Dawn Laviola-Schaub

Artistic Director

Dawn Laviola-Schaub has been teaching children the art of dance for 30 years and has been the artistic director at the Performing Arts Academy for 23 years.

She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Montclair State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and is the proud mother of two children, Tyler and Jolie.

She has performed on television’s Star Search and in MTV music videos, and has worked with the Jennifer Mueller Dance Company in NYC. Dawn has also performed throughout Belgium and France.

Dawn was a scholarship student at the Broadway Dance Center, Steps and Theatre Dance in NYC, and was also on the faculty at Montclair State University. She is a member of Dance Masters of America NYC and CT chapters. She has taught master classes, and has adjudicated at numerous dance conventions throughout the US and Canada. In 1999, she was the choreographer of Dance Masters of America’s National Teen Miss and Mr. Dance of America Opening Routine.

Dawn has been the recipient of numerous choreography awards over the years. In 2000, she was named America’s National Choreographer of the Year by American Dance Awards. In 2008, she was bestowed a National Choreography award by Starpower National Talent Competition, and in 2013, she was given the National Acrobatic Choreographer of the Year Award by United States Tournament of Dance.

Dawn’s students have performed in MTV music videos, in Atlantic City, on soap operas, and in national commercials. They can also be seen in many Broadway shows and national tours, including Saturday Night Fever, Contact, Footloose, Wicked, Knicks City Dancers, and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.