Dance Northeast Int/Adv Master Class Instructors

Ballet

Marthavan McKeon

Mrs. McKeon has dedicated over 30 years to teaching ballet, building upon a distinguished career as a professional dancer. She began her training under Merrilee Smith at the Atlanta School of Ballet and, at 17, joined the Atlanta Ballet under Robert Barnett, a former soloist with New York City Ballet. Rising to the rank of soloist, she performed notable roles such as the Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, the four little swans in Swan Lake, and Dew Drop in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. She furthered her career with esteemed companies including Pennsylvania Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and the Nurnberg Staatsoper in Germany.


Mrs. McKeon has taught in renowned programs such as l’Académie Américaine de Danse à Paris (AADP) in France and founded the Milton Academy Summer Dance Program. For 10 years, she taught at Boston Ballet School before founding South Shore Ballet Theatre in 2008, now operating from a state-of-the-art facility in Hingham, MA.
An ABT® Certified Teacher, she has completed the ABT® National Training Curriculum for Pre-Primary through Level 5. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from Georgia State University and a University Certificate in Business German from Friedrich Alexander Universität in Germany.


Mrs. McKeon was recently nominated to the Who’s Who in Dance by CID-UNESCO in Paris. In September 2023, she was inducted into Dance Masters of New England and currently serves as a Master Ballet Teacher for Dance Northeast.

Lacey Sasso

Contemporary

Lacey Sasso (she/her) is the founder and Artistic Director of Sasso & Company, a Boston-based modern dance company. She attended Missouri State University where she earned a B.F.A in Dance Performance and a minor in Psychology. She earned a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology and Expressive Arts Therapy from William James College. Lacey spent six seasons with Undertoe Dance Project (NYC) as the Jazz Captain and Resident Jazz Teaching Artist. Lacey joined Project31’s professional company at its inception in 2017. She also serves as a guest choreographer and rehearsal assistant. Lacey joined the cast of City Ballet of Boston’s Urban Nutcracker as a tap lead, soloist, and ensemble member in 2024. Lacey is NGCP® certified in the Basic-Professional levels of Giordano Jazz Technique, is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique® and Alixa Flexibility Modules 1 & 2, has completed the Dance for PD® Introductory Dance Teacher Training Course, Martha Graham School Intensive Teacher Workshop (NYC), and Kaelyn Gray’s Tap Basics with a Twist Workshop. She has served on the faculty at Boston University, Urbanity Dance, the Royal Academy of Dance (London) and Montage Theatre Arts (London). She currently teaches on faculty at Project31 Dance Studio and South Shore Ballet Theatre, where she is the Head of the Modern Dance Program. 

Photo Credit: Timothy Avery Photography

Tap

Michael Dascomb

Michael Dascomb, a tap dancer from New Hampshire, is a 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholar Semifinalist, a 2023 Jacob's Pillow alumnus, and a 2022 YoungArts Winner with Distinction in Dance. He loves performing, improvisation, and everything in between. He is a member of Fourth Dimension Tap Co. and has been a member of Speaking in Taps and Touché Taps for years. Michael has created two solo shows under the direction of Derick Grant: Off the Tracks and My Favorite Things. He also has developed many tap videos, including The First Circle (where he solved a Rubiks cube while tap dancing), 7=5, Ticks & Leeches, and Abraham. Additionally, Michael has choreographed many pieces for Fourth Dimension Tap Co. and two tap pieces for professional dancers in NYC: Chain of Motion and Dat Dere. He also teaches dance in area studios. Michael loves performing with a live band, in addition to exploring polyrhythms, complex rhythms, odd meters, and intricate patterns in tap dance. In addition to tap dance, Michael is an accomplished dancer in other styles as well, performing in local Nutcrackers and other various performances.  Outside of dance, Michael is an accomplished martial artist who has earned his 2nd-degree international black belt in American Kenpo.

Hip Hop Fusion

Mel St. Cyr

Mel St. Cyr is a native from New Hampshire and has been dancing for 22 years. Her training and experience has included Alvin Ailey Summer intensive, Joffrey Ballet School, and consistent training at The Jeannette Neill Dance Studio, Broadway Dance Center, playground and Millennium Dance Complex. She has also been a part of professional groups such as Boston Community Dance Project, The Concept Artists, Static Noyze Dance Company, IMMABEAST, Rhythm City Ent. and Project Nailz attending major events like World of Dance, Big Bang Bern, NYC and LA Carnival Choreographer's Ball, and Prelude Urban Dance Competition. Her training has also brought her performance opportunities to be involved in Rolling Loud NYC, Rhythm City’s: Cosmological Warriors China Tour, Broadway in Boston: Dirty Dancing, NYC Dance Parade, and National Dance Day broadcasted on FOX's So You Think You Can Dance! Mel has also enjoyed assisting at major dance conventions and teaching at various dance studios around the New York and Los Angeles area. working with artists like Chinese Kitty, Lil Mama,Sarah-Katarina "SKooJ", Alonzo Williams, DOMO, Ari B, 4ward Productions, and McCarthy Visuals has brought Mel to where she is back on the east coast training and Teaching.