Teachers
At AED we are pleased that every teacher we employ is currently dancing themselves, continuously furthering their own skills and honing their teaching craft. They must possess a love for dance, children, and excellence. Our Teacher's Apprenticeship Program (TAP) thrives as student teachers learn how to teach, and continue to receive excellent personal training as they hone their dance repertoire. Our graduated student teachers have gone on to attend prestigious ballet programs, world famous hip hop companies, and receive scholarships for their academic and dance skills. We are very careful to select humble, confident, talented and sincere dancers for this program.
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.
Sam Parker
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.
Tanner Paffen
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.
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 for both genres. As a freshman at Mount Holyoke College this past year 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. She is excited to continue learning and dancing at the University of Vermont this year and she is thrilled to be back teaching for AED!
