Top Hat Dance Studio

Daniel is founder and co-owner of Top Hat Dance Studio located in Philadelphia, PA. Since its grand opening in 1995, the strength of Top Hat Dance Studio has been attributed to his abilities, both as a dancer and an instructor. For over 25 years, Daniel has continued to teach, perform and compete in the Ballroom, Latin, and Hustle dance forms. He is currently one of the top-ranked hustle competitors in the country and undefeated in the Pro/Am Theatre Arts Hustle division. Daniel served as Treasurer on the board of the International Hustle Dance Association (IHDA) for 8 years and then as President of the IHDA for the 2010-2014 term.  In 2010, Daniel partnered with Jameson Kilburn and Billy Fajardo as owners of the Puerto Rico Latin Hustle Dance Competition held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

Daniel and his partner Ginny Carey are two-time World Hustle Champions.  They first won this title at the International Hustle and Salsa Competition in Orlando, Florida in April 2011 and then again in April 2012.

With a score of "Highly Commended," Daniel received his Associate certification in International Standard by the ISTD (Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance) in 2007. Scoring  "Honors", Daniel received his ISTD Licentiate Theatre Arts certification in 2008.  Also with "High Honors" Daniel received his Bronze Associate certification in Hustle from IHDA/DVIDA in 2009. Daniel is also a member of the National Dance Council of America (NDCA).

Choreographic credits include: International Hustle and Salsa Competition 2006; Stephanie Sands presents...2000, 2001 and 2002; Hempfield High School Dance Theatre Program 2001, 2002 & 2008; "La Boutique Fantasque" at the Fulton Opera House; "Oklahoma", "The King and I"," Fiddler on the Roof", "Little Shop of Horrors", "Annie" and "Hello Dolly!" at Garden Spot High School; excerpts of Top Hat Dance Studio's "Spirit of Dance" 2003, 2004, and 2005; "Evita"  2005 and "Gypsy" 2006 at the Ephrata Performing Arts Center; excerpts of "Voices of Christmas" at Sight and Sound Theatre in Lancaster, PA.

Jameson is co-owner of Top Hat Dance Studio of Philadelphia where he can be found teaching group classes and private lessons in Ballroom, Latin, Swing, & Hustle. For the past 15 years, Jameson has continued to study, teach, compete, and perform in the arena of professional partner dancing.

As a competitor, Jameson has been competing professionally in many different styles of dance for over 10 years.  He, along with his partner Christy Kam, won first place in the World Hustle Championships of 2014 held at the Internation Hustle and Salsa Championships in Miami, Florida.  He went on to win 1st Place in every major Hustle Division that he entered in 2014.  

As a teacher,  Jameson was awarded the IHDA Top Professional Instructor of 2013.  He has been awarded Top Teacher at Disco America in Philadelphia, Pa and Swing Fling in Tyson's Corner, VA.  Jameson received a score of "Highly Commended" on his certification examinations in the International Standard dancing in 2007 and also received a score of "with Honours" on his certification examination in Theater Arts in 2008 with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD).  Jameson is proud to have been an active board member of the International Hustle Dance Association (IHDA) for 6 years. He can be seen at many different dance events throughout the country teaching, judging, performing, and competition.  He is best known for the way in which he "de-mystifies" the technical side of partner dancing to make it obtainable by everyone.

Jameson's dance career started in the theater where he was featured as a dancer in 'Kiss of the Spider Woman', 'Anything Goes', 'La Cage aux Folles', and most recently 'Evita'. Jameson has since enjoyed choreographing for competitive routines, shows throughout Pennsylvania, as well as for 2008's installment of 'Dance Theater' in Hempfield, Pa. Jameson has placed in the Top 3 both in the Professional and Pro/Am divisions in numerous competitions; including the International Hustle & Salsa Competition, Mid-Atlantic Dance Jam, Big Easy Dance Classic, Dance Seattle, Philadelphia Festival Championships, North American Dance Championships, and the World Hustle Competition.

Jameson has always said, "Dance should be fun! And most importantly, it should be what you make of it". That statement can be seen in his approach to teaching, performing, and dancing in general. His greatest reward is helping a student achieve a goal; he views it as the best way of returning the favor to all of the wonderful coaches and teachers who have, and continue to help him, on this journey we call dance.

Slava Ben began dancing at a  young age. Originally starting his dance career in Northeast Philadelphia, ballroom dancing has taken Slava around the world. Competing both nationally and internationally, Slava has won several prestigious events in the United States, including the United States National Championship. After completing his education at Temple University with a degree in Early Childhood Education and Special Education, Slava has combined his professional career with dance to focus his instruction on teaching children to love and speak the language of ballroom dancing. Slava’s students make great strides and achieve top results in competitions around the Tristate area.

Beth has been dancing most of her life. She began her training at the DeFino School in Philadelphia and received a B.S. in Dance Education from New York University. Beth has worked with renowned choreographers including Colin Connor (Jose Limon Co.), Doug Elkins, and Kevin Mahoney (Merce Cunningham). Upon returning to Philadelphia in 2004, Beth began working with the Golden Wings Theater Co. at Council Rock South H.S. - she has choreographed their productions of Bye Bye Birdie, Oklahoma, and Little Shop of Horrors. Beth also teaches fourth grade at the Solis-Cohen Elementary School in Philadelphia.

Kelli has been dancing since the age of 2 and is trained in ballet, jazz, tap, and acrobatics. She was trained at DeFino's Studio of Dance and received her teaching certificate from the Jay Dash Teachers Convention over 25 years ago, and has been teaching ever since. Kelli teaches all ages (2 through adult), and all subjects, but tap is her favorite, and preschoolers are her speciality. For the last several years, Kelli has choreographed the annual musical for the Hopes and Dreams Foundation and LOVES getting to work the special needs children and adults that are a part of that wonderful group.

Jose is a Latin dancer, choreographer, instructor, and competitor who has taught extensively in the Philadelphia Tri-State Area.   At the age of 4, Jose Maldonado began his dancing career in Puerto Rico, where he began studying the traditional Latin American folk dance called Bomba y Plena. His talent combined with an early appreciation for dance led Jose to a unique opportunity to attend a selective high school program for the Creative and Performing Arts.  There, he began learning Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Folk, Hip-Hop, and theatrical dance.  At 14, Jose was invited to join the Betty Vega Dancers performing Salsa at a number of East Coast locales including Philadelphia, New Jersey, Delaware, and New York City; he was soon promoted to lead male dancer and choreographer. 

Jose is currently training under Billy Fajardo, a World Hustle, Swing, Cabaret, Salsa, and Merengue champion himself, as well as training privately with world-renowned instructors, dancers, and choreographers Alex Morel and Desiree Godsell. 

In 2002, Jose founded a teen dance group from Philadelphia, the City Latin Dancers, who performed for the 2004 Rock the Vote Campaign, the 2005 Philadelphia Salsa Congress Kick-Off Party, and placed fourth in the 2004 Puerto Rican Festival. Soon, Jose's reputation for leadership and great performance led to an invitation to join Luna Negra Dance Company (La Luna's Professional Salsa Co. at the time). With Luna Negra, Jose performed at international Salsa Congresses and continued honing his craft by studying with featured artists like Jayson Molina, Liz Lira, Salomon Torres, and the Italian sensation Tropical Gem. Later, he went on to become Captain of Calle Luna Dance Company. With his dance partner of 10 years, Loretta Chianese, Jose has won many titles in Salsa, Bachata and Hustle.  www.joseandloretta.com

Dara Johnston began passion for dancing in the 1980s in her home state of Maine.  She began through eight-week dance sessions offered in her physical education classes, including Jitterbug, Foxtrot, line dances, and four-count hustle. In 2002, after moving to New Jersey, Dara stumbled upon West Coast Swing. Met John Lindo and discovered a passion for social dance that has escalated exponentially over the years. Her favorites include West Coast Swing, Night-Club Two-Step, and Country Two-Step. Dara’s mentors and teachers, including John Lindo, John Festa, Robert Royston, Jameson Kilburn, and Daniel McGee, have all had a hand in her technical training, and understanding of each dance. She continues to study with many great pros and instructors to hone her dance and teaching skills. Dara comes from a long line of trained Educators and has been a teacher all of her adult life.

Joe comes to us from Top Hat Dance Studio in Philadelphia. A dance performer, competitor and instructor for over 10 years – Joe has studied a variety of dance styles since 1989, including a mixture of street, social and ballroom dances along with ballet, jazz and modern. He is a 3-time International Hustle & Salsa Dance Champion, 2-time Disco America Champion, and Hustle USA Champion. Under the direction of choreographer Arte Phillips, Joe was the dance captain of Philadelphia’s celebrated dance troupes “Philly Dance Connection” in 2003 and “The Hustlefactor” in 2004 and 2005. Look for Joe in the Disco America dinner show as he celebrates his 7th year as a cast member and performer. When not performing, Joe teaches his unique blend of Hustle w/funk, along with Latin and ballroom dance at Top Hat’s Northeast Philly studio and competitions across the country.

Isabel Maldonado studied at Arizona State University achieving two Bachelor’s Degrees, Communications and Early Arts of Early Childhood Development. She also has a Master’s Degree in Infant Mental Health and hopes to go back to school to attain her Doctoral Degree. Isabel has experience working with children 0 to 10 years old. She also used to teach music & movement implementing mommy and me classes at the library as well as child development courses for parents and teachers. Isabel works for Center for Family service as a manager and oversees early childhood care for a nonprofit organization in Camden city that provides high-quality care for the programs in the community. She began her passion in Latin dance at a young age and now is part of Los Rumberitos Pro-Am team competing under the direction of Jose Luis Maldonado, co-founder and choreographer of Los Rumberitos Dance Company. With such a diverse background in early childhood development, she plans to utilize her fun and creative experience of teaching to the mini Rumberitos dance class.

Naloni has been dancing for the last 12 years. In that time, her passion for dance has grown and she has gone on to compete in the World Salsa Summit, bringing home the Junior World Salsa Championship Title. Her specialities are Salsa, Bachata, Cha Cha, Hustle and she enjoys Hip Hop. Naloni is currently training under the World Champion, Jose Maldonado (Los Rumberitos) and also with the Art In Motion Ladies Team and looks forward to sharing her passion for dance with the new up and coming, talented dancers!

Youth Program Coordinator

Caroline started her dance training at the early age of 4. During her childhood, she trained in all of the classic dance styles: ballet, tap, and jazz at New Horizon Dance Studio and competed on their junior team. In high school, she was an assistant coach for two local elementary school cheerleading teams. While attaining her bachelor's degree at Loyola University in Baltimore, she was a hip hop choreographer in the student-run dance company. After attaining her Master's degree in clincal-counseling psychology from Chestnut Hill College, she had more free time and decided to become a Zumba instructor. She was a Zumba instructor for 5 years and taught hip hop classes at Junod Playground in Northeast Philadelphia. In 2014, Caroline took her first salsa class and was hooked. She has since performed and competed in Salsa, Bachata, and Latin Hustle under the direction of World Champion, Jose Maldonado. She joined Jose's competition team, Los Rumberitos, in 2018 and became the Pro-Am Latin Hustle World Champion at the 2019 World Salsa Summit. She is happy to join the Top Hat dance family and excited for the next steps in her dance journey.

Ashely has been involved in dance since the age of 3.  Growing up, she took tap, jazz, and ballet classes at the Lorraine Goddard Dance Studio based in Tonawanda, NY.  Through her tap and jazz classes, she had the opportunity to represent this studio at local dance competitions for several years.  As she got older, Ashely continued to be involved in dance outside the studio and was cast as a dancer in high school productions of Hello, Dolly! and Fiddler on the Roof.  Expanding her interests, Ashely also spent 8 years as a cheerleader in both high school and at the collegiate level.  In 2005, Ashely graduated from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry, with a concentration in Forensic Science, and moved to the Lancaster, PA area where she currently resides.  

After moving to Lancaster, Ashely sought out local opportunities to continue to explore dance as an adult, taking classes in tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, modern, hip-hop, and acrobatics.  Seeking more than just an adult dance class, Ashely became involved in a local dance group called the PK Project, where she was able to participate in local community dance performances with other adult dancers.  Inspired by this experience, in 2013, she started her own group called the In.K. Experiment to provide an outlet strictly for local, non-professional adult dancers seeking to continue integrating dance into their lives with a focus on welcoming dancers of all levels and performing unique, jazz-based choreography.   From 2013 - 2020, Ashely choreographed several group numbers and duets.  Along the way, 3 of Ashely's pieces were submitted and accepted to be performed in local downtown Lancaster, PA dance festivals and she was also given the opportunity to share her choreography in several Top Hat showcases.  

In 20111, and on a whim, Ashely popped into a group ballroom class when Top Hat was still running a sister dance program out of Class Act Dance Studio in New Holland, PA.  She quickly discovered the group hustle classes and soon after began taking private lessons w/ co-owner Jameson Kilburn.  From June 2012 - September 2021, Ashely competed with Jameson in ProAm showcase and just hustle heated divisions, starting out as a Novice follower and working her way through the levels to competing in Advanced and Rising Star.  Ashely has also worked with co-owner Daniel McGee, furthering her hustle education.  During her time working with Daniel, she had opportunities to assist in hustle lessons as well as explore more theatrical and cabaret-style choreography.  

In early 2022, Ashely made the transition from Amateur student to Professional.  She is currently part of a new Top Hat Pro Hustle couple with fellow Top Hat teacher Michael Petroski.  Prior to becoming Michael's professional partner, Ashely previously worked with him in several different capacities including competing with him as an Amateur couple, as well as taking lessons from him to be able to compete in ProAms as a female leader.  Ashely also worked with Michael to co-choreograph a hip-hop piece for the 2021 Top Hat show case.  Ashely is looking forward to continuing her hustle training, dipping her toe into teaching, and representing Top Hat as a professional competitor.  

Rachel Back has been teaching Dance and Fitness since 2009.  She has taught classes to people of all ages throughout the Greater Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas, in addition to various countries in the Caribbean and Central America.  She began dancing and performing at the age of two, and has been trained in multiple genres of traditional and Latin dance formats.

Beyond her experience in teaching dance and fitness, Rachel has been a certified PreK-12 school teacher for over a decade, specializing in Family and Consumer Sciences. She teaches high school students and runs a preschool program. She holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Education. Additionally, she is certified in Group Fitness by the American Council on Exercise. Rachel enjoys meeting and educating people, along with sharing her passion of dancing!

Meet Elizaveta, an aspiring dancer with a passion for movement and expression. She began her Latin dance training in 2018 under the supervision of a world dance champion Darlin Garcia. As a member of his dance company, she has performed and competed internationally. Elizaveta embraces the joy of self-expression through various dance styles including flamenco, Latin dance, and heels. She is elated to share the beauty of dance with the world.

Ricky Evans is professional dancer, performer, and teacher from South Jersey. His career began in 2005 with the crew/company, Face Da Phlave Entertainment. Under the direction and guidance of Marcus Tucker and Andrew Ramsey, he learned several different street dance styles. After years of training and cultural exploration, he was invited to become a member of the notoriously funky group, The Hood Lockers. His primary focus has been Locking, Hip Hop, and House Dance. Much of his success has come from representing these styles on various platforms. He has performed on many stages across the country in street dance theater ensembles such as Rennie Harris Puremovement and We Are Hood Nation. Ricky also lives for the battle scene, as he has participated in major competitions such as Hip Hop International, Summer Dance Forever, Just Debout, and Step Ya Game Up. He reached a milestone moment in 2019 when he was casted in the BET drama series, American Soul.

Taylor Fennell has been making art for as long as she could hold a pencil and paintbrush. She is interested in surrealism and the exploration of realism through expressive mark making. Her work is strongly influenced by the theme of duality because of her two-sided nature. Fennell has received the Dean's Scholarship and the Distinguished Scholar/Artist Scholarship from the University of the Arts, and has exhibited at Gallery One in the Kimmel Center and the University of the Arts. She graduated from University of the Arts and has earned her Bachelors degree in Fine art with an emphasis on painting and drawing and her minor Art Therapy.  She plans to continue her art therapy education in Graduate school with the ultimate goal of working as an impatient art therapist in a children’s hospital.

Michelle has been dancing since the age of four and began teaching at age 15. She found her way to the competitive floor at age 7 and achieved a high level of success.  Michelle finds a sense of joy and happiness in teaching kids how to dance and sharing her passion with them.  She satisfies this excitement though teaching for the Top Hat-Cora program.  

Samantha has been dancing for 17 years and began her teaching career over 5 years ago.  She enjoys sharing her knowledge of dance, specifically in the genres of modern and hip-hop, while attending college to study early childhood education.

Heni Glant was born in Hungary and moved to the US in 2006. She has a Bachelor degree in Teaching and a Master degree in Psychology, both from Hungary. According to her mom "She had already danced before she learnt to walk" which means any time there was music in the room, Heni started to wiggle around even as a few months old baby following the rhythm. She was discovered very early as a talented gymnast candidate. She was selected to several gymnast programs for preschoolers. Her talent helped her to learn faster than other children. She had a serious car accident at the age of 8 when her parents were told not sure if she would walk "normally again". But her love and dedication for moving on music, her background as a gymnast helped her through those many tough
years; and when she had her first chance, she decided to put dance first place in her life at the age of 15. She signed up basically to all dance classes she could found in her hometown. She took jazz-ballet, modern, Hungarian folk, and ballroom dancing classes for several years. She was a guest dancer in different senior high school classes to help perform their Prom Class Dances for many years even when she was already in college. Then Belly dance
came to her life.

While she was on a trip and was doing her morning exercises, someone came up to her asking, “Do you belly dance, too?” “No, what’s belly dance?” she replied. After this trip, the first thing she did was to find belly dance classes in her hometown in Hungary. Loving challenges, she signed up for classes with two different teachers. They both asked in the first class “How long have you been doing belly dancing? Why did you come to the beginner class?" “I have never done it before” was her answer. Her new belly dance friends from the advanced group had signed her into a belly dance competition when she was taking classes only for two weeks. She was only two points away to get into the finals. Though it was a great experience, but not being a competing spirit she has never went to another competition again.
Her love for music and dance keeps expanding by being a dedicated student and taking workshops from the bests of the belly dance world. She learnt from Szokolai, Akinda, Zoltan Seres, Tia, and Yasmina in Hungary and continued her training by learning from Daralyn Brody, Sonya Hohmann, Helena Viahos, Judeen, Leila Gamal, Momo, Soraya, Szilvia Salamaca, Alla, Kareena and Kim Leary; from the Bellydance Superstars: Ansuya, Sonia (with
Issam), Aziza and Bozenka in the US.

For 6 years, her main income was from performing as a professional belly dancer at her favorite restaurant at Olympia Grill in Galveston besides several other Greek Restaurants and Vineries at the region not including the many birthday parties, corporate events, weddings and other events in Galveston and Houston. She was invited to perform on the stage of Hayati in Houston, TX. After moving to the East Coast she performed for a few more years
then decided to "retire" from performing but her passion to teach and help to spread the wings of the next generation of belly dancers has never faded.
She started to teach belly dancing in Hungary for children at the grade school she was a school counselor. Later she invited the mothers and the grandmas' of these young girls to dance together strengthen the feminine connection between these three generations. She has been teaching this ancient form of feminine self expression for 20 years
now .

Belly Dancing is the trinity of art, spirituality and sensuality for her. Being a free spirit, she believes in the magic of the moment, so she teaches her students to let their Soul connect and become one with the music and trust themselves that they will move the right way at the right moment on the music. She has a balance between structured teaching and giving the freedom to her students to improvise and dance freely in her classes.

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She is the youngest family member of Top Hat Dance Studio. She says: "From the very first class I took with my husband from Michael, I fell in love with the atmosphere of the studio. My dream came true by becoming a teacher again, but at the best dance studio I have ever been to.