Instructors
Linda Del Monte
Linda Del Monte (Miss Linda) President and Founding Artistic Director of Linda’s Ballet Workshop, Inc. began her dance training at age nine in Schenectady, New York. That first class was the beginning of a love that would last a life-time. As a youth, she danced with the Schenectady Civic Ballet Company and Phyllis Mermein’s Ballet Workshop. Upon completion of Dance Educator’s of America Teacher Training Program, under the direction of Gertrude Hallenbeck, Linda scored a 100% on the teacher certification exam. She was the first student in DEA history to achieve such an honor. After serving as Miss Hallenbeck’s assistant, Linda moved to Woodbridge and in 1982 she began teaching ballet in her basement studio. She continued her studies with Oleg Tupine of the Virginia Ballet Company and in 1990 moved Linda’s Ballet Workshop, Inc. to Dillingham Square. Miss Linda continuously attends dance workshops, seminars, training schools and live performances of world class ballet companies. She has had the pleasure of working extensively with Edward Villella, Founding and Artistic Director of Miami City Ballet Company, Raymond Lukens, internationally known teacher, Ballet Master and Artistic Associate, ABT/NYC Masters Program, and Charles Kelley, Director of the Dance Educators of America Teacher Training School. Owning her own studio and teaching her beloved ballet is indeed her dream come true!
Allison Erale
Allison Erale (Miss Alli) began her dance training at the age of two in the first ballet class ever held by Linda’s Ballet Workshop, Inc. She came downstairs of her home and joined a class with her sister and her friends taught by her mom, Miss Linda. When she got tired, she rested with her blanket. Dance has always been a very important part of her life and as the studio grew, so did Miss Alli. She never stopped taking class. She began with ballet then later added tap, jazz, pointe and lyrical always studying at LBW. Miss Alli began assisting her mom with ballet classes when she was ten years old. She started teaching her own tap and jazz classes at age sixteen. Her studies expanded to include instruction with Kathryn Fredgren of the Arlington Center for Dance, Mimi Helmuth in intensive private tap dance workshops, and Oleg Tupine of the Virginia Ballet Company. In July of 2002, Miss Alli participated in a comprehensive six day intensive with the Dance Educators of America Teacher Training School at the University of Nevada Las Vegas Campus. Upon completion of a very difficult exam, she received her Level I teaching certification. Again, in July of 2003, she returned to that same program where she received her Level II certification. In July of 2004, Miss Alli completed the program and received her Level III teacher training certificates. Miss Alli continuously attends dance workshops, seminars and live performances to further her knowledge of dance. Her classes are ever increasing in size and variety. She is greatly loved and admired by her students and their parents.
Chelsea Norris
Chelsea Norris (Miss Chelsea) fell in love with ballet at 3 years old when she began taking classes with Juanita Wilson Duquette at the Wilson School of Dance in Charlottesville, VA. Upon moving to Hawaii, she continued dancing under the direction of Virginia Holte and Kathleen Shulz at Maui Academy of Performing Arts. Here she had the opportunity to dance in The Nutcracker for the first time (later dancing in The Nutcracker again with the Manassas Ballet Theater). While living in Hawaii, Chelsea also studied hula dance & performed in the Hula Bowl. When her family moved back to Virginia, Chelsea found her true dance home at Linda’s Ballet Workshop. As a teen she had the honor of being part of LBW’s performing group, Fifth Position. Upon graduating high school, Chelsea began to assist and then teach at Linda’s Ballet Workshop.
Chelsea received her pilates mat teacher certification from Body Arts & Science International (BASI) in 2010 and graduated from the University of Mary Washington in 2012 with a B.S. in Psychology. After graduating, she applied the knowledge from her degree, as well as her experience as an ABA tutor, to create the Adaptive Ballet Class at LBW Dance (her dream come true!). In 2017 Miss Chelsea completed Boston Ballet’s 2 day Adaptive Dance Teacher Training. In 2019, Chelsea completed the 4 year program of Dance Masters of America, earning her diploma from the Teacher Training School (certifying her to teach all levels of ballet, tap, jazz, & modern). Miss Chelsea continues to attend shows, take classes, & seek out opportunities to keep learning. She loves sharing her passion of dance & movement with others at LBW Dance!
Gwyneth Mehr
Gwyneth Mehr (Miss Gwyn) started dancing at the age of 4 at Linda’s Ballet Workshop. She began with a ballet/tap class and before she knew it she was enrolled in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, pointe, modern, hip hop and contemporary. In 2012, Gwyn was accepted into Woodbridge Senior High School’s Center for Fine and Performing Arts Dance Program, where she studied dance history and dance composition in addition to training in ballet, jazz and modern for four years. She started assisting at LBW at the age of 15 and that’s when she realized she wanted to be a dance teacher one day. In the summer of 2017, Gwyn attended Dance Educators of America’s teacher training school in West Palm Beach Florida and became a level 1 certified dance teacher. She went back in 2018 and became level 2 certified. That summer she also completed her Acrobatic Arts certification allowing her to bring Acro to LBW. In 2019, she completed her DEA teacher training when she passed level 3. Although Gwyn finished her training, she is always jumping at opportunities to continue her growth as a dancer, teacher and choreographer. Gwyn is a dedicated teacher who loves sharing her knowledge and passion for dance. She considers herself extremely lucky to be able to do what she enjoys most at the studio where she grew up and thinks of as a second family.
