Meet Our Faculty
Kristina Caksa - Director, Choreographer, Coach
Kristina Caksa is a teacher, choreographer, and co-owner of Allied Performing Arts Center. Her
training began in Riga, Latvia at the age of 5 with ballroom. At 12 years old, she diversified her
training into ballet, jazz, modern, and hiphop at a private dance school named LaLi. Soon,
Kristina began to travel around Latvia competing, performing; her success in dance being
recognized through numerous prizes.
At age 18, Kristina auditioned for the Royal Olympic Cruise Line’s dance team and was picked to
be one of six dancers by Jan Rogers Entertainment. She toured around the world for four years
and became the lead dancer and team captain in her third year of touring, highlighting her
leadership skills in addition to her talent for dance.
In the United States, Kristina began her teaching career in 2006 by creating an interactive dance
program designed for young children alongside many Zumba programs for adults. In 2012, she
became co-owner of Allied Performing Arts Center (named Allied Champions Dance Center at the
time). Kristina produces, directs, and choreographs dance show productions, mostly inspired by
stories from Disney and Pixar movies. Over the years Kristina has created numerous regional,
national, and international champions with her highly personalized mix of coaching and training,
as well as her prize-winning choreography.
Natalia Stepanova - Co Owner, Choreographer
Natalia Stepanova grew up in Kerch, Ukraine, where at age 7 she began her dance career at the
Ballroom Dance Studio “Rhythm”. She received a BS in Dance Art and Stage Productions from the
National University of Art (Kiev, Ukraine).
Natalia received an MFA with Honors in Drama, Art and Dance at the University of Art and
Tourism (Ukraine). She owned a dance studio named “Inspiration” (Kerch, Ukraine), as well as
worked as a choreographer (Havana, Cuba). She taught in the City School of Ballroom Dance
“Olympia” (Gatchina, Russia), Shostacovich School of Music, Art, and Dance (New York City,
USA), Arthur Murray Dance Studios (New Jersey, USA).
Natalia owned and operated “Alluring Ballroom” Dance Studios (Spotswood, East Brunswick,
New Jersey; 2004-2012). In September 2012, she became a co-owner of Allied Performing Dance
Center (then named Allied Champions Dance Center) in East Brunswick, New Jersey.
Natalia is a versatile dancer and teacher, skilled in Ballroom and Latin, Rhythm and Smooth,
Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Folk Dance and Theater Arts, bringing over 37 years of multi-cultural
teaching, coaching, and choreography experience in these disciplines. Besides coaching USA
champions, she aspires to lead by example through her teaching/coaching, and hopes her
students recognize the endless possibilities they can achieve with consistent practice, just as she
did.
Laura Clemente - Ballet, Jazz, Tap
Laura began dancing at the age of 3, and shortly after moved onto competitive classes in New
Jersey. Her various styles include: Ballet (Vaganova Method, Balanchine Method), Tap, Jazz,
Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, and Pointe.
Laura has performed and choreographed numerous shows throughout Six Flags Theme Parks
before attending Hofstra University (Long Island, NY), where she studied Dance and Marketing
and received Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business and Dance Education. While attending school in
NY, Laura continued her training in Manhattan at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on
Broadway. Laura’s dancing expanded outside of school, as she performed at various prestigious
events throughout New York City with various performers.
Following her graduation, Laura moved back to New Jersey, and began studying and
incorporating Yoga and Meditation into her teaching experiences. She believes such practices that
employ techniques of stronger concentration and self-awareness help dancers focus on their
bodies in a positive light and helps prepare for any style.
Mikey D'Astoli - Hiphop, Breakdance
Mikey D’Astoli is a teacher/choreographer with Clear Talent Group agency. Mikey started dancing
at age 13 with a strong focus on Hip Hop styles such as bboying, popping, house, locking, vogue,
waacking, and street jazz/industry styles. A subset of his notable performances include opening up
for American Idol’s “Jax”, The Red Hot Chili Peppers 2017 Tour, The Cartoon Network Anti-Bullying
Tour, Monsters of Hip Hop, The PULSE, Sybarite, Carnival.
Mikey has been featured on television commercials such as “Bop it Tetris”, “Juicy Drop Pop”, and
“Jenga tetris” as a dancer/actor. He can be seen in music videos of famous artists such as Jax (LA
LA Land), The Red Hot Chili Peppers (Go Robot), Niki & Gabi (Hair Tie), and Vita Chambers (What
If). Mikey can also be seen as ‘Crash’ in the Netflix series “The Get Down” by Baz Luhrmann, as a
principal dancer in the feature film “Going in Style” by Zach Braff, and his talent is further featured
in TBS series “The Last O.G.”, “Total Request Live” on MTV.
Mikey’s NYC teaching/coaching consists of classes such as Hip Hop and Contemporary at studios
including Broadway Dance Center, Peridance Capezio Center, EXPG, and hundreds of prestigious
dance battles/events. He has used what he learned throughout the years to derive his own unique
style in the way he dances and coaches.
Mikey has been traveling and teaching all around the United States, and is devoted to technically
as well as culturally inspire and enrich the present and upcoming community of dance.
Eleonora Kalganova - Ballet, Argentine Tango
Eleonora Kalganova is a dance artist and teacher who focuses on exploring improvisation, flow, and communication as a process and a way of dancing Argentine tango (since 2009). Growing up in post-Soviet Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Eleonora was fortunate to study from an early age and in depth many different forms of dance: folk, ballroom, character, historic, ballet, and modern. Her remarkable and rare educational experience formed Eleonora as a very special and distinct dance artist, tango dancer, and improvisor. After successfully completing nine years of rigorous study, Eleonora graduated from the State Dance Academy in Tashkent and became a principal dancer with the prestigious Alisher Navoi Theater of Opera and Ballet. In addition to performing around the country, Eleanora also became a professional teacher, instructing both adults and children, individually and in group classes, in a variety of dance styles and choreographies. As a professional dancer, she gained a solid understanding of movement, anatomy, music, performance, and dance composition. Over time, Eleonora became increasingly fascinated and involved with Argentine tango. After years of study—with intelligence, passion, professional dedication, and her unique dance background— Eleonora started to develop a one-of-a-kind Flow style. Joining many disciplines and influences, she has created her own particular and unmistakable style of dance and pedagogy. Breaking away from the rigidity of steps and memorization, Eleonora encourages students to develop improvisational skills through simple and dynamic techniques, achieve a relaxed style, and, most importantly, find new and liberating ways of relating, expressing, and communicating non-verbally with others. A generous, sensitive, and kind teacher, Eleonora finds a special “key” to every student. Eleonora lives in the United States (New Jersey). She travels extensively nationally and internationally, performing and conducting workshops. She continues to be a student of tango and life.
Alisa Kash - Latin, Hiphop
Alisa Kash has represented Team USA at the Blackpool Ballroom World Championships in England. She is also the Ohio Star Ball National Ballroom Champion and the IFDPA World Group and Solo Champion in Paris, France. Alisa has trained in a wide variety of dance disciplines throughout her life at Allied, where she developed her signature versatility and artistic voice.
Currently, she is a faculty member of The Ballroom Project and has toured with NRG Dance Project for the past three years. Alisa has received numerous choreography awards and trains dancers at Allied and across the country. Originally a ballroom dancer, Alisa has mastered the fusion of International Latin with jazz and hip hop, creating the award-winning work she is known for today.
Lauren Potter - Acro
Lauren started her dance and acrobatic journey at 4 years old. She started competing at the age
of 13, and began to train semi-professionally in various styles such as ballet, jazz, contemporary,
acrobatics, modern, and hip hop. Lauren grew a stronger passion for acrobatics while training in
gymnastics, tumbling, and cheerleading. She was also a part of her high school dance program,
and performed at various venues and sporting events.
Lauren started choreographing at 16 years old for dance competitions and her high school dance
team, marking the beginning of her presence as a dance teacher. Her team has won awards and
overall placements with her choreographies. Lauren was picked to be a soloist performer in her
dance program, while her choreography was being headlined.
Lauren is now a senior at Stockton University where she is majoring in Dance and Elementary
Education. At Stockton, she is continuing to grow into her career as a dance teacher while
studying ballet, modern, jazz, dance composition, and pedagogy amongst accomplished faculty.
Lauren is also a part of the Stockton Dance Company where she performs different modern/jazz
works in front of large audiences.
Lauren passionately loves to teach and inspire the future of dance through positivity, motivation,
and high expectations.
Tara Vecchio - Contemporary, Street Jazz
Tara is currently a professional working dancer and choreographer in the Tristate area. She is
trained in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, and HipHop/Foundation styles since the age of 3.
Tara has danced with Jennifer Lopez for her VMA Vanguard Performance at Radio City, and
her Live Concert on The Today Show. As well as with BTS on their “Love Yourself” tour stop in
NYC, and a dancer in the film “In The Heights.” She is also featured as a dancer on SNL. Most
recently she has performed with Julianne Hough during her performance on NBC’s 2020 New
Years Eve special and with BTS at the United Nations General Assembly.
Tara performed at venues such as NY/LA Carnival, Sybarite, World of Dance, ACE Awards and
more. She also has been recognized and won awards for her own choreography at numerous
competitions and got selected to showcase her work at the 2019 Young Choreographers Festival
in New York. Tara was a Pro Assistant at Radix Dance and toured as Faculty with Artistic Dance Exchange for 3 seasons. Currently signed with Clear Talent Group NY.
Gaya Sahin - Hip Hop, Jazz
Gaya Sahin has trained in all styles offered at Allied Performing Arts Center over the past 12 years. She is the winner of the Teen Solo division at the IFDPA World Championships held in Paris, France. Her performance experience includes dancing backup for Camille De La Cruz, earning the prodigy title, and assisting at several workshops. Gaya continues to expand her skills as both a dancer, performer, and choreographer, while she’s attending university for a communications degree.
Melike Sahin - Receptionist, Art Teacher
Melike is passionate about working with children and has extensive experience as an educator. Her career spans a wide range of teaching roles, having worked with students of various ages and abilities, from kindergarten through to university level. This diverse background has equipped her with a unique skill set to engage and inspire students at all stages of their learning journey. In addition to her teaching experience, Melike has been a dedicated "dance mom" for over ten years, providing her with firsthand insight into the world of dance. She also has valuable experience working at the front desk of a dance studio, where she's become a go-to resource for both parents and students alike—feel free to ask her anything!
Inna Gorokhovsky - Receptionist