Mandy has been in the entertainment industy for 17 years,in all forms of the arts.  She is a member of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce,P.D.T.A. and the Dover Garrison Players as well as a chorographer for them and a few other local performance groups. Mandy is also a Big Buddies of New Hampshire.  Mandy enjoys taking master classes to contuine her education in dance.  Mandy’s love of dance,voice and drama is evident, as it is with the rest of the instructors she has chose to work with her.  Studio 109 shows and productions are proof of quality training in all three fields of dance, voice and drama.  Mandy’s heart and soul goes into her business; she states,”To share my talents and hold on to my dreams are the keys to my happiness,and the growth of Studio 109”.  Mandy was the 2001 Rochester Jaycees “Young Citizen of the year“ for her work in the community and the school mentor program.

Melissa is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire where she earned a degree in Business Administration from the Whittemore School of Business & Economics. Melissa has been involved in dance since the age of four. Through the years she has studied ballet, tap, lyrical and jazz, however she found her love in ballet.  As a teenager she was part of her dance school’s competitive dance team, where she discovered her passion for choreography.  Melissa won her first choreography award at the age of   17 at “Star Systems” dance competition for her self-choreographed jazz number.  Since then she has helped her students shine on stage through their technique and stage presence.  Her dances have won numerous top scores; most recently at the “On Stage America“ dance competition in March 2007, where her large group petite character number won overall high score as well as a choreography award.  She has choreographed a number of musicals such as “A Knight to Remember”, “Nutcracker” and          “A Nutcracker Variation”.  Melissa has always enjoyed being on stage and has been in musicals, singing groups and pageants since she can remember and she is currently Rochester’s “Pop Diva”.  Melissa enjoys working with dancers of all ages she feels working with children is one of the most rewarding fields to work in.

  Josie Gillette     Hip Hop 

Josie has been dancing for the last 12 years and plans on continuing. She has been dancing with Studio 109 for 10 years where she was also an assistant teacher. Her love of hip hop shows in her choreography, and Josie is very excited to now be teaching at Studio 109. Josie was also a cheerleader for 6 years, two of which she was the captain. Her cheering squads went on to many competitions. Josie has choreographed the Somersworth High School cheering squads competition routine. She has traveled to New York City’s Broadway Dance Center to take a four day hip hop workshop with Luam, who has been featured in many of today’s hip hop music videos. While at BDC she also took classes from many other hip hop choreographers.

Jennifer grew up always loving the stage and has been dancing for over 5o years.  She started with dance and theatre productions in her hometown of Westfield, NY and then moved on to New York City.  She had the opportunity to study with Ben Vereen in NYC while she was a teacher for the Staten Island Dance Academy in Staten Island, NY during the early 7o’s.   After Moving to the seacoast she started a Creative Movement Dance class at a local Rochester elementary school.   She was instrumental in promoting the Arts in Lebanon Schools (aka P.A.L.S.) in Lebanon, ME.  Jennifer’s love of interpretive dance lead her back to the theatre.  She has been in shows with Garrison Players and Arts Rochester some of the shows include; West Side Story, South Pacific, Oklahoma, Anything Goes and Me and My Girl.  Over the last decade Jennifer has directed over 20 children’s plays.  Jennifer says that she loves to help children develop their talent through creating & stretching their imagination to be everything and anything; making them create entertaining and dramatic situations.   Jennifer’s students here at Studio 109 have gone on to perform in High School, College, and local theatre groups.    Jennifer enjoys her work with her students she is a firm believer that “Children are the best actors because they LOVE to pretend.”

  Stephanie Jones     Tap/ Jazz / minis & petites

Stephanie is a wife and mother of seven children; ranging in ages from 2 to 21. She is also a Nona, which is Italian for grandmother. Stephanie attended New England College and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management. She also received her travel industry certificate while studying in Miami, Fla. She loves to work with children. She was a preschool teacher in Okinawa, Japan on Kadena Air Force Base and an assistant teacher at a private school in New Mexico. She had helped assist P.A.L.S. in Lebanon, Me. with Jennifer; her mom & Studio 109’s drama instructor. She has also volunteered as an afterschool dance club instructor in Rochester. Stephanie danced as a child in New York for three years. She resumed dancing in her twenties and started teaching at Studio 109 8 years ago.

Niki began her dancing career in Worcester, MA when she was only 5 years old.  She has taken master classes with Savion Glover, Frank Hatchett and Gus Giordana. Niki continued her dance training at the University of New Hampshire where she studied jazz, tap, lyrical, ballet and aerial dance styles.  She was a member of the UNH Dance Team for two and a half years, including six months as Team Captain.  She began teaching at Studio 109 in 2002.  Niki enjoys teaching all age groups and dance styles.  She has choreographed many Gold and Platinum award-winning routines for competition.  Niki has also had the opportunity to choreograph the children’s musical “Treasure Island” at Studio 109 and “ The Wizard Of Oz” at Maple Wood Elementary School in Somersworth, NH where she is a 3rd grade teacher.

Nicole’s passion for dance started when she was 4 years old. Nicole has been a dance instructor since 2002 for children and adults of all ages teaching adapted dance, jazz, tap, hip hop, and step. Her goal is to make dance fun and for everyone to be successful. Nicole received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education and a minor in Dance in 2007 from Curry College, where she was also a captain on their Step and Dance Team for two years. Nicole works as a developmental educator at Community Partners Early Supports and Services for children with developmental delay and their families. Nicole is currently completing her Masters degree in Early Childhood Special Needs from University of New Hampshire.

Rachael Carr has rejoined Studio 109 as our Vocal Instructor & basic piano teacher. She has always been active in music and theater, having taken over 20 years of musical & vocal training. She was active with (the former) Arts Rochester Community theater group for 4 years both in participating & directing the music for several shows, including "Annie Get Your Gun." She was also the musical director for several shows with Studio 109 during the first 5 years. Rachael left in 2003 to pursue her BA in ministry & music, graduating with the top of her class in 2008. While attending college she was active in student government as well as the college music department and her church theater group. Her award winning singers & students have always enjoyed their time with Rachael. Her love of music and children is evident in her teaching style. She feels that education of any kind should be fun and she strives to teach that way! Rachael and her husband Ray moved back to the area of Berwick, Me. to pastor a local church. Rachael has two adult children; Caleb and David, who she is very proud of. She is very excited to be back and teaching voice & music, once again, at the studio. "I like to be around people who are passionate about what they do," she said, "and Mandy and her teachers are very passionate about children & their potential!"

Meghan Stefanik is a senior at UNH hoping to soon graduate with her bachelor’s in theater with an emphasis in dance. While at UNH she has been a member of the UNH dance company, danced in the bi-annual showcases, and has been a part of the UNH opera dance ensemble. Meghan has studied many styles from ballet to jazz, tap, pointe, lyrical, aerial arts, hip-hop and modern. She grew up dancing at the NH School of Ballet, where she danced there until she graduated in 2005. While with NHSB she was on their competition team. She also did volunteer work for the New Hampshire Independent dance group where she won the title Miss Broadway at the Tickets to Broadway Rhode Island Regional’s in 2005. She began choreographing when she became a part of this group in 2003 and hasn’t stopped since. Many of her pieces went on to win high scores and judge’s awards. Meghan is excited to be teaching at Studio 109, and is loving every minute of it!

Tiffany is really excited to be joining Studio 109. She started taking dance lessons at the age of 3 and at 15 she was introduced to hip hop where she knew she had found her niche. Since then, Tiffany has belonged to two professional dance companies where she was provided the opportunity to perform in venues all over the east coast. She has taken master classes at Broadway Dance Center in NYC, Hollywood's Millennium Dance Complex, and The Edge Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles, where she had the chance to work with some of the industries top choreographers. Dance is her passion and she puts her whole heart and soul into her choreography. "Don't just watch me dance…feel me dance." –Leslie Scott

Michelle Valcourt has been performing on stage since the age of 3 beginning with dance recitals. At age 12, she began performing in the biannual Oxford County community musicals including Lil’ Abner, The King and I, The Music Man, and The Sound of Music. She performed with the elite choir at Oxford Hills High School, earning numerous awards and performing in New York City. Michelle earned a BA in English from St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH in 1994. During her time at St. Anselm, she served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Anselmian Abbey Players for 2 terms with an emphasis on costuming. She performed in a number of shows, most notably as Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods, as well as authoring, directing and producing the annual Family Weekend performance. Michelle taught theater arts at Dover High School from 1994 to 1996 and served as the drama club coach, directing and producing high school performances of Our Town, Little Women, The Good Doctor and a series of one act plays. In addition, Michelle has performed as a cast member of the improvisational murder mystery troupe Without a Clue. This troupe performed in various venues around the seacoast. She has also performed in several plays at Studio 109.