James Dance & Performing Arts Center

Carol is the founder of James Dance and Performing Arts Center. She started the school in the basement of her home over 50 years ago. When her daughter Linda wanted to join the business, they expanded to a small facility in a local plaza. As business grew, they decided to do something unique in the Warren area: Build a state of the art facility where students can be trained in the Art of Dance. Together, Carol and Linda have trained thousands of students.

Carol is a graduate of Dance Teachers Training school from DMA Kent State. She is a long time member of Dance Masters of America and Dance Masters of PA. Carol is a past board member of DMP, and a member of the prestigious American Academy of Ballet. Carol has been recognized by the governor of the state of Ohio, George Voinovich and Ohio House of Representative, Tom Letson for her contributions teaching dance.
She was nominated for Who’s Who in America, received “The American Dance Achievement Award” (Showstoppers), “Ultimate Dance Challenge Best of the Best,” and was chosen as “Top Dance Studio in North America” in 2010.

Carol’s goal as a teacher of dance is to pass on the love and passion for the Art of Dance to all my students.

“To Dance is to set your Soul Free”

Linda is a member of Dance Masters of America, Dance Educators of America, Acrobatic Arts, American Academy of Ballet, a graduate of DMA Teacher Training School. She was a dance major at Ohio State and graduated with a BFA from Youngstown State University. She teaches and choreographs throughout the country and judges for national dance competitions. Linda has many students working in the entertainment industry performing, directing, producing, managing, and teaching. Her dancers have gone on to star on Broadway in”Hamilton”, “Matilda”, “In the Heights”, “Sweet Charity”, in the TV series “Hit the Floor”, as well as cruise ships, Disney, national commercials and broadway tours. Her students have received full college scholarships for Dance, to Fordham/Ailey, Mercyhurst, Point Park, Marymount, AMDA. As well as scholarships to Joffery Ballet, American Academy of Ballet, Steps on Broadway, Broadway Dance Center, The Edge, Millennium and numerous conventions. Others have pursued careers as dance therapists, agents, educators, news anchors, and Miss Ohio to name a few.

The JDPAC Performance Team has won many national titles throughout the years and Linda is consistently recognized for her outstanding choreography. Her dancers have represented the United States as Goodwill Ambassadors in Australia, Italy, Mexico, Caymen Islands, and Hawaii. Linda was awarded the American Dance Achievement Award and recognized by the governor of Ohio for her contributions to the arts.

Tori grew up in Warren, OH where she started dancing at the young age of 2 at James Dance & PAC. She continued her dance education at The Ailey School in New York City where she was in the professional certificate program. After attending school in New York, she was hired as an equity performer at Walt Disney World. At Disney she was a featured dancer in “Beauty and the Beast” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and “Dream Along with Mickey” at the Magic Kingdom on the Castle Stage. She has also performed on Norwegian Cruise Line’s “Pride of America” as a dancer/singer, in the movie “Step Up Revolution”, alongside the YouTube Sensation Todrick Hall, can be seen as judge on Lifetime’s hit TV show “Dance Moms” and was a featured soloist in ME Dance Company in Orlando, FL.

She has worked with choreographers such as Rachelle Rak, Chris Gattelli, Missy Lay Zimmer, Andrew Hubbard, Robert Dean Hertenstein, Rhonda Miller and Thomas Lake. She recently graduated with honors from Full Sail University with a bachelor’s degree in Entertainment Business. She is a member of Dance Educators of America. She teaches and choreographs in her hometown and throughout the country. Her students have won numerous national titles and she has been recognized multiple times for her award-winning choreography.

Miss Annie has been a dancer/singer and now teacher at James Dance and Performing Arts Center since she was 4 years old (so that makes 30 years!). During her time performing at JDPAC, she won 2 national championships with the competition team, and 4 national top vocalist awards with the amazing Girard Stewart as her teacher. After graduation from Warren JFK in 2001, Miss Annie attended Youngstown State University, pursuing degrees in Vocal Performance AND Marketing Management. During her time at YSU, Annie performed in leading musical roles such as Daisy in Side Show, and Nicki in Sweet Charity. She also had the opportunity to perform with the renowned Dana Chorale and University Chorus as well as leading as President of the YSU Dance Ensemble.

Miss Annie returned to JDPAC in 2008 to continue the Voice and Musical Theatre program. It has been her absolute joy to see her students succeed not only in the competition realm, but also academically and professionally in the music world. Her students have won multiple regional AND national titles. Her “day job” as a Director of Strategic Accounts for a Medical Robotics company allows her plenty of time in NYC, to sharpen her skills as a singer, and study Broadway’s current trends.

Vincent’s performance journey began at seven years old with the James Dance & Performing Arts Center, where he built his foundations in dance, singing, and acting. He has performed as a guest dancer for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and shared the stage with Grammy Award-winning artist Kenny Rogers. With his dance training and performance experiences, JDPAC prepared him for his professional career.
He continued his education at the renowned American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, majoring in Musical Theatre. While at AMDA, Vincent trained under professionally working instructors, which led to him contributing choreography to various projects, including New York-based music videos. He has adjudicated students at regional and national dance competitions across the country. Additionally, Vincent is a certified teacher through the American Academy of Ballet.

With a deep understanding in a wide range of dance styles—including ballet, contemporary, modern, jazz, tap, and hip hop—Vincent understands the transformative power of dance, not only for creating accomplished performers, but for shaping well-rounded individuals. His students and choreography have earned recognition at the national level, winning various titles and awards.

Alaina Guido, professionally known as Alaina Hoolihan is a seasoned professional dancer and passionate dance educator with an extensive career in television, film, and live performances. With credits that include 55 episodes of the hit TV show Hit The Floor, Nickelodeon’s School of Rock, Fuller House, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Muppets, America’s Got Talent, and films like The Jungle book, Jumanji, Ted 2 and Valley Girl, Alaina has been a prominent figure in the entertainment industry. She has danced alongside top artists such as Ariana Grande, Kygo, Whitney Houston, Cardi B, Pitbull, and Panic! At The Disco. Additionally, her resume includes national commercials for Ford and LG.

After years of performing, Alaina has channeled her passion into teaching at her own home studio, James Dance and Performing Arts Center, where she inspires the next generation of dancers with her wealth of experience and dedication to the art.

Erin Miller grew up in Houston, Texas, and began studying Dance at age 3 and performing in community theater productions by the age of 4. After years of training, she found a love for creating dances and began choreographing routines for her dance studio’s competition team. Erin has studied the dance styles of: Ballet/Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Modern, Lyrical, Pom/Drill, and Musical Theatre. She has performed on the main stage of Carnival Cruise Lines (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015) with top performing group “Reaction” based out of Houston, TX.

After graduating from high school, Erin moved to Northeast Ohio to attend Kent State University with a major in Business Management and a minor in Dance. While at Kent State in 2018, she started teaching group fitness classes and became certified in WERQ Dance Fitness and later POUND Fitness. Erin graduated in 2020 and has been teaching Dance and Fitness in the Northeast Ohio area for the past 5 years. She loves sharing her passion for Dance with the next generation, and is excited to continue it as a teacher and choreographer at James Dance & Performing Arts Center.

Amanda Zakrajsek began dancing at the age of 3 at James Dance & Performing Arts Center, where she now shares her love of dance as an instructor. As a student, she participated on the competition team and Ballet Performance Awards, developing a strong foundation in various dance styles.

A 2010 graduate of Howland High School, Amanda was a four-year majorette and continued performing as a majorette at Youngstown State University while earning her undergraduate degrees in Exercise Science and Biology. She later completed her Doctorate in Physical Therapy.

Amanda returned to teaching at James Dance in 2018 and brings her love of ballet to her students. She has trained with the American Academy of Ballet, both as a student and an instructor.