ARTISTIC DIRECTORS

BETHANY MEDEIROS

SAMANTHA MEDEIROS

ALISSA SURKONT

GUEST FACULTY

AL BLACKSTONE

ASHLEY EISENHAUER

JESSICA FONTAINE

GERRIANNE GENGA

JAMIE SHURTLEFF

MICHAEL WILSON

FACULTY

MEREDITH BEAR

BRIANNA CARTER

HAILEY CONN

MICHAELA FERREIRA

KYM TUCCI HAMBLY

KIMBERLY JOHNSON

REBECCA LAFERRIERE

BRITNEY LECOMTE

AMANDA NARCISO

AMANDA PION

BREA PERDUE

COURTNEY RANDALL

CURTIS ROBINSON

DANTE SCIARRA

CASEY SHEEHAN

STEPHANIE SILVA 

Bethany Medeiros (Faculty/Artistic Director Warren and Tiverton) has been dancing at Rosemary’s since the age of two and has been teaching for the past thirteen years.  Bethany and her sister Samantha are the daughters of RSDE founder Rosemary Hambly. In the past, Bethany has been an instructor for Chance To Dance, The Studio 34 Dance Company of Providence, Renaissance Gymnastics Academy in East Providence, St. Luke’s School in Barrington, St. Mary Academy Bay View in East Providence, Barrington Middle School, Kickemuit Middle School, and The Bristol Community Center. Bethany has been the director of RSDE for the past eight years and is co-owner/director of our Tiverton location. Bethany received a B.S. in Business Management from Roger Williams University where she also completed a Core Concentration in Dance Performance.  Bethany is a member of Dance Teachers Club of Boston (DTCB), Dance Alliance of Rhode Island (DARI), Sigma Beta Delta Honor Society for Business and Administration, National Dance Education Organization (NDEO), The National Honor Society for Dance Arts and was nominated as a National Collegiate Business Award Winner and was published in the USAA National Collegiate Awards Yearbook 2004.  She is a 2004 graduate of the Boston Dance Teacher Training Program.  Bethany was tested and is certified to teach by the Dance Teachers Club of Boston and the American Society.  Bethany was on the judging staff for the American Invitational Dance Competition and for the Talent America Talent of the Year Awards. She has received numerous choreography awards at the regional and national levels and currently directs the RSDE Dance Company.

Samantha Medeiros (Faculty/Artistic Director Warren) is a graduate of Roger Williams University and holds a degree in Secondary Education and History along with her middle school endorsement. At RWU she also completed a core concentration in Dance Performance.  Samantha has been dancing at Rosemary’s since the age of two and has been teaching for the past thirteen years. She has been an Artistic Director for the Warren location along with her sister since 2003. Samantha is a member of Dance Teachers Club of Boston (DTCB), Dance Alliance of Rhode Island (DARI), National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) and is a graduate of the Boston Dance Teacher Training Program.  She has been tested and is certified to teach by the Dance Teachers Club of Boston and the American Society.  In the past, she has instructed dance classes at the Newman YMCA and for ‘Chance to Dance’ at Hampden Meadows Elementary School, Waddington Elementary School, and Guiteras Elementary School.  Samantha has received numerous awards at both the regional and national levels and continues to teach and choreograph for the RSDE Dance Company.  Currently, Samantha is a History teacher at Kickemuit Middle School.

Alissa Surkont (Faculty/Artistic Director Tiverton) has been dancing since the age of two and at Rosemary's since the age of eight. She has been teaching at the studio for the past thirteen years.  Alissa graduated from CCRI in 2002 with an associate’s degree in Fine Arts.  She is also a 2004 graduate of Dance Teachers Club of Boston Dance Education Training Course. In 1999, Alissa toured with Dance Olympus as a VIP Dancer.  She was the recipient of the Fitness Award at the 1999 Junior Miss Scholarship Program.  In 2002 she was nominated for the Irene Ryan Award and was the recipient of the Theatre Award for the CCRI graduating class of 2002.  Alissa has been a dance instructor at numerous places including Renaissance gymnastics, Bay-View Academy, The Bristol Community Center, St. Margaret's School and Sherwood Ultra Sport to name a few.  She has choreographed for the Junior Miss Pageant of RI, the Bishop Hendricken High School Cheerleaders, and the North End 49rs cheerleaders.  Alissa has taught for Chance To Dance of RI and continues to teach for the RSDE dance company.  Alissa is a member of The Dance Alliance of RI (DARI) and National Dance Education Organization (NDEO).  She is the co-director/owner of our Tiverton location.

Meredith Baer (Faculty) has devoted more than 20 years to the study of dance and movement.  Her artistic training has included Ballet Arts Minnesota, Boston Ballet’s Summer Dance Program, the Five College Dance Department, and Festival Ballet of Georgia.  Meredith has performed in outdoor venues, historical buildings,mansions, university campuses, and theatres large and small from Minneapolis to Atlanta, Los Angeles to New York City.  Ms. Baer currently dances with Island
Moving Company in Newport, RI and has been a company member there since 2002.  She has recently performed as a guest artist with Spindle City Ballet and BalletRox.  Meredith has taught at Newport Academy of Ballet since 2002 and
Rosemary’s School of Dance since 2005, and truly loves having had the opportunity to share the art of ballet with so many young dancers.

Brianna Carter (Faculty) is a singer, dancer and choreographer from Newport, Rhode Island. Brianna has the experience of instructing all levels and ages, starting from age 3 to adults. She has taught at several community schools and dance studios as well as Salve Regina University in Newport, RI, as a Hip Hop professor. Brianna is a self-taught hip hop dancer who didn’t start attending dance classes until the age of 14 with hip hop dance troupe Off the Curb of Newport, RI. Throughout her years of dancing with Off the Curb, Brianna had the opportunity to travel and perform locally, spreading the message of no drugs, no violence to youth of all ages. As an instructor, she helped inspire students in the community to make positive choices and encourage them to keep dancing. Some of Brianna’s performances include opening shows for artists Lisa Lisa, Cameo, The Sugar Hill Gang, and Crazy Legs for the 27th Anniversary of the Rocksteady Crew. Brianna is currently teaching at four dance studios as well as working on her master's degree at Johnson and Wales University. This is her third year on the faculty at RSDE.

Hailey Conn (Faculty) is currently in her second year at Roger William’s University School of Law.  She graduated cum laude from Fairfield University, with Honors, in 2010 with a BA in English, concentration in Journalism, and a minor in Mathematics.  While in college she was a four-year member of the Dance Team and was elected captain her senior year.  With the Dance Team she competed in the UDA College Dance Team Nationals in Orlando, FL.  She was also a member and choreographer for the student-run Dance Ensemble.  Hailey was born and raised in Holden, MA, where she started dancing at age 2 and competing at age 8 for Diane Kelley Dance Studios, and later Paula Meola Dance and Performing Arts.  While competing she traveled with her studio to perform in regional and national competitions, including Orlando, Boston, and Las Vegas.  This is Hailey’s first year as a faculty member at RSDE. 

Michaela Ferreira (Faculty) has been dancing at Rosemary’s School of Dance since the age of 2. During her time at Rosemary’s, she danced for 15 years and competitively for 4 years. A 2010 graduate of St. Mary Academy Bay View, Michaela was a Bay View Player. She was given the opportunity to participate in the Manhattan at the Bay “Cabaret” production for 6 years as a dancer and vocalist, as well as many other shows during her time at Bay View. Michaela is also a 2010 graduate of the Dance Teacher’s Club of Boston Dance Education Course. She is in her sophomore year at Providence College where she is majoring in Elementary Education and Special Education, with a minor in dance. This is her second year on the faculty at RSDE.

Kimberly Johnson (Faculty) has been dancing at Rosemary's since the age of five and has been an instructor for the past eight years.  Kim is a 2008 graduate of Rhode Island College with a BA in Dance Performance.  In 2004 she graduated from the Boston Dance Teachers Training Program.  Kim was a recipient of the RIC dance performance Special Talent Scholarship and a 2004 recipient of the Rosemary H. Medeiros Scholarship for the Performing Arts.  Throughout her four years at RIC, Kim was a member of the Dance Company where she worked with many professional choreographers and attended the American College Dance Festival in 2006, 2007 and 2008.  Kim attended and received a scholarship to study at the Bates College Dance Festival in 2008 and in 2009 she participated in Frazier Festival: In Through With Around.  In the spring of 2010 Kim performed in the Rhode Island College Faculty/Alumni show with choreographer and RIC faculty member Olase Freeman. Kim is currently dancing professionally with Lostwax, a multimedia dance theater company, located in Providence. While dancing in the company for the past year she has done performances in Providence, Boston and New York City.

Amanda Narciso (Faculty) has been dancing since the age of 5.  She received most of her training from Spotlight Dance Studio location in Taunton, Massachusetts and was a member of the competitive company for 8 years.  Amanda has studied many forms of dance including ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, pointe, hip hop and musical theater.  She travelled to Germany in 2004 as a member of the USA Dance Team and brought home the first Top 6 Award in America for the small group category.  She was also chosen as a representative of Massachesetts and performed with dancers from 36 countries and all 50 states during the Dance Excellence's 2007 Workshop wich took place in Los Angeles, CA.  Amanda is Senior Captain, coordinator, and choreographer for Salve Regina University's Dance Club as well as a member and choreographer for Extensions, SRU's competitive company.  She runs the Let Loose Dance Troupe, a dance class for children with special needs.  Amanda has a passion for pageantry and is a  representative of the Miss America Organization.  She was honore with the title of 1st Runner Up at the Miss Massachusetts Scholarshipo Pageant and 2nd Runner Up/Preliminary Talent Award Winner at The National Sweethear Pageant where she represented Massachuseets and competeed with 33 other states.  This is her first year as a RSDE faculty member.

Amanda Pion (Faculty) is a second year MBA student at Johnson & Wales University with a concentration in Event Leadership. She graduated summa cum laude from Dean College with a BA in Arts & Entertainment Management with a Concentration in Dance Performance. She has been dancing at Rosemary’s since the age of three and has been teaching at the studio for the past five years.  Amanda graduated from the Dance Teachers Club of Boston Teacher Training Program in August 2005 and is a 2006 recipient of the Rosemary H. Medeiros Scholarship for the Performing Arts. Amanda had the opportunity to perform with RSDE in their Magic Music Days Performance in Disney. During high school Amanda was the Captain of the dance team and selected to tour the country with Dance Olympus as a VIP. At Dean College, Amanda participated in numerous dance performances, was part of the National Honor Society; Phi Theta Kappa, and was on the Dean’s List for 8 semesters. She was the recipient of the Presidential Award in 2008, the Jean Guthrie Knowles Award in 2009, the Trustees Award in 2010, and was selected to be a part of Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges. Amanda has studied with professionals such as Avi Miller & Ofer Ben: the Isreali Hoofers; Christine Bennett, Jill Silverman, Kelly Peters, and Nailah Randall-Bellinger.

Courtney Randall (Faculty) has been dancing since she was three and has a background in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, modern and hip hop dance. She received most of her technique at The Dance Slipper in Southwick, MA and danced competitively for eleven years. While competing she traveled with her studio to perform in national competitions in Montreal, Orlando, Boston and Myrtle Beach. She has experience teaching all age groups, coached the dance team at her hometown middle school and has choreographed pieces for her high school's performance of A Mid Summer Nights Dream and The Around Town Singers of Suffield, CT. Courtney is now a member of Extensions Dance Company and SRU Dance Club at Salve Regina University and is a Secondary Education, English major. This is her first year on the faculty at RSDE.

Curtis Robinson (Faculty) has been dancing and teaching hip hop classes throughout New England.  Curtis has studied various styles of hip hop under some of today’s most influential choreographers including Marty Kudelka (Justin Timberlake), Rhaspody (Pussy Cat Dolls and Cassie), Dave Scott (You Got Served and Stomp the Yard).   He has been a dancer for Makio from Making the Band 4.  He currently performs with the Movement Specialists (Westport, Ma).  Curtis has performed at various night clubs, performances and benefits throughout the area as well as a performance for Cassie. Curtis teaches hip hop classes throughout the area in addition to teaching at RSDE.  This is Curtis’ fourth year on the faculty at Rosemary’s.

Dante Sciarra (Faculty)  has performed on Broadway in "Chicago" starring Jennifer Holliday. Throughout the U.S. and Europe he has been with several National Tours of Chicago with stars such as Sandy Duncan and Patti Labelle, "Sunset Boulevard" with Petula Clark and "Hello Dolly" with Michele Lee. Dante has performed at such prestigious regional theatres such as, Goodspeed Opera House, Paper Mill Playhouse, Walnut Street Theatre, North Shore Music Theatre, Pittsburgh CLO and Kansas City Starlight as well as in The Radio City Christmas Spectacular at the Fabulous Fox in Detroit, MI. He appeared in many shows at Theatre-By-The Sea in Matunuck, Rhode Island. Jim Seavor of the Providence Journal said the following when Dante appeared in TBTS's production of Oklahoma, "Jasmine Kirby and Dante Sciarra make a top-flight Dream Laurey and Dream Curly." He has served as the Dance Captain and Fight Captain for several regional productions at the aforementioned theatres as well as being the Assistant Choreographer for Walnut Street Theatres production of "Rags". Dante also headed the jazz portion of Stephens College Summer Dance Intensive the summer of 2007. His television and film credits include, Outside Providence with Alec Baldwin, The Sopranos and America's Millennium with choreography by Rob Marshall for the Discovery Channel. Dante has trained extensively at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Steps on Broadway (where he was on staff for 2 years), Broadway Dance Center and New Dance Group with teachers such as John Medeiros, Ann Reinking, Jose Meier, Chris Chadman, Tony Stevens, Chet Walker and Henry LeTang as well as many others, with special training in Matt Mattox technique. He has taught numerous master classes throughout New England and New York including for the Dance Teacher's Club Of Boston, Inc., DMA of Connecticut, Chapter 18 and DMA of New York City-Dance Educators Of America and has adjudicated many national dance competitions for Celebrity Dance Competitions, StarQuest, BravO!, StarPower and KAR Productions. Other choreographic credits include: "Gypsy" - Providence College, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” – University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, “Pippin” – Brown University, Providence, RI, “Leavittsburg, OH” – Brown University, Providence, RI, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” – University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, “Cabaret” – Brown University, Providence, RI “My Fair Lady” – Theatre-By-The-Sea, Matunuck, RI, “Pippin”, “Mame”, “The King & I”, “Gypsy”, “42nd Street”, “My Fair Lady”, “The Pajama Game” – Rhode Island College, Providence, RI, “Pippin”, “Godspell”, “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” - Barrington High School, Barrington, RI. Dante is also a visiting/adjunct faculty member at Brown University and the University of Rhode Island teaching DanceStyles and Dance for Musical Theatre, respectively. This is Dante’s third year on the faculty at Rosemary’s.

Stephanie Silva (Faculty) has been dancing at Rosemary’s since the age of two and competitively since the age of seven. This is her third year on the faculty. Stephanie has had the opportunity to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York with the Mike Miller and Associates Company during the Winter of 2006. In the Summer of 2008, she performed with RSDE in Walt Disney’s Magic Music Days along with being selected to tour the country as a VIP dancer with Dance Olympus/Dance America. In addition, Stephanie was captain of the Mt. Hope High School Dance Squad for one year allowing her to travel and perform with the band to Florida, Washington D.C, and Boston. Stephanie is a 2009 graduate of the Dance Teachers' Club of Boston Dance Education Training Course. She recently received her Associates degree in Baking and Pastry Arts from Johnson and Wales University.  We are also proud to welcome Stephanie as our new ZUMBA instructor at RSDE!