At a Glance
About this studio
Professional Training in a Positive Environment
The Philadelphia Dance Academy is a premier dance studio in Philadelphia offering professional ballet, contemporary, and theater dance training for children, teens, and adults in Philadelphia and the Main Line. For more than 20 years, our goal at The Philadelphia Dance Academy has been to provide exceptional dance training in a professional and positive environment. We view each student as an individual and aim to ensure each student reaches their maximum potential. Students are placed in appropriate training programs and taught by a professional, experienced faculty.
PDA is honored to be named the 2025 "Best Dance Studio" by Philadelphia Family Magazine and 2025 "Best Dance School for Children" by Metro Philly, serving families across Old City in Center City Philadelphia and Ardmore on the Main Line.
Dance styles offered
Special programs
Our Faculty
The Philadelphia Dance Academy is led by Director Lori Lahnemann, Ed.M., who founded PDA in 2005 after training under Nina Fedorova, a New York City Ballet principal dancer. Lahnemann is an American Ballet Theatre® Certified Teacher and holds certifications spanning Progressing Ballet Technique and Pilates, alongside a Master's degree in Elementary Education.
PDA's faculty is extraordinary for a studio of its size, featuring multiple former Pennsylvania Ballet (now Philadelphia Ballet) Principal Dancers and Soloists — including Amy Aldridge, James Ihde, and Jennifer Smith, PDA's Principal Teacher of 14 years, who danced featured and principal roles with Pennsylvania Ballet for over two decades. The team also includes Blake Krapels, a Juilliard graduate and former BalletX company member; dancers trained at San Francisco Ballet School, Sarasota Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Kansas City Ballet; and Jennifer Lameo, one of the very first "Rockette Assistants" at Radio City Music Hall. This concentration of real, sustained professional company experience gives PDA students access to instruction virtually unmatched among youth studios.