Joan Phelps Palladino School of Dance Faculty and Staff

Joanie, the Founder of the Dean College School of Dance, is currently a Professor and Dean Emeritus.

Her B.S. degree, her undergraduate and graduate studies at Jacob’s Pillow and throughout Europe and her service to state and national dance organizations prepared her to build dance curriculums.

She established the Associate in Arts degree in dance in 1980 and the Bachelor of Arts degree in dance in 2000.

Jim Beauregard (Director/Fight Choreographer) is the Interim Dean for the Schools of Performing Arts at Dean College, Franklin, MA.  Jim has served on the Executive Board for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and has also served as the Artistic Director for The Medieval Manor Theatre in Boston, Ma. Jim is entering his 23rd year at Dean College where he continues to create as a Director and choreographer, both on the boards and behind the scenes for Dean College and theatres throughout the region.

Stephen Ursprung holds an MFA in dance choreography and performance from Smith College and an AB in economics and Italian studies from Brown University. He has had the honor of performing works by Paul Taylor, Pilobolus, Monica Bill Barnes, Robert Battle, Danny Buraczeski, David Parsons, Ruth Andrien, and Danny Grossman. In addition to his work in contemporary dance he dabbles in musical theater and improvisation, and is a lapsed tap dancer. Stephen is a proud member of both Actors Equity and the Screen Actors Guild, having most notably performed in Oklahoma! at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, RI and in the feature films Little Women (2019) and Hocus Pocus 2 as a principal dancer. He is an Associate Professor of Dance Studies at Dean College and is a member of the teaching and performing ensemble of Dancing Legacy. As a choreographer, Stephen is the co-director of two dance collectives: NilsSprung Dance Project and Reject Dance Theatre.

Luciano Aimar had a very rewarding career as ballet dancer dancing in major theatre around the world.  He joined Boston Ballet School (BBS) in 2005 as Head of Children’s Curriculum. Aimar created and successfully implemented the American Preparatory Ballet Training, a comprehensive curriculum for children ages 2-7. In 2018, Aimar consulted School of American Ballet in developing their Children’s Program.

Prior to joining BBS, Aimar was a developer and instructor of dance therapy programs, working with individuals with disabilities and children born and living in prisons. He presented his work at three Dance Therapy symposiums internationally. 

Angela V. Carter studied with Marie Hale, Joan Miller, Ruth Petrinovic and Sonia Diaz, Eduardo Recalt, Clara Cravey, Claudia Cravey, Glen Tuggle, Dennis Wayne. She attended North Carolina School of the Arts, where she studied with Duncan Noble, Mimi Paul, Salvadore Aiello, Robert Lindgren. Attended, Rosella Hightower International School of Dance, and Milwaukee Ballet with Ted Kivitt, Basil Thompson, Paul Sutherland, Brunilda Ruiz, and Katherine Kersten, Jeanette Markaroff, Sallie Wilson, Ruth Page. Ballet New England (Portsmouth, NH) with Mihailo (Misha) Djuric, James Franklin, William Pizzuto and David Drummond. Ms. Carter has appeared with the Houston Ballet, toured with Ballet Concerto , Ballet Galaxy, Milwaukee Ballet, and Atlantic Ballet and Ballet New England; Company Member, Ballet Mistress, Principal Dancer, Certified Pilates Instructor, Principal Instructor of Classical Ballet, Junior Company Coordinator, Company Instructor, School Director, and 2006 Artistic Director of Nutcracker, for Ballet New England. Principal Ballet Instructor at Fusion Dance Academy, North Andover School of Dance, Dance Carousel, Sally Gould Dance, Diane Kelley Dance, Centerstage Dance Academy, LA Beatz, Danceworks Design Movement. Master classes presented at Old Dominion University, TR Dance, Norfolk, VA and Virginia Ballet Theatre and the 2009 National High School Regional Dance Festival held in Norfolk, VA. She has appeared as a guest instructor with ballet companies in MA, ME, NH, FL, VA and VT. Ms. Carter has been featured in “Classic New Hampshire, Preserving the Granite State in Changing Times”, written by Linda Landry, and “Ballet Resources”. Honored Lifetime Member and VIP Member of the “Cambridge Who’s Who”. Member of the Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston, Advisor for Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston Education Training, listed in the International Global Directory Who’s Who in Dance, Member of the National Dance Council of America, Professional Member CE, of Dance Masters of America, Chapter 5, Member of the International Dance Council CID, Board Member of Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston and CoChair for Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston Education Training Course, Co-Chair of Programing, Dance Life Retreat Center for Continued Education.

Melanie Cox is a northern Maine native who now calls Canton, MA home where she lives with her 4 teenage children. She is a graduate of Oklahoma City University receiving her degree in dance performance. Melanie was a member and featured dancer of the American Spirit Dance Company performing in USO tours.  She is currently the creator and director of the Boston She Party Ltd. a dance company that currently performs in the Boston area. She is also the founder/ director of Why We Dance which has raised funds for organizations like the Jimmy Fund, the Furbush children’s fund and eventually partnering with Dunkin’ Brands and the Joy in Childhood Foundation. She has choreographed multiple productions collaborating with musical groups including The Wolff Sisters, Swing Caravan, as well as many other unique individual artists. Her choreography styles range from her work in musical theater; choreographing musicals like Pirates of Penzance, The Music Man, Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz to classical jazz which incorporates styles adopted from Gus Giordano, and Bob Fosse. She is also a rhythm tap dancer and has performed with the New Jersey Tap Ensemble under the direction of Deborah Mitchell. She trained privately with tap greats like Henry LeTang and Buster Brown. Her productions often incorporate aerial arts, acrobatics, hip hop and commercial styles. Melanie has been educating adults and youth in the greater Boston area for over 2 decades at Emerson College and multiple other professional and recreational programs and studios. More recently she has set work on young dancers in the Atlanta area. Melanie is thrilled to finally be producing a show for Boston.

Amanda received her Master of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Illinios, and her Bachelor of Science in Athletic training from Northeastern University.

She has taught and assisted courses in human movement, sport injury, drug use and abuse, and therapeutic exercise, as well as served as the athletic trainer assistant for the University of Illinois modern dance company and the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.

Thelma Larkin Goldberg, PhD founded The Dance Inn, a suburban private sector dance studio serving more than 400 students weekly, in 1983. She teaches regularly at dance teacher events including the Dancelife Teacher Conference, the American Tap Dance Foundation’s Tap Teacher Training Program, and the Beantown Tap Fest. She received the 2015 Dr. Michael Shannon Dance Champion Award from the Boston Dance Alliance for “her sustained excellence in teaching and passionate advocacy for the art of tap dancing.” Her research centers around the experience of the tap dance educator in the private sector dance studio and she shares teaching tools, videos and her books through Thelma's Tap Notes (www.thelmastapnotes.com). Thelma recently joined the dance faculty at Dean College in Franklin, MA where she is excited to work with future tap dance educators. 

A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, Mr. Harootian received his early dance training at the Performing Arts School of Worcester and the Burncoat Senior High Dance Department. His main line of training was in classical ballet, but he also had extensive training in Modern and Jazz dance as well as Musical Theater. He attended the University of Utah on scholarship and graduated with a B.F.A. in ballet. At this time, he also became a member of Utah Ballet and performed and choreographed in many of the department’s seasonal shows. From 2004-2012, Mr. Harootian performed a variety of works with Festival Ballet Providence as a company dancer as well as choreographed many premiered works there and at several other regional dance companies and universities. Mr. Harootian was also a guest artist for Hong Kong’s Academy for The Performing Arts and Red Shoe Dance Company in Hong Kong.  He was also a faculty member at California School of the Arts-San Gabriel Valley, Pasadena Dance Theater and several other local studios in L.A. and Orange County, Artists in Residence for Orange County School of the Arts, and an adjunct professor at Chapman University. Mr. Harootian obtained his M.F.A. in dance from Montclair State University in 2020 and is currently teaching at The Hanover Theater Conservatory for the Performing Arts in Worcester MA and as an adjunct professor at Salve Regina University and Dean College.

Beginning her studies at a very young age in all genres of dance, Tara later transitioned into performing a variety of ballets with Festival Ballet Providence (now, Ballet RI). Tara then took a position with The Talent Factory in North Kingstown, RI, and has helped build its prestigious pre-professional dance program from inception.  Many of her students there have gone on to accept prestigious scholarships at such places as Marymount Manhattan College, Montclair State University, Elon University, PACE University and professional schooling and companies overseas! She is currently on staff with a few competition/convention circuits and travels often to share her love of this art around the country. Her choreography was chosen to be a part of the Boston Contemporary Dance Festival during its inaugural year, and she has also premiered work at the Joyce Theater in NYC. In 2019, Tara had the pleasure of visiting Joffrey Ballet’s Jazz & Contemporary Pre-Professional Training Program in NYC to hold her own audition and cast dancers for a piece she choreographed for their end of the season spring show. Tara was thrilled to get the opportunity to expand her knowledge within the industry when taking on, and participating in, a few film projects. The most recent film project was with close friend and inspiration, Andy Pellick, that was graciously promoted by Dance Teacher Magazine. Tara strives to emphasize the importance of never feeling complacent and always remaining a student. Excited to share and dance with all of the talent at Dean College! Feel free to check out more about Tara on her personal website, www.taramariechoreography.com.

After graduating from Dean College with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance back in 2012, Alex immediately moved down to Orlando, Florida and signed both with MSA Talent Agency and started a career at Walt Disney World. She professionally danced at Disney on and off for a decade in a dozen of different shows and parades including Festival of the Lion King and was chosen as the opening cast of their newest daytime parade Disney’s Festival of Fantasy parade. Alex had the opportunity to dance with Neil Patrick Harris, Jordan Fisher, Sara Hyland and Tori Kelly in different filming opportunities, including the ABC Christmas Special. She performed on ¡Despierta América!, The View, ESPN, the Sleeping Beauty film and more. Alex later traveled the world dancing on different cruise lines before making a shift into her teaching career. In 2022 Alex retired from her performance career and received her Master of Arts in Education from the University of Central Florida. She holds a professional teaching certificate in dance education for grades K-12. Alex recently relocated back to the New England area and started teaching jazz and tap as an adjunct faculty member at Dean College. She is extremely passionate about providing dancers with the same well-rounded dance education she was grateful to receive.

Sheramy Keegan-Turcotte holds an M.Sc. in Dance Science from Trinity Laban Conservatoire, a B.F.A. from Shenandoah Conservatory and an A.A. from Dean College.  She has taught and performed nationally and internationally for the past 15 years and is currently performing with Fusionworks Dance Company.

Tracy Lane is the Director of Performing Arts Operations for the Schools of Performing Arts. 

She received her BA in Theatre Education from Emerson College where she also trained in musical theatre, dance and voice. Tracy has been a teacher of English, musical theater, acting and dance as well as a performer, director, choreographer, costumer and producer.

Lindsay Caddle LaPointe is a dancer, teacher, choreographer, videographer and video editor.  She received her bachelor of arts degree in Dance/Performance from Roger Williams University and her masters degree in dance and technology from The Ohio State University’s department of dance.  Currently she is a dance company member in Public Displays of Motion with Peter DiMuro.

Kayla Luoma trained under the direction of her grandfather, Jim Caisse, and mother, Melissa Caisse. She formerly co-directed their family owned dance studio alongside her mother that ran successfully for 56 years. Kayla also trained at the Ballet Seminar at UNLV for four years. She has done many guest performances and choreography for multiple dance conventions and showcases abroad such as representing the U.S. in Bermuda at the Goombay Festival, Norwegian Cruiseline, Mexico, Las Vegas, and N.Y.C. She is a graduate of Dean College with an AA in dance. She has assisted and worked with the Boston University dance team and is a member of the Boston Community Dance Project contemporary company based in Boston M.A. in which she opened for singer/ songwriter Erene, performed in NYC Carnival Choreographers Ball, Brickhouse’s “Openhouse” showcase in Times Square NYC, and “Built on Stilts” Agriculture Fair. She was featured in a commercial for Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare as a HaPi dancer and recently in the Anthem Film LLC featured film Whitney Houston “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”. You can find Kayla teaching classes in Boston MA along with studios across the east coast. Kayla has an undying passion and desire for dance, which she endlessly enjoys passing on in her classes.

Dina Ternullo Melley holds a BFA from The Boston Conservatory. She has been on the faculty at Boston College, Regis College, Louisiana State University, and University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She is currently teaching at Festival Ballet Providence and is excited to be working with the American Dance Legacy Initiative (ADLI).

Joseph Morin is a composer, performer, educator and founder of The Rhythm Room Enrichment Program, drummer for Diva’s with a Twist and Paris Cabaret as well as a freelance drummer.  He is a Grammy-nominated musician and has been featured in a recent TED Talk and is the recipient of many educational grants.  He has performed with Tony Award–winning actress Betty Buckley; Academy Award–winning actress Shirley Jones; Broadway/movie actor Michael Leon Wooley; jazz legend Charlie Mariano; Dr. Krishna Raghavendra (a virtuoso on the Veena) and opened for Rita Moreno and Ben Vereen.

Roshni Pecora is a 1994 graduate of Dean College. Upon graduation Roshni became principal dancer with the New England Civic Ballet Company, transitioning to the company's school director for over a decade in 2004. She continues to travel throughout the country teaching master classes for many organizations as well as serving as a coach to local ballet students preparing for international ballet competitions.

Katie Pustizzi, MFA (she, her, hers) is an Interdisciplinary Movement Artist in the greater Boston area. She is the Founder and Director of “Liquid Spine”, a global dance series that unearths the environmental needs of our water systems through movement, community, and conversation.Katie is deeply interested in international exchange as a form of artistic research and connection. In 2019, she explored Gaga with Batsheva Dance Company in Israel on a professional development grant from Gann Academy. In 2022, she explored Dance and Perception with Senza Confini Di Pelle in Sardinia, Italy through the Aiken Scholarship from Wilson College, her alma mater. In 2023, she directed and danced in the film "Liquid Spine, Augusta" in Sicily. Katie currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Dance at Dean College and Emmanuel College. She frequently shares her improv-focused creation process and somatically informed movement language as an Artist in Residence at various universities and schools across the country, such as Boston University, Salem State University, Wilson College, Endicott College, Brandeis University, Colleges of the Fenway, MIT, and Merrimack College. 

Longtime musician for dance classes at Dean.  Attended Boston University, a graduate of SUNY Albany and North Bennet St. School. Current piano faculty at the Winchester Community Music School. 

Mike Sartini is an adjunct instructor and percussion accompanist for tap and modern classes for School of Dance. He teaches percussion lessons and is the program coordinator for the Applied Music program. He also serves as the music contractor for musicals in the School of the Arts.

Kimberly Calore-Sedlak, a native Rhode Islander, is entering her 6^th year at Dean College after having an extensive career within the performing arts in both stage & film. In addition, she is a guest artist at neighboring institutions including Rhode Island College, Providence College, Wheaton College, and Salve Regina University where she was nominated for Best Choreography by RI Motif Awards. During her time in New York City, Kimberly served on faculty for Broadway Dance Center's: The Broadway Experience, The Rockette Summer Intensive Program, Steps On Broadway, and New Dance Group. In addition to teaching, Kimberly is an adjudicator for the Providence Performing Arts Center’s-Ocean State Awards and also for several national talent competitions/conventions where emerging artists are recognized.

Kimberly is on the Board of Directors for the Rockette Alumnae Association and is a proud member of the National Dance Education Organization, Dance Alliance of Rhode Island, SAG/AFTRA and AEA. Some of her favorite credits include: Radio City Rockettes (13 years), The Producers, Contact, Crazy For You, 42nd Street, Beauty & The Beast, A Christmas Carol, When In Rome, The Stepford Wives, Walt Disney World, several Las Vegas Productions, international cruise lines, and numerous tv/film. She was featured in PBS’s - Broadway: The American Musical w/ Susan Stroman, The Tony Awards, Broadway Cares-Nothing Like A Dame, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular-75th Anniversary Film, and has been featured in: The Oprah Magazine, Dance Spirit, Dance Teacher Magazine, and The Radio City Rockettes: A Dance Through Time.

Todd Shanks is a highly experienced and accomplished dance educator based in Franklin, MA. He's been recognized in renowned publications like Dance, Dance Spirit, Dance Studio Life, Dance Teacher, and Dancer Magazines. Todd's performed in various mediums, including music videos, commercials, industrials, and TV programs. He is an assistant professor of dance and serves as Program Coordinator for the Joan Phelps Palladino School of Dance at Dean College. Todd is also the Education Director of Dance Educators of America. Before his move to Massachusetts, Todd was on faculty at Steps on Broadway in NYC for over a decade. He has also shared his expertise as a guest teacher at esteemed institutions such as the University of Florida, SUNY Brockport, Boston University, Skidmore College, ACDA, UMass Lowell, HSDF, the Ailey Extension, Ballet Hispanico, Jeannette Neill Dance Studio, Dance Masters of America, Dance New Amsterdam, Florida Dance Masters, and numerous private dance studios across the United States. Todd is also teaching on tour with Manhattan Dance Project and Dance Educators of America. Todd is the Jazz Faculty for the Dance Education Training Course presented by Dance Teacher's Club of Boston.

Jill Silverman trained at Cambridge School of Ballet, teaches throughout New England and has been associated with Boston Ballet, Harkness Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre.  Jill has been an Associate Professor of Dance at the Palladino School of Dance for 29 years where she teaches ballet, pointe, Pedagogy and is Director of Dance Company.

Pierfrancesco Valpreda received his dance training from Teatro Municipal de Santiago, The University of Chile, and St Mary’s College of California. Professor Valpreda has performed for the Ministry of Arts in Chile, Houston Ballet, Colorado Ballet, and was a principal dancer at Nevada Ballet Theater. Valpreda has performed and taught at international festivals and Universities throughout Europe, South America, South Africa, and Asia. Valpreda also directs Weymouth Ballet and dance Ballroom in the Boston area.