Love the arts? Love to dance? Come to the Gold Coast Arts Center and choose the dance courses for you. The Gold Coast Arts Center boasts an impressive list of dance instructors, someone and something for everyone. Just take your pick. Call the Gold Coast Arts Center at 516-829-2570. The GCAC is located at 113 Middle Neck Rd., in Great Neck Plaza. Entrance is via the municipal parking lot in the rear of the building.
Marissa Adams is a dual certified New York State dance and drama educator. She studied Dance Education at Hofstra University for her undergraduate studies and Theatre Education at New York University Steinhardt School of Education for her master’s degree. She works with special needs students in the performing arts and she has created many children’s plays. Adams is committed to bringing the performing arts to children.
Evelyn Balassanian began dancing at age eight. By age 12 she was training in Russia and at 14 she was performing as a soloist with major European dancers, teachers and choreographers, including George Balanchine. For 15 years she taught and choreographed ballet at the Long Island School of Dance and Berest School of Dance. She continues to teach and dance with the American Theatre and the Eglevsky Ballet.
Megan Clancy, who began dancing and performing at age three, comes from a professional performing family. She attended the Professional Performing Arts High School in Manhattan and studied dance and theatre arts at City College of New York. She studied musical theatre, dance and vocal studies at the Professional Performing Arts School, as well as voice and dance at other prestigious schools. Clancy has worked with The Harlem Repertory Theatre and has taught dance at the 92nd Street Y. In addition to bringing joy and confidence to her dance students at GNAC’s School for the Arts, she is also a teaching artist working with its Out Reach/Art Reach program, teaching musical theatre.
Nicole Piacenza is a dancer, choreographer, teacher and singer who graduated from Long Island University with a BFA in dance and a minor in theater. She is working on her master’s, MAT program at Queens College. Piacenza performs regularly with Dance Visions, a modern and contemporary ballet company. She has danced solo and in ensembles with Georgette & Co.; Moves and Motions; the Long Island Fringe Festival; and with Isadora Duncan and the American Jewish Experience. As a singer she has performed in A Grand Piano and 5 Woman & Song.
Jennifer Stathes has been dancing since the age of three and hasn’t stopped since. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Queens College in dance with a minor in business and holds a master’s degree in elementary education. She is a full-time teacher for the NYC DOE. She was a member of her high school and college dance teams. Stathes was captain of a rhythmics team in high school as well. She has taught jazz, tap, ballet and hip hop to children ages two to adult. In addition to dancing Jennifer also teaches Zumba fitness to children and adults.
Lancelot Theobald Jr. is a former professional football player with the Italian Football League and has has performed on Broadway with Indigo dancers and at the Metropolitan Opera, Sampson et Delilah. Lance’s choreography has been seen at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, CBS, NBC, Mary Tyler Moore’s walkathon for diabetes research and more. He has choreographed for the New York Knicks City Dancers and choreographed and assistant directed the promotional tour and video for the hip hop artist REYN and Motown’s R&B artist Lateaf’s music video.
Elizabeth Wehrman is a dance educator working for the NYC Department of Education. She teaches dance to grades pre-K to fifth at The Waterside Children’s Studio School P.S. 317Q in Queens. She also has experience teaching elementary school dance to grades pre-K to fifth in the Bronx. Wehrman graduated from Hofstra University in January 2013, receiving a B.S. in Education-Dance Education and received her NYS Initial Teaching Certification for K-12 Dance in February 2013. She is the founder and past president of the University Club and Student Chapter of the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO), T’DAA (Teaching Dance As Art) on her campus. Wehrman has performed in four faculty concerts at Hofstra, working with five different choreographers. She has also performed with the Gotham City Cheer, in flash mobs with NYC Dance Arts and at the 92nd Street Y. She is currently continuing her education by both taking dance classes in New York City along with attending Graduate School at Adelphi University for Physical Education.
Samantha Wit is a hula hoop artist, a dancer and has a duo lyra act with The Hoopla Girls. She earned a BFA in dance with a concentration in Jazz Performance from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She started off as a dancer and then fell in love with the world of circus when she toured nationally and internationally with Cirque Le Masque. She has also toured with Cirque Legacy and has worked with companies such as Cirque du Jour, The Bindlestiff Cirkus, Skyz The Limit and Phoenix Entertainment. Witt has also performed at Atlantic City’s Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza, as well as at corporate and special events. She has also been seen hooping on The Dr. Oz Show, The YouTube Music Awards with M.I.A and M.I.A’s live performance at Terminal 5 NYC. She also loves to teach; she has taught dance and circus style hula hooping across the tri-state area and loves to share her love of dance and circus with others.
