Our Staff Has Over 350 Years Of Professional Teaching

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Ashley Litwin is the proud director & owner of the Anna Marie Dance Studio! She started her dance career right here under the direction of her great aunt, Anna Marie Leo. Ashley attended College at the University of Delaware majoring in Psychology and minoring in Neuroscience while teaching at studios all over the tristate area. 

Ashley has been dancing for over 35 years. During that time she has represented Delaware in the Los Angeles, California International Dance Festival, worked with Opera Delaware, Bob McGrath’s Sesame Street tour and preformed in Disneyland on several occasions. One of her greatest accomplishments was setting her own choreography for a Disneyland’s Fantasyland Theatre.

After college she returned home to help with her family’s studio. In August of 2012 Ashley and her husband Chris took over the business. They eventually moved AMDS to its current state of the art facility located at 801 Philadelphia Pike, complete with four class rooms. 

Ashley’s passion for dance has been with her since birth. She dedicates her time to building the professional, family friendly environment that AMDS has always cultivated. She still finds time to be wife and mom to three little ones, and works with several local charities. 

Sonny is a Wilmington native, having taught for The Anna Marie Dance

Studio for over 40 years. Although Delaware has been his home, his

performing career has taken him across the country and back.

Sonny’s professional performing credits span over four decades as well.These include touring with Freda Payne in the Broadway production of Sophisticated Ladies, working with Anthony Newley in the pre-Broadway show Chaplin, as well as working with many other greats including Maurice Hines, Dee Hoty and Marc Jacoby.

Locally, Mr. Leo has been a featured performer at TheWalnut Street

Theater in productions such as 42nd Street, State Fair, Forbidden

Broadway, Oliver, Elf, The Musical. Sonny has many local performing

credits including productions at The Kimmel Center, Society Hill

Playhouse and Act II Playhouse in Ambler, Pennsylvania where he was

featured in productions such as Kiss Me Kate and Souvenir, A Fantasia

on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins.

Sonny is thrilled to be a teacher and choreographer as we are headed into the 71st season of the Anna Marie Dance Studio.

With 28 years as a student and 20 years teaching and choreographing, Jim grew into the dance world virtually his whole life. After over a decade on stage in the competitive circuit, he ventured onto becoming a team director at his family’s dance studio where he would eventually earn numerous studio director and choreography awards. Even though his primary focus is hip hop, he also enjoys teaching Acro, contemporary and jazz. Throughout his summers in high school, Jim performed in off-Broadway shows with Dan Karaty’s “Shake the Floor” summer intensive. He would then move on to be a featured dancer in Santalina’s “Kick In the Door” music video. After that, Jim performed as a backup dancer with Jade Starling and Pretty Poison for almost 15 years traveling from New York to Florida, across the country to Texas and California. In 2009 he performed at the “Eat Bulaga” Philippine Festival in Atlantic City. One of Jim’s proudest moments includes being invited to continue onto “Vegas Week” in Fox’s hit show “So You Think You Can Dance.” Honored to be an original founder of Point Blank Dance Crew, they opened for America’s Best Dance Crew’s Kaba Modern at Philadelphia’s Transit Night Club. Together the crew performed at venues in Boston, Chicago, Virginia Beach, New Brunswick, Cherry Hill, Atlantic City, and their hometown of Philadelphia. In 2014, Point Blank had the opportunity of competing at Hip Hop International in Las Vegas. Aside from that, they have taught nationwide, raising money and donating to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Since 2006, Jim has traveled with Monsters of Hip Hop where he trained with well-renowned international choreographers. In 2016, he was honored with the “Monsters 4 Life” award, allowing free training at any Monsters convention for life. Jim continues to teach and choreograph for various studios and companies across the tristate area. He is committed to educating the dance community. His passion for dance and music inspires and invokes dancers to appreciate and excel in the art. 

Isabel Garcia Kaplan is a Delaware and Philadelphia Area based professional dancer and choreographer. A Maryland native, she trained most notably at Edna Lee Dance Studio with Ashley Canterna Hardy and Mary Moran. Isabel received Bachelor of Arts degrees in Dance and in Communications from DeSales University, where she trained under Trinette Singleton, Timothy Cowart, Tara Madsen Robbins, and Lynn Mariani. She then moved to New York City, where she was based for six years pursuing professional Musical Theatre and continuing her dance training.

In New York City, Isabel trained primarily at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway with various industry experts and Broadway Choreographers or Associate Choreographers. She has also attended several workshops, including a Fosse Legacy Workshop with Anne Reinking. Isabel has worked with accoladed choreographers such as Alex Sanchez and Richard Hinds, and she has performed the original choreography of Jerome Robbins (West Side Story), Bob Fosse (Chicago), and Alwin Nikolais (“Tensile Involvement”). Her professional performance credits include musicals with various regional theaters and Shakespeare Festivals, as well as a Christmas show at Hersheypark.

With over 25 years of dance training, Isabel has also choreographed since her youth and taught for twelve years. She has guest taught at studios in Alabama, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, and in Maryland, where she served ten years as a guest teacher and choreographer for Studio Dans. Her choreography has earned multiple top-score awards, choreography awards, and special recognitions at dance competitions. Recently Isabel has been teaching dance at Paul VI High School as a temporary long-term substitute instructor. You will find her most frequently teaching Jazz and Musical Theatre classes, as well as substituting in additional disciplines such as Ballet and Lyrical throughout the Delaware, Philadelphia, and South New Jersey regions.