FACULTY

Heidi (Hanson) Mitrushi, B.S., B.A. (Jazz, Tap, Aerial)

Heidi is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a B.A. in Theater and Dance and a B.S. in Exercise Science.  She was a member of the UNH Dance Company under the direction of Gay Nardone, and specialized in jazz, tap and aerial dance.  While living in NYC, Heidi performed with the XYandZ Project and En L’Air Aerial Dance Theater in the International Dance Festival, and you can catch her on the kid’s TV series Sheria and Loli’s Dittydoodle Works as Pink-A-Dink.  Heidi has performed alongside tap legends Brenda Bufalino and Dean Diggins while in the cast of Clara’s Dream, A Jazz Nutcracker, and Ringing in the Rhythm, both directed by Drika Overton. She teaches aerial dance each summer at the UNH Summer Dance Intensive and has been teaching tap and jazz locally for over ten years.

Joyce Goldstein, B.S. (Tap, Ballroom)

Joyce was extensively trained in ballet and tap from early childhood, with Theresa Montone in Philadelphia.  In her teens, she began training in Luigi style jazz, with Odette Luisi from NYC. She began teaching dance and performing in community theater during her high school years.  Joyce holds a BS degree in Health and Physical Education from Pennsylvania State University.  While attending PSU, she participated in their modern dance company, Orchesis, directed by Patricia Hiegle. She also danced professionally with the traveling troupe of the Manhattan Rockets during the summers while attending college. After graduating, Joyce taught Health & Physical Education at Heritage Junior High, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey for eight years, during which time she established an after school dance club.  After moving to Washington State, Joyce developed an Aerobic Dance & Fitness business which she owned and directed for 10 years. While living in WA, she maintained her dance training with Patty White and choreographed several musicals for the Richland Light Opera Company.  She continued her dance training after moving to NH and has been teaching dance in the area since the 90’s. Joyce has also choreographed several musical productions for Garrison Players, as well as Dover and Winnacunnet High Schools.  In 1997, she began training in Ballroom Dance with Sergei Slussky at the American Ballroom Dance Academy, in Maine and began teaching Ballroom social dance a few years thereafter.  Joyce has been with the organization now called Sole City Dance for over 25 years and expects to share her love of dance and theatre for as long as possible.

Moriah Bureau (Young Children’s Dance, Modern & Ballet)

Moriah started dancing when she was eight at Sole City Dance (then Rochester Creative Arts Center). Her main focus started in ballet & she trained heavily in that style before moving more towards modern/contemporary. She has been on faculty at Sole City Dance for the past eight years and is also a part of the faculty for the dance program at Berwick Academy for the past four years.

Moriah danced with Northeaster Ballet Theatre for a few years and was in many of NBT’s full-length ballet productions during that time, and she has performed in numerous productions of “The Nutcracker” throughout the area over the past several years (her favorite roles include: Snow Queen & Dew Drop Fairy). Now, she is mainly focused on the Modern & Contemporary dance styles and is a company member of SONARdance (a modern dance company based in the Portland, ME area). She continues to grow as a dancer and dance educator by talking as many classes and workshops as she can. She has gotten the opportunity to take class and learn from artists such as Momix Dance Company, Larry Keigwin, Kyle Abraham, Margie Gillis, Faye Driscoll, Sean Curran, Heidi Henderson, Angie Hauser, Jenna Riegel, Anthony Rizzi… among many others. She has attended many workshops with David Dorfman & his company (David Dorfman Dance) -working closely with David & his company members in technique, improvisation, and creative process- as well as attending Bates Dance Festival. At BDF, she choreographed a piece which was performed at the Festival Final Showcase as well as having been chosen to dance in another artist’s piece for the showcase.

“I like to engage my students physically as well as mentally – creating thoughtful & innovative dancers. And I just love being able to share my love for dance through teaching!” says Moriah.

Debs Grammatic (Ballet)

Deborah Grammatic began her ballet training with the Seacoast Ballet Company, and then trained with both Ballet Theatre Workshop and Ballet New England under scholarship. She danced with the UNH Dance Company for two years in high school at the invitation of the director of ballet. As a student she attended many summer programs including Ballet Magnificat and Ballet Austin, where she was asked by both companies to stay on to be a company trainee. After dancing the title role in The Sleeping Beauty as a senior in high school she was asked to join Ballet New England’s professional company, which she did for 3 years.   Deborah then went on to join both Boston Dance Company and Northeastern Ballet Theatre as a principal dancer.   She performed leading roles in The Nutcracker, Carmina Burana, Paquita, Sleeping Beauty, Les Corsaire, and Dracula.  She was also a sought after guest artist, performing the roles of the Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker and Aurora in Sleeping Beauty for many companies throughout the seacoast area including Melrose Youth Ballet, Northern Ballet Theater, and Sole City Dance.  In 2009, Deborah was a guest artist for Portland Ballet Company’s Giselle production, jumping into a soloist role two weeks before the show was performed.  She was asked to join Portland Ballet as a professional company member in 2010 and was a company member for 6 years. She was featured in many performances including The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Giselle, La Bayadere, Boy Meets Girl, and as the Sugar Plum Fairy and The Snow Queen in The Victorian Nutcracker. The Portland Press Herald wrote that she performed Sugarplum “with refined joyfulness and precision”.  They also wrote that she had “quicksilver split leaps, neat beats and turns” and was “elastic and precise”.  She was called “stunning” partnering with Joseph Jefferies. “As the Snow Prince and Princess, Joseph Jefferies and Deborah Grammatic were extremely strong.  Grammatic was snowy, crisp and light, and Jefferies partnered her with grace.  Their final lift was magically inventive, with a light snowfall swirling around them.”  She retired from performing in 2016 to have her son and daughter.

  Deborah has been teaching ballet since 2005, and has also been a guest teacher and choreographer for schools around the seacoast.  She started teaching for Ballet New England and went on to teach for Northeastern Ballet Theatre, Fusion Dance Academy, and Musical Arts while also running her own ballet program for homeschoolers from 2010-2018. In 2013 she became a faculty member and choreographer for Sole City Dance, and in 2018 became co-artistic director of The Nutcracker and spring ballet.  In summer of 2019 Deborah took the American Ballet Theatre teacher intensive training in NYC and became a certified teacher for levels pre-primary to level 3.

Meghan McCoy Seedner, B. A. (Ballet, Pointe)

Meghan McCoy Seedner primarily trained at the Portsmouth School of Ballet, with summer training at Joffrey Ballet Theater NYC and Jose Mateo Ballet Theater in Cambridge MA. In 2010 she graduated from the University of New Hampshire with her BA in Theater and Dance. She joined the Portland Ballet Company as an apprentice for their 2010-2011 season before being promoted to company dancer in 2011. During her time with Portland Ballet, Seedner performed in many classical and contemporary works. In 2013 she joined the Teatrul de Balet Sibiu, in Romania. Upon her return to the States, she began her teaching career and continued dancing as a guest artist with Portland Ballet and other companies and schools across the seacoast. As a teacher now for 7 years, she enjoys training dancers of all ages in both classical and contemporary ballet.

Samantha Gabriel, B.A., M.S. (Jazz, Young Children's, Ballet, Acro, Modern)

Sammy Gabriel is a dance educator, choreographer, and freelance performer based out of New Hampshire. She received her Master's in Dance Education from New York University and has taught in private studios and academic institutions in Florida, New York, and all along the seacoast. Performance credits include WAXWorks, Dumbo Dance Festival, Ballet Inc. The Series, MultiPurpose Dance Project, Dance Research Forum Ireland, Universal Studios Orlando, and Shelter: A One Billion Rising Event. She was a Jazz & Contemporary trainee at the Joffrey Ballet School where she studied under leading industry professionals.

Sammy is passionate about advocating for dance and brings a unique energy to her classes that pushes dancers to take risks and remain curious. Her personal teaching philosophy is that a dance should foster  individuality and provide a supportive environment to find one's creative voice. As an educator she values dance history and lineage and shares that with her students. An important part of her practice is to create a safe environment where differences are welcome and encouraged. A goal for her students is for them to walk away with a greater awareness of themselves and others. Dance helps develop critical thinking skills and the ability to make connections to the outside world. Her overall mission is to encourage active, creative, and open-minded members of the arts community. 

Jim Mastro, B.S., M.A. (Ballroom)

Jim first took up dancing as a sophomore at San Diego State University, after seeing people dance the jitterbug in a movie. “That looks like fun!” he thought, and immediately signed up for a ballroom class. Indeed, it was fun, and Jim has been dancing ever since. He focused his studies on ballroom, but also studied jazz dance at San Diego’s famous Stage 7 studio. One year after his first ballroom class, he began teaching and performing. While earning his Bachelor of Science in Zoology, he and his partner became two of the leading performers and instructors in San Diego, bringing jitterbug, west coast swing, cha-cha, waltz, tango, nightclub freestyle, and of course street hustle (the most popular, couples disco dance) to the stage and studio. They taught hundreds of people to dance; competed in (and won) dance contests; performed at conventions, charity benefits, and in television commercials; and were half of a four-member dance troupe employed by a popular radio station to do promotional performances.

While attending graduate school in English at UNH in 1991 and 1992, Jim taught ballroom dance at Rochester Movement Arts and took tap lessons from Christine Hounsell. Afterward, he spent several years in Antarctica, where he taught a weekly jitterbug swing class (for people, not penguins). Since returning to New Hampshire, Jim has taught ballroom occasionally at Sole City Dance, often serving as a substitute teacher for Joyce Goldstein. Jim believes few activities are more joyful — or more healthful — than dance. It helps you stay in shape, lifts your spirit, and keeps you young. He is excited to be doing his part to keep ballroom dance (especially swing and street hustle) alive.

Danielle Coombs, B.S. (Hip Hop, Ballet, Jazz, Tap)

Danielle is a recent graduate of the University of New Hampshire, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in dance. During her time at UNH, she trained in jazz, tap, ballet, pointe and aerial. She was a member of the jazz, tap, aerial section of the UNH Dance Company, in addition, she performed in many dance and aerial showcases. Before dancing in college, Danielle danced at Adagio Dance Academy for 15 years training in styles of ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary and pointe, as well as dancing competitively for 10 of those years. Danielle is very excited to be joining the faculty at Sole City where she can continue her love of dance and inspire her students to share in her passion to keep dancing.

Courtney Lampert, B.F.A., M.F.A. (Ballet, Pointe)

Courtney Lampert began her serious dance training at age 10 at Ballet Tech Ohio under the direction of Claudia Rudolph Barrett. Her dance education includes intensive study in modern dance, character, classical ballet, pas de deux, and variations. From there, she continued training at the Otto M. Budig School of Cincinnati Ballet, Houston Repertoire Ballet, Studio of Dance, and Joffrey Ballet School. Performance Repertoire includes excerpts from La Bayadere, Paquita, Le Corsaire, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Flower Festival Genzano, The Nutcracker, and Stars and Stripes, Sleeping Beauty, Dracula. Principal roles in La Fille Mal Gardee, as well as leading roles in contemporary original choreography by Alexi Kremnev, Claudia Rudolph Barrett, Gilbert Rome, and Edra Toth. Courtney has had the privilege to perform at many venues and festivals including the Jarson Kaplan Theatre in Cincinnati, and Lincoln Center, New York. Honors include silver medalist Youth America Grand Prix 2002 Semi-Finals, a BFA in Painting from Southern Methodist University, 2010, and an MFA in Painting from University of New Hampshire, 2014. After seven years of cultivating a career in visual arts, she returned to dancing at NBT in October of 2014. Courtney now resides in Somersworth, NH where she works as an artist, and dancer.

Caitlin Craven, B.A. (Tap, Young Children’s)

Caitlin found her love for dance growing up at the Creative Dance Workshop of Bow where she trained in the styles of tap, hip hop, jazz, lyrical, and ballet. In high school, Caitlin attended the Dance Teacher Education Program at the Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston, becoming a certified dance instructor. After her certification, Caitlin not only began teaching at her studio, but also began choreographing school musicals. Over the course of six years she choreographed several shows including Mary Poppins Jr, Shrek Jr, and Alice in Wonderland Jr. 

Caitlin earned her undergraduate degree at the University of New Hampshire, dual majoring in Education and Psychology and minoring in Dance. She is now working towards her Master’s degree in Elementary Education at the University of New Hampshire.

Caitlin performed in the UNH Dance Company for four years where she trained in the styles of jazz, tap, and aerial. She served as co-captain of the company during her senior year (2022-2023). During her time in the UNH dance program, she was a part of the college’s first-ever certification course in becoming an aerial dance instructor.

Caitlin has taught at Sole City Dance for four years and enjoys sharing her love of tap with her classes. She hopes to ignite an excitement for tap in her students through improvisation, creative movement, and collaboration.

Christina Osborne (Aerial and Acro)

Christina Osborne is from Rochester, New Hampshire and graduated from Spaulding High School in 2021. She began her dance journey at Right Attitudes when her grandmother signed her up at age 3. She started at Sole City Dance at age 7 and continued until her graduation. Throughout her 15 years she took classes in ballet, jazz, tap, modern, hip hop, and aerial. Her passion for aerial began in 2015 and continued to grow as she became an assistant teacher. 

Christina has performed in 11 Nutcrackers, in which she was the Arabian lead for three years. Some of her other favorite roles include Spanish lead, snow, and ballerina doll. She also performed in many other productions including Cinderella, Dance Northeast, and Dancers Making a Difference. She enhanced her dance education at Belletete Ballet as a student as well as a member of BeBa Company, and with New England Dance Project, where she competed in many dance competitions. 

Christina is currently attending Great Bay Community College majoring in accounting. She plans to further her education in accounting and finance at a 4-year school. Christina is excited to share her passion and knowledge of aerial arts with her students.

Hannah Beck, B.A. (Aerial, Acro, Jazz)

Hannah is a dancer, aerialist, and choreographer based in the greater seacoast area. A UNH Theater & Dance alumn, she went on to train at the New England Center for Circus Arts where she specialized in trapeze and aerial dance. In addition to performing and choreographing throughout the seacoast, Hannah continues to teach as part of the theater and dance department at UNH and hopes to eventually further her education, exploring aerial as a method of somatic therapy.

Aisilyn Guivens, M.S., B.A. (Young Children’s, Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Tap)

Aisilyn is originally from Nottingham, NH and began her dance career at Corinne’s School of Dance in Rochester, NH. While at Corinne’s, she studied various styles of dance with a focus in Broadway style Jazz, Kickline, and Tap, participating in regional and national dance competitions. As a freshman in high school, Aisilyn began teaching Happy Feet Ballet and Tap under the guidance of Corinne Allaire, later incorporating this work as part of her high school senior project.

Aisilyn is a graduate of Plymouth State University and holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in History with a double minor in Northern New England Heritage Studies and Dance. She was a member of the PSU Dance Division under the direction of Amanda Whitworth, studying Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Modern styles along with Dance Theory and History. While at PSU, she expanded her studies to include Giordano Jazz, Dance Pedagogy and Choreography, and Stage Management under the tutelage of Lenore Sousa and Jacqueline Young.

Aisilyn had participated in the American College Dance Association Festival during her time at PSU, where she presented choreography to professionals and educators from along the East Coast. During her free time, Aisilyn participated in the Contemporary Dance Ensemble as both performer and choreographer as well as serving as an executive board member within the Iota Delta Chi Sorority. While in her undergraduate studies, she had performed as the Queen in the Sole City Spring Ballet of Cinderella (2019) as a guest artist, which spurred Aisilyn to join Sole City Dance a year after graduating.

Aisilyn later received her Master’s of Science degree in Library Information Science and Technology with a concentration in Archival Management from Simmons University. Currently a Library director in Center Harbor, NH, she continues to be active in Sole City Dance as a student and teacher. She loves to participate in the annual Nutcracker and choreograph Tap routines for both Solstice and Young Companies. Aisilyn specializes in Rhythm Tap and Giordano jazz, loving the high-energy and intricate movements of both styles. A lover of artistic freedom and movement, Aisilyn is excited to continue her dance career at Sole City Dance and share that love with her students and colleagues.

Lauren Pina, B.A. (Jazz, Contemporary, Leaps & Turns)

Lauren is a recent graduate of the University of New Hampshire where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and a minor in dance. While at UNH, Lauren studied tap, jazz, aerial, and choreography. This allowed her to showcase her own choreography in shows the students put on at the university. Also while at UNH, Lauren was a part of the UNH dance company her junior and senior years. In this company, she specialized in jazz, tap, and aerial. During her time in the UNH dance program, she was a part of the college’s first-ever certification course in becoming an aerial dance instructor.

Before dancing at UNH, Lauren began dancing at the age of 2 at Bakers Dance Studio. After a year there, she continued her dance career at Kaleidoscope of Dance and Gymnastics for the following 2 years. She then finished off her dancing career attending Erica’s Dance Academy for 12 years. At Erica’s, she studied ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, and acro. At the age of 10, she began dancing competitively. Then, at the age of 12 Lauren’s curiosity for teaching began as she was selected and trained to be an assistant teacher. Over the years she has worked with ages 5 through 18 and began choreographing at the age of 16.

Taylor George (Young Children’s, Hip Hop, Jazz, Modern)

Taylor has been dancing for 17 years, she started her dance journey at the age of 3 at Joy of Dance.  She has taken ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, lyrical, modern, pointe, and musical theater throughout her years of training. Taylor was also a part of the competition team at Joy of Dance and competed in area competitions from age 8 to 16. During her sophomore year of high school, she wanted to add to her dance training and began studying at Sole City Dance.

Taylor has also participated in the Sole City Dance Annual Nutcracker for 6 years. During her time in the productions, her favorite roles were Russian soloist, Mouse Queen, and Harlequin Doll. Taylor was also part of the original cast of Sole City Dance’s original ballet Treasure Island where she played Pew.

In conjunction with her regular dance training Taylor has also been a student teaching intern and has subbed many classes during her time as a student and after she graduated. Taylor also attended a 3-week intensive at Urbanity Dance to further her dance education.

Taylor is looking forward to seeing where her dance journey brings her.

Lilian Bent (Young Children’s, Hip Hop)

Lily Bent has been dancing at Sole City Dance since age three, training in ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, and hip hop. She has been training in the American Ballet Theatre curriculum under Jacqui Young since 2018. Lily started interning for young children's classes at age 12 and has been passionate about helping with, and teaching young children's dance ever since.

Lily has been performing in Sole City’s Nutcracker show for years, her favorite roles to perform being Spanish soloist and Snow. She has also performed in many other shows, including Dance Northeast, and Dancers Making a Difference, where she dances with the Solstice Dance Company. In the annual recital in 2022, Lily performed the Cupid variation in Paquita. 

Lily plans to continue dancing throughout the rest of high school and continue her dance education in college. She is so excited to teach, and share her passion for dance with her students!

SCD ADMINISTRATION

To communicate with any of our administrators, please write to info@solecitydance.org and your email will be forwarded to the appropriate individual.  Or call 603-750-7777 to reach our receptionist.

Executive Director:  Alex Poulis, alex@solecitydance.org

Outreach Coordinator: (with Somersworth Youth Connection) Moriah Bureau, moriah@solecitydance.org

Ballet Curriculum Director: Jacqui Young, jacquiy@solecitydance.org

Performance Production Managers:

Nutcracker – Moriah Bureau, moriah@solecitydance.org

Dance Northeast - Alex Poulis, alex@solecitydance.org and Jacqui Young, jacquiy@solecitydance.org

Spring Ballet – Moriah Bureau, moriah@solecitydance.org

Annual Student Dance Concert – Moriah Bureau, moriah@solecitydance.org

SCD BOARD OF TRUSTEES