Faculty Biographies
Delphine Del Bello Spencer: Director of Pennsylvania Dance Institute, Artistic Director of Dance Del Bello, Ballet, Pointe, Modern.
Delphine began her professional performing career with an apprenticeship in the Joffrey Ballet Company, after which she became a member of the Joffrey II Company and Ballet Repertory of New York. She then moved to Philadelphia where she joined Pennsylvania Ballet and Sybil Modern Dance Company. During her teaching career, She has been a member of the Temple University Dance Department and the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. She has been awarded The Monticello College Foundation Fellowship for outstanding choreography, as well as a Choreographic Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
Stephanie Mumbauer: Associate Director of the Ballet Program, Associate Artistic Director of Dance Del Bello, Ballet & Pointe.
Stephanie Mumbauer received her training in classical ballet from Edmund Novak and Irina Kovalska, former soloists of The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. As Associate Director of The Dance Institute, and member of the faculty since 1987 , she developed the curriculum for beginner through intermediate students and continues to oversee their instruction at the Pennsylvania Dance Institute. Through her involvement with Dance Del Bello, Ms. Mumbauer has had the opportunity to perform with the Company as well as rehearse and choreograph for the students of The Dance Institute in productions which include A Christmas Carol, Cinderella, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, and Coppelia.
Tara George: Children’s Dance Coordinator, Children’s Ballet
Tara began her dance training at The Dance Institute with Delphine Del Bello Spencer and David Kloss. Upon graduation, she attended Slippery Rock University where she studied under Nola Nolen and Ursula Payne. She performed with a group formed by Nicole Doran for the Independent Choreographer’s Exchange in Philadelphia, and continued to guest with Dance Del Bello. As the Children’s Ballet Mistress for several recent spring productions, Tara choreographed various sections in “The Sleeping Beauty,” “Cinderella,” and “Coppelia.” She has been instructing students, focusing primarily on Young Children’s Dance, for the past several years.
Karen Ayers: biography coming soon!
Shannon Bramham: Modern, Contemporary
Originally from Virginia, Shannon graduated with her BFA in Dance Performance from East Carolina University. While in school, she had the opportunity to perform in works chosen to be part of the American College Dance Festival Association in 2006 and 2007. In 2007, her own choreography was selected to be shown at the American College Dance Festival Association Gala. She also had the chance to set her work on the South Dayton Dance Theatre in Dayton, OH. Shannon has taught at the Ann Catherine Cross School of Dance in Mechanicsville, VA, the Academy of Dance Arts in Winston-Salem, NC and is currently a teacher at the Koresh School of Dance. Shannon is in her first season with Koresh Dance Company.
Sarah Brower: Ballet
Sarah began her training at the Pennsylvania Dance Institute and also studied at Philadelphia area schools including The Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet Society. In 2003, she attended the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts summer program. Sarah is currently a company member of Dance Del Bello. Since joining Dance Del Bello, she has performed both classical and original choreography in A Christmas Carol, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Gabrielle Concertante, Minor Stops Along The Journey (a work in progress), The Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Limitless Path, Coppelia, and Cinderella. She was the 2004-2007 recipient of the Baker Endowment for the Arts. While at De Sales University, she had the opportunity to study with Trinette Singleton of the Joffrey Ballet as well as numerous renowned instructors. Sarah performed in Gerald Arpino’s Viva! Vivaldi! with the DeSales University Dance Ensemble under the privilege of the Joffrey Ballet and the direction of Ms. Singleton. Sarah had the opportunity to participate in the Doug Varone Residency at De Sales University and the reconstruction and performance of Clay Taliaferro’s Falling Off the Back Porch. Sarah also danced with Repertory Dance Theatre in their production of The Nutcracker and with the DeSales Touring Company for a season.
Kali Cler: Children’s Ballet
Kali has been dancing with Dance Del Bello since 1995. She is currently studying for a degree in early childhood education. Kali has attended the summer program at Pennsylvania Academy Ballet Society in Narberth, PA for the past several years and has also studied extensively with David Kloss, Althea Leslie, and Henry Roy. Performances with Dance Del Bello include Beauty and the Beast, The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Cinderella, Shitau, When Fairy Tales Come True, Gabrielle Concertante, Limitless Path, and A Christmas Carol. Kali looks forward to sharing her love of Ballet with her students at PDI.
Nicole Gonnella Doran biography coming soon!
Fang Ju Chou Gant biography coming soon!
Thomas Gant, Jr. biography coming soon!
Tony Jackson: Jazz, Hip-Hop
A native of Philadelphia, Tony began his formal training at the Philadelphia High School for Creative & Performing Arts. He later went on to study at PHILADANCO, the Rock School for Dance Education, and Dance Theatre of Harlem. He was a 2004 Coca-Cola Arts Award Scholar and Presidential Scholarship reciepient to the University of the Arts. In 2008, Tony recieved a B.F.A. from the University of the Arts in ballet performance. He has performed with the Eleone Dance Theatre, Rebecca Davis Dance Comapny & Philadanco’s D/2. Tony has performed works by Louis Johnson, Christopher Huggins, Roni Koresh, and Darrell Grand Moultire, to name a few. He also teaches various forms of dance throughout the local area.
Diana Jewell: Ballet, Modern
Diana holds a Professional Diploma in Dance Studies from the Laban Centre for Contemporary Dance in London. While there, her choreography was chosen for one of eight student pieces to be performed publicly. Prior to her attendance there, she studied on scholarship in the training program at Philadanco. Diana has performed both nationally and internationally, and currently performs with Dance Del Bello.
Cheryl Pento: Adult Ballet, Adult Modern, Adult Jazz
Cheryl Pento was a full tuition scholar at Temple University where she received her B.A. She then continued her education at the University of Madrid and the University of the Arts. Cheryl is a former principal dancer and soloist with the Gary Flannery Dance Ensemble. She is trained in ballet, modern and jazz. Since her emergence into the Philadelphia Professional Dance Theater, her choreography has been showcased at the Drake, Temple, Kumquat, and C.E.C theaters. She was a recipient of a Choreolab Grant with Martha Myers, Dean of the American Dance Festival. Her company, Bina Kachine, Dance! was showcased in Philadelphia Dance 2000 Feet, International Dance Festival. Cheryl has been graciously helped through her choreography process by her mentors Joan Myers Brown (Philadanco), Pat Thomas Igram (Howard University), and Susan Duetch (Temple University). She has helped to place her dance students in scholarships at Temple, Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts, and Philadanco’s dance program.
Demertrius Shields: Hip-Hop
Demetrius Shields began dancing at The Marvin L Winans Academy of thePerforming Arts in Detroit, Michigan as well as the Detroit Windsor Dance Academy at the young age of seven. He is a current graduating senior of the University if the Arts School of Dance Education program where he was awarded the Promising Artist Scholarship. Demetrius has worked with choreographers such as Donald Byrd, Christopher Huggins,Ray Mercer, Cornelius Carter, Anthony Burrell, and William Forsythe to name a few. Demetrius has had experience teaching the styles of Ballet, Jazz, Horton ,and Hip-Hop. Demetrius is awaiting graduation December 2011. He wo
