Allie O’Hare
Art in Motion Dance is owned and directed by Allie O’Hare. Allie is an experienced, professional dance instructor and performer who has more than 20 years of dance experience. She has performed all over the world with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, the Hard Rock Casino, The Howard Theater, Beth Elliot Dance Group, The Moore Dance Project, Amaranth Contemporary Dance, and the Mayzsoul Dance Company. She has performed in The Nutcracker ballet in various roles including, Waltz of the Flowers, Arabian, Snow Scene, Mice Party Scene and Mirlitons. She has also danced routines in Sleeping Beauty and Giselle. Most recently, Allie was the Dance Manager and Instructor for the Joy of Dance company in Mclean, VA where she taught hundreds of students of all ages. She also taught and performed with the Sterling Ballet Company located in Sterling, Va.
Today, as the Owner and Director of Art in Motion Dance, Allie has developed a premier dance program that teaches students at the McLean Community Center in McLean, VA and provides a safe and nurturing space for children and adults to explore their artistic abilities. Art in Motion Dance’s goal is to help students develop their physical, creative, imaginative, emotional, and intellectual capacities. The professionally trained staff encourages each individual student to reach their full potential in all these areas while in class.
Allie’s experience includes production, choreography, wardrobe, and educating students in various dance methods, to include; Ballet, Modern/Contemporary, Musical Theater, Tap, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Ballroom, and Piloxing (Fitness Instructor).
Lexi Firestone
Lexi began her dance training at the Maryland School of Ballet and Modern Dance in Bel Air, MD where she studied ballet, modern, jazz, and pointe for 13 years. Lexis has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance performance and choreography from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. In her time at Mason, she had the privilege to perform in works by Roger Jeffrey and many of her talented peers, perform at the Kennedy Center in the American College Dance Association’s National Dance Festival, and studied abroad in Cuba for two weeks. She also worked as the videographer for the school of dance for three years.
Since graduation, Lexi currently works as an understudy for Bowen McCauley Dance Company in Silver Spring, Maryland and Gin Dance Company in Falls Church, Virginia. From November 2019 to January 2020, Lexi participated in her first professional performance as Lucy Dancer in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at Imagination Stage. She also teaches dance for Joy of Motion, Message in Motion, and Davy Dance Academy.
Sarah Lemire
Sarah received her dance training from the acclaimed Metropolitan School of the Arts (formerly Metropolitan Fine Arts Center). She is trained across multiple dance disciplines including ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, lyrical, modern, and in the renowned Royal Academy of Dance syllabus. She has continued her dance education as an adult and is passionate about blending various training methodologies to help others achieve their personal fitness goals in an enthusiastic, stimulating and encouraging atmosphere.
Miss Sarah has over a decade of teaching experience nurturing students of all ages to be confident, able, and passionate about themselves and the arts. She has been fortunate enough to teach across the Northern Virginia area most recently with Sterling Ballet Academy and Joy of Dance. Currently she is excited to expand her role as a dance professional as the Studio Director of Principal Ballet and Conservatory Ballet in Reston. Miss Sarah is delighted to share her passion for fine arts with the students and staff at Art in Motion!
Ariana Spinelli
Born and raised on Long Island, New York, Ariana began dancing at age 2, competing nationally at age 13, and teaching dance at age 16 at her aunt’s own award-winning “Body Language Dance And Theatre Arts Studio” of Massapequa. With her entire family’s commitment to the arts, it wasn’t long until she was well-trained in vocal performance, theatre, and dance. Ariana holds a B.A. with honors in Dance and a B.A with honors in Spanish Languages and Literatures from the City University of New York (CUNY)-Queens College as well as a K-12 License in Special Education from Johns Hopkins University. During her time at QC, she was co-founder and Vice President of the Queens College Dance Union and elected the Dance Student Representative for the Kupferberg Center of the Arts, where she strongly advocated for dance and dance education in the arts. She was asked to perform twice at the American College Dance Festival of 2014 and 2016 and competed nationally at the Universal Dance Association Competition in Orlando, Florida with the athletic department’s Queens College Dance Team. Since moving to the D.C. area, Ariana has worked full time for the National Dance Education Organization, the nation’s leading voice for advancement in dance education. Here, she helped to develop dance education policy, advocacy for the arts, and served the greater dance education community. She was also on the administrative and teaching team at the Metropolitan School of the Arts in Alexandria, VA and a veteran teacher of Joy Of Dance, the DMV’s premier early childhood dance education organization.
Currently, Ariana is a corps member for Americorps’ program, Teach for America, in the D.C region where she teaches High School Special Education English and coaches their dance team. Ariana recently accepted a position as a professional dancer when she was selected as a Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) Cheerleader for the 2020-2021 Baltimore Blast Cheerleaders. She also remains active in her training as a professional dancer in the D.C area by dancing with AVA Dance Company, Cerdafied Studios, and with professionals on local NBA and NFL teams. Ariana is excited to be reunited with Miss Allie and the crew at Art in Motion as a dance teacher!
Christina Gleason
Christina Gleason graduated summa cum laude from George Mason University in 2019 with a B.F.A. in dance. She since then has danced professionally and taught dance in Washington D.C., Northern Virginia, and Copenhagen, Denmark. Gleason currently dances for Gin Dance Company and teaches for various dance studios in the Northern Virginia area.