The Dance a Factory was established in 1978 originally near Scranton Pennsylvania. After a moving to Saratoga Springs in 1980, Ms. Carola opened a new studio in Saratoga Springs and since then has taught many thousands of students from nearby communities and Vermont.

Passion for enriching the lives of children has been the driving force behind the philosophy of Ms. Diane while holding a strong knowledge and believe that every child deserves individual attention, patience, care, and the opportunity to achieve their goals and dreams, no matter their age.

Ms. Carola has developed a syllabus that enables every dancer to proceed through the foundation and necessary grades needed to continue growing as a dancer including lifelong lessons regarding commitment, time management, teamwork, dedication, personal goals, compassion, support, and much more throughout each and every class with great success for children even as young as three years old.

A certified member of Dancr Educators of America (certified by test to teach), Ms. Carola has expanded her teaching not only in her own studio but also founded the Lake Avenue Elementary School and Academy of the Holy Names after-school dance program many years ago. She taught for several years at the Galway Central School District teaching dance to hundreds of students from preschool age
through high school, and many dance showcases were held with rave reviews.

Award-winning choreography did not stop there. She was chosen as choreographer for the Galway Players for several years choreographing productions such as “George M”, “Gypsy”, “Annie” , and more. She has choreographed and directed and produced over 100 dance recitals since her career began including Aladdin, the Wizard of Oz, the Little Mermaid, Grease , The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Swan Lake, The Lion king, and many Christmas Spectacular (“Believe”) productions.

Miss Carola continues to study dance with the top professionals in New York City at Alvin Ailey, STEPS on Broadway, and Broadway Dance Center. She gives much credit to her success to her childhood dance teachers,Constance Reynolds (Civic Ballet Center of Scranton PA, Helen Gaus,Ann Marie Turi, Alexi Ramov, and James Sutton. Her parents provided support and encouragement to both Dianne and her sister,who later in life both became professional dancers and choreographers.

Ms. Carola finds the spark in each of her dancers and helps in every way possible to encourage, nurture, and guide her to become the best dancer she can be. Several of her past students have gone on to pursue a career in teaching dance and or performing a New York City stages including her daughter Rachael. To date, we have had up to three generations of women come through our studio doors and it is an honor to have past students return with their own children!