Metrowest Dance Academy

This summer the studio is open on Wednesdays (4:15-6:30pm) and Saturdays (10:30-1:00pm) for uniform drop offs, hours and help with registration.

Registration for fall is ongoing. Please check your dancer is signed up. We can’t wait to see everyone again.

The 2nd week of summer intensive! Thank you to our teachers, accompanist and all the students who attended!

Our students experienced Pilates Classes for the first time during summer intensive. We also added Yoga and anatomy classes to the program to support the students education, recovery and well being.

Year round we offer a range of conditioning to students from Franklin method, Progressing Ballet technique, 11+ Dance Conditioning. Conditioning alongside dance training is essential and keeps bodies fit and injury free.

Photos show students from Level 2&3 in mat-based Pilates classes with Sandra Burke

Dean Vollick - Ballet Teacher Week 2 Summer Intensive July 20-24th

Dean Vollick discovered ballet as a first year student in the drama department at Brock
University in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The following year he transferred to The
George Brown College/Lois Smith School of Dance in Toronto and studied with
prominent Canadian teachers including Lois Smith, Glen Gilmour, Luc Amyot, and Mavis
Staines, the Artistic Director of Canada’s National Ballet School. For three summers he
was a scholarship student at The Banff School of Fine Arts where Laura Alonso acted as
his mentor. There he met David Earle, a founder of Toronto Dance Theatre. Mr. Vollick
worked intermittently with Earle over the next ten years.
Mr. Vollick’s career as a dancer spanned two decades and included work with Ontario
Ballet Theatre, Ballet Omaha, Ballet Florida, Toronto Dance Theatre, and Dance Theatre
David Earle. Work with these companies, and as a freelance artist, took him across
Canada, the US and throughout Europe.
In June of 2001 he completed the two-year Teacher Training Course for professional
dancers at Canada’s National Ballet School and graduated valedictorian of his class. That
summer he joined the faculty of the American Academy of Ballet as instructor at Summer School of Excellence, held at SUNY College in
Purchase, New York. He spent four years as a full time teacher at Boston Ballet and was
Principal of Boston Ballet’s ground breaking Citydance outreach program for three of
those years. Mr. Vollick is an Associate Professor at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee
and continues to work as a freelance teacher and choreographer. He has served on the
faculties of Walnut Hill School and Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre. He is a certified Level 1
and Level 2 Gryrotonic® instructor, and enjoys working with dancers and non-dancers

Gemma Williams - Ballet Teacher, Week 2 Summer Intensive July 20-24th.

Gemma’s dance teaching career spans over 30 years and involves teaching in the UK, Italy, Norway, Canada and the USA. She has taught ballet at professional schools such as The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) and Laine Theatre Arts, Epsom UK, Boston C

Week One Summer Intensive. All the dancers have been eager to learn, focused and full of energy. Special thanks to our amazing teachers this week! And to Harold Cisneros who elevated each class with his accompaniment.

We’re looking forward to week 2. If your dancer wants to join in the fun and accelerate their training email us to register them! We’d love to see them.

Photo credits: Tania Prado.

During the next 2 weeks please drop off your clean, used uniform. Our annual uniform swap is an amazing resource for our families and supports our efforts to be sustainable.

Summer Intensive Week 1 is coming up: July 13-17.

We are welcoming our summer guest faculty!

For ballet, Leigh Ann Koelsch. Leigh Ann will teach ballet, repertoire and pointe throughout Week 1. Always bringing repertoire for our dancers at multiple levels to explore and providing fantastic individualised feedback. Leigh Ann’s positivity and passion for ballet inspires the dancers every year.

Leigh Ann graduated from The College of The Royal Academy of Dance in London in 1993 with a Diploma in the Art of Teaching Classical Ballet. She has prepared students for RAD examinations Pre-Primary through Advanced 2 as well as five Solo Seal candidates. Mrs. Koelsch has coached students in original choreography and classical repertoire variations for competitions including the RAD Dance Challenge, California Dance Classics, ADC/IBC and Youth America Grand Prix. In addition to these national competitions, she has taken students to the Genee International Ballet Competition- the Flagship event of the Royal Academy of Dance- in Sydney 2002, Antwerp 2014, Sydney 2016, Hong Kong 2018 and Toronto 2019.

Mrs. Koelsch has choreographed and co-directed many productions over the years including Nutcracker, original story ballets and mixed repertoire showcases. She has also choreographed musicals for Coastal Repertory Theater, Half Moon Bay High School and Spindrift School of Performing Arts.

Leigh Ann is a native of beautiful Half Moon Bay, California and raising two sons in her beautiful hometown, while freelancing around the Bay Area. She is currently Head of RAD examinations at Rachel’s Ballet and also on the ballet staff at Shely Pack Dancers and musical theater staff Spindrift School of Performing Arts.

Summer Intensive Week 1 is coming up: July 13-17.

We are welcoming our summer guest faculty!

Teaching Graham technique and Anatomy we have Janine Cappello. Janine is renowned for her anatomically informed classes that help dancers understand their body and how it moves. Very musical and creative choreography along with Graham-based daily classes. Our dancers enjoy this annual opportunity to develop their modern technique and healthy movement pathways with Janine!

We shared a special evening yesterday celebrating our wonderful seniors, Kaitlyn, Quinn and Ruby.

These dancers have been a pleasure to teach and we are incredibly proud of them all. They are enjoying a deserved summer of work, rest and travel before heading to college later in August. We’ll miss them so much and wish them every success and happiness at college! Until next time 🎉❤️🙌🏼