We have a great staff and we are very proud of their accomplishments. Our staff enjoy teaching children of all ages and make sure that every student receives the attention they need to be successful.
Miss Melissa- Owner and Director, Melissa received her basic dance education from a very young age in the Worcester area. After graduating from Holy Name High School, Melissa majored in Dance at Dean College where she earned an Associate's degree in the Arts. After starting GDA in 1994, Melissa went on to Worcester State College, obtaining two Bachelor degrees in Early Childhood Education and Psychology, as well as her teaching license. She is also the proud mother of 2 children and is married to Peter "Mr. Pete" Singley.
Peter Singley- Owner and Business Manager, Peter is Melissa's husband and a man who wears many hats. Peter holds a bachelors degree in Music Education from Plymouth State University and a Masters Degree from the University of Southern Oregon. He has been teaching music in the public schools since 1997 and his ensembles have performed in Disney World with Disney Performing Arts Onstage. At the studio he handles most of the business matters including updating the website, photography/videography and music editing. In his "spare" time, he enjoys his wife and children, fishing, and telling a good joke.
Miss Jamie- Assistant Director, Jamie Cantillon was one of the first students when Greendale Dance Academy opened. While dancing she was among the first to compete for the studio receiving many gold, silver and judges awards. Jamie traveled with the studio two times to perform in Walt Disney World. She performed in the Worcester Performing Arts presentation of the Nutcracker and the Major League World Cup Soccer Championship Half Time Show. After graduating high school, Jamie successfully auditioned for a role in the national and international traveling show Sesame Street Live. She played a Yup Yup, Zoe, Blanche and was Prairie Dawn (short understudy). Being the understudy gave her the opportunity to perform as any of the "short" characters, like Elmo! After three years of tour, Jamie returned to the Worcester area and received background extra work in hit movies like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, College Road Trip and Pink Panther Deux. This gave her the opportunity to join the Screen Actors Guild. Returning back to Greendale Dance Academy Jamie has taught many classes both Competition and Non Competition. Her choreography has recieved much praise from parents and judges, and receives many top awards at both regional and national Dance Competitions. Jamie has worked her way up from a shy dancer 17 years ago to working along side Miss Melissa as Assistant Director.
Miss Lauren- Lauren Bashford began dancing at a young age, studying ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, and modern/lyrical at the Sandra Wencis School of Dance in Watertown. She went on to receive a BA in Dance/Performance with a minor in Theatre from Roger Williams University. As a dancer in RWU's Dance Theatre, she had the privilege of working with renowned artists such as Sean Curran, Doug Elkins, Carl Flink, Heidi Latsky, and Heidi Henderson. During her four years at RWU, Lauren served as Choreographer for the Theatre Department's musical productions, and assisted with choreography/staging for other performances. She also performed in several productions, including Anything Goes (Angel/featured dancer), House of Blue Leaves (Little Nun), and A Little Night Music (Fredrika). During her senior year, Lauren had the incredible opportunity to spend several months studying dance at Pineapple Studios and DanceWorks in London. She has been teaching at Greendale Dance Academy since graduating college in 2000, and is looking forward to another great year. Lauren is the proud mother of two little girls, and is excited that they already share her love for dance.
Miss Lynn- Lynn Caputo has been dancing since the age of 3 and began her training at the Diane Kelley Dance Studios in West Boylston. She went on to continue her dance education at Stonehill College, participating in several dance productions each year. Lynn has been teaching jazz and hip-hop at Greendale Dance Academy since 2005, and has received several awards for her choreography at regional competitions. Miss Lynn is currently taking some time off to pursue a new business, Dear L.C., a customWedding Invitation printing company.
Miss Jamie- Jamie Caruso has been dancing since the age of 3. Jamie studied Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, Ballet, Pointe and Modern at the Charlotte Klein Dance Centers in Worcester. Jamie competed for many years on regional and national levels, winning many high scores and special judges awards. Jamie danced in the Dance Prism's Nutcracker, Shrewsbury's Children Ballet and at First Night Worcester. Jamie also performed in a local variety show and won the "Best Female Dancer of the Year" award 5 years in a row. After graduation, Jamie attended Villanova University and was a member and officer on the Villanova Dance Team for 4 years. While a member of the company, she had the opportunity to perform as well as choreograph jazz routines to be performed at the Villanova Men's Basketball games, on-campus functions and the PA Special Olympics opening and closing ceremonies. Jamie has been teaching in the Worcester area for the past 10 years and her choreography has won several high score awards, overall titles, soloist titles, judges awards and special recognition. Jamie is also certified to teach by Dance Educators of America. Jamie continues to take dance classes and attend dance conventions to further her dance career. Outside of dance, Jamie earned a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree from Villanova Unviversity and currently works as a Project Manager. Jamie is thrilled to be a part of GDA and looks forward to sharing her love of dance with her students.
Miss Kristy- Kristy Fitzpatrick has 24 years of dance and performance experience and has been teaching and choreographing for the past 13 years at dance studios, high schools, colleges, and community theaters throughout the Central MA and Northeaster CT area. She specializes in Hip-Hop, Jazz, Musical Theatre, and Lyrical but enjoys teaching all genres of dance. She is an active dancer and choreographer for Dance Company Worcester (DCW) and performs with local community theaters. Some of her favorite roles include: June in CHICAGO, Virginia Lear in Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? and Aunt Eller in OKLAHOMA! (Just to name a few). She holds a Bachelors degree in Accounting from Assumption College where she also studied Acting and Voice and performed as a lead dancer and spotlighted singer in Footloose. Since graduating college in 2005, Kristy has taken adult dance classes and attended many masters’ classes, workshops such as the SHOCK Intensive, and the Summer Dance Teacher Conference in NYC, where she has taken classes with renowned instructors such as Bob Rizzo, Cathy Roe, Greg Russell, and many more. Kristy’s enthusiastic attitude and creative choreography makes her a favorite among students. She is delighted to be part of GDA!
Miss Deborah- Deborah Lucivero is an accomplished dancer and educator, having studies with master teachers Eleanor Thompson, E. Virginia Williams, David Howard and Edward Villella. Additionally she has studied in Boston, New York and Jacob’s Pillow in Lee, MA. Performance experience includes soloist role in ballets Pas de Quatre, Sleeping Beauty and Don Quixote with New England Dance Ensemble. Deborah has performed under the direction of master teacher and choreographer Stefan Long for the Alphonse Mucha Exhibition and has also appeared as a guest performer with the Performing Arts School of Worceter’s (PASOW) Youth Ballet production of The Nutcracker. She was also a member of the PASOW Dance faculty until 2005. Deborah hold a Masters Degree in Special Education from Assumption College.
Miss Tracy- Tracy Mattison started dancing at age 3 at Mindy K. McGovern School of Dance where she studied tap, jazz, and ballet and enjoyed assisting with many of the younger dance groups. She continued her dance experience with Dianne Kelley when Mindy retired and she enjoyed dancing in groups, and performing duos, and solos, dancing a total of 15 years. Throughout both Jr. and Sr. High School, she performed in the school musicals and plays, as well as participating in both band and chorus for 6 years. After High School, she studied Early Childhood Education at Anna Maria College in Paxton and graduated in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education and was also certified as a Massachusetts Teacher for PreK-K. She has worked in Special Education departments and as a teacher in the Worcester area. Tracy is also working towards her masters degree in Early Childhood Education. Tracy's children have been dancing at GDA since 2003 and Tracy came on board to assist in teaching the morning Creative Movement Classes and also became a substitute teacher filling in when needed for various age groups and subjects of dance. Tracy continues to excel as a dance teacher and this year is extremely excited to work with the younger dancers, and having the privilege of teaching them the building blocks of dance in a fun and playful way. As each child progresses at their own rate, she believes it is important to recognize and celebrate everyone's achievements and her focus is always on developing self esteem, and a positive attitude as well as a love for dance.
Miss Amy- Amy Renzoni is now into her 11th year teaching at Greendale Dance Academy. Her dance training was at the Charlotte Klein Dance Centers here in Worcester. She participated and scored highly in many regional and national dance competitions, most notably the Dance Masters of America National Dance Competition. In doing so, Amy danced with many people who have gone on to become professional dancers/performers. Amy was also president of the Chief Dancers, a dance club associated with UMass-Lowell. After that, she was a member of the Marauder Magic, the dance team for the short-lived arena football team, the Mass Marauders, that was based here in Worcester. Amy taught at a few other studios prior to becoming associated with GDA 11 years ago. Amy was the choreographer for GDA’s first title winner, the group “Lollipop”, over six years ago. Other than dance, Amy earned a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in Communication Disorders with a minor in Psychology from Worcester State College. Amy is expecting her 6th child this January and so she will not be teaching any regular classes this year, but will substitute and assist for other teachers. Amy’s daughter Maria has been a student of GDA for the past 10 years, as well, and Amy plans to be involved with the studio for many years to come. Amy enjoys sharing her knowledge and love of dance to a variety of ages and all levels of dancer.
Miss Angelina- Angelina spent her formative years toiling in the studio, dancing from the age of 4. Her primary training was at the Charlotte Klein Dance Centers in Worcester, MA. There she was instructed in ballet (with emphasis on point), jazz, tap, modern, and lyrical styles and was a member of the dance company. Angelina experienced consistent success when competing at widely renowned regional and national dance competitions such as Dancemasters of America, American Dance Awards, and others.During high school, in addition to her intense commitment to dance, Angelina exercised her passion for theater and musical theater, winning local talent shows, participating in local plays and musicals, and providing all choreography for her high school Show Choir, in which she also performed. She went on to pursue collegiate studies at Bradford College in Haverhill, MA where she was again recognized as a member of the school’s company. She also studied dance at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Subsequent to her experience as a dancer, Angelina pursued and attained a degree in nursing. She received her RN license in the state of Massachusetts in 2005. Since that time, she has worked at local hospitals, clinics, and public schools as a pediatric nurse.
Angelina began at Greendale Dance Academy as a choreographer and substitute dance instructor in 2009 and became a member of the teaching staff in 2011. Her dances have received high silver, gold, and platinum scores, as well as special judges’ awards. Angelina is happily married with six children, five of who currently attend Greendale Dance Academy. She is proud to be a member of the Greendale Dance Academy staff and looks forward to sharing her passion and love of dance with her students.
Miss Sarah- This is Sarah Richardson's first dance season with GDA. Sarah started dancing at the early age of 2 years old at Diane Kelley Dance Studio in West Boylston, MA. She competed on the competition team for 14yrs. Her passion grew over those year at DKDS. At 14 she reached out to something she thought would just be a side hobby, that was cheerleading. Sarah cheered for 11 years starting with Pop Warner and working up to Varsity Captain at Wachusett Regional H.S in 2004, where her team won many championships. After H.S. she went on to coach and choreograph for her Pop Warner, Middle School, and High School teams. She has trained with choreographers from Monsters of Hip Hop and SHOCK the Intensive. Her specialty is Hip-Hop Beginers-Advanced. Now at 26, Sarah has become a DCW Hip hop Choreographer and is part of Dance Company Worcester, where she enjoys performing and teaching. This will be her 4th production with DCW. DCW has become a family to Sarah, working with so many talented and amazing people is inspiring to her. DCW just recently had the opportunity to perform at The Liberty Hotel in Boston and looks forward for bigger things to come! In the near future. Sarah hopes to open her own studio for underprivileged children, as well as people who love the art and passion of dance.
Miss Jen- Jen DaSilva Growing up in East Bridgewater, Miss Jen danced at the Paula Coffey Dance Center under the guidance of her godmother and mother. For fourteen years she studied Tap, Jazz and Ballet and after graduating High School she decided to further her studies at Dean College where she majored in Dance. Jen studied Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Pointe and Modern and also received the Gregory Hines Tap Scholarship while being a member of the Tap Dance Company for 2 years. In 2003, Jen took part in an off-Broadway show, Break the Floor where she took part in master classes/rehearsals and finished it up with the show. After that she found herself wanting to get out there and teach. She taught Master Tap classes throughout MA and RI and now for the past 5 years has been with us here at Greendale Dance Academy where she teaches children ages 3-18 years old.
Adjunct Faculty 2011-2012
Sarah-Kay Jerome
Hope Spect
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Learn to dance with Greendale Dance Academy. We are proud to be one of the Top Dance Studios In Worcester, MA with lessons in ballet, tap, jazz, acro, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical, modern, pointe, and creative movement for toddlers through adults. If you would like more information about our dance lessons, please visit our Contact Us page and send us a note.
