Staff
CLASSROOM FACULTY
As Dance Carousel students progress through our program, they are exposed to a diverse range of outstanding instructors from a variety of backgrounds. Michelle is closely supported by this talented team of Teachers, Assistants, and Classroom Demonstrators, working together to bring the curriculum to life. Older advanced students also receive master class training from Guest Master Teachers from around the country. All faculty members at Dance Carousel are required to meet our high standards for ENERGETIC, CARING, and KNOWLEDGABLE CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION.
Nicole Carey, Core Instructor
Nicole is currently the Secretary for the Greater Brockton Dance Teachers' Association and a member of the Dance Teacher's Club of Boston. She heads the Summer Dance Arts for Youth program at Bridgewater State College. She has danced in music videos, performed with the Brockton Symphony Orchestra many times, was a Brockton High School Half-Time
Nicole Cavalloro,
Technique Instructor, Team
Nicole hails from Rhode Island, where she previously owned and operated “Nikki’s Dance Connection.” She is currently on the faculty of four elite New England studios. She is a highly sought-after teacher and choreographer throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico, due to her innovative and energetic class style. Nicole began training
Marisa Donovan,
Core & Technique Instructor
Marisa is a lifelong Dance Carousel dancer, one of our original Ensemble dance team members, and a graduate of the Dance Teachers Club of Boston's Dance Education Training Course. She has travelled the country as an honored Dance Olympus V.I.P. dancer, and has since worked several summers as the Coordinator for the Dance
Honor Flannery,
Core & Technique Instructor
A lifelong dancer at Dance Carousel, and graduate of the Dance Teachers Club of Boston's Dance Education Training Course, Honor now attends Boston College, and was recently named the 2011-2012 Assistant Director of the Boston College Dance Organization. Dancing helped her come out of her shell when she was younger and made her the happy, outgoing
Megan Gomperts,
Core & Technique Instructor
Megan is a Dance Carousel alumnus, graduate of the Dance Teachers Club of Boston's Dance Education Training Course, and active member of the Dance Teachers Club of Boston and Greater Brockton Dance Teachers' Association. She currently takes classes at Harvard University in the process of completing her degree in Political Science from UMass Boston's Honors
Dana Gugliotti,
Technique Instructor, Team
Dana is a senior at Dean College working toward her Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance with a minor in Psychology. She is heavily involved in the school's jazz, modern, and ballet ensembles, in which she's previously performed as a soloist. She especially enjoys choreographing pieces on
Bryan Steele,
Technique Instructor, Team
Bryan Steele has been an acclaimed teacher in New England for the past 13 years. Currently the Co-Director and Founded of the Academy of Performing Arts in Chelmsford, he has been on the faculties of Boston Ballet, Walnut Hill School, Dance Productions, New Hampshire School of Ballet to name just a few. Currently on the faculty at Dean College, Bryan has taught
David Sun, Ballet Instructor, Team
David has been at Dance Carousel since 2006. He has taught extensively throughout the Northeast since 1989, including at Boston Ballet, Boston College, José Mateo's Ballet Theatre of Boston, and The Ballet Space in Framingham, MA. He has been a permanent guest teacher at Southern NH Dance Theater from its inception in 1997. He recently held master
Student Teachers
Select students undertake Dance Carousel's robust in-studio Teacher Training program -- which includes the DTCB/AS Dance Education Training Course -- to mature into highly competent, energetic and exciting instructors in their own right!
Dancer, performed as the dance lead in several Brockton High School Musicals, and choreographed "Anything Goes." She really enjoys helping her students to put on a great show. Nicole loves to cook, get nail manicures, and she has never had a cavity!
at a very young age under the direction of her mother, the delightful Miss Nancy DiCicco. She was heavily involved in both gymnastics and dance. Her heart in dance, though, she pursued training with top masters in New York and Canada. She excelled on the competition circuit for years before performing for the Warwick Musical Theatre and Theatre By The Sea in Rhode Island. Today, Nicole’s students are highly recognized for their success, receiving many regional and national titles, scholarships, and choreography awards. Currently, five of her students hold National Titles! Her students also have gone on to perform professionally for Hershey Park, Bush Gardens, Disney and cruise lines around the world. Nicole enjoys adjudicating for several organizations, sharing the wisdom she has obtained with competitive students of all ages. This past year, Nicole welcomed her second child, David, and looks forward to the day she will watch her daughter Isabella dancing on stage!
Olympus V.I.P. program. Teaching is her passion, whether it's the classroom struggle to get a second grader to grasp a step, or seeing that same second grader's face light up on stage -- it's all joy to her! The little moments, the shy smiles, the goofy stories -- she loves teaching. In addition to being on the Dance Carousel faculty, Marisa is a full-time Math teacher at North Quincy High School, where she also teaches dance in the Renaissance Arts program.
person she is today. She would love for her students to find the same joy and freedom in dance as she did! Honor also enjoys community service, yoga, going to the beach, and cheering on the Boston College Eagles football team.
Program. Megan loves what she does everyday at Dance Carousel. She grew up dancing in the studio and her passion for dance and performing is something she now aims to enthusiastically pass on to the students she has the privilege of teaching.
her peers for Dean's student showcases, and also for several competitive teams. Dana enjoys being able to put the tools she's gathered in college to work through teaching. She believes that dance students deserve to be taught proper technique and fundamentals, while also exploring new styles of movement and expression.
Rocky Mendes, Tap Instructor, Team
Rocky has been studying tap dance since he was nine years old. He was 16 and studying dance at the Whitman Academy of Performing Arts when his mother took him to meet their neighbor, Jimmy Slyde. The older man took the younger under his wing and the two became friends. The pair were awarded an MCC Traditional Arts Apprenticeship in 2001 and again 2007.
Jimmy called himself a "nudger," instead of a teacher. He stressed going back to the basics - time step, shuffle, riff, brush, slap. These are the moves a dancer must master, like mastering the elements of speech in order to have a conversation. Jimmy reflected on his extensive work with Rocky, "He's a joyful young man and I think he's worth every minute of it." Mendes has gone on to perform with Diane Walker, Savion Glover, and Gregory Hines, appearing at Williams College, Florida State University, New England Conservatory and Jacob's Pillow. Rocky is enthused to join the Dance Carousel faculty this year, eager to challenge!
master classes throughout the United States, Germany, Venezuela, France, Ecuador and Spain. Bryan has been choreographing for competitive groups and professional companies for over 15 years. He has won numerous awards on a regional, national and international level. He has self-produced 6 concerts of his own work in the Boston area. His dances have been set on Prometheus Dance Company, Company of Two, Wheaton College Dance Company, Boston Ballet, Walnut Hill and other local companies. Bryan has recently retired from performing. Some of the companies he had the pleasure of dancing with are Prometheus, Impulse, Island Moving Company, Ariel Dance Theatre, Body Language Dancers, Boston Liturgical Dance Ensemble and many other independent choreographers. Bryan has also performed in hundreds of industrial shows, commercials and videos. For the past several years, Bryan has enjoyed judging for Olympic Miss and Dance Xplosion dance competitions. Bryan takes all his experience from the professional companies, commercial work and master class teaching, and brings this knowledge and love of the arts to his students at Dance Carousel.
classes at Portsmouth School of Ballet's summer session in NH, and has taught additional master classes at Brandeis University and New Hampshire School of Ballet among many other schools. He taught his own classes at the Dance Complex in Cambridge, MA for three years. His early ballet training was as a scholarship student with Richard Thomas and Barbara Fallis at the New York School of Ballet in New York City. He has performed with many regional dance groups in NYC, TX, and New England, worked as an actor on CBS, and is a working photographer with national credits including at Vogue, The New York Times, Dance Magazine, Dance Spirit, Boston Ballet, and Southern NH Dance Theater (snhdt.org).
Miss Madison, Instructor
Miss Madison lives in Scituate. She has successfully completed two years of the DTCB/AS Dance Education Training course. Teaching provides a great outlet for many of her passions. She is very involved in Model UN, student government, and high school mentoring programs, and she often tutors in several academic subjects. Her other interests include reading and long walks on the beach. Madison's favorite Dance Carousel dance ever is "Light In Dark Places."
Miss Grace, Instructor
Miss Grace lives in Scituate. She has successfully completed two years of the DTCB/AS Dance Education Training course. She is beginning her 14th year of dance. As a teacher, she enjoys being creative in the classroom and loves seeing the year-to-year progression in the students. Her other interests include reading, writing, and listening to music. Grace's favorite Dance Carousel dance ever is "Her Royal Highness Treacherously Invites You To The Black & White Ball."
Miss Savannah, Instructor
Miss Savannah lives in Scituate. She has been dancing for 11 years. The highlight of her dance experience was when she made the Ensemble Dance Team four years ago. Savannah loves teaching the kids and trying to be a role model for them. Her other interests include playing the saxophone and the piano. She is terrified of spiders. Her favorite Dance Carousel dances ever are "Heck, I'd Go!" and "Free My Soul."
Miss Alex, Assistant Teacher
Miss Alex lives in Marshfield. She has successfully completed one year of the DTCB/AS Dance Education Training course. This is her 14th year at Dance Carousel; she has been a proud member of the Ensemble Dance Team for five years. Alex thinks teaching has helped her not just in dance but in the outside world -- it is much easier for her to speak in front of people. She loves seeing everybody's positive energy every week in the studio, and how that drives their performances on the big stage. Alex's favorite Dance Carousel dances are "The Godfather" and "Psycho."
Miss Claudia, Assistant Teacher
Miss Claudia lives in Norwell. She has successfully completed one year of the DTCB/AS Dance Education Training course. She has been dancing at Dance Carousel at 5 years, before which she was an experienced Irish Step dancer. She has been on the Ensemble Dance Team for 3 years and truly enjoys the experience. She loves seeing the children's faces when they have a great time in a dance class; and appreciates the life skills that she acquires from the teaching experience. Claudia also enjoys running on the Norwell High School's Cross Country and Track Team. Her favorite Dance Carousel dance ever is "Istanbul, Not Constantinople."
Miss Liza, Classroom Demonstrator
Miss Liza lives in Norwell. She has been dancing at Dance Carousel for 12 years and has been on the Ensemble Dance Team for 2 years. Liza teaches because ever since she was little, her favorite thing to do was go to dance class and her teacher made each class special. She wants to make dance class as fun and exciting for her students as it still is for her! Liza also enjoys reading, playing soccer, and tennis. Her favorite Dance Carousel dance ever is "Barry, Gary, and Larry's Fabulous Hair Emporium."
Miss Erin, Classroom Demonstrator
Miss Erin lives in Norwell. This is her 5th year at Dance Carousel and she has been a member of the Ensemble Dance Team for two years. Her whole experience on the team has been a life-changing highlight. She is looking forward to meeting her new students and hopes she can get them to love dance as much as she does. Erin's other interests include reading and tennis. Her favorite Dance Carousel dance ever is "Doctor's Orders" -- she will never forget it!
Miss Kelly, Classroom Demonstrator
Miss Kelly lives in Scituate. She is very excited for this, her 10th year at Dance Carousel. She loves little kids! Her other interests include reading, baking, and riding her bike. Her favorite Dance Carousel dance ever is "Love is a Battlefield."
