MEET OUR FACULTY

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Natalia is an Astoria native that began dancing/training at the age of 3.  She is first generation Colombian-American and has dedicated her life to the art of Dance. She started dancing at ADC when she was 9 years old and has considered it her second home since then. Natalia is trained in Ballet, Pointe, Modern, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical/Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Rockette style Jazz and Tap, and Latin dances. 

She graduated with Honors from Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, where she had the chance to perform works from the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Michael Thomas, Marcea Daiter, and collaborated with Battery Dance Company and New York City Ballet. She received her B.F.A in Dance from the SUNY Purchase Dance Conservatory. While at Purchase, she received world renowned training from faculty with backgrounds in New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Ballet Hispanico, The Martha Graham Company, Jose Limon, Alvin Ailey, Mark Morris, and much more. Natalia has also taught and performed abroad through the New York Dance International Summer Intensive under the direction of the late Kazuko Hirabayashi, in Burgos, Spain. There, she competed in an International Hip-Hop Competition with a group of dancers from the summer program. She also taught and choreographed for the Spanish students in the program, who later performed her work in the city’s principal theater. 

Natalia worked as a student assistant and later, a student teacher throughout her high school years at ADC, working closely with and learning from Miss Maureen Gelchion. She previously held the title of Assistant Director for the Riverdale YW-YMHA Dance program in the Bronx, NY. She also taught at a Competitive Dance Studio in Long Island, NY, where she had the opportunity to choreograph multiple award winning high scoring numbers, and National Title winning solos. 

Natalia has been teaching since the age of 18 and currently teaches all levels and dance styles from ages 3 to adult. 

Her mission as a dance teacher, is to not only inspire and influence the new generations, but also to continue to grow as a teacher and expand her dance knowledge, creativity, and teaching methods to make it fun, interesting and exciting for every student that walks into class. Her students drive her to give her best, and continue to challenge them and guide them to reach their full potential as young artists. Her goal as the Owner and Director of Astoria Dance Center, is to carry on Miss Maureen's legacy and amazing work, and continue to bring a quality Arts education to the community she grew up in and loves dearly. 

Audra Fryberger hails from Reading, Pennsylvania, where she began dancing at the age of 3. Growing up, she was very involved in the local theatre community, and went on to graduate from DeSales University with degrees in Dance and Theatre. 

After a few years of performing professionally in Allentown, PA, she then took her aspirations to NYC. Astoria Dance Center was one of her first jobs in NYC, and she's thrilled to still be teaching there 9 years later. Miss Audra is ADC's Performance Team Director, choreographing, teaching, and organizing two teams of multiple ages. Under Miss Audra's direction and guidance, they attend regional Dance Competitions, participate in community and studio events for goodwill and charitable fundraising efforts, along with additional Performance opportunities. 

Audra spends her days working at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, organizing events for the art community. In her spare time she loves reading, watching scary movies, and seeing live theatre and dance performances. 

Marissa grew up dancing in Connecticut where she competed in her school’s competition team and took advantage of many local performance opportunities. She went to Dean College to further her education and graduated with her BA in Dance. Just after graduation, she performed in Gregory King’s modern dance piece “The Strange Invisible Perfume” at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. 

Since moving to New York, Marissa’s performed various works throughout the country with dance companies including The Rogue Dancers, Wandering Movers, and Aries in Flight. Also a lover of Musical Theater, Marissa has performed in musicals at various regional theaters. Some favorite stage credits include Chicago (Mona), Singin in the Rain (Lady in Green), Anything Goes (Purity), and Cabaret (Kit Kat Girl). Marissa feels fortunate to bring her love for the arts to the students at Astoria Dance Center!

Tallia A. Petrone is a professional ballerina, choreographer, and director in New York City. She graduated from Arts Immersion in 2017 and joined the Joffrey Ballet School as a Ballet Trainee. After graduating in 2019, Tallia had her professional debut with the Gwinnett Dance Project in Atlanta, Georgia in 2020. In 2022, Tallia founded Pandora Ballet Company, with the mission to show and celebrate true equality and diversity in dance, as well as dismantle the ever-growing barrier between ballet and the audience. She choreographed and performed in their premier ballet Visions of Virtue. She also worked with The Kennedy Dancers in Jersey City, New Jersey, as a soloist and as a teacher in their Inner City Youth program. In 2023, she worked with the Ballet Leila Da Rocha et Patrick Dupond in Soissons, France, for their winter season. Tallia blends her teaching with dance history to inspire and engage her students, and guides them to perform to the best of their ability no matter what stage they find themselves on.