpehocken High Schools. Amber has been teaching and inspiring students for 25 years in the styles of tap, ballet, jazz and musical theatre. Amber believes that dance is a universal language for anyone to express themselves and is excited to be teaching at B.O.D.
Kristin graduated from Elizabethtown College in 2013. She worked in her field for a year until she had her daughter. Since then, Kristin has been a stay at home mom. Now that her children are getting older, they have discovered a love for dance, making Kristin into a dance mom. After joining Branches of Dance 2 years ago as a parent, Kristin is excited to join the Branches of Dance team as the customer service manager.
Candice is joining the team with a life long love of dance. Her path has led her through Northampton Community College to Temple University, from running massage studios in Philly to running programs at Muhlenberg Community Library. In her free time she enjoys gardening, reading, and bothering her cats. She is joining our customer service team and is so excited to be a part of B.O.D. after having watched her nieces dance with us for years.
Nikki started dancing at the age of four with jazz and acrobatics. She then continued with Ballet, Lyrical, Dance Team, Pointe, and HipHop. Nikki has 6 years experience teaching multiple styles of dance and has attended the UDMA Dance teacher expo in New Jersey where she took classes on teaching preschool level students, as well as a hiphop class for advanced level dancers. She is very energetic, will always encourage smiles and facial expressions while dancing, and is a stickler for pointed toes.
Her passion for dance has grown into teaching at a competitive level, with her choreography winning many first place awards, titles, and too many special judges awards to count! She thrives on creating unique concepts, piecing together production numbers, and using many, many props. Her favorite styles to teach are Hiphop, Lyrical, and Theatre! Nikki loves to work hard, but will never miss an opportunity to be a goofball.
She adores being able to share her passion of dance with all ages and levels of dancers, and loves making every dancer feel “seen”. When she is not teaching dance, you can catch her reading, watching Harry Potter, and hanging out with her Husband, Brandon and her son, Graham. She is excited to teach as well as wear a different hat and see how things look from behind the desk at B.O.D!
Kindness- We treat others with compassion and respect. We lead from the heart and are empathetic and understanding towards others and actively seek out ways to help and support those around us. By promoting kindness, we create a more positive and supportive environment for everyone.
Inclusion- We Emphasize Diversity and inclusivity. This ensures that everyone feels welcomed and valued within our studio. By embracing inclusion, we can create a community where every dancer is a part of the B.O.D. family.
Community- We work together towards shared goals. This involves building strong friendships and connections with others while working together towards goals. By Fostering a strong sense of community, we can create a studio that enables us to achieve great things.
Growth- We acknowledge this is essential for each dancer's development. We Consistently Learn And Improve, and seek out new opportunities and challenges that push us outside of our comfort zones. By welcoming growth, we can achieve our full potential and become the best possible versions of ourselves.
Achievement- We Recognize The importance of setting and achieving goals. This Involves working hard and persevering through challenges to accomplish our objectives and to reach our full potential. By supporting achievement, we can inspire ourselves and others to strive for excellence and achieve great things.
Ali Perzel-Peters
Director
From tots to teens and all points in between, our dancing students range in age from 3 to 18. Most are located directly in Reading but some even travel from nearby towns to experience the many advantages that our teachers bring to the table.
While we enjoy teaching kids of all ages both the basics and finer points of ballet, jazz, and acrobatics, our primary activities center on children between 3 and 7. By teaching proper techniques at an early age, we're able to build the all-important foundation from which all further dance learning will spring.
There may be other dance studios in the greater Reading area, but Branches of Dance provides an excellent option for a number of reasons:
Our dance classes are designed to be accessible, beneficial, and, above all, fun for your child. Sign up with Branches of Dance and you'll quickly understand what we mean by, “Rooted in passion, growing our dreams.”