Summer Comp Intensive 2019

We have an incredible Competition Team Summer Intensive with several guest teachers!

Jennifer Amara is so excited to bring her tap shoes and rip sticks to GDA for a summer filled with exciting tap classes and her new Pound classes! Jennifer resides in Plymouth with her husband and daughter and has been teaching dance for the past 18 years where six of those were spent right here at GDA!! She has continued her studies at the Dance Life Retreat Center in Norwood Massachusetts to further her passion as a Tap Teacher/Choreographer for four studios located throughout Massachusetts. Rhythm has always been in her blood and that is why she decided to become a licensed Pound Pro along side her dance career. “Pound is the world’s first cardio jam session inspired by the infectious, energizing and sweat dripping fun of playing the drums.” After her first class she was hooked!! With dance, she has been described as “having the ability to share her love for Tap with the beginner-advanced student so that each student leaves class feeling energized and with a sense of accomplishment.”

Miss Mazie... Bio on its way 🙂

Casey Crider, from Swansea, Massachusetts, has been training in multiple styles since the age of 10. She began her training in hip hop and quickly fell in love with the classical genres from there. She trained at a variety of schools growing up focusing mainly on strength, technique, and flexibility. Casey has also attended multiple conventions, dance teacher trainings and competitions throughout her career. At the age of 17, she auditioned and became a part of the junior modern dance company Fusionworks. At the age of 18 she wanted to further her training and decided to make the move to New York City, where she received training by world renowned teachers and choreographers. Throughout her time as a dance teacher, her students have won multiple top awards and she has been awarded choreography awards. Casey believes in teaching for each individual student, not all students learn the same and she wants to be sure they all thrive equally as well. She hopes all her students walk away feeling refreshed and wanting more.

Mary Haddad is locally grown dancer who spent the better part of the last two decades in NYC as a performer and teacher. She came back to Massachusetts two years ago and has been teaching and choreographing steadily since then!

She is on staff at In Sync Center for the Arts in Quincy, where she teaches mostly ballet as well as teaching pre-ballet, acro and beginning tap. She is also the resident choreographer for Milton’s Middle School theatre program. Prior to this, she spent eight years teaching for Broadway Classroom - a Workshop based educational program through Broadway.com in NYC.

As a performer she has worked around the world in shows including Grease, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and 42nd Street.

She says, "Teaching has become my true passion - I love working with kids in the studio. To watch them challenge themselves and succeed in doing what they never thought possible. My students become my 'other children'.”

Jane Kranz is a freelance professional dancer. She grew up performing nationally with the American Youth Dance Company, and furthered her training on scholarship at The University of Hartford, Hartt School Dance Division, where she obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance. There, she was able to work with world renowned choreographers and educators: Doug Varone, Charlotte Griffin, Loni Landon, Take Ueyama, and more. She was one of three dancers from the U.S. to be selected to travel to Mexico for the Arcdanz international program, and was given the opportunity to perform at the prestigious Museo Soumaya in Mexico City.

Jane has danced with The American Jazz Company, Hannah Myers Choreography, Playhouse on Park Theatre, Ballet Theatre Company, and is both a dancer and the manager of The Dance Collective. Recently, she performed aside Hannibal Buress in Comedy Central’s “Funny or Die” Tour, and travelled internationally to perform as a soloist in Edinburgh, Scotland at the 74th International Choreographer’s Showcase. Along with performing, Jane choreographs and teaches in the New England and Greater New York areas.

Hello my name is Jessica Murray, and I am currently at Marymount Manhattan College as a BFA dance major with a minor in business. I am on track to graduate in the spring of 2020. I started my dance education at Diane Kelley Dance Studio in Western MA and I also trained at Acton School of Ballet in Acton, MA. I started teaching and choreographing when I was 18 years old, and have since choreographed several contemporary pieces and have taught multiple classes in various styles. I have worked with some of the most prestigious choreographers in the industry such as Ronald K. Brown, Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish, Teddy Forance, Devin Jamieson, Michael Mao, Mia Michaels, and Emma Portner. I have studied at the Martha Graham Summer and Winter Intensives, Complexions Contemporary Ballet Summer Intensive, Joffrey Summer Intensive, and Generation IV Dance.

Hayley Robichaud is a New England based dancer, educator, and choreographer. She recently graduated from Salve Regina University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary and Special Education and a minor in Dance. As a former company member with Extensions Dance Company, she has had the opportunity to work with and perform in pieces by artists such as Kat Pantos, Betsi Graves, Mike Esperanza, and Joshua Blake Carter. She has performed at American College Dance Association’s adjudicated concerts, as well as the National Dance Education Organization’s Jazz Dance: Roots and Branches in Practice Conference. Most recently, Hayley’s choreography was accepted into the Southern Vermont Dance Festival and performed at the Boston Contemporary Dance Festival.

Jocelyn Vander Kaaden began her dance training at a young age and became a teacher’s assistant at 15 years old. In 2006, she began teaching her own classes and for the past several years, she has been a student of the Dance Masters of America: Teachers Training School held at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Through Dance Masters of America, she is nationally certified by test to teach Ballet, Tap, and Jazz. She is also currently a member in good standing with Dance Masters of New England, Chapter 5. She is also a certified member through the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA) which qualifies her to teach various pom and acrobatic classes. Her choreography has won numerous Specialty Awards as well as High Score and First Place Overall Awards at many regional and national dance competitions. She has also choreographed for a collegiate dance teams in the area. In addition, Jocelyn is certified to teach Zumba Basic 1, Zumba Basic 2, Zumba Gold, PulsePointe Barre, and has a Master’s degree in Education. As the assistant director of Pirouette Dance Academy in Fall River, MA, Jocelyn continues to teach and encourage dancers of all ages and abilities.

Brittany Alexis has ten years of professional experience as a dance educator, choreographer, and performer on both the east and west coasts. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Dean College and was a member and captain of the the WNBA Connecticut Sun "Solar Power Dance Team" for four consecutive seasons. As a Boston Celtics Dancer Finalist, Brittany was a featured dancer on the ESPN reality television series "Dreaming Green." Additional performance credits include: WTNH Early Morning Show, IDO World ShowDance Championships, and the Rascal Flatts "Bob That Head" Concert Tour. In 2011, Brittany travelled to Los Angeles, California to work as a hip hop dance instructor for Sky High Dance Inc. and trained with choreographers such as Nicco O'Connor, Kyle Hanagami, and Kevin Maher. Brittany is currently an instructor at the Jeannette Neill Dance Studio in Boston and was a guest choreographer for the "Boston Youth Moves" program.

Julie Joseph is currently a contributing member of DrumatiX. She is the former Artistic Director, dancer and Choreographer for 2 non-consecutive years of the Dance Ensemble, as well as executive board member, dancer, and choreographer for the Adagio Dance Company, both at Brandeis University, in addition to being a Choreographer and stage manager for the Liquid Latex Festival at Brandeis. She choreographed the piece “In My Head,” which was written about in the New York Times. She has danced with SNL comedian Hannibal Buress during shows as a part of his college tour. Since graduating, Julie teaches at multiple studios around the Boston area, teaching ages 3 to adult, in styles such as tap, jazz, contemporary and musical theatre. She currently trains with dancers in Boston and NYC, including SkooJ, Derrick Grant, Adrienne Hawkins, and the Boston Tap Company.

Originally from Tabor City, North Carolina, Rodney started his dance training at Amy’s Academy of Dance Arts in Chadbourn, North Carolina at the age of 12. He was a national champion competitive cheerleader, and has performed with several dance groups, including Bridgewater State University’s Dance Company. Rodney has received his tumbling certification from The United States All Star Federation. He is part of the Dance Teachers Club of Boston and currently trains at Ballet Prestige in Barrington, Rhode Island. His choreography has received many overall high scores on the regional and national competitive level. Rodney brings an uplifting and fresh approach to his dance teaching style. To quote Rodney, “Aubrey Lynch stated, ‘To Touch, To Move, To Inspire, This is the true gift of dance.’ My passion for dance inspires me to teach other how to move their bodies and connect with the feelings and souls of others.