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Artistic Director
Ballet Instructor
Ballet Instructor
Ballet Instructor
Hannah has been dancing in the Pioneer Valley since the age of 3 at East Street Ballet and the Academy of Ballet Arts, with Charlotte Doyle, Noble Barker, Katherine Bervera, Barbara Kauff, Irina Vakhromeeva, Carlos Molina, and Donna Bonasera. At UMass, Hannah took advanced ballet classes with Tom Vacanti and Rodger Blum and performed with the 5 College Dance Departments and Alive with Dance. During her junior and senior year at UMass, Hannah taught students of all ages at Amherst Ballet and set choreography from Le Corsaire for upper school students. After graduation, Hannah spent 6 months in Key West Florida in a Hospitality Management Program with Hilton Hotels, where she continued dancing and guest teaching at Coffee Mill Dance Studio. Since returning to Amherst in 2020, Hannah has enjoyed taking and teaching classes while encouraging strength and confidence through dance.
Natalie started dancing when she was 3 years old and danced competitively for 10 years, traveling around New England attending and learning from many top choreographers at competitions and conventions. She also performed at various venues including Disney World. For the past four years, Natalie has been teaching ballet, contemporary, and jazz, as well as working with children in various other capacities. Currently a senior at UMass Amherst, majoring in Marketing and pursuing Arts Management certificate, Natalie is a proud member of Stage Crew Dance Team, a student-run dance company.
Karen holds a BFA in dance from The Boston Conservatory of Music and has been teaching dance at various locations in the Pioneer Valley since 2004. Karen is also a licensed massage therapist for over 30 years, a certified Zero Balancer and mentor for the Zero Balancing Health Association, and a certified yoga teacher.
Dana is a teacher, choreographer, performer, and improviser based in Hadley, Massachusetts. Originally from Austin, TX, Dana attended Smith College, where she earned a B.A. in Dance and Anthropology. Since graduating in 2017, Dana has collaboratively choreographed and performed in experimental dance-theater works as a member of Venus Wheeler Dance Collective and taught contemporary, hip hop, and yoga in various settings, including after school programs and studios. Dana brings her passion for pedagogy to dance spaces, incorporating skills she’s learned working as special education teacher to enhance engagement and enjoyment for collaborators and students.
Kaitlyn has been teaching and choreographing for over 15 years. She has spent time in Houston, TX dancing with Ad Deum Dance Company and in Worcester, MA dancing with Accendo Dance Company. While she no longer dances professionally, her passion to teach excellent technique and a love of dance has grown in the past decade. She has had choreography performed across New England, Texas, London, and Italy. She loves every style of dance and is broadly trained but ballet has a special place in her heart as it is the foundation for all other dance genres.
Hayley began her training at Stoneleigh Burnham School in Greenfield, Massachusetts. She graduated from the Hartt School at the University of Hartford, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Dance Pedagogy in 2012. She has studied ballet with Hilda Morales, Debra Collins Ryder, and Samantha Dunster. Hayley has been affiliated with Cirque du Solei, and has taught and showcased her choreography throughout New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Scotland. Hayley’s teaching experience includes Sorvino Dance Intensive, Dwana Smallwood Performing Arts Center, Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Ballet, and being on faculty at the Joffrey Ballet School for ten years.
Sonya holds a bachelor’s degree in dance and English from Kenyon College. She began her dance training as a child at the Brattleboro School of Dance in Brattleboro, Vermont. As a high school student, she received the Dance Award for her involvement in the Windham Regional Career Center Dance Program. Upon graduation, she moved to New York, studying ballet and modern dance at Manhattan Youth Ballet, and has participated in summer training programs at The Rock School, Garden State Ballet, Burklyn Ballet Theatre, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, among others. In March of 2020, her piece “That’s Life!” was performed at the American College Dance Association conference in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her choreographic work has been performed on indoor and outdoor stages from Vermont to Ohio. Sonya is passionate about making every student feel welcome in her classes, and works to cultivate an environment where students can feel safe and supported, wherever they might be in their dance journey.
Madeleine began her classical ballet training at the age of 2 at the Royal Academy of Dance in California, and continued at the San Francisco Ballet on full-scholarship, where she was a recipient of the Rosalie Helman Merit Award for outstanding achievement. Her background includes the Vaganova method, Balanchine technique, Bournonville, Spanish/Russian character dance, modern, contemporary, and neo-classical. She was a principal dancer with José Mateo Ballet Theatre in Cambridge, MA, for 14 years and has also performed abroad in Romania and Mongolia. Bonn holds a teaching certification from American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum, and received an award from the Amherst Cultural District for her choreography in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. At Amherst Ballet, Madeleine serves as the Artistic Director and ensures the advancement of the overall artistic and dance education mission of the school. She also teaches all levels of ballet while being in charge of producing annual performances. As a teacher, Bonn focuses on fostering confidence and self-esteem in her students, encouraging them to find their own voices through experimentation, music appreciation, phrasing, classical technique, and artistic expression.
Ballet Dancer at Oper Wuppertal; Aalto-Musiktheater Essen; Deutsche Oper am Rhein
Music: “Musica nocturna de las Calles de Madrid” by Boccherini
Clicking on the “Register” button will take you to the Parent Portal of Dance Studio Pro. Sign in if you have an account with us. If not, make a free account and sign in. Then add yourself as your student.
In the home page, click “Register for Classes.” –> Choose the one you would like to take and click “Submit.”
To pay the tuition, click “Account” at top of the screen and choose “Pay Online” in the drop down menu. –> Choose “Other” and click “Next.” –> Put “12” in the pay amount and finish the payment.
You’ll receive the link to the Zoom class via email.