Miss Abigail Fine, Director/Owner Miss Abigail Fine, certified dance educator and “Director Of The Year” in 2005 is “Raising The Barre” at her state-of-the-art studio located in Needham, MA. Miss Abigail is dedicated to offering each style of dancer a well-rounded education and lives to inspire dancers to have confidence in who they are. She encourages them to reach for the stars and always raise their own personal barre. Abigail has been studying dance since the age of three. Her classical and contemporary education is in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Acrobatics, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Modern, Latin Ballroom, Baton Twirling and Musical Theater. As a young dancer she performed in theatrical productions and dance competitions. Abigail received numerous awards for her achievements in performance. Growing up as a well rounded dancer, singer and actress Abigail quickly learned the importance of the fundamentals and keeping an open mind. As a teacher she sets out each day to inspire dancers and her teachers to open their minds to new concepts and movement sequences forcing them to improve on a daily basis. As Abigail entered her teenage years, her dance teacher who later became one of her best friends and her mentor for life, began the apprentice program and soon was invited to begin a teaching certification program through Dance Teachers Club of Boston and Dance Masters Of America. Once she completed the years of classes and passed the written and physical exams she received her teaching certification in Dance Instruction & Music Theory. In the summer of 2000, Abigail was selected as part of the first staff for the Britney Spears Camp For The Performing Arts and worked along side celebrity and famous choreographers teaching and inspiring hundreds of inner-city youths from all over the country. Abigail has studied with top master instructors and choreographers from all over the world. To name a few; Mia Michaels, Brian Friedman, Wade Robson, Debbie Dee, Chris Judd, Greg Russel, Dave Scott, Bob Rizzo, Laurie-Ann Gibson, Shane Sparks, Tyce Dioriio and many more. It is Abigail's belief that dancers and athletes must understand their bodies and how to take care of them properly. In college Abigail received her Bachelors degree in Exercise Physiology with a double major Nutrition and Health, and her minor in Dance and Somatic Movement Therapy. It is Abigail’s fundamental belief that the fitness and dance world must be brought together to help dancers respect their minds and bodies. Abigail strives to give each dancer the attention they deserve and understands that each dancer is an individual and learns at a different pace. Abigail’s reputation precedes her and her students have been known to fall in love with her infectious laugh and loving demeanor and warmth. Abigail has vowed to herself and her dancers to impart her love for dance, movement and self expression on them every day. In return she asks each of her dancers to try their very best, working each day at achieving more confidence, body control, strength, flexibility and understanding of choreography. It is her lifelong dream and mission to inspire all of you!
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	Miss Alyson Abramson Miss Alyson began dancing almost as soon as she could walk, having started her dance training at the age of 3. Throughout her dance career she has won numerous awards including four-time national dance competition champion in group, solo, and duet/trio categories. Her passion for dance unwavering, she attended Dean College and received her undergraduate degree in Dance and Fine Arts. Alyson is also an accomplished choreographer having choreographed numerous amateur and professional musical theater productions. She has over twenty years experience teaching children in the Boston, Providence and New York areas and is beloved by her students for her loveable disposition and ability to instill confidence and positive self-image in her students. Back
	Miss Cailin Casey Miss Cailin began her dance training in Woodstock, CT at Diane Powers Dance Domensions. She grew up in a well-rounded dance program which allowed her the option of becoming a performer and teacher in the future. Throughout High School Cailin was recognized by her peers as a leader and received many high level awards throughout her competitive dance years. Cailin went on to pursue her Bachelors degree in Performing Arts from the nationally recognized dance program at Oklahoma City University. During those four years in college, Cailin also became an active member of the American Spirit Dance Company under the direction of the famous Jo Rowan. After college, Cailin auditioned and worked professionally throughout New York City. She was then cast as a chorus dancer in Jubilee, which sent her to live in Las Vegas for six months. After her stay in Las Vegas she was cast in the ensemble of The Producers and then 42nd Street here in Boston, which is where she decided to get married and start her family. In addition to teaching, Cailin has recently been selected as a judge with Dancers Inc. The National Dance Competition and Turn It Up Dance Challenge. Judging competitions has given Cailin a unique perspective on contemporary ideas in choreography and she is excited to bring that knowledge to our competitive students as well as our recreational classes. Cailin is honored to be a part of the faculty at AFDS and is looking forward to many fun and inspirational years. Back
	Miss Laura Driscoll Miss Laura grew up in Medway, Ma where she started dancing at the age of 4. She is classically trained in ballet, tap and jazz and also trained in contemporary, lyrical, acrobatics and hip hop. Laura danced competitively for 15 years and has won titles such as Miss Senior Just Gotta Dance, Miss Senior Dance Xplosion, and Miss Junior Star Systems. She also won numerous scholarships to dance in NYC and Florida. Laura danced in the World Gymnastrata in Berlin, Germany in 1995. Her team represented the United States. At the age of 6, she was the youngest on the USA team. Laura has, also, danced in Disney World in 2005 where she took 3 master classes by Disney performers. After graduating high school, NYC was her home for a summer, while she studied dance at Broadway Dance Center. Laura began teaching dance at 14 years old. She has won numerous choreography awards, and her students have come in the top 5 at their dance competitions countless times. Miss Laura continues to take classes, and conventions, to continue learning as much as she can to keep up with the newest styles. She has a passion for dance, and thoroughly enjoys teaching her students. Watching them grow into amazing performers is the best feeling in the world for her. She looks forward to watching her new students at AFDS thrive and develop passion for movement of all kinds. Back
	Mr. David Sun Mr. Sun has been a teacher of ballet for over 23 years in some of the best ballet and competition studios throughout Massachusettes. He received his early training at the New York School of Ballet and went on to a professional career, performing as a dancer with the Houston Grand Opera. He has also danced with many regional dance troupes in New England and New York. Mr. Sun is also an accomplished photographer of dance and has published numerous works in nationally recognized dance journals. Mr. Sun is known to his students for his quirky sense of humor and instilling a strict work ethic in the dance room. Back
	Mr. Matt Parello Mr. Matt is the founder and Director of DCW (Dance Company Worcester), a semi-professional performing dance troupe. He started dancing at the age of six and never stopped. Matt studied at the Charlotte Klein Dance Centers in Worcester from 1996-2003. There he studied ballet under the direction of Clyde Nantais, also Executive Director of Boston Dance Company (BDC). From 1999 to the present, Matt has been a Company member of BDC moving up the ranks and is currently the Executive Assistant Director and has performed in their annual production of "The Nutcracker" as the Nutcracker and other roles. In 2003 Matt won the title National Mister Headliner. Soon after he moved to New York to attend Long Island University as a dance major. While in NY he studied with Alvin Ailey and New York City Ballet. Matt has also performed under the direction of Keith Mottola of Steps Off Broadway. At Steps, Matt starred as Ren Mckormack in "Footloose, and Mike in "Chorus Line". In 2007 Matt was a dancer/entertainer at Six Flags New England. Matt has also choreographed "Grease" and "Footloose" for Assumption College in Worcester Mass. At Assumption, he formed their Hip-Hop dance squad and produced and choreographed their first annual Dance Showcase. This led him to create his own dance company, DCW. Last summer, Matt went on tour with Pulse and Performed with Brian Friedman in New York City. Matt teaches locally and all around the state of Mass.You can see him on Youtube in a Music Video by JSELL "Like Me". Recently Matt has been asked to choreograph "Singin in the Rain" and play Cosmo Brown for the Weston Friendly Society. He is also now performing with Commonwealth Ballet Under the direction of Chip Morris as The Beast in "Beauty and the Beast". Matt's latest accomplishment is to be Judging for the touring dance competition "Step Up 2 Dance Tour". Back
	Miss Deanna Maria Costa Miss Deanna, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance Towson University with a specialization in Dance Education and a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Maryland. She has worked as a dance and arts educator for 23 years, teaching and coordinating dance, arts, and outreach programs for various school systems and counties in Maryland, Washington DC and Florida. In addition, she has served as an in-service facilitator, master class teacher, and lecturer for the Maryland Association for Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, several public school systems around the country, and the University of Maryland. After dancing professionally in a regional contemporary dance company based in Baltimore, Miss Deanna expanded her skill set to include dance curriculum development for pre-K to 12th grade, early childhood programming, and special needs populations. She has been on the faculty of numerous dance schools in Maryland including Joy of Motion Dance Center and the prestigious Maryland Youth Ballet as the coordinator of their modern dance program. In addition to her classical and contemporary training, Miss Deanna has training and performance experience in flamenco dance and competitive ballroom dance and received national certified as a Zumba instructor. Prior to relocating to Massachusetts, Miss Deanna served as the Director of Education and Community engagement for the National Foudation for Advancement in the Arts. Back
	Miss Brittany Klash Miss Brittany brings to AFDS over 18 years of performance and competitive dance experience. She began training at the Dance Arts Centre in Fitchburg, MA under the direction of Jim Cassie and Melissa Luoma. As a member of the dance team Brittany performed throughout the United States and abroad. Deciding on dance as her calling, Brittany received a BA in Dance from Dean College where she studied choreography, pedagogy and was a member of the Dean College Dance Company. While attending Dean College she also had the opportunity to study modern dance with artists from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. After graduation, she began teaching and became a member of the Boston Dance Alliance and Perceptions Contemporary Dance Company performing through-out New England and NYC. Brittany currently dances with the Boston Tap Company where she has performed at Fenway Park, the Bean Town Tap Festival, the Wang Theatre and at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival on the inside/out stage. Brittany is looking forward to bringing her extensive, well-rounded experience and her passion for dance to AFDS students. Back
	Miss Jessie Lee Atienza Miss Jessie hails from Boston, MA. She began her classical ballet training at the age of three at Northeast School of Ballet under the tutelage of Sandra McNaught and Denise Cecere. Jessie has performed extensively with the schools affiliated company, Northeast Youth Ballet. Through NSB's professional trainee program, she earned scholarship tuition by acting as an assistant teacher and mentor to students aged 3-16. Jessie has been accepted to and has attended some of the world's most prestigious classical ballet summer programs, including but not limited to: Virginia School of the Arts (2001), The San Francisco Ballet School (2002), and the Kirov Academy of Ballet (2003-2006), all on full scholarship. Ms. Atienza has had the opportunity to perform principal roles in many classic ballets, including Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Snow White, La Bayadere, Don Quixote, Coppelia, thirteen consecutive productions of The Nutcracker, and many original contemporary and classical ballets. Jessie studied English at Providence College in Providence, RI. She has taught ballet, contemporary, and lyrical in the Greater Boston Area for the past six years. Back
	Miss Michelle Block Michelle has been dancing locally since she was 5 years old. She has studied jazz, tap, ballet, hip-hop and lyrical, and has competed as a member of several hip-hop and jazz teams. Michelle has also attended master tap classes with locally and nationally-acclaimed tappers. She was a member of Needham High School's Varsity Dance Team for four years, during which the team won the State Championship and performed at home football, soccer and basketball games. Michelle is studying Speech-Language Pathology, as well as Spanish at Boston University. She continues to study all types of dance at school and in the Greater Boston area, and she is an active member of BU's Salsa Club. Michelle brings great enthusiasm to dance classes. She enjoys sharing her love of dance and being a role model to the younger dancers at AFDS! Back
	Miss Sarah/Sarah-Kay/SKooJ CorE-O Miss Sarah, also know as Sarah-Kay and SKooJ CorE-O brings her knowledge and talents to AFDS with experience in performance, choreography, instruction, and adjudication, with her present main focus on Commercial/Theatrical Hip Hop and Contemporary dance. She is also strongly trained in many other styles of dance. She is a member of the New England-based Static Noyze Dance Company that has been seen on MTV's American's Best Dance Crew and is a Master Teacher, National Adjudicator, and Choreographer of various styles throughout New England. SKooJ CorE-O is the founder and Director of the Boston Community Dance Project, a professional collective throughout the year expressing their passion through Contemporary and Hip Hop dance. Massachusetts Dance Festival, GreenFest Boston, ESPN's The DewTour, and "Built on Stilts" are among some credits. Other choreography projects have been recognized and awarded at numerous dance competitions and several performances such as Boston's Hip Hop at The Regent, Unyted Stylez Entertainment: Circles, DanceWorks Boston, Australia's own CEO Music, and Turn it Up Dance Challenge's Annual National Performance Dance Team. Sarah-Kay is a graduate of Dean College with a Degree in Dance and Business Administration. In addition to Dean, she has intensively studied with Kelly Peters, Suzette Sagisi(ABDC), and is currently teaching Performing Arts Conventions along side many inspiring individuals toward the Dance Community SKooJ CorE-O has entered in the Music Video world with choreographing "Italiano" for International Pop Artist Tamara Rodriguez while performing as a Back-Up Dancer for Erene and many New England Artists. M.A.R.Quise, Leah Hilton Choreography, and Lucia Marie's House of Blue Tour will also be debuting in addition to Choreography for Salty Bovine's A White Lie Film in 2012! Back
	Miss Joanie Block Joanie Block has been teaching, choreographing and performing professionally for 25 years. She is excited to join the AFDS faculty and motivate dancers of all ages to enjoy movement again. Her dance education includes extensive study in Manhattan with Muriel Mannings of The New Dance Group Studio, Merce Cunningham at The Cunningham Studio and Nat Horne of The Alvin Ailey Dance Center; and in Boston with Ann Tolbert at Brandeis University, Clair Malardi at Harvard University, Susan Rose at Danceworks, and Dorothy Hershkowitz at The New Art Center and Boston Ballet. She has performed with Lis Fain, Nikki Hu, Benita Bike and for 10 years with Dorothy Hershkowitz. Joanie has taught classes and Master Classes at Brandeis University, The Wellesley Public Schools, Boston Ballet, and many other local studios. Joanie is holding an exciting Modern Dance Class for Adults, of all levels, on Monday & Wednesdays from 9-10:30am. This class is a drop in class but please call ahead to let us know you are planning on coming. This wonderful class combines Graham, Cunningham and Limon techniques with an emphasis on lyricism, musicality, phrasing and breath. There is a thorough warm up, across the floor and long movement combinations in a warm, non-competitive environment. This class is a wonderful place to start if you are returning to dancing. Back