Our Team

Pam Schrier - Director

Pam has been with Dance Expressions since its opening in 1991; first as a teacher, then taking over as director in 2009. She has been teaching for over 30 years and currently teaches ballet, tap, jazz and modern. Pam is a graduate of University of Maryland, Baltimore County where she double majored in Dance and Psychology with a concentration in education. She danced and performed with the University Dance Company and Tony Powell Music and Movement. Pam has also been a guest artist and choreographer for other local dance companies. She is a member of the Cecchetti Council of America where she has served on their board for many years and is currently the board chairman. Pam is certified to present students and teachers in the Cecchetti method. She is also a certified member of the Dance Masters of America and a member of The Maryland Council for Dance. Pam is also the mother of Rebekah, Rachel & Ryan.

Charlene Jackson - Artistic Director

Charlene has been with Dance Expressions since September 1994. Charlene has danced her entire life and has been teaching for over 25 years. Charlene has served as DE’s Artistic Director since 2009. She now teaches ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary and hip-hop. Charlene stays active in her training, studying under many great dancers locally and nationally. Her choreography has been professionally recognized and awarded. She is a certified member of the Dance Masters of America. Charlene brings a contemporary and exciting approach to all her classes. She has a wonderful rapport with her students and inspires them with the excitement of dance. 

Jen Bailey

Jen grew up dancing at Dance Expressions and is a graduate of George Mason University where while on scholarship she earned her BFA in dance and education. She danced and performed with the University Dance Company as well as a being a guest artist with other modern companies.  Jen is a Cecchetti certified teacher and continues to train in the Cecchetti method. A wonderful dancer and exceptional teacher; Jen currently teaches ballet, modern.and jazz.  Jen is also the mother of Mary Grace, Lilly Ann and CJ. 

Maggie Lockhart

Maggie Lockhart is a dancer, educator, advocate and arts administrator. While on scholarship at Goucher College, she received her BA in dance and elementary education, danced in the corps de ballet of The National Ballet, taught with Clancyworks Dance Company's out-reach program, and wrote dance curriculum for the Montgomery County Public School system. She has happily taught for numerous NYC organizations including Long Island City School of Ballet, New Dance Group, The Hudson Guild, Children's Aid Society and The School at Steps. Off the stage, she has worked with Doug Varone and Dancers, DANY Studios|The Joyce Theater Foundation, and Steps On Broadway. She has performed and/or collaborated with SilCo Dance Theatre, Cheshire Productions, Kerplunk Dance, Built4Collapse Productions, and Lynn Barr Dance Theatre, among others. She served on the Junior Committee for Dance/NYC, a leading dance advocacy organization in New York City. Maggie grew up in the Cecchetti method of ballet and is a current member of the Cecchetti Council of America. She is a past recipient of the East Coast Committee (ECC) New Teacher Scholarship, studying the method at the Cecchetti International Summer Program in Michigan. She has also been a guest faculty member for the East Coast Committee's Spring and Fall conferences. She returned to Maryland in 2013 where she is on faculty at Turning Pointe Dance Academy in Columbia, MD and Imagination Stage in Bethesda, MD the largest multi-disciplinary theatre arts organization for young people in the Mid-Atlantic region. She recently performed with popular Baltimore based band, Vinny Vegas, for their album release tour in Baltimore and DC. 

Tracee Hillman

Tracee loves the ARTS, ‘Dance’ which she is most passionate about.  Born in Washington, DC and currently resides in Fort Washington, MD she started dancing at the early age of 3, with the Linda Natoli Dance Studio and throughout her childhood studied under other dance studios within the Metropolitan area. She has performed and competed nationally. She began teaching while in high school and has taught all genres of dance for many years including all male classes.
She initially attended Bowie State University, where she joined the dance troop the ‘Dancing Divas’ and ended her matriculation with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Fashion Merchandising at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, where she danced with their Dance Company as a Modern Jazz Dancer and also assisted in choreography performing in Fine Art productions throughout the Eastern Shore, Ocean City, and Delaware vicinity.
After college, she continued studying dance taking Modern Jazz, Tap and Ballet workshops where she lived in New York City for three years pursuing her career as a Fashion Merchandiser/Buyer, as well as enjoying other hobbies (modeling, fashion design and sewing).  She later returned back home to the Washington, DC Metropolitan area where she works with the Federal Government as a Contractor for the United States Air Force; recently she obtained her Master’s Degree in Business Acquisitions.  Throughout all the experiences and accomplishments, Dance has always been a major role in her life as well as teaching and sharing her love for it; admiring the grace, agility and confidence it provides for her and all others.

Blair D'Amico

Blair D’Amico started dancing at age 3, developing a serious interest in the dance world, she took up every opportunity to learn all she could, including ballet, lyrical, contemporary, jazz and tap at various local dance studios. Finding a natural understanding of the Cecchetti method, she trained with Elaine Seidman, passing the Advanced syllabus exam. Appearing in countless productions of The Nutcracker and studio dance recitals with the National Ballet , Blair competed in regional dance competitions until graduating high school in 2007.

After attending the Cecchetti International Summer School in Holland, Michigan, Blair was invited to train at KS Dance Ltd., a professional vocational school in Greater Manchester, England directed by Kate Simmons. Continuing her training in the Cecchetti method, Blair honed her technique and developed as an artist. She toured and performed with the school’s company every year, working up through the ranks from corps to principal dancer. She was awarded the Best All Round Dancer Award at the Annual Choreography and Prize-Giving Ceremony, and received dancing and teaching qualifications in Cecchetti ballet and Spanish dance. She graduated from KS Dance Ltd with a Trinity College National Diploma in Professional Dance. Blair has danced roles such as Dew Drop in The Nutcracker, Myrta in Giselle as well as Gamzatti Variation at Discover Ballet! with the Baltimore Ballet. She later joined BalletFleming in Philadelphia as an apprentice and was promoted to company member the following season. Her favorite roles have included The Evil Queen in Christopher Fleming’s Snow White, Too Big and Too Bold in Jenn Rose’s The Missing Piece, and Second Couple in Adrianna de Svatich’s Dyadic Dances. Since January 2016 she has been a part of the Polaris Dance Company in Portland, Oregon where she explored more modern based choreography and studied the Horton technique. Her favorite being a piece Robert Guitron's, Artistic Director, choreographed to Keb'mo's Every

Morning. Blair is excited to be back in Maryland teaching the up and coming talent at Dance Expressions!

Gabi Lobban

Gabi Lobban graduated from Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, MD and participated in their Classical Dance program for three years. She also participated in Dance Expressions’ summer intensives and developed a love for hip hop, jazz, street jazz, and contemporary dance. After graduation, Gabi attended the Jazz and Contemporary Trainee Program at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City for one year and trained under Juan Carlos Peñuela, Michael Blake, Adrienne Hurd and others. She has always enjoyed choreographing dance routines and choreographed her first production of High School Musical at the Arnold & Porter Day Care Center at the age of 8. Gabi is currently studying Psychology at UMUC. She is very excited about the opportunity to share her passion for dance, help other express themselves through dance, and be a part of the Dance Expressions family.

Abby Farina

Abby grew up in Mechanicsville, Maryland. She attended Towson University and studied under Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, Runqiao Du, Vincent Thomas, and Catherine Horta-Hayden. While at TU, she worked with outside choreographers including Christopher K. Morgan, Trent Williams, Jr., Alia Kache and Stephanie Powell. She graduated summa cum laude, receiving both a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and a B.S. in Cultural Studies. She has worked with Ballet ADI and Bowen McCauley Dance. Abby currently dances with Christopher K. Morgan & Artists, Orange Grove Dance, and S.J. Ewing & Dancers. She has performed in venues in and around the DMV, as well as in Ohio, Michigan, and New York. Aside from performing, she enjoys teaching dance, and exploring the outdoors.

Giavanni Malia

Giavanni Malia is a performance artist, choreographer, activist, speaker, and writer. She is employed by and most recently has danced at Sax under the direction of Derek Brown in addition to freelance performance projects in the DMV area. She has performed with Jazzo at the C.I.A, with Baltimore Dance Project at UMBC, with Masala Soul Project at the John F. Kennedy Center, with Monique Watson & dancers in the Raw Artists Showcase at the Fillmore, and as a soloist in the 37th Annual Choreographer’s Showcase. Giavanni also has experience in teaching dance and arts administration through her work with Joe’s Movement Emporium, Dance Institute of Washington (DIW), Momiestlc, and Dance Expressions, Inc. She received a BA in Dance with an Entrepreneurship & Innovation minor as a Linehan artist scholar from University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). She has trained at several intensives such as Sidra Bell’s MODULE, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Pre-Professional Summer Intensive, Broadway Dance Center’s Professional Semester, DIW’s summer intensive, Joffrey Ballet Summer Intensive, and Creative Outlet by Jamel Gaines. Giavanni began her training at Dance Expressions, Inc. studying ballet, pointe, modern, contemporary, jazz, tap, and hip hop. Currently, Giavanni is working on a project entitled Murano Woman which analyzes and interprets personally lived and observed experiences of women through dance, film, and graphic design. She plans for the project to be presented as a live show in the future.

Giavanni is also a council member for Black Onyx Movement which is a coalition dedicated to dismantling systemic oppression against all Black people. The coalition is actively involved in the Black Lives Matter movement and pushing forward the agenda of universal equity for Black and Brown individuals. Through performance and choreography Giavanni plans to use dance as a communicative and reflective tool in the evaluation of the current social and political climate.

Clarissa Warren

Clarissa trained at Texas Ballet Theater in the school and the Professional Training Division until age 18. She performed with the school and the company in ballets such as The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, and Peter and the Wolf. Several of her choreographed works for the school went on to be presented at Dallas Annual Dance Planet and Choreographing for a Cause. After graduating, she joined Ballet Met in Columbus, Ohio for two years as a Trainee where she performed and toured with the company as well as the school. Some of these ballets included the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, several mixed repertoire performances, and pieces for Ohio State University as a part of an MFA project. After two years in Ohio, she moved to the DMV to dance with Manassas Ballet Theatre in Virginia where she performed in several productions including The Nutcracker, Dracula, Swan Lake, Colin: Son, Marine, Hero, La Boutique Fantasque and mixed repertoire, in both the corps de ballet and title roles. In 2018 she shifted her focus to teaching, choreographing, and accompanying ballet classes on the piano with studios around the DMV. She and her husband welcomed their first child in February of 2021.

Megan Watson

Megan has been dancing with the Dance Expressions family since she was 2 years old. A Bowie High School Graduate, Megan also studied at the University of Maryland. Given the opportunity to continue her dance training, Megan is a certified Grade II Cecchetti instructor, and currently teaches Ballet, Modern, Tap and Jazz. Megan continues her teacher training in the Cecchetti method. She has also played an integral role in our office for 5 years, providing excellent service to all our dance families. When away from the studio, Megan spends her time volunteering for a local public outreach program.

India Blake

India graduated from Elizabeth Seton High School where she was the co-captain of the Dance team in her senior year. After graduation, India attended Bowie State University and then transferred as an undergraduate student to the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) where she is pursuing a double major in Dance and Psychology. India is the recipient of a Dance Fine Arts Award Scholarship at UMBC. India has been with Dance Expressions since the age of four and has taken all forms of dance classes. India has participated in numerous dance workshops and master classes to enhance her dance training. India teaches ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, and modern classes for all ages at Dance Expressions. She is also a DE Company teacher and choreographer. India loves to dance and is excited to be a part of the Dance Expressions Family and share her love of dance with the students at Dance Expressions.

Gina Ethe

Gina is currently an undergraduate student at The University of Maryland, College Park studying Education with a concentration in Middle School Math and Science. Gina has been dancing for 15 years. She is experienced in all styles of dance, with a strong focus in tap and jazz. She is currently the Vice President of Forward Motion Dance Company, a student run company at the University that focuses primarily on contemporary dance, artistry, and movement. She is also a member of Revolutions Dance Ensemble, another company at the University that practices all styles of dance. She has choreographed and taught for both of these companies and performed at many events in the DC area. Previously, Gina was a dancer at The Dance Corner in West Windsor, New Jersey where she performed in company shows and danced competitively for over 10 years at competitions and conventions in and around New Jersey, as well as a selected convention in Orlando, Florida. Throughout her dance experience, Gina has assisted and taught students ages 3-16. With a passion for teaching children and dance, Gina is looking forward to inspiring the love of dance at Dance Expressions.