Faculty

Nancina Bucci, Owner/Artistic Director, Dance Educator & Choreographer

Nancina began her dance career at Jersey Cape Dance and Gymnastics Academy, training in all disciplines. She continued her dance education studying under former Rockette, Eleanore Ryder, where she had her first experience as a teaching assistant and co-choreographer.  At age 19, while attending Rutgers University, Nancina was offered and accepted a position as a Dance Instructor where her love of Dance continued to grow, and her work as a Competitive Dance Choreographer began to flourish. During her time at Rutgers, Nancina was also an active member/choreographer for Rutgers Performing Dance Company. 

Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Master of Education Degree, Nancina began pursuing a teaching career while continuing to train in Dance, choreograph, and instruct dancers in studios in New Jersey.  Nancina auditioned for and was accepted into Broadway Dance Center’s Professional Semester Program where she was cast in Musical Theater and Latin Jazz pieces under the direction of award-winning choreographer and BDC faculty advisor, Jim Cooney, and original top four contestant of So You Think You Can Dance, Ashlé Dawson. Nancina also had the opportunity to perform at Symphony Space in New York City and work The Pulse Dance Convention, NYC. During this time, Nancina became a member of Associated Dance Teachers of New Jersey after passing their board certified dance exam. 

Additionally, Nancina danced for a season with a modern dance company based out of New York City, before accepting a full time position as an English teacher. Her work in the classroom has positively influenced and helped to shape her teaching philosophy in the studio, working with many different types of learners and understanding the various teaching methods needed to foster confidence and success in all of her students. While teaching both English and Dance, Nancina was also the Cheerleading Coach for Columbia Middle School and Choreographer for Governor Livingston High School’s Musical Theatre Program. 

As an Instructor and Choreographer, Nancina has received numerous accolades and awards at both Regional and National Dance Competitions for Top Choreography and Excellence in the field. In 2018, her students performed at Symphony Space, NYC,  and her collaborative work received both the Technique Award and Best Choreography Award from acclaimed choreographers, Bo Park and Kelly Peters. Nancina was also honored to receive 7 Choreography Awards in 2019 for her pieces performed at Beyond the Stars, Dance Xplosion, National Dance Showcase, and On Point Dance Competition. She is also certified through Acrobatic Arts. 

With several years of experience as a Dance Instructor, Educator, Coach, and Choreographer, Nancina is eager to continue using her background to cultivate both a positive and competitive learning environment for her students at SDNJ.
Scott Mahoney, Assistant Director & Strength and Conditioning Coach 

Scott began his athletic career at a young age, focusing on soccer. He played for US PARMA, a select northeastern division of an Italian soccer team, playing in championship games across the country.

In high school, Scott earned 12 Varsity letters, including 2 gold letters at Governor Livingston High School. He broke records in the 100m and 200m races as well as the 4x100m relay.

Scott made the switch to football in his senior year and was a starting receiver, cornerback, and kicker. He was first team all conference, first team all county, and was a division 1 AA recruit.

Scott holds a Bachelors Degree in Finance from The University of Kansas and an MBA in Global Business and Real Estate at the Rutgers University School of Business. In addition to being our Strength and Conditioning Coach and Assistant Director, Scott works for the Hedge Fund desk at an asset manager.

Scott recently attended the Rutgers Strength and Conditioning Clinic, bringing his knowledge to our Competitive Dance Company. Coach Scott believes that competitive dance is both a sport and an art. He looks forward to continuing to train our company members this season and helping them gain the strength and confidence to reach their fullest potential as competitive athletes.
Gina Montalto, Lead Instructor & Administrative Assistant, Dance Educator & Choreographer

Gina Montalto is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher based out of New York City but with New Jersey roots. She began her technical training at New Jersey School of Ballet and the American Academy of Ballet, auditioning for and participating in the Intensive Program as well as annual productions of NJB’s The Nutcracker at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn. She attended Livingston High School and grew as a performer in their Theater Program as a dance soloist and captain.

      At Rutgers University, Gina was an active member of the Rutgers Performing Dance Company where she widened her vocabulary to other styles including hip hop, jazz and contemporary, while also taking ballet and modern classes at Mason Gross School of the Arts. She earned her BA and MAT in Italian Language and Literature, and she decided to continue her education in dance at County College of Morris where she completed her Associates in Fine Arts. At CCM her student work was selected to be performed and adjudicated at the American College Dance Festival in upstate New York. While working towards her degree, Gina also auditioned for and participated in Broadway Dance Center’s Professional Semester Program where she was cast in musical theater and latin jazz pieces under the direction of Ashle Dawson and Ricky Hinds. During this training program Gina also had the opportunity to work The Pulse Dance Convention NYC.

       Gina has danced for several dance companies including a season with Artsy-e, a modern company based out of New York City, Introspective Movement Project- a contemporary jazz company based out of Philadelphia, and most currently with Impact Movement Collective where she is in her second season and has performed in many festivals in New York. Gina is also a freelance choreographer in New York City and her work has been shown at many dance festivals including: Chen Dance Center’s NewSteps New Series, Artists in Flight, The Moving Beauty Series, Sans Limites Fall and Spring Festivals, Kodafe in NYC, Translate (Voices of Dance) by the JChen Project, Dancers Unlimited Legacy Showcases and many more. Gina has also choreographed musicals at Livingston High School and Millburn High School for the past 6 years and has guest taught at several dance studios around New Jersey.

      Gina is a certified ballet instructor and active member of the Associated Dance Teachers of New Jersey, and she attends their teacher training workshops and conventions annually. Gina is also the Starstruck Chapter Advisor for National Honor Society of Dance Arts. This will be Gina’s seventh season with Starstruck as an instructor and choreographer for their Competitive Dance Company. She hopes to continue to instill technical excellence, artistry and a passion for dance in each and every one of her students!
Corrine Bassie, Dance Educator & Choreographer 

Corrine started her dance training at age 5 under the direction of Michelle Marigliano at Encore Center for Performing Arts formerly located in Dunellen, NJ. While at Encore, she trained in ballet, tap jazz, and acro.

She then went on to train with the New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble once entering junior high, focusing primarily in ballet, modern and contemporary under the direction of Nancy Turano. With NJDTE, Corrine performed works and trained with artists such as Fabrice Lamego, Bradley Shelver, Elisa Clark and Andrea Miller, to name a few. She has learned and performed the choreography of choreographers such as Robert Battle and Twyla Tharp.

Miss Corrine also attended Somerset County Vocational Technical school part time, where she continued to study the art of dance. Corrine then went on to pursue her dance career by attending Marymount Manhattan College as a B.F.A. dance major. Corrine has performed at venues such as the Ailey Citigroup Theater, the Joyce Theater, Lincoln Center, NJPAC and Carnegie Hall.

Corrine has earned a B.A. degree in psychology from Rutgers University and a Masters in Dance and Movement Therapy from Pratt Institute. Miss Corrine's competitive pieces have received high praise and impressive placements in both Regional and National events. She is delighted to be teaching at StarStruck and is eager to share her knowledge with her students while watching them learn and grow. 

While Miss Corrine teaches many different styles and levels of dance at Starstruck, we are thrilled to have her as our primary Ballet and Lyrical teacher, working closely with our Competitive Dance Company.
Emma Giordano, Dance Educator & Choreographer 

Emma Giordano is a dance performer, educator, and choreographer based in the New York Metropolitan area. She began her dance training at the age of 3, under Starstruck’s founder Monica Struck. Emma went on to train competitively at Starstruck Dance New Jersey and danced in the program from the studio’s opening through senior year of high school, studying ballet, tap, jazz, musical theatre, hip-hop, contemporary, lyrical, and pointe.

A recent graduate of Muhlenberg College, Emma holds a B.A. in Dance Education and Performance, as well as a B.A. in Theatre Acting. At Muhlenberg, Emma continued her dance education in ballet, jazz, and tap, as well as training in modern, street jazz funk, and aerial acrobatics. She had the opportunity to perform in many faculty and student choreographed works and theatre productions, along with choreographing her own student work and a student directed musical. She also taught creative movement to kindergarteners-third graders at Muhlenberg Elementary school, as well as creative movement, jazz, and modern to 2.5-7 year olds at Muhlenberg Community Dance Center for multiple years. During her time at Muhlenberg, Emma served as a Zoom Monitor for the Steps on Broadway Youth Program in the Fall of 2020, working closely with their teachers to run Zoom class meetings and handle any faculty or student technical needs. In addition, she interned with The 52nd Street Project in Hell’s Kitchen, New York, where she worked closely with students ages 9-18 on acting, improvisation, play writing, and fine arts. 

Emma has been a teacher and assistant teacher for Starstruck’s summer class program since 2019. She is thrilled to be teaching this season, as she is passionate about sharing the strength, focus, artistry, and dedication that Starstruck taught her to have. She hopes to instill a love of dance and the knowledge that, through hard work, every dancer has the power to reach their full potential in all of her students. We are thrilled to welcome Miss Emma to our SDNJ teaching team this season! 
Sarina Lima, Dance Educator & Choreographer 

Sarina has been dancing since the young age of 3. She studied and competed in various types, such as rhythmic tap, soft shoe tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, modern, and musical theatre.

Sarina has trained at many prestigious programs and schools, such as Joffrey Ballet School and The Boston Conservatory. Additionally, Sarina is an alumna of the Rockette Summer Intensive. Sarina has received her A.F.A degree in the fine arts and is now a professional dancer in New York City. She is dance captain for Flying Metals Tap troupe and a company member in Aries in Flight. She also does free-lance work with other choreographers and appears in many shows throughout the year.  

Besides performing, Sarina, has been teaching since she was 16 years old. Her choreography for StarStruck has received numerous awards and accolades, including a 1st place National high score in the tap solo division at our most recent National event.  Sarina’s love, passion, and knowledge for the art of dance is passed on to her students, which makes her job even more enjoyable! We are thrilled to have Miss Sarina as an instructor for a variety of styles, specializing in Tap and Musical Theatre for our Competitive Dance Company. 
Vanessa Pais, Dance Educator & Choreographer

Miss Vanessa has had a passion for dance since she put on her first pair of tap shoes. For nearly 20 years, she has spent countless hours in dance classes, including Ballet, Pointe, Contemporary, Lyrical, Jazz, Tap and Hip-Hop.

She continued her love of dance throughout college, graduating with a BFA in Dance from Montclair State University. While at Montclair State, she had the privilege of performing in works choreographed by Jessica DiMauro, Jay T. Jenkins, Earl Mosley, Twyla Tharpe, Charles Weidman, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar (Urban Bush Women).

Miss Vanessa's competitive pieces have received numerous accolades at both regional and National events. She works predominantly with our company dancers, specializing in Tap, Jazz, and Musical Theatre. We are very pleased to have Vanessa on our staff of teaching artists, and look forward to another great season!
Natalia Baxter, Guest Choreographer

Natalia Baxter began her intensive dance training at Joy of Motion and The Dance Institution of Washington. Her training includes: Hip Hop, Contemporary, Modern, Ballet, Jazz and Puerto Rican Folklore. She received a B.A. in Dance with a minor in Professional Writing from Columbia College Chicago. 

Natalia has had the pleasure of performing at numerous events including: Koresh Come Together Festival, Brooklyn Dance Festival, Dance Diversity Tour, TLA: RawArtists Showcase, KYL/D 23rd InHale Performance Series, NJ Amistad Commission and Chicago’s Carnival Choreographers Ball. She has trained and/or performed with Philadanco II (The Apprentice Company), Roger Lee Dance Company and Introspective Movement Project. 

Natalia has danced at the Celebration of Freedom with Matthew Schuler from The Voice, the City Hall Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony, ABC 6 Dunkin Donuts’ Thanksgiving Day Parade and Wawa Welcome America Festival within Philadelphia. Choreographic works include: “Allure” (2014), “Transitions: Rap the Ballet” (2012), and “El Yunque” (2011). Teaching credentials include: UPenn Recreations, Musicopia Outreach Program, Artist in Motion and master class teacher at National Dance Showcase. 

Miss Natalia continues to share her passion throughout several cities including, but not limited to New Jersey, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. We are thrilled to have Miss Natalia on staff as the choreographer for our competitive All Star Hip-Hop Company!
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