Meet Our Team
Italia’s CEO & School Principal
Lorenza Manara Marchi
Meet Miss Lorenza! The art of dance has been a passion for Italia’s CEO, Lorenza Manara Marchi, all her life. Born and raised in Florence, Italy, surrounded by the beauty of the classical art of Michelangelo, Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci, she started her training in the Italian method of classic ballet, called the Cecchetti Method, at the Atelier de Danse school in Florence.
After studying for seven years under the supervision of Miss Rita Gramigni and reaching the Advanced 1 Level, she then moved to England, where she continued her training as a teacher of the Cecchetti Method, studying under Miss Elisabeth Swan, who was Chairman of the Cecchetti Society Classical Ballet Faculty committee in the UK, as well as other senior teachers including Miss Gillian Hurst, Miss Kate Simmons, and Miss Cara Drower. During this time, Miss Lorenza spent three years at The Weston School of Dance and a year in the Kate Simmons College Programme, where she received her DDI (Diploma in Dance Instruction, Level 3 of dance training in the UK) as well as her DDE (Diploma in Dance Education, Level 4).
In 2012, Miss Lorenza and her husband, Peter, moved from England to the USA and settled in the northern Shenandoah Valley with the intention of starting Italia Performing Arts. Today, Miss Lorenza serves the school and its students as CEO, School Principal, and head of the Ballet department.
Since moving to the US, Miss Lorenza has continued her studies with Miss Pamela Moore, an examiner of the Cecchetti Council of America, and Miss Jennifer Meyer. Miss Lorenza holds the DDI and DDE in the Cecchetti Method from the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing as well as the Licentiate of the Cecchetti Council of America (CCA). Lorenza is also a Member of the East Coast Committee of the Cecchetti Council of America. She has a passion for the Romantic era of ballet (1820s to 1860s) and is seeking to bring this style back to life in the 21st century.
In addition to her Cecchetti training, Miss Lorenza has broad experience in performing arts and in personal fitness. She is an Acrobatic Arts modules 1 and 2 certified teacher, a Zena Rommett Floor-Barre™ certified teacher, a qualified Pilates instructor, and a member of Mid-Atlantic Dance Masters.
Miss Lorenza also completed a one-year Ministering Arts Program specializing in mime at Mimeistry’s School of Ministering Arts in Pasadena, California, under instructors trained by Marcel Marceau, and she studied languages at the International Academy of Languages in Florence, Italy. She has worked as an international exhibition organizer and as a representative for an Italian fashion designer.
Our Dance Teachers
Eve Haines
Meet Miss Eve! Eve McKennah Haines brings several years of dance experience to Italia Performing Arts with a special focus on Ballet, Modern, and Jazz.
Eve started dancing in her hometown of Frederick, Maryland at the age of two. After training at various studios throughout her childhood, she knew she wanted to dance professionally. She auditioned for a spot at the Barbara Ingram School for The Arts (BISFA). At 16, Eve graduated from BISFA and was accepted into Shenandoah Conservatory. Four years later, she graduated with her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts and a minor in Entrepreneurship. While at the Conservatory, Eve gained many dance and leadership achievements and also became certified in Mat Pilates through Health Fitness Education.
A year after graduation, Eve became the Founder, Artistic Director, and dancer of ArteInMovimento Dance Company, a professional contemporary dance company based in the Shenandoah Valley.
Today, Eve is delighted to bring forth her passion and share her gifts as a dance instructor at Italia Performing Arts.
Heather Schueckler
Meet Miss Heather! Heather Schueckler trained and competed in gymnastics for several years in her youth. She is a certified teacher of Acro Dance for the primary level through level 6. As a former school teacher, Heather loves working with children of all ages and is delighted to teach her students the fundamentals of acrobatic dance technique at Italia Performing Arts.
Julie LaRock
Meet Miss Julie! Julie LaRock brings 10 years of dance experience to Italia Performing Arts. While Julie brings an appreciation for many styles of dance, her first love has always been ballet.
Julie grew up in a large family in the prairie of central Illinois, and began dancing when she was 9 years old. From the beginning, classical ballet captured her attention, and she begged her parents to put her in classes at a local studio which offered classical ballet training. Julie quickly moved to point shoes and an apprenticeship with a small company. She danced many roles as an apprentice and company member during her upper teen years. Her favorite ballets are Don Quixote and Giselle. She was trained by instructors from Joffrey ballet of Chicago, one of Albania’s prima ballerinas, and a principal dancer from Brazil.
Julie is thrilled to join the team at Italia Performing Arts. A mom to 6 kids, she enjoys working with kids, and loves seeing them grow and thrive. And while technique, proper body alignment, posture, and artistry are a focus of her instruction, she also wants her students to truly enjoy dance and the beauty to be found there.
Brittney Schenher
Meet Miss Brittney! Brittney Schenher (Instructor, Choreographer) received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Montclair State University in 2022. She began her training at the age of four at Fort Wayne School of Dance in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and continued her education at Project Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet’s Jazz and Contemporary Trainee Program. Over the years, she has studied under acclaimed choreographers including Christian von Howard, Stephanie Batten-Bland, Larry Keigwin, Pamela Pietro, and Roderick George, and has performed in numerous competitions and professional productions.
Brittney is excited to join the faculty at Italia Performing Arts, where she looks forward to sharing her passion for dance with students of all ages. As an educator, she is dedicated to building strong technical foundations while cultivating expressive artistry. She emphasizes the importance of an inclusive, safe space where movement research, creative exploration, and storytelling are encouraged. She believes in the lifelong power of dance as a form of self-expression and strives to create a structured environment where every student can build confidence and nurture their artistic voice.
Behind the Scenes
Peter Kirk, Business Manager
Every team needs an operator behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly. For Italia Performing Arts, that operator is Peter Kirk. As Italia’s Business Manager, Mr. Peter is responsible for student registration and scheduling, billing, banking, and bookkeeping. You’ll also see him at reception, welcoming students to their classes each week.
In addition to being married to Lorenza Manara Marchi, Italia Performing Arts School Principal and CEO, Mr. Peter brings his own experience to the team. He was born and spent most of his life in southeast England, where he studied physics and mathematics at the University of Cambridge. He spent several years working for GEC Marconi Research before turning his efforts back to higher education, this time studying theology at a master’s level at London Bible College. Following his studies, he became involved with nonprofits Wycliffe Bible Translators and the United Bible Societies and spent several years working as part of a team focused on translating the Bible into the languages of the former Soviet republics.
Soon afterwards, he returned to the UK, where he met Lorenza. A year later, they were married, and four years later, they moved to the USA.