MEET OUR TEAM
JENNIFER ISRAEL OWNER & DANCE DIRECTOR
‘’There is no change without challenge. So,
Hit the Barre and work it out." - Jen Israel |
Jennifer was born in Boston, MA where she began dancing at the age of 2. Her formal dance training began at the following renowned studios: The Jeannette Neill Dance Scholarship Program, The Ballet Theatre of Boston and Boston City Lights Hip Hop Company. Jennifer accepted a dance scholarship to attend Hofstra University in Long Island where she would commute to Manhattan for Broadway auditions. Through this dedication she juggled schoolwork while appearing on the Tony Awards for Broadway's Footloose. Shortly after Jennifer was selected to be a Miami Heat dancer. With great success she was then chosen to be a lead in Disney's The Lion King and shortly after the dance captain and company manager for Royal Caribbean International. Having established herself as a successful working performer in the industry, Jennifer accepted leading roles in West Side Story (European tour) and performed in the original cast of Jerry Mitchell’s Peep Show in Las Vegas where she understudied Kelly Monaco and Holly Madison for the lead role of Little Bo Peep. Jennifer was the stuntwoman in The Sirens of TI under the direction of Kenny Ortega and Travis Payne. She also choreographed several Vegas shows and performed with Cirque Du Soleil. Jennifer was wildly successful in Las Vegas and even had her own billboard. She was a headliner for Ivan Kane’s 40 Deuce in Vegas (Mandalay Bay), Hollywood (Café Was) and Revel in Atlantic City.
After a move to Los Angeles, Jennifer appeared in commercials, television shows and performed on stage live with major artists in the recording world such as Justin Timberlake, Kid Rock and Christina Aguilera. While in California, Jennifer found a Barre workout that she would fall in love with. This love of dancers workout motivated her to become certified in Barre and Pilates. For the last five years she has been teaching and has found helping her clients achieve their fitness goals through a workout that has its roots in ballet is more rewarding than any performance she was in. Jennifer is honored to be able to bring her personal twist on the Barre workout to the Upper Montclair area. Jennifer just recently began teaching dance at MKA Primary School and master teaches at the High School each month. |
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Ashleigh is originally from sunny Southern California where she obtained her music and theatre degree from The University of Redlands, then moved to NYC to pursue a career in theatre. She spent most of that career singing and dancing for "The Mouse", performing in countless shows and parades at the Disneyland Resort, as well as Disney Cruise line. She has toured nationally and internationally with Seussical the Musical, and currently sings with a USO-style vocal trio, America’s Sweethearts.
She fell in love with barre in 2011, received her certification and has been teaching ever since! She has a specialty in pre/post natal fitness and created a baby-wearing barre class in NYC. Her classes have emphasis in choreography and form, and she wants all her clients to feel like a dancer when they leave the studio. She recently moved to the area with her husband and young son, and is excited to bring her dynamic teaching to Hit the Barre! |
ASHLEIGH RAINEYBARRE DIRECTOR
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APRIL LEWANDOWSKI
BARRE INSTRUCTOR
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April was born and raised in Northern New Jersey, where she lives with her husband and son. She is a seasoned fitness instructor with a background in modern jazz and Pilates. April has been teaching fitness classes for many years throughout New York City and Northern New Jersey at New York Sports Club and LA Fitness. When she took her first barre class, she immediately fell in love and added a new certification to her resume. April is now teaching exclusively at Hit The Barre, and she loves bringing her knowledge and experience to class every day!
April is also a certified, freelance makeup and airbrush artist. She has worked for MAC Cosmetics and Sephora, and she is also the team makeup artist for HTB Dance Company. |
MARIANA VIVAS
DANCE INSTRUCTOR
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Mariana Vivas was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where she started her dance training in Ballet and Jazz at the age of 8. She studied Journalism in college, but it was at the age of 19 that she found her passion for the arts, HipHop culture and street dance. She then came to NYC for the first time in 2008, where she applied and was accepted to the ISVP course at Broadway Dance Center. She went back to Brazil where she developed her dance career, teaching Stiletto and HipHop in dance studios and around the country, performing in tours, dance contests and choreographing for many artists, music videos, TV shows and even choreographed a commercial for the Soccer World Cup, becoming one of the leading dancers in the country. Her talent and passion for dance brought her back to NYC in 2011 where she has been training at the Broadway Dance Center in all dance styles and also trained under Rhapsody James as a member of Motivating Excellence. Now, Mariana is in Rhapsody's Dance Company R.E.D., and has been working in New York city with artists such as Lily Allen, Missy Elliott, Carly Rae Jepsen and Channing Tatum.
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