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Dance Classes

 

FSPA offers Ballet, Ballet Conservatory, Contemporary, Dance Conditioning, Dance for Musical Theater, Jazz, Modern, Tap, and Commercial Dance from beginner to advanced levels with special programs for young children, teen beginners, boys and adults. FSPA's dance program offers structured training in a positive, creative environment to help for growth and accomplishment. 

Dance Faculty

Casey Harkness Andrade

FSPA Dance Director, Dance Company Director; Instructor of Jazz, Contemporary, and Dance for Musical Theater

Casey Harkness Andrade is a professional choreographer, educator, and performer. She received her B.A. in dance performance from Rhode Island College where she trained and studied with exceptional choreographers such as Clay Talifaro, Sean Curran, and Mark Taylor. After graduation Casey continued her education at Broadway Dance Center in New York City and Boston Ballet, where she studied weekly in a variety of classes. While a dancer of the Andary Dance Company, Casey had the opportunity to perform at the Cunningham School in New York City and tour the northeast. As a new member of the Franklin Performing Arts Company Casey has enjoyed roles such as Morticia in The Addams Family Musical and the Amayzing Mayzie in Seussical. Casey has also been an adjunct faculty member at Rhode Island College and Dean College, teaching jazz, tap and working with the RIC dance company as assistant rehearsal director. She recently joined the dance faculty at Salve Regina University, once again sharing her passion for jazz dance with SRU dance majors. In 2010 she became an adjudicator and choreographer for the Elite Dance Challenge regional and national competition. Later Casey joined the judges panel for Celebration Talent Competition and Sheer Elite International Dance Competition. Currently Casey is the dance department director at Franklin School for the Performing Arts and the director of the FSPA Dance Company. She teaches a variety of classes in dance and musical theatre as well as creates and facilitates curriculum, placement of students, and performances for the school.  She joined the FSPA faculty in 2011. candrade@fspaonline.com  

Cheryl Madeux

Conservatory Ballet Director, Instructor of Ballet/Pointe/Variations - Children's Program and Pre-Professional Program

memberphoto Cheryl Madeux, a Connecticut native, received her training at the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts under the direction of Sharon Dante and Donna Bonasera. She has enjoyed a long professional career, dancing with such venerable companies as the Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and principal dancer with the Hartford Ballet under the direction of Kirk Peterson. Madeux performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe and has been coached by such ballet luminaries as Igor Youskevitch and Eleanor D’Antuono. Her extensive classical repertoire includes all the full-length classical productions as well as principal roles in The Nutcracker, Giselle, Coppelia, The Firebird, Balanchine’s Serenade, Spectra de La Rose, and much more. It also includes works by choreographers such as Gerald Arpino, Kirk Peterson, George Balanchine, Michel Fokine, Anthony Tudor, Martha Graham, Margo Sappington, and others. Among her early accomplishments, Madeux was awarded first place in the National Society of Arts and Letters Ballet Competition at the age of 15, as well as a finalist at the III International Ballet Competition in Paris and the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland. She was later recognized by the White House Commissions Program for excellence in academics and dance and was awarded a Level One Presidential Scholar in the Arts. As an educator, Madeux has been a guest teacher and coach for many ballet institutions across New England. In 2005, she became ballet director at Franklin School for the Performing Arts and assisted in developing their conservatory ballet program, as well as choreographing and directing their full-length ballet productions. In 2009, she successfully completed her certification in the ABT National Training Curriculum for Primary through Level 7 & Partnering and was later appointed to the prestigious Board of Examiners for the curriculum. In addition, she became a summer faculty member for the ABT Young Dancer Program and ABT summer intensives, as well as an assistant instructor for the NTC teacher certifications. Madeux was a guest judge for the Connecticut Classic Ballet Competition in 2014 and 2019, an adjunct professor for ballet and pointe at Dean College and successfully coached dancers from FSPA to the YAGP finals in NY. Madeux resides in Wrentham, MA with her husband and two children.  

Kellie Stamp

FSPA Dance Department Coordinator, Director of FSPA Dance Ensembles, Instructor of Tap and Jazz

Kellie Stamp is a graduate of Stonehill College where she was an active member of the Stonehill Theater Company.  She served on their Board of Directors and competed at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.  After receiving her Masters of Performing Arts Education from Emerson College, she continued her tap and jazz training at the On Stage Academy for the Performing Arts, as well as with Rosemarie Boyden and at the Broadway Dance Center in NYC. Kellie has also studied Dance for Musical Theater with Broadway actress and choreographer, Leslie Woodies. In addition to teaching dance classes as FSPA, Kellie choreographs for Electric Youth, Broadway Bound, Broadway Light and many FSPA and FPAC productions. She is also the Director and choreographer of CenterStage and Next Step.  Kellie first joined FSPA in 2001. Her performing credits include lead roles in 42nd Street, West Side Story and Sweet Charity, as well as many roles in FPAC productions including Addams Family, Anything Goes, Into the Woods, Humbug!, The Miracle Worker and Little Shop of Horrors.  Her choreography credits include FSPA and FPAC productions of Humbug!, Anything Goes, 'Tis the Season, Cabaret and many others. kstamp@fspaonline.com

Dorothy DeLutis Beaton

Dance Department Artistic Advisor

Dorothy Beaton began dancing at her mother's DeLutis School of Dance . She studied in Boston at Jacob's Pillow and in New York and attended Boston Conservatory where she majored in dance. Dorothy danced professionally with the Christopher Ryder Revue and toured New England with the Dance Makers. She taught at the DeLutis School, where she was also co-owner and co-operator and served on the FSPA Dance Faculty for ten years , beginning in 1992 . Dorothy is an active member of Dance Masters of New England and Dance Teachers Club of Boston. She is best recognized for her work with young children and fostering her love of dance to all and was honored to receive an FSPA Faculty Award in 2012. Her love of dance and interest in Parkinsons (her mother developed PD in her later years) brought her to teaching Dance for Parkinsons on Cape Cod. Dorothy trained for Dance for PD at Mark Morris Dance Group in Brooklyn NY where this innovative program originated and is proud to be affiliated as a member teacher of Dance for PD.

Dara Nicole Capley

Instructor of Ballet

Dara Nicole Capley is a dancer, choreographer and teacher based out of Boston, Massachusetts. She is originally from Florida, where she received early training with Gloria Gaither before moving on to train under Peter Stark and Ivonne Lemus at Next Generation Ballet at the Patel Conservatory. After her training Dara found freelance work for a year with Brandon Ballet and The Sarasota Opera, and then danced for Nashville Ballet’s second company for two years before joining Festival Ballet Providence, under the direction of Mihailo Djuric. In her time with Festival Ballet Providence Dara has performed works by Yury Yanowsky, Mary Ellen Beaudreau, Christopher Huggins, George Balanchine, José Limón, and many others. Dara has also originated soloist roles for both Viktor Plotnikov and Ty Parmenter. Dara choreographed her first piece ‘Vivisection’ for the Rhode Island Women’s Choreography Project in the spring of 2019 and received multiple choreographic commissions as a result. One of which, was a commission for Festival Ballet Providence’s 2020 spring season, this work has yet to premiere due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the summer of 2020, Dara was chosen as one of Sarasota Contemporary Dance’s emerging choreographers, a work she created virtually from Rhode Island while in quarantine. In the spring of 2021, Festival Ballet Providence’s School commissioned a piece from Dara to be used to compete in the ensemble category in the Boston regionals of Youth America Grand Prix. The piece, entitled ‘The Yawn’ placed in the top twelve ensembles, and was invited to compete at YAGP finals. Currently, Dara works as a freelance dancer and choreographer for projects in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Florida, and many more. This is Dara’s first year teaching for Franklin School of the Performing Arts and she is thrilled to be joining the faculty of such a great school for so many different artistic disciplines.

Alexandra Cardi

Instructor of Commercial Dance

Alexandra Cardi fell in love with dancing at the age of three. She has experience in a variety of styles such as ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, modern, and contemporary dance. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Developmental Psychology with a minor in Dance from Plymouth State University in 2015 and a Masters in Holistic Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Salve Regina University in 2022. She was an active member of her undergraduate university’s Contemporary Dance Ensemble and Dance Team as a performer, choreographer, and captain. Her senior year, the dance faculty selected Alexandra as the recipient for the Contemporary Dance Ensemble Award. This merit award is given to a senior who has shown a strong commitment to faculty and student choreography within the dance division over four years of study.  Throughout her years at Plymouth, under the direction of Amanda Whitworth, she had the opportunity to work with professional guest artists such as Mziyanda Mancam, Urbanity, Bosoma, and Pantos Project. In 2018, she had the opportunity to perform at the Boston Contemporary Dance Festival as a dancer for Alchemy Movement.  Currently, Alexandra is working as a mental health counselor in Providence, R.I. and is a movement artist for Alchemy Movement, a New England based company.  Alexandra  joined the FSPA Dance Faculty in 2017.  

Victoria Collins

Instructor of Ballet/Pointe and Children's Program

Victoria Collins, a former FSPA Ballet Conservatory student, has been featured in the Franklin Performing Arts Company's production of The Nutcracker as Clara. Other ballet credits include Cinderella, Coppelia, and other repertoire concerts. After her time at FSPA, she continued her studies at Dean College in Franklin. At Dean, she had the opportunity to continue learning from Cheryl Madeux and other credentialed faculty such as Marc Arensten (Dean of the Joan Phelps Palladino School of Dance), Jill Silverman, Roshni Pecora, Kimberly Calore-Sedlak, Dina Ternullo Melly, and Todd Shanks. Her knowledge of dance expanded after newly receiving her ABT certification in pre-primary-Level 3 and she plans to continue her certification in the other levels in the future. Victoria is glad to be a new addition to FSPA faculty that she has long admired.   

Tyler Hanes

Broadway Faculty - Voice and Dance

Tyler Hanes was only 17 when he was discovered by Ann Reinking while attending Broadway Theater Project in Tampa, FL. She cast him in the 1st national tour of the Tony Award winning musical Fosse. Following the tour, he attended Carnegie Mellon University, leaving after a year to make his Broadway debut in the 2002 Broadway revival of Oklahoma! Soon after, he appeared in the original Broadway companies of Urban Cowboy, The Boy From Oz, The Frogs, the 2005 revival of Sweet Charity, and as Larry in the original revival company of A Chorus Line. Tyler also appeared in the Broadway companies of Hairspray and the 2014 revival of On The Town. He starred as Rum Tum Tugger in the highly anticipated Broadway revival of CATS, for which he was nominated for a Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Male Dancer in a Broadway show.
Off-Broadway, he was featured in the musical Juno opposite Victoria Clark, Stephen Sondheim's A Bed And A Chair: A NY Love Affair, opposite Bernadette Peters, and American Dance Machine for the 21st Century. 
As a choreographer, his credits include Kristin Chenoweth: For The Girls on Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre, Dancing With The Stars, Kristin Chenoweth’s Some Lessons Learned World Tour, Kristin Chenoweth: Coming Home for PBS, The American Country Awards, Prohibition with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, The Way You Look Tonight with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, and the Latin American premiere of El Chico De Oz in Lima, Peru. He is currently producing and starring in the upcoming dark comedy “Ms. Guidance.”

Charlie Holbrook

Instructor of Tap

memberphoto With years of teaching experience, Charlie Holbrook has served as Dance Instructor for Beantown Tap Festival, University of Rhode Island, Dance Masters of America, Boston Conservatory and was a Dance faculty member at Dean College for several years. He is currently on the Dance faculty at FSPA, Cathy Taylor's School of Dance, Elite Dance Center, and Krylo Dance Studios. Charlie joined the FSPA Tap Faculty in 2008. 

Clyde Nantais

Instructor of Ballet/Pointe - Guest Faculty

Clyde Nantais joined the FSPA Dance Faculty in 1992. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Boston Conservatory and a Master of Education from Temple University. He has performed leading roles in Equity Summer Stock and dinner theater productions. Mr. Nantais danced with Boston Ballet for seven years before teaching in its school for 17 years. He was the principal ballet teacher at the National Institute of the Arts in Taipei, Taiwan. He has served as Ballet Master for the Boston Conservatory Dance Theater, the Berkshire Ballet, and the Pioneer Valley Ballet. As choreographer, he has staged over 50 original works for more than 40 companies and schools worldwide. Mr. Nantais was also the Executive Director of the Boston Dance Company Studios and Associate Director of the Boston Dance Company. He recently retired from teaching Ballet for Musical Theater students at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee and has also retired from the faculties of the Boston Ballet and Charlotte Klein Dance Centers.   

Nikki Sell

Instructor of Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary, and Tap

Nikki Sell began her dance education at a small studio in Western Nebraska.  As a teen, she spent her summers studying dance at the Ballet/Aspen program in Colorado and at the Dupree Studios in Los Angeles.  She completed her high school years at the Idyllwild School of Music and Performing Arts in California, graduating Valedictorian of her class.  She then studied at The Boston Conservatory, earning a BFA in Dance and graduating Summa Cum Laude and Salutatorian of her class.  Ms. Sell performed regionally and internationally with Prometheus Dance (Artistic Directors Diane Arvanites and Tommy Neblett), ACE Entertainment (Allen Collier, Tommy Coye, Jimmy Viera and Jeannette Neill), Impulse (Adrienne Hawkins), and Boston Dance Company (Jimmy Reardon and Clyde Nantais).  Her commercial and industrial credits include a leading role in an industrial video for Spalding sports equipment and a TV commercial for W.B. Mason office supplies, for which she was also the choreographer.  Ms. Sell also choreographed the 2006 Weston Drama Workshop production of “Ragtime” which won the prestigious Moss Award.  Ms. Sell has also presented two seasons of work with her own company, Hyperbole Dance. In her 20+ years of teaching, Ms. Sell has been on the faculty at Jeannette Neill Dance Studios, Boston Youth Moves, Walnut Hill School & Academy, and The Boston Conservatory.  She has appeared as a master teacher for the Regional Dance America/SW Festival, San Antonio Metropolitan Ballet, Brandeis University, Framingham State College, and Arts Rochester.  She is excited to join the faculty at FSPA!  

Franklin School for the Performing Arts
 
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