JAOD TEAM

Juliana Pirpinelli

Owner & Director

Miss Julie, is the Owner and Director of Juliana’s Academy of Dance and has been teaching for nearly 40 years specializing in tap, jazz and lyrical. Her credits include judging national dance competitions, President – Dance Masters of Michigan, countless awards for choreography and teaching, the Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade and a $100,000 winner Star Search – Vegas. Julie’s students have appeared on Broadway, television and national tours including The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Billy Elliot, and West Side Story and many, many more!

Michael Lemanski

Co-Owner, Elite Choreographer & Instructor

Mr. Mike has been at JAOD for over 15 years and is honored and privileged to be able to work with such amazing Faculty, Students and Parents. Michael has had the pleasure of working with such amazing artists as Enrique Iglesias, Shaggy, Vanessa Carleton, Jon Bon Jovi, Christina Milan, and Patti Labelle. Michael was the assistant choreographer for three Orange Bowl Halftime shows as well as the Gator Bowl halftime show. Michael was the head choreographer for the Champs Sports Bowl Halftime show, the Hall Of Fame Game for the NFL, the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl Halftime show, the Halftime show at the Alamo Bowl and the 2013 BCS championship game. As a performer, Michael was in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular for five years, danced for Disney Productions as well as played and sang the role of Aladdin. Michael has also done numerous shows, industrials, and television commercials for Chrysler, Nike, MGM Detroit, Ceasars Windsor, and Ford Motor Company. Michael has taught for Dance Makers Inc, State Dance Championships, Conquest Dance Convention, ADA, DEA, Jazz On Tap, and DMA.

Amanda Knight

Choreographer & Instructor

Miss Amanda is a third generation dancer. She grew up dancing at JAOD under the instruction of Juliana Pirpinelli and has taught dance since 1998. Amanda’s love for dance has motivated her to lead all types and styles of dance so she can teach others, no matter your age, anyone can learn. Amanda has performed with Enrique Iglesias, Boyz II Men & Mariah Carey. She teaches all her students to love what they do and do what they love. Amanda’s passion, drive, and love for dance shine through in everything she does.

Morgan Lansky

Choreographer & Instructor

Morgan is an alumni of JAOD, began dancing at the age of three here. She graduated from Wayne State University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. While at Wayne, Morgan performed with their three performance companies under the direction of Meg Paul. She has also performed in pieces and taken instruction under Jen Freeman, Doug Verone, Dwight Rhonden, Stefanie Battent-Bland, and many others. Morgan has continued to expand her dance education and choreographic experiences while teaching full time at JAOD where she works hard with our elite team and our recreational program! You can find her teaching technique, cleaning our guest pieces, and doing some choreography of her own!

Jordan Terzo

Instructor

Jordan Terzo has been dancing for over 23 years and was an instructor at Miss Natales Dance Centre and La Danse Workshop both located in Rochester, NY. Over the years, she has attended many dance intensive workshops and competed in various dance competitions in her high school and college career. Jordan graduated from The College at Brockport with a Bachelor of Science degree in Dance and Kinesiology in 2019. Her studies focused on choreography, performance and a variety of modern techniques. While attending Brockport, she studied under company members from the Doug Varone, Cameron McKinney, and Trisha Brown Dance Companies. Jordan was also a member of Brockports Dance Team. Jordan just recently graduated with her Masters Degree in Dance Movement Therapy with a concentration in Couple Family Therapy. She currently works as a Dance/Movement Therapist in Auburn Hill. Jordan excels in creating an inclusive dance room and is dedicated to developing quality relationships with her dancers.

Meredith Gagnier

Instructor

Meredith Gagnier first came to Juliana’s as a student in middle school. She went on to study dance at Western Michigan University and became a certified ballroom dance instructor after graduation. Some career highlights include numerous awards at regional and national ballroom dance competitions and collaborating with Fabian Sanchez from ABC’s Dancing with the Stars to choreograph and dance in a music video staring Recording Artist Sean Forbes and Academy Award Winning Actress Marlee Matlin.

Olyvia Chandler

Instructor

Olyvia Chandler began her dance journey at Juliana’s Academy of Dance, training from ages 9 to 18. After graduating, she furthered her education at CLI Conservatory, where she had the privilege of training under renowned choreographer Teddy Forance and learning from industry leaders such as Brian Nicholson, Talia Favia, and Brian Friedman. Olyvia’s diverse performance experience includes appearances with artists Lloyd, Ava Max, and Todrick Hall. Currently, she is a proud member of the Detroit Pistons Dance Team.

Ashlee Phillips

Instructor

Ashlee Phillips, a proud alumna of Juliana’s Academy of Dance, has over 18 years of dance experience. In 2024, she graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a Bachelor's in Individualized Studies, concentrating on Dance and Nursing. Currently, Ashlee is pursuing an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Wayne State University. During her time at EMU, she was a key member of the Dance Team, helping secure two National Championship Titles at the 2023 College Classic, and completed two years of training with the Universal Dance Association in sideline drills.

Brandon Koepsell

Instructor

Brandon Koepsell, a Detroit native and Walnut Hill School graduate, has performed with “Companie Coline” in France and various projects in Chicago. He has choreographed and performed with university programs including the University of Michigan, Wayne State University, and Alma College, and appeared in Michigan Opera Theater productions. Brandon’s film credits include Disney’s *Oz the Great and Powerful* and *A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas*. He currently dances with Take Root and teaches for Eisenhower Dance Detroit, while also leading Dance for Parkinson’s classes at Henry Ford Health Systems.

Shauna Shea

Ballet

Shauna graduated from Wayne State University Summa Cum Laude, receiving a BFA in dance. In her two last years of college, Shauna was a member of WSU’s Dance Workshop. Before her studies at WSU, she trained at Ballet Theatre of Toledo and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Shauna has been a company member for Lexington Ballet, ArtLabJ, and MoveWorks. She has been blessed to work with many world-renowned artists such as Dwight Rhoden, Nicholas Leichter, Meg Paul, Jeffrey Rebudal, Duncan Cooper, Ron De Jesus, Alan Obuzor, Keith Lee, Terrence Orr, Gregory Hancock, Nycole Ray, Kate Hutter, Samantha Shelton, Brain McSween, Nathan Trice, and Joori Jung. Shauna is currently a company member with Ballet Edge Detroit, enjoys sharing her love for ballet with her students, and has fun creating works of her own.

Samantha Shelton

Ballet

Samantha Shelton trained with the Joffrey Ballet, Rose Marie Floyd, and at the Cecchetti International program in England. A member of the American Ballet Theatre Board of Examiners, she assesses dancers for the ABT National Training Curriculum. Her teaching experience includes Houston Ballet, Duke University, and ABT Summer Intensive. Samantha holds an M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Michigan, has performed in both classical and contemporary ballets, and has taught at Belhaven University. She is certified in the ABT National Curriculum Training Program.

Jessica G Thomas

Ballet

Jessica G Thomas is a native of Detroit, MI. She obtained a M.F.A in Dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Thomas also received a B.F.A in Dance from Wright State University. Thomas currently instructs classical ballet for Wayne State University. Thomas performed in American Ballet Theater’s Sleeping Beauty as Ariana during its run at the Michigan Opera Theatre. She has performed extensively throughout New York City, NY; Dayton, OH; and Detroit, MI for companies such as Dayton Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet International, Second Avenue Dance Company, Naomi Goldberg Haas, and Ohio Dance Theater. Thomas’ choreographic works have received numerous awards throughout the Midwest and East Coast. Thomas is a professional educator, choreographer and performer.