Faculty
Sandi Duncan
Sandi Duncan is a dance educator, choreographer, mentor and personal development coach with a career spanning over 40 years in the New England area. She owned, directed and taught at Dance Productions in Woburn, Massachusetts for 9 years, before becoming a senior faculty member at the Melissa Hoffman Dance Center in Hudson, New Hampshire. Throughout her career, Sandi has had the opportunity to teach, choreograph, and adjudicate for numerous dance organizations across the United States and Canada. Her choreography credits include notable projects such as The Revolve Tour for Grammy-nominated recording artist Britt Nicole, Subtle Intuition Dance Ensemble, The Brightleaf Music Workshop at Duke University, and The Next Stage Music Workshop of Durham, North Carolina. Sandi has taught on the dance convention and summer intensive circuit. She has been a faculty member at Dance Masters of America, Generation IV, Inception, Rhee Gold’s Dance Life and SOUL conferences, as well as many respected studios in the US. In addition to her contributions to the dance community, Sandi’s passion for writing has grown during her time as a monthly columnist for Dance Studio Life Magazine. This passion has led her to embark on an exciting, creative project, the children’s book series, “Little Gladys Tutu” and “Mimi D”.
Sandi has always been dedicated to personal development coaching, mentoring, and encouraging dancers, teachers, studio owners, and dance parents. Drawing from her vast experiences, stories, and tools, she is committed to sharing her knowledge and insights with others as they navigate their own personal dance journeys.
Kristen Cormier
Kristen started her dance journey at North Shore Dance Academy when she was 3 years old and started competing at age 7 on the Jade team. Throughout her competitive years, she competed both regionally and nationally with her team, earning many high scores and special awards. She was awarded various scholarships at conventions, including Elite Dancer at Excel in Motion and Elite Dancer at WCDE. She also attended the Rockettes Summer Intensive in New York City twice, training in the unique Rockettes style and eye-high kicks. In her senior year, her small group had the special opportunity to compete at The Final Showdown at WCDE Nationals.
Upon graduation from high school, she attended Northeastern University, where she got her Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering with a Minor in Mathematics. She kept dancing in college, as a member of the Northeastern University Dance Team, and got to compete at NDA Nationals in Daytona Beach. After graduation, she moved to Ohio and then to California for work opportunities and spent much of that time seeing new parts of the country.
Kristen has since moved back to the North Shore area and works as an engineer in biotech manufacturing. She also returned to Northeastern to work towards her MBA part-time. She just finished up her first season with DanceWorks Boston, reigniting her passion for dance. She is so excited to return to the studio in Fall 2024 and share her love for dance with future generations of NSDA students.
Olivia Curreri
Olivia grew up in Beverly, MA and began her dance training at age three at North Shore Dance Academy. While she studied all styles the studio offered, she developed a special love for tap early on. At age 10, she joined NSDA’s intensive program, serving as a student assistant and participating in numerous competitions and conventions over the years. As her passion for tap deepened, Olivia joined the Boston Tap Company at age 15, performing along the East Coast for six years. She was also selected as an Excel in Motion Elite Dancer for two years and was invited to attend the Slide Tap Intensive during her time at NSDA.
After high school, Olivia continued to perform as a member of the Trinity College Dance Company—serving as captain from 2018–2019—and danced with the New England Alliance of Tap, where she also was the video content editor. She is currently a professional company member with Fourth Dimension Tap Company and serves on the leadership team as the fundraising coordinator. Throughout her dance career, Olivia has had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Nick Bowman, Aaron Turner, Luke Hickey, Jeffrey Bird Jr., Sean Fielder, Mike Minery, and Jason Janas. She credits much of her passion for tap to her childhood teachers—Tammy Bolduc, Joanna Roberts, and Stacie Resendes Ferreira.
Outside the studio, Olivia works in healthcare fundraising. She holds an MBA from Suffolk University and a BA in Psychology and Spanish from Trinity College. Olivia is thrilled to be back home at North Shore Dance Academy, sharing her love of tap with the next generation!
Carly Gray
Carly Gray is an NSDA alumni and has been involved with the studio since she started dancing there at just 2 years old. After 16 years of dancing at NSDA she graduated in 2022 and started working as a lobby assistant that upcoming fall. While dancing at NSDA she studied tap, ballet, jazz, hip hop and lyrical. Carly had Ms Lisa teach her for 4 years and Ms Lauren taught her throughout her whole dance career and she says they have been her inspiration to become a dance teacher. Carly was a student assistant for many years assisting her previous hip hop teacher Ms Kayla and always loved working with kids and contributing to their growth. Carly started teaching her own classes this past 2023-2024 season and loved every second of it. Carly strives to create a positive and encouraging environment in her classrooms at all times. Carly finds her true passion is spreading her love for dance with others and being able to pass on her knowledge and share her creativity with young dancers to be beyond fulfilling and a gift that keeps on giving. Carly is going into her Junior year of college where she is a psychology major with hopes of being a therapist someday working with adolescents.
Carly believes that dance is so much more than an extracurricular activity. Dance is an outlet for people of all ages to express themselves. Dance is a place where you get to leave all your worries at the door and have fun! NSDA is so much more than a dance studio to Carly and so many others. NSDA is a place where you build lifelong friends, where you will have teachers that not only help you grow but truly care and push for your success and a place that will always be a home away from home.
Abigayle Tringale
Abi believes that everyone is a dancer, and everyone deserves their chance to step into the spotlight. She strives to create a welcoming environment where each dancer, regardless of age or experience, can feel challenged and celebrated through dance.
Christine Farrar
Christine began her dance training with The Boston Ballet School of Dance for over 15 years, studying Tap, Jazz, and Ballet. Early in her career she moved to NYC and studied theatre, dance and voice at the prestigious Academy of Dramatic Arts. She worked on many films during this time as well as a spot in a national commercial.
After leaving NYC, her journey led her to LA, while there she continued to study dance with Joe Tremaine and Jackie Sleight. While living in Orlando Fla Christine worked for Disney World and pursued her love of acting and dance. After returning home to Mass, she continued to teach at several dance studios until ultimately opening Christine Proia’s Dance Academy in 1995 and has continued to own her studio until recently, ending her ownership just this past June after 29 wonderful years. Her dancers have danced in Disney World several times, as well as in NYC. Her intensive team dancers have won many awards, special Choreography Awards, High scores and more throughout her 29 years with CPDA.
Christine has been inspiring all her dancers with her passion and love for the art of dance for over 40 years. She is looking forward to meeting all the NSDA families and dancers this Fall.
Nikki Taylor
Emily Nestor
Emily began dancing at North Shore Dance Academy in 2012 taking a jazz class with Miss Tammy. She instantly fell in love with dance and started to take more classes and study more genres. Emily trained in jazz, ballet, tap, lyrical, pointe and hip hop. Emily began taking classes in the intensive program and loved student assisting as well. Emily was an active member of NSDA Goodwill Ambassadors and loved to represent the studio throughout the community. After graduating Emily attended Dean College and Endicott College. Emily found her way back to the studio and worked as lobby assistant, substitute teacher and classroom assistant for the Dancer Within program. Emily began teaching classes of her own at NSDA and has loved every minute of getting to know the students of NSDA.Emily graduated from Endicott College receiving a Bachelors degree in Business Management. Emily is so excited to be back at the studio for another year filled with fun and working with such an amazing staff.
Sarah Vose
Alana Comeau
Miss Alana is in her second year on staff at NSDA and we are so lucky to have her on staff. Miss Alana has been dancing since the age of two and it truly became a lifelong passion. She danced with North Shore Dance Academy as a competitive student as well as taking a variety of extra classes at Gene Murray School of Dance in her free time. She began teaching dance for the Sterling YMCA as a high school senior and later on moved onto Creative Arts Dance Conservatory. Miss Alana worked tirelessly to develop the same passion in her students and eventually founded a dance team in both of these locations. Miss Alana’s dance teams and companies have earned many special recognitions at various dance competitions in recent years. She graduated from the Dance Teachers Club of Boston Training School in 2007. She holds a Certificate in Dance Education and an Associate Degree in Dance, Magna Cum Laude from Northern Essex Community College. Miss Alana also graduated from Salem State University with a Bachelor of Science also in Dance, Cum Laude. She is currently studying Chemistry at Northern Essex Community College with hopes of working with and improving vaccines and therapeutics one day so we can live in a healthier world. Miss Alana also studies French and Korean language with some of her spare time. Miss Alana also has a passion for animals and often donates to animal shelters or volunteers when she can. Miss Alana still loves to perform and has been a member of Forty Steps Dance Company since 2019. Alana is happy to join the NSDA staff, after all these years it feels like coming home.
Dennee Noyes
Dennee Noyes began her dance training at a young age in Peabody, Massachusetts at the Jenkins School of Dance. She went on to study under the direction of Deborah Douglas, Cheri Gikas, Tammy Bolduc and Gene Murray. Having studied many styles of dance, Dennee has become a well-rounded dance instructor of both children and adults since 1995 at North Shore Dance Academy in Danvers, Massachusetts.. She was also a teacher in Salem, Massachusetts for Gene Murray School of Dance for several years. Ms. Dennee is a graduate of the Dance Teachers Club of Boston Dance Education Training Program and is an active member of both Dance Teachers Club of Boston and Dance Masters of America.
Julie McKie
Miss Julie grew up in Peabody. As a child she was a student at the original studio that eventually became the first home of North Shore Dance Academy. As owners came and went she stayed and now jokes that “she just came with the building”. Since she spent so much time at the studio anyway, as a teen she began assisting classes and eventually became a teacher. She earned her teaching certificate from The Dance Teachers Club of Boston. Trained in Tap, Ballet, Pointe, Jazz and Acro, Miss Julie has been teaching students ages 3-18 for the past 28 years.
Melissa Bistany
Melissa has been a part of the North Shore Dance Academy faculty for the past 13 years. She has trained and teaches in the styles of Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Lyrical and Acro. Melissa has competed local and Nationally and has won several titles including American Dance Awards dancer of the year 1999. She attends national touring conventions regularly to stay current and up to date with the ever changing styles of dance.
Michelle Broome
Michelle grew up in Chelsea, MA and fell in love with dance at the incredibly young age of three. Not long after, her family moved to Peabody where she continued to dance in Chelsea at Broadway Studio of Performing Arts. Michelle’s passion expanding beyond learning as a student, she realized teaching is what really drove her. This led to her becoming a Teacher Assistant and after gaining the proper knowledge she began to instruct her very own classes. Michelle then ultimately moved on from the studio that helped mold her into the Instructor she is today to expand her dance knowledge by teaching at additional schools.
Michelle has attended many dance conventions, performed in Disney World and has also showcased her talent in various local events with her studio’s performance group. Read more…
Lisa Gast-Corbett
Lisa Gast-Corbett started dancing at age 22. She took a ballet class on a whim with Gene Murray and never looked back. After taking hundreds of classes, Lisa began assistant teaching at the Gene Murray School of Dance in the ballet program for young children. Lisa was awarded her own class in the program in 1998. Lisa continued to study at the Gene Murray School of Dance and started pointe work at age 29 under Gene Murray and eventually Christianne Clark’s direction.
Joanna McHugh
Lauren Adario
Lauren Adario loves being able to combine the passions of teaching and love for dance with students of all ages. From the age of 3, Lauren trained at North Shore Dance Academy in a wide range of styles, as well as additional ballet and tap training with Gene Murray. At age 10, she joined the intensive program and performed and competed regionally and nationally. As a student, she and her team earned a number of overall high schools and special awards at various conventions and competitions. Her passion for teaching started at a young age, while assisting younger dance classes at NSDA.
Read more…
Alison DeVita Kehlbeck
Miss Ali grew up dancing at the Carlene Nazarian Dance Center and went on to receive her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing at Assumption College. While attending Assumption, Miss Ali was the captain of her college dance team and attended UDA in Disney World as well as NDA College Nationals in Daytona Beach, FL. While in college, she performed in her college production of “Chicago” and “Damn Yankees.” Miss Ali also danced for the Boston Cannons Dance Team and the Boston Blazers Dance Team.
Kristen Calder
Stacie Resendes Ferreira
Stacie Resendes Ferreira joined the faculty of North Shore Dance Academy as Ballet Mistress in 1990 and is currently NSDA’s Competition Director. Over the past 30 plus years, she has had the privilege to train thousands of dancers and couldn’t be prouder of their accomplishments. Many of her students have gone on to perform in college, in dance companies, in local theater productions, and work professionally as career dancers. Some have even become teachers in their own right. In fact, many of the faculty of NSDA have trained with Stacie, and she is honored to have been a part of their journey!
Tammy Bolduc
Miss Tammy began her career as a dance educator at North Shore Dance Academy in 1987 and became the owner of NSDA in 1994. She has enjoyed every minute of her time, sharing her joy of dance with young ladies and gentlemen throughout the North Shore Area.