We love our students!
Who We Are
Non-Competitive
A non-competitive dance studio with a family atmosphere and judgement-free environment to nurture our students and help them grow not only in dance, but in life.
Highly-trained Instructors
Highly-trained and college-educated instructors, some from Top 5 dance schools in the country, who seek to instill discipline, professionalism, and positive attitudes.
Award-Winning Studio
An award-winning dance studio and small business every year since 2013, and the home of our award-winning performance companies, Parallel and Paradigm.
Continuously Learning
Our instructors pursue learning via professional classes, conventions, training certificates, and guest classes.
CLI Partner Studio
We have partnered with CLI Studios to give our students live and on-demand access to the dance industry’s top choreographers.
Jessica Gallew
Owner, Creative Director & Instructor
Jessica is a native of Philadelphia, PA and is a 2005 graduate from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA with a BA degree in Jazz and Modern Dance Concentration and a Minor in Business. At Point Park, she was able to study with renowned choreographers, professors and teachers who gave her the proper education to instruct. Jessica also was chosen in 2001 as 1 of 30 dancers selected from the entire state of Pennsylvania to attend the Pennsylvania Governors School at Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA as a Jazz Major and then to return as an ATTRA (assistant to teacher and resident advisor) in 2005. For the past 16 years, Jessica has been studying and practicing Hatha and Vinyasa yoga…
Ashley Lowman
Studio Manager & Instructor
Ashley Lowman graduated from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania in 2012 with a BA in dance. While studying there, she had the opportunity to train and choreograph in a variety of styles, including ballet, modern, jazz, tap, hip hop, and contemporary. Throughout college, Ashley danced as a company member in Continuum Dance Theater of Pittsburgh under the direction of Sarah Parker. She has also attended many conventions and intensives throughout her life such as; The Pulse, The Radio City Rockette Summer Intensive, Evolve summer intensive in Pittsburgh, The Teachers Workshop in NYC, and the Dance Teacher Summit….

Heather Collier
Office Manager
Heather was born and raised on the Eastern Shore. After graduating from North Caroline High School in 2002, she had a passion for the medical field and began working “behind the scenes” where she worked alongside a Podiatrist in Annapolis and an Oral Surgeon in Easton for several years. After becoming a mom and realizing her young daughter’s love of dancing for hours on end, she decided to search out the perfect dance studio for her to enroll in. After a short time, Heather quickly fell in love with the staff and students and their contagious energy for the love of dance. She jumped at the chance to join the Step 1 Dance 2 Staff in the fall of 2012. Heather is incredibly grateful for the amazing…
Tia Hydock
Instructor
Tia joined S1D2 as a hip hop student during their 2nd year on Kent Island and was a student for 9 years, expanding her classes to also include contemporary, jazz, partnering, and ballet. As her skills grew, she progressed to serving as a Protege, and eventually a Teacher Trainer, as well as becoming a member of Parallel Performance Company.
After high school graduation, Tia headed to Toronto, Canada to study at the College of Makeup Art & Design and graduated from the Complete Makeup Artist Program. Now a freelance makeup artist, she’s returned home and…

Jens Lee Peterson
Instructor
Jens Lee, a native of New Castle, Pa, is an internationally known and acclaimed Professional Dancer/Teacher/ Choreographer in dance styles such as Ballet, Jazz, Modern (Horton), Tap, Contemporary, Musical Theatre and Ballroom. Starting at a young age in Theatre, Jens has been in over 100 productions through out the East Coast. Some of his Equity gigs include TWELFTH NIGHT/COMEDY OF ERRORS (Great Lakes Theatre which included a performance for a GLT Alumni TOM HANKS), PIPPIN-Dance Captain (Cain Park), ANYTHING GOES/MUSIC MAN (Porthouse Theatre), ALTAR…

Cameryn Kelly
Guest Instructor
Hey guys! Full circle moment for me to be returning to S1D2 as a guest teacher for this season, and I’m SO PUMPED!! Born and raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, I started dancing when I was 5, joined the Step One Dance Two fam when I was 10, and trained under Jess and Ashley until I graduated High School. I attended college at Point Park University for two years studying for my BFA in dance, but this all changed when I was accepted into the inaugural class of the CLI Conservatory directed by Teddy Forance. During my time there, I spent the year living in Massachusetts studying under some of the top professional…

Diana Barlett
Substitute Instructor
Our 2022-2023 Teacher Trainers & Proteges

Emeline
Teacher Trainer
Ashlyn
Teacher Trainer
Rain
Protege Leader
Gavin
Protege
Macie
Protege
Mackenzie
Protege
Skyelynn
Protege
Peyton
Protege
Lily
ProtegeYEARS IN BUSINESS
PLUS AVAILABLE CLASSES
PLUS STUDIO FAMILIES
AWARD-WINNING YEARS
Guess what?
Interesting Facts About S1D2
- Ms. Jess owned and operated Step 1 Dance 2 Academy for two and half years in Kansas before re-opening it in Maryland after her move.
- S1D2 was originally located less than a mile from its current location, across from the Kent Towne Market shopping center, but Ms. Jess had to re-locate due to the rapid influx of students within her first couple years of opening.
- Did you know that we have a dance boutique right on the premises?