Kim Williams
Artistic & Managing Director
Ballet (all ages), Tap, Jazz/Hip-Hop, Theater
Kim Williams has been teaching drama and creative arts for over 30 years in Philadelphia Area after school programs. She is the Director/Choreographer at Norwood-Fontbonne Academy, Archbishop Ryan High School Music Theater and Ryan Music Theater Summer Camp, and has directed and choreographed grade school and high school productions throughout the Philadelphia Area for many years. She started working at Allens Lane Art Center in 1991 with the summer camp where she wrote, directed and costumed final productions for 95-125 campers for 15 years. In 2002, she created the Allens Lane Dance Program and in 2015, she moved and expanded that program into Mt Airy Performing Arts. Kim studied Theatre at DeSales University and dance with Jean Williams, David Howard, Finis Jhung, Phil Black and Luigi. She has lived and toured professionally throughout the world with the New York-based Finnan Productions World Tour Co. and with renowned choreographer Fotis Metaxopoulis in Athens, Greece. Kim returned to her native Mt. Airy to raise her family where she believes peace on earth actually exits.
Jeannine A. Klaassen
Adult Ballet, Pilates, Modern
Jeannine Klaassen, professional educator, wife and mother of two, has been teaching dance for over 20 years. She has a BFA in Dance from Kutztown University and studied at The New York Pilates Studio® Teacher Certification Program under Romana Kryzanowska. Jeannine enjoyed a brief professional career tragically brought short by a spinal injury. Almost rendered a quadriplegic, she fought her way back to dance with a passion and intensity that shines through her teaching. With teaching being a part of her original passion, she went back to school and earned her Masters in Education: Instructional Technology from St. Joseph’s University. Jeannine is an employee of the School District of Philadelphia as an Instructional Integration Technology Specialist. Jeannine has been working with Kim Williams since 2003 and is delighted to continue the adventure at Mt. Airy Performing Arts.
Akili Zuriah (Zoe Brown)
ZUMBA (R) – Bellydance
After many years in Corporate America, Zoe felt a strong calling to transition to the Healing Arts. This included an in-depth study of World Dance. During this time she was a member of Tolivers Afro Caribbean troup and Silk Road Dance Company who performed Central Asian and Mediterranean dance nationally. She felt a particular resonance with Bellydance and studied extensively with Artemis Mourant, Laurel Grey and Najia. Zumba was a natural fit with its Latin-based World Dance philosophy and movements. Zoe teaches several classes and workshops and performs at private events. Her mission is to inspire women of all ages to embrace their body, well-being and femininity with the beauty of movement.
Aneeta/Bellydance
Aneeta has received bellydance certification for BellyQueens under Kaeshi Chai in 2019. She started bellydance classes in 2001 under Najia, June Seaney, Tessa Myers of BellySetGo and Zoe Akili. Her dance focuses on being welcoming to all bodies, providing cultural background for the dances, and working at all dance levels.
Linda Kish/Yoga
Linda Kish has an MS from Temple School of Pharmacy. She is a Reiki level ll practitioner, has 200 hours plus yoga alliance and 20 years experience in healthcare and oncology research. She has been leading and teaching various yoga disciplines for 12 years. Linda has also been a helpline volunteer for Living Beyond Breast Cancer for over 9 years.
Brian McGinly
Adult Tap, Boys’ Tap/Hip-Hop, Jazz
Brian has been dancing since high school, starting with ballet, jazz and tap. His love of dance was born out of musical theater, then grew stronger through taking classes. The roots of his passion for dance came through that of his mother, Kim, as well as through her instruction. Brian also spent a great amount of time learning and performing styles of ballroom, swing, body percussion (step), and latin dance before finally making the full leap to hip hop in college. For four years, he was a prominent member of Urban Beats Dance Crew at the University of Scranton. He learned a great deal about hip hop, including styles like pop-and-lock, breaking, isolation, and house. Eventually, Brian was elected President of the crew his senior year after years of honing his choreography. He found being a leader and a teacher in dance to be not only fulfilling as a person, but selflessly rewarding in how much he loved to share his knowledge and perspective with others. After college, Brian began choreographing routines with friends and members of his mother’s dance school, stressing the importance of translating emotion originating from music to physical and visual art. His current routines and future projects range from pure ballet/jazz, to funk and hip-hop, to rhythm-based performance with tap and step, as well as frequently fusing multiple styles and concepts into the same routine. Brian also has an M.S. in Environmental Science, teaches Chemistry & Physics at The Hun School of Princeton and choreographs for the dance program.
Ken Williams Ballroom Dancing
Ken Williams began his dance education at the age of seven with his mom, Jean Williams. He would eventually rise to the role of Principal Dancer in her company, Germantown Dance Theatre. He also studied at the School of The Pennsylvania Ballet and with David Howard in New York City. He went on to perform with many small dance companies in the tri-state area as a guest artist and served as a choreographer in many local high school shows and regional theaters. Later, Ken taught ballroom for Arthur Murray, and gave private lessons in the Philadelphia area.
Kimberly Rose Hill
Tap, Jazz/Hip-Hop, ZUMBA
Kim Hill started dancing at age 3 and continued through college. She received her formal training at Jan Martin Dance Studios in Long Island NY and was there for 15 years where she studied tap, jazz, ballet, and modern. She moved to Philly in 2006 to attend Temple University where she majored in business and minored in dance. She also taught tap, jazz, and ballet at the West Philadelphia YMCA from 2006-2009. She started with Kim Williams in 2011 at Allens Lane Dance where she taught tap and jazz, and now teaches for Mt. Airy Performing Arts. She was recently Zumba certified and looks forward to creating, learning, and innovating.