About Sunshine

Professional Instruction for Children, Teens & Adults

466 East Main Street

Middletown, NY 10940

1st Floor Suite 100

914-618-8419

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Classes are highly interactive and gently structured to enhance your child's trust in his and her own creative expression. Dance techniques are integrated in age appropriate ways so that children have fun and enjoy the process of learning.

For Boys & Girls

We offer high quality dance and fitness instruction for the absolute beginner to the professional level in a fun, safe, non-competitive atmosphere. With Jazz, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Tap, Ballet, Zumba, Pilates and Yoga - there’s something for everyone!

For Teens & Adults

Miss Claudia

An alumnus of the prestigious High School of Performing Arts (profiled in the film “Fame”), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Scholarship Recipient, Miss Claudia attended New York University and continued her studies with many of the top national dance educators and as a member of Charles Moore Dance Theatre.

Miss Claudia’s dance training began at the age of seven with ballet, and includes years of professional level study and performance in Horton, Graham and Dunham modern dance techniques, jazz dance, advanced classical ballet, character dance, floor barre and dance therapy for children and adults challenged by special needs. Miss Claudia holds certifications in Pilates, Hatha Yoga, Personal Training and Autism Movement Therapy.

As a dance instructor, Miss Claudia has trained a number of dancers who have gone on to dance professionally in New York City and throughout the world. Many of her graduates have been accepted into professional college training programs around the country including the following all located in New York City: Professional Performing Arts School (PPAS), The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (both the Scholarship and Summer Intensive Programs), Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, The Julliard School, The Joffrey Ballet School, Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet and Steps On Broadway.

Throughout her career, Miss Claudia has performed at numerous venues including NYC’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Town Hall, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, Jacob’s Pillow, Henry Street Settlement and NYC’s Dance Mobile.

Passionate about teaching dancers how to take care of themselves and prolong their careers, Miss Claudia is the Founder and Artistic Director of Sunshine Dance Ensemble.

Miss April

Miss April began her training with the New Paltz Ballet Theater at age three. Through age eighteen, while with the company, she studied both ballet and jazz with instructors who previously danced with the Houston Ballet, New York City Ballet, The Hartford Ballet and the Radio City Rockettes. As both a child and teen Miss April’s extensive dance experience has included various roles in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. An avid and accomplished swing dancer, she has trained with some of the most influential Lindy Hoppers in the world. Miss April is currently a member of The Big Apple Lindy Hoopers and The Lindy Hop All-Stars, two New York based swing dance companies that perform monthly throughout the country. She is also affiliated with Chester’s Cool Cats & Kittens Performance Group. Both an actress and vocalist she has performed in several musical theater productions. Miss April is also a certified Zumba Instructor and has performed Hip Hop/Zumba routines at WNBA Pre-Game and Half Time Shows at Madison Square Garden. Miss April holds associate degrees in both Human Services and Early Childhood Education, K-12 Dual Certification in General & Special Education, Autism Movement Therapy Certification and a Bachelor’s Degree in Disabilities Studies.

Miss Nicole

Miss Nicole has devoted the past 20 years to experiencing the art of dance in as many differentways as possible. Beginning her lessons at the age of six, she was afforded the opportunity to study various disciplines including Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Lyrical, Modern, Contemporary and Ballroom. At a young age she developed a passion for choreography through a desire to blend her favorite aspects of the many different classes she was taking in order to create unique ways to move and interact with music. Miss Nicole danced competitively from age fifteen to age twenty-two. Exposure to this fast paced, team-oriented environment helped to foster an ability to adapt fluidly to changes as well as an eagerness to assist those around her in achieving their goals, which eventually inspired her interest in dance instruction.

Born and raised in the Hudson Valley, Miss Nicole has performed at various local venues including The Culinary Institute of America, Dutchess Stadium, The Bardavon Opera House,and Orange County Choppers, as well as yearly events such as Relay for Life and Newburgh Illuminated. She has also had the honor of sharing the stage with championship Italian ballroom dancer Fillipo Gurrieri as well as accomplished saxophonist Salvo Guttilla in his holiday show Stella Magica. Currently Miss Nicole is a member of Solesbare Dance Collective, a project wherein she collaborates with local artists to utilize movement as a meaningful tool to address significant subjects, such as mental health, as well as raise money for the organizations that help to combat these issues on a national level.

As an instructor Miss Nicole hopes to instill in her students the same admiration for the art of movement that she has nurtured in herself over the years, with the knowledge that each young dancer’s journey will be unique and beautiful in it’s own right.

Miss Emily

Miss Emily began studying ballet at age 4 and danced until age 18 at Dancer’s Studio. Her technical training also includes jazz technique. She was a member of the Warwick Ballet Theater and performed with the company for several years. As an adult she studied Horton Technique and immediately fell in love with it.

As a teen, Miss Emily studied ballet at the Briansky Summer Intensive in Saratoga Springs, New York and continued taking ballet classes in college at University of Vermont, where is obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work. She is a Licensed Master of Social Work with a Master’s Degree from Fordham University.

In her career as a social worker, Miss Emily has ten years experience working with children and families with the majority of her time spent working with children in foster care. Miss Emily brings a unique blend of artistic and practical experience to her work at Sunshine Dance Studio: “I’m very passionate about our Adaptive Creative Movement classes. I know how much dance helped me throughout my childhood and adolescence. Dance has always been physically and emotionally therapeutic for me. It’s also social and fun! Children with special needs are often denied the opportunity to participate in dance classes for a variety of reasons. It has been a joy and an honor to provide these students with the ability to have a fun, safe, creative outlet to express themselves.”

MJ joins the Sunshine Team just as he begins his first year at the prestigious Julliard School in New York City. Originally a resident of Middletown, MJ began his dance training at Sunshine Dance Studio under the direction of Miss Claudia. MJ went on to receive scholarships at Steps on Broadway, American Ballet Theatre, MOVE(NYC), French Academie of Ballet, and The Juilliard School Summer Dance Intensive. MJ attended LaGuardia High School (featured in the film “Fame”) until sophomore year before leaving to study with the San Francisco Ballet School, once again on scholarship. At the San Francisco Ballet School MJ performed with the company in many of their ballets including the Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty. MJ has achieved multiple awards such as the San Francisco Ballet School 2018-2019 Choreographic Fellowship, where he had the opportunity to choreograph on the students of the San Francisco Ballet School and have his piece “Constant Search” performed in the schools 2019 Spring Festival Showcase. MJ is also a 2019 YoungArts Winner in Modern/Contemporary, as well as a 2019 Meringoff Family Foundation Valedictory Prize Winner. More recently MJ has been abroad studying with Batsheva Dance Company’s 2019 Summer intensive and Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company’s 2019 Summer Intensive in Israel. MJ is currently a member of the Limon Dance Company.

To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak.

Hopi Indian Saying