Tammy's School of Dance
Studio V Dance
the next generation
Tammy Clune
Owner/Director
Tammy Clune is proud to be the Owner/Director of Tammy’s School of Dance in Wexford. With over 35 years of teaching experience, Tammy still loves spending time instructing children of all ages and levels.
Tammy grew up dancing in the Pittsburgh area and was a student of many professional dancers and choreographers. She attends, along with her students, annual dance conventions throughout the U.S. where she learns the latest teaching styles and techniques. Before opening this studio in 1995, Tammy started successful dance programs in the North Hills School District for over 1,000 students.
Many of the TSD students have received awards including “Studio Dancer of the Year” at Tremaine Dance Conventions in NYC, “Outstanding Performance in Jazz/Contemporary/Musical Theatre” at JUMP dance conventions and several choreography awards. Tammy’s School of Dance has been honored by the community multiple times as “North Hills Best Dance Studio of the Year” and “Best Instructor of the Year”. Because of Tammy’s experience, she is able to offer the highest quality of instruction in all areas and levels of dance. Technique, performance, stage presence and building self-esteem is our focus, not competition. Tammy is very proud to offer quality instruction with a fabulous staff and flexible schedules for busy families.
Tammy has traveled to Las Vegas where she successfully completed the Module One Acrobatic Arts Teacher Certification Course. Acrobatic Arts is now part of the TSD Acrodance curriculum. She also attended the Dance Teacher Web Conference with her Assistant Director and daughter Victoria. Tammy resides in Harmony Twp. with her husband Chris and has two daughters, Amber and Victoria.
Victoria Clune
Assistant Director
Victoria discovered her love of dance when she enrolled with Tammy’s School of Dance at the age of two. She is actively involved and spends countless hours at TSD training and living her dream of teaching the younger dancers. Victoria’s teaching experience started at age nine as a teacher’s assistant. Two years later she was running summer dance camps with the help of Miss Tammy, after school dance programs and dance birthday parties. Her experience with teaching ages 3-18 is a great advantage in the field of dance.
In addition to dancing, Victoria enjoys anything to do with performing on stage. She performed in all 4 North Allegheny Musicals during High School and was selected as the Dance Captain during her Junior and Senior years. Since graduating from NA in 2017, Victoria has been actively involved in the district’s Middle School Musical program. She has had the opportunity to choreograph shows such as The Lion King Jr, Elf the Musical, High School Musical Jr, Newsies Jr, and is currently working on the next show. Along with her musical theatre performances, Victoria was been selected to perform with Millennium Dance Complex for the Harlem Globetrotters Halftime Show as well as take part in a music video choreographed and directed by Point Park University graduates.
Victoria values every second she gets to work alongside her mom and mentor Tammy. When she is not in the studio teaching or learning, Victoria continues her education through in-person and online dance courses. She is currently certified in Acrobatic Arts Training, NDEO Pedagogy and Content Knowledge of Dance, and Developmental Domains in Dance.
Victoria has attended many dance conventions in Las Vegas, Nashville, New York City and Pittsburgh over the past decade, having the opportunity to train under some of the most highly respected and talented instructors in the industry. Victoria is more than ready to share her passion and knowledge of dance with others. She takes great pride in her position at Tammy’s School of Dance and can’t wait to begin her 7th season with the students of TSD!
Kate Pompa
Kate began her dance career at 3 years old at the Hamilton School of Dance on Long Island, New York. As a student at the BOCES High School for Performing Arts, Kate started performing regularly with the school's cultural arts company, specializing in the areas of ballet, lyrical, and contemporary dance. Kate performed in numerous Long Island productions including Hofstra University's Cabaret, St. Gregory Theatre's Guys and Dolls, and the Rockville Centre Guild for the Art's Little Mary Sunshine and Damn Yankees.
Kate moved to Pittsburgh in 1998 to train at the Conservatory of Performing Arts where she earned her Bachelors in Dance and had the opportunity to study under many esteemed dance professionals including Nicholas Petrov, Ronald Tassone, Judith Leifer-Bentz and many others. Kate was able to perform at the Pittsburgh Playhouse in various productions including Cinderella, Passions of Dance, as well as, featuring her choreography in Playhouse Dance Company's Tomorrow's Choreographers.
Kate discovered her love for teaching when she became an instructor at Miss Holly's Dance Studio as it opened its doors to the Plum community in 1999 and where she remained for the following 16 years.
With a move to the Franklin Park area with her husband, son and daughter Kate is excited to begin as a member of the TSD faculty where she hopes to continue to share her love of dance with all of her new students!
Summer Salos
Summer is a native of Kent Island, MD. Growing up, she spent her time
attending the Point Park Summer International Dance Intensive, the CLI Conservatory
Summer Intensive, and the More Than Motion Mentor Program where she interned for
their intensive. Currently, Summer is attending Slippery Rock University pursuing a
B.F.A. in Dance and touring nationally with Revel Dance Convention as a professional
assistant. She has worked with many well-known choreographers such as Emily Buffard,
Lisette Bustamante, Julie Carter, Braham Logan Crane, Hannah Easley, Holden Maples,
Jay Mills, SKooJ, DJ Smart, Trevor Sones, and more. Performing credits include
dancing at the half-time show for the Harlem Globetrotters and the Harlem Wizards,
performing at the AIM Invitational (NYC), and recently performing at Miller
Auditorium in the pieces ROVE (Ryan P. McMullen), CAN’T REMAIN AFRAID (Auriana
Carrington), and ESTRANGEMENT (Kaitlin Halushka).
grace barcaskey
Grace began her career in dance at the age of 2 but enrolled in TSD at the age of 5! Grace
trained under Miss Tammy Clune and other incredible TSD staff until she graduated in 2020.
During her time at Tammy’s School of Dance, Grace was able to attend dance conventions and
learn and train under some of the biggest names in the dance industry. There, she won
specialty awards such as Studio Dancer of the Year, Excellence in Jazz, and Excellence in Lyrical.
Her love for dance also grew at her high school where she was a member of the
Pine Richland High School Dance Team for four years. Her senior year, she was named captain of the dance team, leading the team to a successful year, on and off the field.
She was also a member of the Pine-Richland High School Musicals all four years of High School. She was named Dance Captain her Junior and Senior Years. She recently returned to Pine-Richland High School as the musical choreographer!
Grace started her dance teaching career subbing at TSD after graduating from High School. Grace, then went to Ohio University and tried out to be a member of the Ohio University Dance Team. She performed on
the OUDT at football and basketball games and other school related events! Grace
transferred to Duquesne University to further pursue a degree in Early Education and a master’s degree in Reading and Literacy Specialist in 2022. She will graduate in December 2024.
Grace is excited to work with the TSD students and faculty for another amazing season!
PAIGE BUCHA
Paige started dancing at the age of four and never stopped. During her time as a student, Paige trained in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, and musical theatre. She discovered her love for teaching at age fourteen when she became a student instructor at Richelle Lyn School of Dance. There, she worked with students ages two through ten and decided that she wanted teaching to be a lifelong endeavor. While in high school, Paige danced competitively, and also participated in many conventions, workshops, and intensives to further learn and grow as an artist. Paige continued her dance education at Slippery Rock University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in dance. Throughout college, she was very active in the dance department, serving as the Vice President of Slippery Rock University’s National Honor Society for Dance Arts (NHSDA) chapter. She was also a member of the Dance Express dance team, and performed at many Slippery Rock University events. During her college years, Paige taught classes at Richelle Lyn School of Dance and Tammy’s School of Dance as a substitute teacher. She has also organized and taught several summer dance camps at Dance Unleashed. Outside of the studio Paige is a teacher, where she brings movement and dancing to her own classroom each and every day. Paige is thrilled to be a Tammy’s School of Dance instructor and looks forward to sharing her love of dance with all of her students!
Amanda newton
While Amanda Newton has enjoyed the many previous TSD appearances, she is thrilled to be joining the official teaching team. She brings over 20 years of dance teaching experience with her. Amanda has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Youngstown State University where she studied psychology and dance. While there, she was president of the YSU Dance Club and secretary of the YSU Dance Ensemble, where she created various dance pieces. She was also the Kocinski Award Recipient for top senior in dance.
Amanda has performed with various groups including dArt Movement, Squonk Opera’s “Pittsburgh: The Opera,” Just Got To Dance, and the Walnut Street Lodge Players. She has choreographed for a variety of shows including “Seussical The Musical,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Li’l Abner,” dance school recitals and competitions, as well as for weddings. Amanda is a former educational director for the Pittsburgh Dance Alloy Theater. She is also a graduate of Dance Masters of America’s Teacher Training School, where she is certified by test to teach ballet, tap, jazz, and modern dance.
Amanda has also participated in the local social dance community by teaching, DJing, and planning national level events. She has attended numerous swing dance exchanges and workshops throughout the country. She has tested into master-level classes with SparX Lindy Hop. Swing dancing has taken her all the way to the Guinness World Book as a record holder for the “Longest Dance Party.”
She considers herself to be a lifelong student by attending various teachers’ training programs in-person and online including DanceLife Teacher Conference, Dance Teacher Web Live Conference, Dance Masters of America Teachers’ Training School, and others. She enjoys attending tap dance festivals with some favorites including RIFF Tap Festival, DC Tap Festival, Third Coast Rhythm Project, Fingerlakes Tap Festival, Tapology Dance Festival, and Rock City Tap Festival. She has also attended both the Chicago Tap Summit and Resonance Tap Experience on full teacher scholarships. She also enjoys attending dance conventions with her students.
Kristin barcaskey
Kristin began her dance career at the age of two in the Baden/Economy area at Miss Louise’s
School of Dance. She grew up loving the art of dance, and she was enrolled in every class she
could take. She performed in many recitals and a few competitions at Miss Louise’s. She ended
up continuing her dance training at Miss Louise’s where she was a Teacher’s Assistant and
eventually a teacher, herself. She taught many styles and ages in dance and loved every minute
of it. She danced at Miss Lousie’s for 15+ years until she graduated from Ambridge High School
and went to college.
When Kristin graduated from Ambridge High School in 1990, she studied Biology at Ohio
University in Athens, Ohio. While at Ohio University, she continued taking dance classes
whenever she could. She then graduated from Ohio University with a Biology degree and
continued her education at the University of Pittsburgh where she earned her master’s degree
in physical therapy. During this time, she took many adult dance classes and performed in a few
recitals!
Kristin lives in the Pine-Richland area with her husband, two daughters, one son, and two
puppies. She has been a Pediatric Physical Therapist for 27+ years working in a variety of
settings and with children of various ages and abilities. Her two daughters, Grace and Ella, both
danced at Tammy’s from a young age, making Kristin the ultimate Dance Mom! Kristin has
loved being a part of the Tammy’s School of Dance family from the Dance Mom angle, but she
is even more excited to further her dance career teaching at the studio where her girls grew up
and her entire family loves!
MADISYN MONTGOMERY
At the age of five, Madisyn took numerous acting and musical theater classes which eventually led her to discover her love of dance. She received her formal dance training from The Dance Company for the Performing Arts under the direction of Patricia McKeown and Breanne Angelo-Watters in North Versailles. Madisyn’s summers were spent attending intensives with companies like Paul Taylor, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Limón. Soon she came to the realization she wanted to make a life out of the arts.
Madisyn graduated valedictorian of her high school class and chose to pursue a degree in contemporary dance at The University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She was a recipient of The Robert & Sonja Lindgren Scholarship, The Festival of North Carolina Dance Scholarship, and The Sarah Graham Kenan Endowed Scholarship in Excellence. Here she studied techniques like Cunningham, Limón, Countertechnique, and Release Technique along with courses beyond performing like composition, pedagogy, and music theory. During Madisyn’s time at UNCSA, she performed works by notable choreographers including José Limón, Clay Taliaferro, Gaspard Louis, Ashley Lindsey, Kira Blazek-Ziaii, Trisha Brown, Mariana Oliveira, Shen Wei, and Igal Perry. Not only was she able to build her performance resume, UNCSA facilitated many opportunities for student choreography. This allowed Madisyn to explore choreographing on herself and other large groups.
She graduated in 2023 and moved back home to Pittsburgh. In August of that same year, she was offered a contract with Shana Simmons Dance and has been dancing with them since. This is Madisyn's first year at Tammy's School of Dance and she is so excited to be here!
VALERIE ZAPPIA
Valerie started her dance career at age 2 at Cynthia’s School of Dance. She danced there competitively and took baton classes. Eventually, Valerie became a student at Tammy’s School of Dance and was a member of their performance group. She took classes in tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, lyrical, hip hop, and musical theater (and learned under Miss Tammy herself)! She also attended many dance conventions with TSD in New York City to learn from the best in the industry.
Valerie was also a member of Act One while she took classes at Tammy’s and performed in Honk, Joseph and the Technicolored Dreamcoat, and Seussical the Musical. She served as a Dance Captain for all three musicals.
Valerie attended North Allegheny High School and was a member of their varsity dance team for all four years. She served as captain both her Junior and Senior years and led the team to win various awards in Myrtle Beach, SC and Disney World, FL. While in high school, Valerie danced competitively for Center Stage Dance Academy and received numerous platinum awards for both solos and duets (most notably a tap duet to songs from Sister Act)! She studied tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, lyrical, hip hop, musical theater, and pom while at Center Stage and took classes at Broadway Dance Center in New York City.
Since graduating high school, Valerie has served as a judge for North Allegheny’s dance team auditions. She took numerous ballet and dance history classes while in college at Wake Forest University and was a member of their tap performance group. Most recently, Valerie studied hip hop and lyrical while residing in Chicago.
Outside the studio, Valerie just moved back to Pittsburgh to work for Victoria’s Secret & Company full-time as a data analytics manager and CPA. She has a degree in finance and economics from Wake Forest, a master’s degree in accounting from Pitt, and an MBA in data analytics from DePaul University.
Valerie is absolutely thrilled to become an instructor and cannot wait to share her love of dance with all her new students! She is a huge Swiftie so look forward to hearing a lot of Taylor in her classes!