Andrea LaMaina received her BFA in Dance Performance and Education from Towson University in Maryland. She is a certified teacher with the Dance Masters of America Organization and is the South Area Director and Website Coordinator for Dance Masters Chapter 2. She holds a National Teacher Education certification as well as a Teacher Certification in Dance/Vocational Arts. Andrea is the teacher and choreographer of Petite Miss Dance Rave 2009, Petite and Junior Miss On Stage America 2009, IDC National Miss and Centerstage Dance Award Winner 2007, DMA Miss Dance of Florida 2007, Miss Headliner 2006, DMA Petite Miss Dance of Florida 2006, DMA Mini Miss Dance of Florida 2005, Teen Miss Headliner of Fort Lauderdale 2005 and Senior Miss Global Dance of Fort Lauderdale 2003. Her choreography has earned many awards in the competition circuit. She has worked as a guest teacher for Palm Beach Atlantic University and travels to teach master classes in tap and modern dance. Before college, Andrea trained under master teacher Fred Knecht. She continues to supplement her dance education by taking classes from well-known teachers and choreographers and attending festivals like Florida Dance Festival and Southeastern Tap Explosion. Andrea has choreographed for the Wellington High School Dance Team from Wellington, Florida, who was invited to perform at the Orange Bowl Classic’s half time show. Before becoming co-owner and Artistic Director of That’s Dancing, she was a faculty member at Glen Rock Middle School where she designed and created an exploratory arts curriculum, which included dance and creative movement. In 1997, she was nominated for The Sallie Mae Best New Teacher of the Year Award, a national honor recognizing her achievements in innovative curriculum development and design for public education. Andrea has also danced professionally with DDM Company based in Fairlawn, New Jersey. She is an active member of the National Dance Association and the Florida Dance Association. In 1994, she was chosen to perform with renowned choreographer Maureen Flemming in an original work at the Stephen’s Hall Theater in Baltimore. In 1990, Andrea was a scholarship recipient for the Alvin Ailey Summer Dance Program. For several years, Andrea was a performer and featured dancer in various roles at the Bucks County Playhouse in Pennsylvania including: 42nd Street, Babes in Toyland, and The King and I.

Michele Walsh holds a Master of Education in Dance from Temple University and a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from the University of Miami. She belongs to Dance Masters of America Florida Chapter 2 and is a certified teacher with the Dance Masters of America Organization. She has trained with many respectable dance instructors including Fred Knecht, Katiti King, Eva Gholson, David Howard and Francis Kiernan. Before moving to Florida, she was a faculty member at the Purnell School in Pottersville, New Jersey, where she was the Head of the Performing Arts Department and dance teacher. At Purnell, she taught ballet, pointe, jazz, modern, tap, African dance, movement improvisation and choreography to students ages 13-18. Michele has choreographed several musicals including Quilters, The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall, Prom Queens Unchained, Starmites, Smile and I'm Sorry The Bridge Is Out, You'll Have To Spend The Night. Her work was nominated for Best Ensemble from the Papermill Playhouse Rising Stars Awards, a professional theater company in Millburn, New Jersey. Michele has danced professionally with the Red Bank Ballet Company and the American Repertory Theatre. She has performed as a lead dancer for the band The Beat Club, known for the song “Security”, in live concerts throughout South Florida. She has even danced in the Super Bowl XXIII half time show in Miami at Joe Robbie Stadium, where she was a featured dancer. To stay on the cutting edge of dance, she has attended the Jazz Dance World Congress in Chicago; the Dance Teacher Now Convention in NYC; the Bates Dance Festival in Lewiston, Maine; the Florida Dance Festival in Tampa, Houston Ballet’s Teacher Seminar in Texas, and New York on the Road, a traveling dance workshop. Michele is also an active member of both the National Dance Association and The Florida Dance Association which promote dance in a variety of venues.

 

Faculty

Lawrence Albright has been teaching, dancing, and performing his style of hip-hop for ten years in venues throughout the United States. His teaching experience is extensive having taught at many studios and conducted master classes for many conventions including Dance Educators of America, Dance Masters of America, Pick the Stars International, Florida School of the Arts and the Broadway Bound Dance Intensive. He has choreographed for many college dance teams including Rutgers University and Florida International University. He has appeared on MTV's "My Super Sweet 16" as a dancer with RPM. He has also performed as part of the opening acts for such artists as Pitbull, Ricky Martin, Lil Mo, Fabolous, Common and Nelly. Currently he is choreographing for new artist J Randall and Sophia Del Carmen. Most recently he can be seen in Sean Kingston's music video "Fire Burining". After guest teaching for That’s Dancing for several years, Mr. Albright joined our faculty in 2008. We are pleased to announce that he will continue for the 2009-10 season.   Jessica Pearl Dinsky received her BFA from the University of Florida’s New World School of the Arts in 2008, where she performed works by renowned choreographers such as Jose Limon “Psalm”, Paul Taylor “Esplanade”, and Robert Battle “Primate.” While at New World she studied under many respected dance teachers including Daniel Lewis, Peter London, Dale Andree, Fredick Bratcher and Gerard Ebitz. Jessica has choreographed several pieces including Paper Jam, Talking Bird, A Woman’s Expectations of a Grocery List, Double Take and Throwing Rocks. Paper Jam was performed by The Good For Something Dancers in 2006, and was also performed during a benefit concert which raised awareness for AIDS in Africa in 2007. She attended the Martha Graham Dance Companies Summer Intensive in 2005, where she studied with former company members Jennifer Conley, Peter London, Pearl Lang and Dudley Williams. She began her professional dance training as a student of Andrea LaMaina & Michele Walsh of That’s Dancing and is thrilled to be joining the faculty. She supports creativity and individualism in her classroom to allow each of her students to seek their greatest potential and looks forward to a great season.   Loren Foster received her BFA in Dance from Florida State University with honors in Liberal Studies. While at FSU, she was a member of the Dance Repertory Theatre, the dance department's performance company. She was also a member of FSU's Golden Girls, the university's competition dance team. A native Floridian, Loren trained with many local teachers and graduated from the Alexander Dreyfoos School of the Arts as a dance major. She joined the faculty of That’s Dancing in 2002 teaching classes in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical and modern dance at all ages and levels. Ms. Foster also works with Fusion Force Dance Company and her choreography has received numerous awards at regional competitions. Ms. Foster is the teacher and choreographer of Senior Miss Headliner National 2006-2007. Her award winning solo choreography represented Team USA at the IDO World Showdance Championships 2006 in Riesa, Germany and placed 4th in the world. She was a member of the Deborah Lopez Modern Dance Company and Platinum Gold Entertainment Company. Before joining the That's Dancing family, she served as Dance Director of LimeLight Productions, Inc. in Sierra Vista, Arizona, teaching ballet, jazz, and tap, modern, hip-hop and musical theater. She regularly attends dance workshops and festivals including the Arizona Jazz Dance Festival in Tucson, the Florida Dance Festival in Miami, the Southeastern Tap Explosion in Atlanta and the Jazz Dance World Congress in Chicago. Loren is also an Artist in Residence at Berkshire Elementary School in Palm Springs where she presents Arts Integrated lessons in association with classroom teachers to inspire students to learn through dance.   Stacy Grattan is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University where she received her bachelors degree and works for a law firm full time. She trained at That’s Dancing under the direction of Andrea LaMaina and Michele Walsh. During her training at That’s Dancing, Ms. Grattan was a teacher assistant and served as a substitute teacher. She danced professionally with entertainment companies and has also performed in the Miami Dolphins half-time show and the Citrus Bowl Classic half-time spectacular. Stacy enhances her dance education by taking master classes and attending dance festivals and workshops. Ms. Grattan joined the faculty as a part time teacher for the fall 2004 and 2005 dance seasons teaching classes in the Young Dancers Program as well as elementary level classes in ballet, tap and jazz.     Nicole Jaquetti works locally both as a professional dancer and dance instructor. She is involved with several dance companies and teaches dance at local studios as well as Palm Beach Atlantic University and Palm Beach Public Schools. She has studied with many professionals in the field and has earned her Bachelor of Arts from Palm Beach Atlantic University, majoring in Dance, with a track in Performance and Pedagogy, and a minor in Exercise Science. Nicole has studied dance in South Florida and New York for most of her life. Teaching and performing nearly all styles of dance and in an array of venues has given her opportunities to study under some world renowned dancers and choreographers. Professionals in the dance industry such as Luigi, Francois Szony, Alice Condolina & Wade Robeson have shaped her as a student and as an instructor of dance. She also has studied under Jennifer Archbald of Arch Dance and graduate of Fordham, Steven Caras of New York City Ballet, Patricia Fredricova and Patrick Riley of Millenium Dance Syndicate, Eileen Hebron of American Ballet Theatre, Stacey Downs, Harriet Wilson, , Demetrius Klein and many other great dancers, choreographers and teachers in the field. Nicole enjoys teaching and performing styles of dance such as jazz, tap, modern, ballet, hip hop, liturgical, lyrical, ballroom and authentic latin dance. She enjoys teaching students of all levels and all ages, children and adults, and is eager to share her experiences as a dancer with them. Nicole loves to help cultivate other’s passion for dance because of her deep appreciation for the fine arts. Ms. Jaquetti joined the faculty of That’s Dancing for the fall 2008-09 session. She teaches classes in ballet, modern and jazz, as well as classes within our young dancers program   Katherine Lameyer has been teaching dance in Palm Beach County for the past eight years and joined the faculty of That’s Dancing in the summer of 2008. She has twenty years of experience as a dancer, competing and winning many regional and national competitions. She has also won many dance scholarships which have given her the opportunity to train with many respected and admired dance teachers including the “Edith Royal Scholarship”. She was also a member of Florida Dance Masters “Main Attraction” and a contestant on ABC Family’s “Dance Fever” in 2003. Ms. Lameyer aspires each day to share her knowledge and love of dance to her students in an educational and fun atmosphere. She will become a full-time faculty member for the 09-10 season working with the Young Dancers Program as well as classes in ballet, tap and jazz. Katherine will also be working with Fusion Force Dance Company as a choreographer for the team.     Richard Rein began his classical ballet training on scholarship at the School of American Ballet. He then trained under the joint tutelage of Richard Thomas and Barbara Fallis at the New York School of Ballet before embarking on a ten-year professional career that included stints with the American Ballet Theatre, the Pennsylvania Ballet, and Ruth Page’s Chicago Opera Ballet. A reputation for leadership grew during his numerous tours throughout Europe and North America; his peers voted him to be the Chairman of the American Ballet Theatre Advisory Committee and the union representative for both ABT and Pennsylvania Ballet. One of his responsibilities was to head a team of dancers who negotiated for the dance world the construction of the Kennedy Center’s stage in Washington, DC. In the fall of 1974, Mr. Rein joined the faculty of St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire as Director of Dance. Under his direction for twenty-seven years, the St. Paul’s School Dance Program and the St. Paul’s School Ballet Company achieved both national and international recognition for excellence. Former students are currently dancing professionally in prestigious companies that include, among others, the New York City Ballet, the Limon Dance Company, Mikhail Barishnikov’s White Oaks Project, and The Carolina Ballet. Students coached by Mr. Rein have competed internationally and nationally in competitions like the International Ballet Competition. Many of his students have been medal winners at the Prix de Lausanne and the ARTS Competition. Mr. Rein has represented the United States internationally by teaching under the auspices of the Partners of the Americas Program in Fortalaza, Brazil. In 1986, he was recognized by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars for teaching excellence. Other experiences include a term on the Board of Governors of the American Guild of Musical Artists, former National Endowment on the Arts Dance Touring Program Coordinator, consultant to the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and panelist with the Maine Arts Commission. He is a frequent guest teacher at the Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet, The American Ballet Theatre Summer Program, Ballet Florida, the Portland School of Ballet, and the School of the Boston Ballet. Erin Sinsley graduated summa cum laude from Kent State University (Kent, Ohio) with a BFA in Dance Education. While a student at Kent, she performed with the Kent Dance Ensemble, performing works by faculty as well as guest artists. Erin began teaching in 2001 at Dance Academy South in Akron, Ohio, where she was the Director of the Youth Program, developing a curriculum for multiple levels of ballet, modern and jazz dance. She has contributed to the choreography and production of many of their year-end concerts including Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Isadora Dances and The Christmas Angel. Erin served as the Artistic Director of the Manchester Dance Ensemble, a non-profit pre-professional youth dance company for their 2007-2008 season, until she relocated to Florida with her family in June 2008. To further enhance her training, she previously completed a summer of dance study at the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina and has attended the Ohio Dance Festival. Erin believes in teaching anatomically correct technique and giving individualized attention and instruction to enable each student to develop their potential, unique style, and personal expression through movement. Erin joined the faculty at That’s Dancing in the fall 2008, and is pleased to be teaching various levels of ballet, modern and jazz in the 2009-2010 season.