Staff results

Staff 376

Host — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:54:00 GMT

Lynn Makiej currently is enjoying the position of executive director after opening the doors of DNE School of Dance thirteen years ago. She fell in love with dance while taking classes at a local dance school as a child. By the age of 13 she was studying Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz and Lyrical in Boston, Massachusetts studying under Rennie, Rhee & Sherry Gold. She was also fortunate enough to also study under Rosanne Ridings & Jose Mateo. She was soon performing in many Boston area productions and fashion shows.

While still in high school, she was given the opportunity to dance with Jean Ann Ryan Productions. After highschool she began her professional dance carreer by dancing Broadway and Las Vegas-style review shows on the Queen Elizabeth II and M.S. Sagafjord. This exciting journey took her from South Africa to Alaska.

Lynn has performed & competed professionally in many national ballroom competitions and since 1992, began to focus on teaching American Style Ballroom.

In 1996, she opened the doors to Dance New England to share & offer her love of dance to everyone. DNE continues to grow in popularity with each passing year - Lynn is now in the thirteenth year of owning and operating one of Greater Boston's greatest dance environments. She has currently taken the position of executive director as she is now sharing ownership of DNE with Mandra Biscornet as artistic director and Susan Webster as our financial director. She continues to inspire the art of dance to all ages and is loving every minute of it.

Disciplines: Ballet, Ballroom, Tap, Jazz, Lirical

Staff 361

Host — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:50:00 GMT

Sue Webster has recently become our financial director and sharing ownership with Lynn Makiej and Mandra Biscornet. Sue has been on the administrative side of companies for her entire career at various levels. She spent the last ten years' as an Administrative Assistant to the president and vice president of an environmental engineering firm in Concord. She has especially enjoyed working for small business owners where she feels she can assist in the growth of the company. Since DNE opened in 1996, she has worked part-time in the office helping with the growth of the studio as much as she could. In October 2001, Sue became a full-time employee at DNE taking care of the student records and assisting at all of our special events throughout the year and much more. She has enjoyed learning the process of operating a small business and looks forward to continuing the growth of DNE.

Staff 360

Host — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:49:00 GMT

Mandra has been an instructor at DNE for nine years. Last September she started full time as our artistic director and is enjoying part ownership of DNE. Mandra received her ballet training from Scott Ranagan at Bay State Ballet Theatre School and has studied jazz dance with Madelon Curtis Dance Studios in Lowell. She continued her dance training at the University of Virginia where she performed, choreographed and directed the Virginia Dance Company. Mandra continues to perform locally with A Feast of Friends Productions and The Standing Room Only Players. She enjoys sharing her love for dance with younger students and is thrilled to be such an important part of DNE. In the fall of 2006 she started DNE's Performing Companies. Three companies consisting a Junior Company, Senior Company and Celtic Company. They have performed at various locations in the Merrimack Valley and they look forward to their company performance in October 2007. Mandra recently received her MSW in social work from Boston University and looks forward to balancing a career in social services and the performing arts. Mandra has been an enormous asset to the DNE family and I look forward to everything she has to offer for many years to come.

Disciplines: Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Street Funk

Staff 358

Host — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:40:00 GMT

Brenda Fariole began dancing at the age of three. She has studied and trained extensively with Kathy Kozal, Roseanne Ridings and Sherry Gold in ballet, tap, jazz and lyrical dance. She has performed and competed in numerous events and competitions throughout New England and the United States inlcuding Barbara Gee Productions, Terpsichore Dance Competitions and Dance Masters of America. While training at Sherry Gold's Dance Unlimited she began studying theatre and drama with Jodi Nelson and also began assistant teaching. Upon graduation, Brenda began teaching American Style Ballroom and Latin dance and also worked in various venues which included commercial real estate, professional photography studio management and corporate sales. Her love and passion for dance brought her back to teaching both children's classes as well as adult ballroom and Latin dance at DNE.

Disciplines: Ballet, Ballroom, Tap, Jazz, Lirical

Staff 371

Host — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:50:00 GMT

Christine Morrison is an accomplished and well known Step Dancer in the Boston area. With over twenty years experience as a dancer, Christine has great knowledge in the field of Celtic Step Dancing, including both Irish and Cape Breton(Scottish) styles.

Christine is most notably known for being a member of the Step Dancing sensation, "Four on the Floor", who toured The U.S, Canada, and U.K. Hitting the stages with Grammy nominated fiddler, Natalie MacMaster at Boston Symphony Hall was to name a few of "Four on The Floor's" great dance acts. Christine can now be seen performing with the Boston Kiltics, a lively Celtic music and dance ensemble out of the Boston area. (bostonkiltics.com)

As well as pursuing a dance career, Christine received her BA in Psychology in 2005 from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Christine used her degree to work with children and young adults in need of behavioral and social support.

Currently, Christine teaches Celtic Step-Dancing exclusively at DNE. She is also the director of the Celtic Company dancers, a group of talented dancers at DNE who perform regularly in the community. Her achievements as a dance teacher are reflected on how she engages children with enthusiasm, and using her vision and expertise for an optimal dance class experience.

Disciplines: Irish Step

Staff 372

Host — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:50:00 GMT

Jenny Oliver is a well-known dancer who’s performed throughout New England and across the United States. She’s danced in a performance with Derrik Grant (of Bring in Da Noise Bring in Da Funk fame), in Harlem, NY at the World Aids Day celebration in the Schoenberg Theatre. She is a High Honors graduate of Dean College's BA Dance Program and has continued her studies with such dance luminaries as Maurice Hines, Josh Hillberman, Bob E. Thomas, Denise Jefferson, Rennie Harris, Mr.Wiggles, Bboy Ynot, Brian Freedman, AC Ciulla, Jean Appolon, Wyatt Jackson and is an alumni of the Jacob’s Pillow School, receiving an Excellence in Achievement Award.

Through her aptitude and vehemence for dance, she is the dance captain and co-choreographer of Boston Tap Company, directed by Sean C Fielder (of “Noise Funk”). The mission of BTC is to educate and entertain through art as way of life. Promoting respect for ones self and others while creating a firm foundation of cultural history by means of art as a universal language. BTC produces a positive, productive and respectful way of expression that encourages confidence amongst all. She is also an alumni member of Roots Uprising, a modern performing company directed by well-known choreographer and teacher Nailah Bellinger and danced for several years with Arc-en-ciel Dance Troupe, a Haitian Folkloric performing company.

Her most recent endeavors include developing methods and theories to link the skills necessary for students to succeed in their academics with the skills and habits necessary to acquire professional dance technique, bridging the gap between traditional academia and the performing arts.

In her work teaching up and down the New England states, Jenny brings considerable enthusiasm, knowledge, skill, and creative teaching philosophies, helping today’s youth navigate the challenges and obstacles to success and productive lives through the medium of dance.

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J.Enterprising Productions

Disciplines: Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Street Funk

Staff 362

Host — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:53:00 GMT

Under the artistic direction of E. Virginia Williams, Ms. Ridings became a member of the Boston Ballet Company. She later danced with the Copley Square Ballet and has performed as a guest artist throughout New England. Her teaching experience includes Ballet Theatre of Boston, Classical Ballet of Boston, Dean Jr. College, and the prestigious Chautauqua Institution (NY). She is a former director of the Cambridge Ballet Center and is currently teaching at the Dance Complex in Cambridge, at the Lexington School of Ballet as well as Judging several National Dance Competitions. DNE is thrilled to have Ms. Ridings on staff and we look forward to our students having the opportunity to work with her.

Robert Machado, Pianist to Miss Ridings

Robert Machado graduated from the Boston Conservatory of Music in 1979 with an undergraduate degree in applied piano. He has worked as an accompanist for classes at the Chataugua Arts Colony in western New York. He was on tour with American Ballet Theatre II in the eartly 80's and has played for class at Robert Denvers Studio in New York. He has played for company class at Boston Ballet. He has worked as an accompanist in the Boston area for over 25 years. He currently plays for Roseann Ridings at the Dance Complex in Cambridge, MA.

Disciplines: Ballet

Staff 363

Host — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:42:00 GMT

Kate Hoch, the founder and artistic director of Superstar Productions, began studying voice and guitar as a child and performed in musicals throughout her high school and college years in the Midwest. After moving to Massachusetts after college, Kate continued to act in community theater, performed at local children's events, and led her church folk group for nine years. She began directing children’s theater in Harvard, Mass., as a parent volunteer for the sixth grade play, which led to a position teaching music and drama at Oak Meadow Montessori School in Littleton, Mass., where she directed five musicals over a two-year period. In 2002, Kate created Superstar Productions to conduct musical theater workshops through the Harvard school system’s Spectrum after school enrichment program. Since then, Kate has produced and directed nearly 20 plays for students in grades four through eight during the regular school year and in summer camps.

An accomplished seamstress and costumer, Kate also designs all the costumes for Superstar’s shows and occasionally for other theater groups. She recently earned an award for "Outstanding Costume Design" at the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theatre for her costumes in Harvard Community Theatre's production of The Mistress Cycles by Jenny Geary. Kate and her husband Jamie live in Westford, Mass., with their teenage son Andrew and their two college-age daughters, Allie and Sarah, who works with Superstar Productions on breaks from her studies in musical theater.

Staff 370

Host — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:49:00 GMT

Sara Torpey graduated from Bridgewater State College with a major in Dance Education. There she was a part of the dance company, team, and dance ensemble; performing in many shows yearly. In addition to the required classes, she expanded her dance education by learning the Indian style of dance known as Bharatanatyam from Kausayla Srinivasan. She has choreographed many dances, attended/performed at the American College Dance Festival, and also co-directed her own dance production.
Aside from college, Sara studied dance for 20 years at Ellen's School of Dance. Competing, performing and taking many master classes at conventions from choreographers from the entire U.S. She also studied at the Academy of Ballet Arts to further her education and technique in ballet. Sara used her training by teaching ballet and pointe classes at Capachione's School of Performing Arts. This is her second year working at DNE and she is eager to continue teaching.

Disciplines: Ballet, Ballroom, Tap, Jazz, Lirical

Staff 373

Host — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:52:00 GMT

This information is not available at this time...

Disciplines: Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Street Funk

Staff 369

Host — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:48:00 GMT

Sophia Paul is a graduate of Mercyhurst College with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a concentration in Performance. She began her training in 1985 at Virginia Ballet Company and School with Oleg Tupine and Tatiana Rousseau under the Russian Syllabus. As a student at Virginia Ballet Company she was selected to perform in Russia for the centennial celebration of the city of Novgorod. Her training continued at Summer Intensive Programs and Master Classes in Dayton, Ohio with Ballet Met, and in New York City with the American Ballet Theater and Joffrey Ballet, and as a student of Yehuda Maor. She has performed principal roles in full length productions of Alice in Wonderland, les Sylphides, Coppelia, Giselle, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker. While at Mercyhurst College her repertoire expanded to include Raymonda, Paquita, Cinderella, Carmen, and Serenade. In 2002 Sophia was selected as an intern at Northern Ballet Theatre and joined the company following her graduation. She has performed with Northern Ballet Theatre for three years as well as serving as the Children's Education Program Director. We are thrilled to have her a part of our DNE family...

Disciplines: Ballet

Staff 364

Host — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:43:00 GMT

Ms. DelGrosso grew up dancing for Suzanne's Dance Connection in Burlington , MA. She danced with I LOVE DANCE company through her teens and performed two full length floor shows at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. She recently returned to I LOVE DANCE, working with director Kim McKimmie and other amazing artists,judging dance competitions all over the US. Katrina is a graduate of Point Park University (Pittsburgh, PA) with a BA in Dance. She studied under Doug Bentz for three years, learning contemporary movement, ideas and concepts that inspire her everyday as a modern dance artist. She has worked with other well-known artists such as Keisha Lalama-White, Susan Stowe, Ron Tassone, Whitney Moncrief, Richard Rein, Mary Demaso and Scott Ranagan. She performed seven original works and two full-length productions with the Playhouse Dance Company while in Pittsburgh. She has also been dancing with Dance Prism Ballet Company as an active company member for over 10 years. You can see her this season showing off her choreography and great artistry as a dancer in Enigmatic Contemporary Dance in Cambridge, MA. Katrina has been teaching since she was 14 for studios, companies and workshops all around the country. She is very excited to bring her knowledge and experience to Dance New England this year.

Disciplines: Ballet

Staff 368

Host — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:47:00 GMT

Carrie is an alumus of DNE School of Dance. She has been a member of the DNE community since 1996, the studio's first year. Carrie graduated from Bridgewater State College in 2006 as a Dance Education major. While studying at Bridgewater State, Carrie was elected President of the Dance Company. She had the experience of directing a student choreographed dance performance with over 100 experienced and beginner dancers. She was also chosen to choreograph and perform in numerous dance performances. In 2005, Carrie was chosen to work under the direction of Deb Meunier from Fusionworks Dance Company of Rhode Island. Most recently, Carrie had the opportunity to dance & choreograph with Intensity Dance Company, from Stoughton, MA. Carrie is also a licensed Massachusetts Early Childhood educator. In addition to teaching at DNE, Carrie is also a first grade teacher in the Westford Public Schools..

Disciplines: Ballet, Tap, Jazz

Staff 366

Host — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:45:00 GMT

Jennifer Lewis began her dance training at the age of 4 years old in Tewksbury, MA at the Donna Miceli Dance center. While there, she studied Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop and Modern dance techniques. She also participated and performed with the Hip Hop dance company at many charity and non-charity events. Jennifer also apprentice taught dance classes at Lowell High School, and participated on the Lowell High School Dance company. At graduation, she accepted a scholarship to continue her studies in dance. Jennifer attended Dean Collge where she graduated with her degree in Art with a focus on dance. While at Dean, she studied Vagnova Ballet and Pointe, Tap, Jazz, and the Modern techniques of Horton, Dunham, Graham and Limon. She participated on the Dean College dance team, the Dean College Modern Dance Company, who performed in and choreographed for numerous shows. While at Dean, Jennifer was invited to assistant teach modern dance for upcoming freshman placement testing and was also accepted into the Alvin Alley summer dance intensive. Since graudating, Jennifer has been teaching Ballet, Tap, Modern, Lyrical, Pointe and Hip Hop dance for the past 4 years at several studios in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In addition to teaching, Jennifer continues her dance studies through research and by attending classes, workshops and shows.

Disciplines: Tap, Jazz

Staff 381

Lynn Makiej — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:51:00 GMT

This information is not available at this time...

Disciplines: Tap, Jazz, Modern, Hip Hop, Street Funk

Staff 365

Host — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:44:00 GMT

Frantz Antoine Louizia Jr(born: april14, 1987) is an exquisite African/American dancer /Actor/ Instrumentalist/ Vocalist/ Writer, whose energy, skill and stage presence is acclaimed for its craftsmanship, ingenuity, humor, and at times eclectic musical accompaniments. Frantz grew up in a family that appreciated music and dance and nurtured his talents at the age of 2; his mother taught him how to dance and introduced him to Haitian folk dance. He attended the Boston school for the performing arts. In the high school years of his career, he performed in pieces choreographed by Ronald K Brown, Sean Curran, and Marlies Yearby. Frantz has extensive training in tap, jazz, ballet, modern, swing, salsa, hip-hop and Afro-Haitian. He received his performing arts degree from Dean College. You can scout Frantz Running his dance Company “ Arc-En-Ciel” touring throughout the New England Area and passing along his knowledge of Dance through life.

Disciplines: Tap, Jazz, Modern, Hip Hop, Street Funk

Staff 367

Host — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:46:00 GMT

This information is coming soon!

Staff 401

Lynn Makiej — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:59:00 GMT

Jamie Brown began studying dance at the Allegheny Ballet Academy with her summers spent training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. There she joined the Allegheny Ballet Company, a member of the Northeast Regional Ballet Association. At sixteen she moved to Massachusetts to continue her studies at the Boston Ballet School. She then joined the Indianapolis Ballet Theatre and most recently the Boston Dance Company.

She has performed in Boston Ballet’s productions of Swan Lake and The Nutcracker as well as in Boston Ballet II’s Snow White. As a member of the Indianapolis Ballet Theatre, she had the opportunity to work with numerous choreographers and dance in the full length productions of Coppelia and Romeo and Juliet. She was most recently a member of the Boston Dance Company where she performed many principal roles including the title role of Cinderella, Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen, and Dew Drop in The Nutcracker, Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie and Minkus pas de Trois, and James Reardon’s Concertino, Trauermusik, Gershwin Suit, Scenes D’Amour, and Glazunov Dances. She was also featured in Erika Wolf’s Progressions and Matthew Averill’s staging of La Bayadere. On two occasions she was invited to be a guest artist with the Allegheny Ballet Company, first dancing the Grand Pas from Sleeping Beauty and then a repertoire piece, which was created for her by James Reardon.

Ms. Brown has been teaching for several years at studios throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire and holds a Personal Trainer Certification through the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America.

Disciplines: Ballet

Staff 455

Lynn Makiej — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:38:00 GMT

"Emerald Rae is an accomplished stepdancer and has been performing live in concerts and festivals for nearly 20 years. Memorable performances include dancing for such fiddling giants as Alasdair Fraser and Grammy-nominated Natalie MacMaster. In her professional life, Emerald teaches and performs as a dancer, fiddler and singer. Her skill and talent have won her many accolades including the U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion (2004). She is also a graduate of Berklee College of Music. Her teaching credentials range from Wellesley College to Springstep in Medford to Club Passim in Harvard Square. In 2005, she shared her knowledge and steps with the eager dance students at the famous Pinewoods Dance Camp in Plymouth, Ma. Her classes encompass a wider knowledge of celtic dance and steps as a whole and she brings to her students a youthful enthusiasm that is infectious and inspiring.

Disciplines: Irish Step

Staff 375

Host — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:53:00 GMT

Tom started ballroom dancing as a student with his wife Sue in 1994 studying ballroom, latin & rhythm. He has been teaching at DNE for the past three years now teaching group classes, private/semi private lessons and is also one of our "Saturday Night Out" disc jockeys. He also runs "Sunday Night for Beginners" the first Sunday of each month. He has taught at Middlesex Community College beginner ballroom sessions, Anodver YMCA beginner ballroom sessions, various benefits and corporate and family functions. He enjoys sharing his love for ballroom dancing with his students and we're thrilled to have him a part of our DNE family.

Disciplines: Ballroom

Staff 374

Host — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:52:00 GMT

Phillip’s introduction to Ballroom DanceSport began in 1996. He became an amateur competitor and medaled at various national collegiate competitions. He turned professional in 2004 and currently competes both nationally and internationally in the Latin, Rhythm, Standard and Smooth styles, and frequently performs at corporate and charitable events. Some of Phillip’s competitive students have included TV personality Sara Edwards, and Miss USA 2008 top-ten finalist Jacqueline Bruno. Phillip was selected as a dancer to promote ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” in Boston, and was featured as a coach on MTV’s Emmy Award-winning series “Made”. Phillip has appeared on "Backstage with Barry Nolan" as a dance analyst, and was also an ambassador for lululemon athletica. Before beginning his dancing career, Phillip served as a United States Marine Corps Presidential Guard at Camp David under Presidents Reagan and Bush Sr. Phillip is passionate about teaching, and aims to ensure students grow and have fun whether dancing socially or competitively.

Disciplines: Ballroom