Teachers
At AED we are pleased that every teacher we employ possesses a love for dance, children, and excellence. From professional ballerinas, State Championship winners, full Dance Scholarship College Graduates to college dancers who embody the zest for dance that we require, we have a team that is both strong and vivacious! This year we are employing two student teachers, Sylvia Kart and Liberty Carleton, who have proven themselves as both wonderful with children and adept at teaching.
Martina Price
Martina (MP) has been involved in children's education ever since she was a teen. She has been trained in the Vaganova technique by ballet master John White of the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet. John White holds international respect for his knowledge in the art of dance pedagogy, or teaching, specific to the Vagonova technique. Martina has taught ballet at many of the local Dance Studios including VBT, Fusion 802, GMPA, and The Bird's Nest. Her joyful approach to dance and learning is contagious, and she has started off literally hundreds of students who continue to dance state and nation wide! Martina has four daughters who danced throughout their childhood, who also share her joy of dance and teaching.
Steffi Thomas
Steffi was born and raised in England and trained at the Central School of Ballet in London. Steffi has worked and performed with Peter Schaufuss Ballet, English National Ballet, Scottish Ballet and The National Ballet of Ireland. A few of Steffi’s other credits include dancing for the Queen at the Royal Variety show, performing in Shanghai China and Kazakhstan for Jaguar and performing at many corporate events such as The Discovery Channel, Bvlgari, Audi, Honda and QVC. Steffi is also a Pilates instructor and has taught ballet and Pilates in several different studios/schools in England, Ireland and America.
Rose Bedard
Rose (RB) is a native Vermonter who offers dance classes, choreography, artistic direction, private lessons and more to studios and communities in the surrounding area. Rose is the twelfth year coach of the Mt.Mansfield Union dance team who recently won their fifth year in a row, jazz and hip hop championships in the Vermont Northern Athletic Conference and also just collected their 5th state championship title in hip hop. Her team also went on to place 3rd in hip hop at the New England level for the second year in a row. Recently, she has become, the creator, director of the her own adult dance company “SynRgy Dance Company” and continues to work and choreograph at local studios in Vermont as well as her very own, 2INSPIRE Dance Company. Throughout her career Rose has always been known for instilling self esteem and passion through dance.
Carrington Lorenz
Carrington Lorenz (CL) Carrington started ballet classes as a young girl in Essex, VT with the Vermont Ballet Theatre School. At age 15, she moved away from home, honing her technique at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB) in Carlisle, PA, and later as a Dance major at Mercyhurst College. Her training culminated in an 8-year professional career dancing with companies such as Pittsburgh Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Nashville Ballet, and most recently with Les Grands Ballet Canadiens de Montreal. She has had the opportunity to be coached by New York City Ballet Principal Ashley Bouder, and has performed roles such as Waltz Girl in George Balanchine's Serenade, Barbara Allen in Christopher Bruce's Sergeant Early's Dream, and a corps role in John Neurimer's USA premier of A Streetcar Named Desire. Ms. Lorenz moved back to Vermont after her retirement in 2020.
Samantha Witham
Samantha Witham is a female dancer and a fresh choreographer positioned in Vermont. She loves embracing any and all styles of dance and is especially inspired by contemporary and modern movement in the body. Her background in competition dancing influenced her technical style of movement and her hometown studio teachers inspired her to continue to pursue her passion for dance. She loves teaching and hopes to inspire future generations to love dance as much as she does. Her experience includes four plus years of teaching modern, ballet, contemporary, and commercial jazz movement to people of all ages. She graduated Keene State College with a B.A. in Dance and a specialization in choreography and performance, while also minoring in business management. She has choreographed multiple works including a piece called Jellyfish Moonwalk that is inspired by the dancing form and finding connection during a time when there is so much division and has also danced in multiple shows put on through Keene State College including Evening of Dance and Choreography Showcase under inspiring choreographers such as Cynthia McLaughlin, and Borris Willis. Samantha is a graduate of the TAP program at AED.
Ella Myregaard
Ella Myregaard (EM) began dancing in Martina’s Teen Beginning Ballet class in middle school. She quickly fell in love with dance in all forms, and when she joined AED’s inaugural Teacher Apprenticeship Program she realized that passion extended to teaching as well. In addition to dancing and teaching classes at AED throughout middle and high school, Ella competed with Mount Mansfield Union High School’s jazz and hip hop dance teams her senior year, winning the State Championship in both genres. As a freshman at Mount Holyoke College, she performed in faculty and student works at Mount Holyoke and UMass Amherst, including being invited to perform at the American College Dance Association festival. Since transferring to UVM, Ella has performed works by Julian Barnett, Paula Higa, and Annabelle Diestel. She is also a member of the UVM Dance Team. Ella is thrilled to be back teaching for AED!
Erin Sullivan
Hi all! My name is Erin Sullivan, I’m a junior at UVM and I’m double majoring in dance and psychology. I’m so excited to be teaching hip hop at arabesque this year! Hip hop is my absolute favorite style and I can’t wait to share that love with everyone here! I have been dancing since I was 3, mostly at Contemporary Dance and Fitness Studio in Montpelier; I was a member of Teen Jazz there for all 4 years of high school. For my freshman year of college I studied at Marymount Manhattan and was a member of the hip hop/ J-Sette team called “The Throne”. After transferring to UVM I have joined The Vermont Dance Team and I’ve been apart of multiple shows with the dance and theater department. I can’t wait to see what this new year, and studio, will bring! Thank you all for welcoming me into this community!
Guest Teachers
Tanner Paffen
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Tanner Paffen is 20 years old and is an alumi of AED. He has trained in New York City and Los Angeles and is currently pursuing his hip hop career under the mentorship of professional choreographer Cameron Lee. We are lucky to have Tanner back in Vermont for a short while due to Covid. Tanner is experienced in many different styles including Hip Hop, Ballet, Contemporary and Jazz. He provides a fun and energetic atmosphere in classes and focuses on technique, foundation and execution. He loves to dance, choreograph and teach kids of all ages.
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Sam Parker
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Sam Parker has been dancing since the age seven. He started his dance journey in Waterbury, Vermont dancing at his local studio then moved up to Urban Dance Complex (UDC) to further his training. Throughout High school he continued training at UDC as well as training trips to NYC, LA, and with the Pulse on Tour where he was part of the Pulse Protege program run by Brian Friedman and the other Faculty Members (Gil Duldulao, Laurieann Gibson, Cris Judd, Tyce Diorio, Dave Scott, Ian Eastwood, Tessandra Chavez, Brooke Lipton). After High school Sam continued his training by moving to NYC where he was Scouted and signed by MSA Talent Agency. After an amazing year of living in NYC Sam made the big decision to make the move to The city of Angels and start his dance career. After Two years of living in LA Sam has danced for artists such as Y2, Wale, Phyno, and Janet Jackson.
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