Brienne Marie Dluzniewski started teaching at Piazza Dance Co. in 2001, at the age of 16. She continued teaching until she graduated high school in 2003. She began her dance training at Piazza Dance Co. at the age of three. Brienne has a background in tap, ballet, lyrical, jazz, pointe, modern, musical theatre, hip-hop and salsa. In 1993 she joined the competition company at Piazza Dance Co. Over the ten years she competed she achieved numerous honors such as American Dance Award’s 1st Runner Up Dancer of the Year, for her solo “Teach Me…”, Starbound’s 1st Overall Senior Soloist, for her solo “Gravity”, and American Dance Award’s Young Choreographer Award, for the trio “Can You Hear Me?”, which she co-choreographed with fellow Piazza alums, Nicole Cicala and Angelina Grima. In the summer of 2002 at the Footloose National Competition in Chicago, IL, Brienne placed in the top 5 senior solos and was also a part of the dance “Come Together”, the overall high scoring routine of the entire competition. She is also the recipient of American Dance Award’s Total Package award for her performance and technical abilities. At the age of 8, Brienne participated in the New Olympians International Show Tour where she performed in the Italian cities of Rome and Maori.

During high school, Brienne auditioned and was accepted into the Creative and Performing Arts program (CAPA) at Churchill High School. Brienne actively participated in the dance program and took part in musicals such as West Side Story, Les Miserables, Brigadoon and A Chorus Line. While In CAPA, Brienne received the Best Female Dancer Award in both 2002 and 2003.

To further her career in dance, Brienne auditioned and was accepted into Western Michigan University’s dance program where she pursued her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Brienne was also a recipient of the 2003 Livonia Arts Commission Scholarship and the 2004 Dalton Outstanding Dance Major Scholarship. While at Western, Brienne trained with dancers and choreographers such as George Faison (choreographer of “The Wiz”), Derrick Evans (back-up dancer for Michael Jackson), Sharon Garber (corps member of the Milwaukee Ballet), Frank Chaves (artistic director of River North Dance Company), members of the Martha Graham Dance Company, Pilobolus Dance Theatre and members of the George Balanchine Trust. Brienne was also on the board of Western’s student run dance organization, “Orchesis”. She was also a member of Western Dance Project, the universities own touring dance company. In 2005 Brienne and other members of Western’s dance program were invited to perform in the Masters of African American Choreography Concert at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. for George Faison’s, “Suite Otis”. There they performed along side Philadelphia’s nationally renowned dance company, Philadanco, as well as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and Dance Theatre of Harlem, to name a few. Brienne also holds an RN nursing degree from Madonna University.

Brienne is currently on staff at the Piazza Dance Co. “I am very excited to teach your children and share my love of dance with them. There is nothing more exciting for me than to have influenced a young student to develop a passion for the art of dance.”