Ballet Chesapeake Leadership & Faculty

Diane Brown's early ballet education began at the Ellen Price Eckhardt Ballet School, where she studied ballet as a child. In 1983, she started teaching ballet and creative movement for the Jarrettsville Recreation Council, demonstrating her commitment to dance leadership in her community. She also studied modern dance at the Baltimore County Gifted and Talented Camp under Leslie Weiss Timos, as well as jazz and tap at the Wally Saunders Dance School. During this time, she received training in ballet from notable instructors Edward Stewart and Barbara Miller. In 1982, she was invited to join the Wally Saunders Dance Company, performing with them until 1984. That same year, Miss Diane began her studies at Towson State University on a dance scholarship, where she was an integral part of the Towson State University Dance Company. As a dance major, she deepened her ballet education with Edward Stewart, Camille Izard, and Helene Brezeale, and explored modern dance with Andrea Lewis and Dottie Fried, while also studying jazz with Patty Corday. After undergoing knee surgery, she decided to pivot her major and earned a bachelor's degree in Health Science with a minor in Psychology in 1988, focusing her coursework on anatomy and physiology, early childhood development, and program planning. In addition to her role as a health and wellness counselor, she contributed her expertise by teaching ballet, jazz, and creative movement at Harford Dance Center before joining the ballet faculty at the Dance Conservatory in 2000.

Recreational Program: Arianna Costantini received her dance training at Forest Hill Dance, where she developed a strong foundation in ballet education. Growing up as an active member of the dance production community with Harford Dance Theatre and The Danse Macabre, she also cultivated her skills in dance leadership. A graduate of Towson University with a BS in Theatre Arts and Electronic Media & Film, Arianna currently serves as the Education Operations Manager at Everyman Theatre and is an instructor at Forest Hill Dance. In addition to these roles, she contributes to various musical theatre productions and owns a princess party business. Outside of her dance and theatre projects, Arianna also passionately works with animals, always striving to bring empathy, passion, and a positive attitude to everything she does.

Pre-Professional Program Deborah Engerman began her ballet education early on with the Baltimore Ballet under the guidance of Wendy Robinson in the RAD (Royal Academy of Dance) tradition, successfully passing her graded exams. Her classical studies also include significant training with esteemed ballet faculty such as Petrus Bosman, David Keener, and Christine Hennessy. While pursuing her BA in International Policy at Dickinson College, she continued her ballet education with the talented instructors at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Ms. Engerman’s dance training encompasses the Vaganova Technique, French Methodology, and the Dance Education Program at Towson University. She has staged renowned ballets including The Nutcracker and Act II of Swan Lake. Dancers trained by Ms. Engerman have excelled in their careers, earning professional contracts and performing with prestigious companies such as Universal Ballet, ABT, Complexions, The Washington Ballet, The Vienna Opera Ballet, the Boston Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Ballet Inc, Texture Ballet, and Hubbard Street, as well as on Broadway. Additionally, she has provided dance leadership as a coach to several dancers competing successfully in international ballet competitions, including The Prix de Lausanne, the Varna IBC, and The Youth America Grand Prix. Notably, her student Adrienne Canterna won the Junior Gold Medal at the 1998 Jackson USA International Ballet Competition. Currently, Ms. Engerman is pleased to continue training dancers in MD and PA while living with her husband and two dogs in South Central PA.

Megan Montalvo is a Physical Therapist and certified barre, Mat Pilates and Reformer instructor. She received her doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Delaware and a Bachelor of Science in Sports Medicine from the University of Virginia. Megan trained extensively in classical ballet throughout her undergraduate and graduate studies, dancing with the University of Virginia Dance Team, Delaware Repertory Dance Company, and performing professionally with the Philadelphia Soul dance team. Megan specializes in pediatric physical therapy, with experience working in rehabilitation, orthopedic, and home care settings. She enjoys working as a barre and Pilates instructor and finds that it complements her work as a physical therapist by emphasizing muscle strength and control, proper technique, and injury prevention.

Emily began her dance training at the Nancy Norrick School of Ballet in Cincinnati, Ohio, and continued her studies at the City Ballet School in Hagerstown, Maryland, under the direction of Lauren Clowser. A founding member of the Potomac Classical Youth Ballet Company, she performed extensively in ballet, modern, jazz, tap, and Irish dance. While studying with Ms. Clowser and resident faculty, Emily was trained by instructors from the Washington Ballet, guest resident artists from companies such as the Donetsk Ballet of Ukraine, ABT, and Houston Ballet, and attended several summer study intensives. Emily had the opportunity to perform internationally with the Burklyn Ballet Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Her favorite performances were (and still are) the annual tradition of The Nutcracker.

Emily holds bachelor’s degrees in dance and psychology from James Madison University, where she continued her performance training and presented original choreography. She later earned a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership. Emily is skilled in child development, spending much of her career in early childhood education as a teacher and administrator, and most recently as a child abuse prevention leader, managing the Children’s Advocacy Center serving Baltimore City. Emily is also a proud Ballet Chesapeake parent. Her family has been part of the community here since 2013 and she supports backstage as a chaperone coordinator. 

Pre-Professional Program Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, into a family of principal dancers, Sofia Tsanova grew up watching rehearsals and performances at the National Opera and Ballet Theatre. 

She began her formal training at age five at the pre-professional school of Masha Ilieva, and later attended the National School of Dance Art under Katya Petrovska and Lyubov Fominih. 

During her time there, she was honored with an invitation to demonstrate final ballet exams for graduating students at the National Academy of Theater and Film Arts.

Sofia’s education eventually took her around the world. In South Korea, she studied at the Sunhwa Arts School under Vera Solovyeva and Nikolay Levitsky, and had the opportunity to dance 

and tour with the Universal Ballet Company. In 2004, she moved to the United States to join the Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida, later continuing her studies on scholarship at the 

New World School of the Arts and the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C.
Sofia began teaching the Vaganova method in 2010 and has spent over 15 years working at several pre-professional schools. Her background includes teaching at the Academy of Russian Ballet, 

The Washington School of Ballet, guest teaching at the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet, and most recently, serving on the faculty at the Baltimore School for the Arts and its TWIGS program.
Beyond the dance studio, Sofia has spent nearly a decade working as a ballet teacher and movement coach for rhythmic gymnasts at Gymnastics World VA. In this role, she provided classical ballet instruction and conditioning for members of the Elite Squad and the National Team, helping the athletes integrate technical precision and artistic expression into their competitive work with a strong focus on safe physical alignment and longevity.
Sofia is excited to join the faculty at Ballet Chesapeake.