Find What Moves You!
Jacqueline J. Swetz
Owner/Director
Tap/Ballet/Jazz
Miss Jackie has been dancing for more than
30 years and is certified by the Dance
Educators of America in Tap, Jazz, Ballet and Musical Theatre.
She holds her degree in Early Childhood Education and Psychology from Lehman College in the Bronx. She was a New York City school teacher for several years while performing and continuing her dance studies. In addition to teaching all of the subjects to her class, Jackie was responsible for organizing performances and assemblies for the school.
Her training has been with Gus Giordano, Charles Kelly, Joe Tremaine, Dorothy Jaggi, Andrea Verdeschi, Bobby Gerlich, and Jules Faber.
She has recently been choreographing for Union Vale Middle School’s musicals (The Coney Island of Dr. Moreau, In St. Louis, at the Fair, A Pirates Life for Me, Time and Time Again, Aladdin Jr, and Seussical Jr) in the Arlington School district. Miss Jackie's performance credits include dancing with the 20th Century Foxes Dance Troupe, Tommy Tune, the RedMagik Dancers and Composer Cris Spinner. She has performed at Bally's in Atlantic City, the Catskills Nightclub circuit (The Brown’s, The Neville, The Concord, Kutscher’s), The United Nations, Rye Town Hilton, Actor's Conservatory Theatre, and HersheyPark with husband Tom. Miss Jackie’s most important achievement is being the proud mother of her sons TJ and Brandon.
TJ Swetz
Teacher
Tap/Hip Hop
Musical Theatre
Private Voice
TJ Swetz is a professional actor, singer, dancer, and teacher currently residing in the Hudson Valley. TJ graduated from Western Connecticut State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theater and a Bachelor of Science in Music Education. He has over 15 years of dance training, worked in professional theater companies, and helps to train young performers wanting to audition for professional theater. Tap is his favorite style and he likes to bring in new and interesting rhythms that can explore different sounds that complement the music.
TJ has been teaching kids for about 10 years now traveling between NY and CT teaching musical theater camps/masterclasses/private lessons (Star 2 B, ERA Productions, Fineline Theater Arts, Dutchess Community College Performing Arts Institute, Workspace Academy). TJ was grateful to accept the Distinguished Performance by an Actor in a Musical for his role of Robert Martin in The Drowsy Chaperone by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (his college’s 2016 production). His fun, loving, and energetic teaching style is what drives students to take his classes again and again.
TJ teaches private lessons (voice, piano, audition prep) out of In Motion Dance Center (both online and in person coming soon). Please contact him at tjswetz@gmail.com or 845-337-6552 for pricing.
Alicia Briley
Teacher Hip Hop
Miss Alicia is a passionate, dedicated, caring and positive teacher. She has been taking dance lessons since the age of two. She trained at A&E Dance Studio, Broadway Dance Center, The Country Academy of Dance, and the Happy Feet Dance School. Miss Alicia focuses on challenging her students to grow in not just the dance style at hand but also to help build each dancer's self-esteem.
Miss Alicia studied elementary education and dance at Sacred Heart University. She also studied music therapy and sound healing therapy at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Miss Alicia is a certified applied behavioral analysis therapist. During the weekdays, Miss Alicia is a teacher at a local school district. The styles of dance she has trained in are hip-hop, dancehall, heels, tap, musical theatre, contemporary, modern, commercial dance, choreography, and artistic development.
Miss Alicia has performed at SUNY Purchase, Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts, Klein Memorial Auditorium, Foxwoods Grand Theater, and local theatres. Miss Alicia was a dancer in the 2021 NY Jets Halftime Holiday Spectacular and a background singer for the Sarah Brightman Hymn World Tour. Miss Alicia is looking forward to teaching at IMDC!
Thomas P. Swetz
Owner/Office Manager
Lighting &Sound Design
Scene Design
Tech Director
Tom has been an entertainer performing throughout the Tri-state area for the last 40 years. He attended Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in the Bronx as a Theater Major and graduated Summa Cum Laude from WCSU in Danbury, CT with a BA in Theater Arts performance option. He also holds an MFA in Theatre Arts Technical Direction thru the University of Idaho. Tom is the Theatre Production Coordinator/Technical Direcotr/Shop Supervisor at Western Connecticut State Univeristy. He was the Production Manager/Technical Director for ACT of Connecticut in Ridgefield, CT, a regional theater. He has worked as part of the Adjunct Faculty at WCSU as one of the Technical Directors/Production Manager. He has also been the Technical Director for Sharon Playhouse in Sharon, CT. His training is varied from voice and acting to dance, stage combat, makeup, scene design and construction, lighting and sound design, magic and juggling. He has had the privilege of training with B. H. Barry, Joe Travers, Nathan DeCoux, Ian Rose, and Brad Lemon for Stage combat, Doug Bischoff of Youth On The Move, Thom Houser, and Janelle Robinson for Voice, performing illusions by Franz Harary, and performing for both Ron Howard and Robin Williams. Most recently, Tom has worked on the Harrison Ford movie, Morning Glory, appeared in an episode of MERCY, and the Showtime series The Big C. Tom spent three years performing for Hershey Park, two with Allan Albert Productions and the third was a magical, musical, pirate show he wrote, produced and performed with Jackie, his wife of 30 years. He has performed the lead roles in Godspell (Jesus/Stephen), Pippin (Pippin/Magic Consultant), and Oklahoma (Curly), as well as supporting roles in Geography of a Horse Dreamer, West Side Story (Snowboy), Hello Dolly (Barnaby), Grease (Roger), and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Simeon), both on the Community as well as the Regional Theater Level. His performances have taken him throughout the area, from New York to Pennsylvania to Germany and back. He has performed for Actor’s Conservatory Theater, IBM, Westchester Medical Center, Blythedale Children's Hospital, Hudson Valley Credit Union, Hershey Park, Chevrolet, The Star of the North Games, Beekman Recreation Department, Poughkeepsie Recreation, the Towns of Millbrook, Dover, and Pawling, Ann’s Place, Arlington School District, German American Society in Peekskill, The Scottish Society, Play and Learn, Trinity Pre-school, Natural Wonders, and Traumland Park in Germany. Tom is a member of the SAFD (Society of American Fight Directors), SAM (Society of American Magicians), NYSTEA (New York State Theater Educators Association), (United States Institute of Theatre Technology)
He is also the proud father of two very talented young men, TJ who is one of our teachers as well as a high school choir teacher for Newburgh Free Academy and Brandon, who is a Medical Assistant for Partners in Safety.
Jayda Woodall
Teacher Hip Hop
Jazz Assistant
Jayda Woodall is an educator, dancer, and creative from the Hudson Valley. She brings a rich background in both education and dance to her role at our studio. Her artistic journey commenced through musical theatre at eight years old. She has participated in ten productions that ignited her passion for the arts. Through these musicals, she was exposed to jazz, lyrical, and tap. Her two favorite roles include Deloris in “Sister Act” for her character’s humor and Nautica in "Bring it On" as she could use her hip-hop skills. Jayda has also contributed choreographed selections to musicals such as "Beauty and the Beast" and "Musicville" for youth theatre groups.
Jayda's initial dance passion was sparked by hip hop, which she embraced at 12. Her teaching experience spans adult hip-hop and intermediate teen hip-hop classes across Dutchess County. Her dedication to various dance forms extends to teaching hip hop, Afro-Caribbean, and acro, engaging students of all ages, from 4-year-olds to adults. Her love for Afro-Caribbean Dance stemmed from her college experience. While earning her Bachelor's in Childhood Education from SUNY Oneonta, she actively contributed to the school's dance team and assumed the role of President in her final year. She then went on to earn her Master's in Literacy Education (K-6). Most recently, she spent the last dance season introducing a group of students in Wappingers to the Afro-Caribbean dance style.
She loves teaching dance regardless of the dance style and group. Jayda Woodall embodies a fusion of education and movement, inspiring students to explore their creative potential while nurturing a love for dance in a supportive, inclusive environment.