Founder & CEO

Currently based in Philadelphia, Emma Valeria Girandola is a choreographer and performance artist born and raised in the rural area of Yardley, Pennsylvania.  Emma’s formal training began at The Princeton Ballet School in the pre-professional workshop program, while touring with The American Repertory Ballet in the production of The Nutcracker, over a span of ten years.  Following her career with The Princeton Ballet School, Emma went on to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Dance and Economics at Temple University, located in Philadelphia.  Here, her training has been influenced by artists such as: Dr. Kariamu Welsh, Kun-Yang Lin, and Dara Meredith-Stevens. 

As her connection to Dr. Welsh grew, Emma became a member of Kariamu & Company for which she performed Two Women in several venues such as: the University of Pennsylvania and the 92Y in 2015.  In 2016, Emma took the role of lead dancer in Dr. Welsh’s production, Julie!: Influx.  In 2018, Emma’s own choreographic work, [ey-vis], was selected for the American College Dance Association Regionals Conference in West Chester, PA, and advanced to the Nationals Conference in Washington, DC, at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  Outside of Temple University, Emma has performed works in KYLD’s Inhale/Exhale Series, the 2018 Philadelphia Fringe Arts Festival, and the 2019 WHITEWAVE SoloDuo Dance Festival. 

In 2016 Emma began interning at the Rock School for Dance Education as a teaching assistant. From there, she was hired by The Philadelphia Dance Academy as a dance educator for levels Pre-K to Ballet 2/2x. Emma has remained at The Philadelphia Dance Academy for four years where she has learned from the Director and Founder, Lori Lahnemann, how to establish and promote a positive teaching environment. Lori’s mission to promote positive teaching throughout her school has inspired Emma in every way. As Emma has worked to gather this information and ask herself how she can influence the dance community, her ideas led to a multifaceted production company. Her passion to live a plentiful life through her art has inspired her to establish her own company, Valerius Productions, where artists are encouraged to take ownership of their craft.