ADULT CLASS TEACHING ARTISTS
WINTER/SPRING 2026
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Francesca Baron
Open Modern & Int/Adv Contemporary Recognizing that the body can inhabit many states of being Francesca Baron, mfa is attracted to investigating the spectrum of kinetic movement. Intellectually she values complexity and connection; physically she values big sweeping movement, finding rigor to yield both an empowering and freeing sensation. She is enchanted about dance as a sustainable physical practice and delights to be in conversation with/in movement + dance-making alongside students, collaborators and communities. In the past decade she has produced original work that has been presented at academic institutions, festivals, self-produced shows, film festivals, art galleries, weddings and on dance companies, studios and competition stages across the Midwest and New England. She has lectured and set work at: Keene State College, Smith College, Amherst College, Kenyon College, Lindenwood University. Her current creative kindling is composited by attentional states, subtlety, soft-vigor, kinetics and somatics. |
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Gabby Carmichael
Open Modern & Int/Adv Contemporary Gabby Carmichael is a choreographer and educator based between Western Massachusetts and Brooklyn, NY. She approaches dance as a site for transformation and collaboration, with her research being driven by a curiosity with how the body stores, reshapes, and recalls information across time. Gabby holds an MFA in Choreography and Performance from Smith College and a BA in Anthropology and Dance from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is an ongoing collaborator with Barbie Diewald, and additionally has performed with Annie Health and Niki Farahani. Her work has been presented at Smith College, Gibney Dance, New Dance Alliance, Movement Research at the Judson Church, BAAD Bronx, Center for Performance Research, Triskelion Arts, and the School of Contemporary Dance & Thought, and she has been in residence at The Field Center, The Floor on Atlantic, MOTive Brooklyn, Leimay, and Brooklyn Arts Exchange. |
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Tracy Einstein
Somatics Tracy Einstein, M.AmSAT, SEP, wants you to feel empowered in your body, so you can do what you love. She’s a 1600-hour certified Alexander Technique teacher, Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, and lifelong Performing Artist dedicated to nurturing embodied resilience, relationships, and creative expression. Through trauma-informed Alexander Technique (AT), developmental movement, breathing coordination, games, and skillful touch, Tracy guides folx toward balanced energy, healthy movement, posture, breathing, and voice that can support their art and their life. Since 2018, Tracy has been Associate Faculty at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC, where she’s taught the Alexander Technique and Movement for the Actor to hundreds (almost thousands!) of emerging Actors. Her classrooms combine community, creativity, craft. She believes the arts are a unique place for people to cultivate creative agency in the studio and in our lives. In addition to group teaching, Tracy maintains a private practice as an Alexander Technique Teacher & Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner in Northampton MA and online. Learn more at www.tracyeinstein.com. |
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Michael Figueroa
Int/Adv Contemporary Michael Figueroa (he/him) is a performer, director of Ruckus Dance, and dance educator. His dances navigate rule-breaking, body memory, personal anecdotes, audience participation, and improvised situations. His work has been commissioned by SPACE Gallery (ME), Dance Now Boston, Outside the Box Festival, Mobius Artists Group (MA), and The Dance Complex. He has collaborated with Jimena Bermejo, Sonia Santvoord, Alexander Davis, and Sarah Mae Gibbons, and performed in works by Mark Dendy, Prometheus Dance, Margot Gelber & Dancers, Alternative Dance Nation, Public Displays of Motion, and Laila Franklin. Most recently, Michael performed ways of rendering a man blind at the 2024 Asheville Fringe Festival. As an inaugural teacher with Midday Movement Series in 2015, Michael received focused support and mentorship from Marissa Molinar, which continues to shape his teaching practice today. He has taught at Gibney Studios, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, NACHmo Boston, Moving Target (Boston & Portland), and Boston Arts Academy. Originally from Palm Beach Gardens, FL, Michael trained at Alexander W. Dreyfoos Jr. School of the Arts under Jan Goetz, performing works by Neta Pulvermacher, Troy Powell, and Margo Sappington. He attended summer intensives at Joffrey Jazz and Contemporary, American Dance Festival, and Bates Dance Festival. Michael earned his BFA in Dance from The Boston Conservatory. |
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Ellie Goudie-Averill
Hawley St Ballet Originally from the Midwest, Ellie Goudie-Averill is a dance artist and educator who works with dancers of all ages on technique and performance. She currently teaches ballet and contemporary at Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Amherst Colleges and at School for Contemporary Dance and Thought in Northampton, MA. Since graduating with her MFA in Dance Performance from the University of Iowa, she has also served as a professor at Temple University, Bucknell University, the University of Kansas, Franklin & Marshall College, Keene State College, and Connecticut College. In the past, she has danced professionally for Susan Rethorst, Lucinda Childs, Bronwen MacArthur, Group Motion, and Sara Shelton Mann. Ellie is currently working on projects with Beau Hancock and Barbie Diewald and is a regular collaborator and dancer with Tori Lawrence + Co. in dance films and site-specific works. |
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Maya LaLiberté
Int/Adv Contemporary Maya LaLiberté is a movement artist and educator currently based in Western Massachusetts. Through choreography, performance, and teaching she explores the visceral connections shared between humans during moments of intimacy, risk, presence, and play. Maya graduated from Smith College in 2018 with a BA in Dance, and became a certified teacher of Countertechnique in 2022. Throughout 2024 and 2025 she has been dancing for choreographer Faye Driscoll, touring internationally in her work Weathering. She also collaborated and performed in Driscoll’s newest site specific work, Oceanic Feeling, commissioned by Rockaway Beach Sessions for its 10th anniversary edition. In April 2024, LaLiberté choreographed, directed and produced Spring Ephemerals, an evening length suite of new dances in collaboration with local dancers and musicians. Maya is a Guest Instructor at Wesleyan University in (Fall ‘23 and Fall ‘25) and teaches Countertechnique classes and workshops throughout the United States. |
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Michelle Marroquin
Hawley St Ballet & Open Modern Michelle Marroquin is a dancer, choreographer and educator who collaborates with other artists to bring performance art to unusual spaces and new audiences. She is also a Gyrotonic/Gyrokinesis instructor, a Thai Yoga Bodyworker, and a Physical Therapist Assistant at Synergy Northampton. She is currently teaching Contemporary Ballet through SCDT/Hawley Street Ballet. More at www.MichelleMarroquin.com |
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Kate Martel
Somatics Kate is a dance artist, educator, and Alexander Technique teacher based in Western Massachusetts. She enjoys teaching people of all ages, and currently works as the Youth Program Coordinator at School for Contemporary Dance and Thought (MA). Kate was a collaborating artist with Laura Peterson Choreography for ten years, and has also performed in work by Barbie Diewald, Nora Stephens, Luis Lara Malvacias, Rebecca Brooks, Juliette Mapp, and others. Her choreography has been presented by Loculus, Junction Dance Festival (VT/NH), the Williston Northampton School, SCDT (WIP), Women in Motion, Movement Research at Judson Church, Center for Performance Research and Purdue University. She was Program Coordinator of Young Artists at Dance Italia 2022-2023. She has been on faculty at Mason Gross School of the Arts/Rutgers University, Adelphi University and Westfield State University. Kate received a BA from Goucher College in Dance and Education (2002) and an MFA in Performing Arts from University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (2014), and is an AmSAT Board Certified Alexander Technique Teacher (Balance Arts Center, 2017). She teaches the Alexander Technique privately in both group and private settings. She is currently adjunct faculty at Amherst, Smith, and Keene Colleges. www.katemartel.com |
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Lindsey Jones
Int/Adv Contemporary Lindsey Jones is a New York City-based dancer and herbalist, originally from St. Louis, Missouri. A graduate of SUNY Purchase, she has been a longtime member of Pam Tanowitz Dance and Dance Heginbotham. She has also performed with the Trisha Brown Dance Company, Kimberly Bartosik, Sally Silvers, Bill Young, Caleb Teicher, and worked on productions at The Metropolitan Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Bard Summerscape, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, American Classical Orchestra, and Works & Process at the Guggenheim. Since 2012, Lindsey has collaborated with the Merce Cunningham Trust, performing repertory in a range of settings, including the centennial event Night of 100 Solos at BAM and the 3D film CUNNINGHAM. She is certified to teach Cunningham Technique® and Dance for Parkinson’s and has served as adjunct faculty at Rutgers University, SUNY Purchase, and Marymount Manhattan. In 2022, Lindsey was awarded a fellowship from the New York Public Library, where she researched the intersection of dance and ecology. She is a graduate of the Arbor Vitae School of Traditional Herbalism. |
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Fritha Pengelly
Somatics Fritha is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner®, a Certified IOPS Practitioner, an Accredited Certified EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Practitioner and a Matrix Reimprinting Practitioner based in Northampton, MA. Fritha Pengelly has over 40 years of dance and movement experience, and completed her Pilates Certification in 2002. She spent seven years (1994-2001) performing and teaching nationally and internationally as a member of the New York City-based Doug Elkins Dance Company, serving as co-rehearsal director from 2000-2001. In addition to her work with the Elkins Company, Fritha has performed with The Chamber Dance Company, David Neumann, and Wire Monkey Dance. Her dances have been performed at several venues in New York City, The Five Colleges in Massachusetts, Northampton, Darien Arts Center (CT), Seattle (WA), Omaha (NE), and at Jacob’s Pillow. Fritha received her B.A. in dance from Hampshire College and her M.F.A. in dance, with a focus on anatomy and physiology, from the University of Washington in Seattle. She has taught as a visiting artist at Hampshire College, Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, Bennington College, North Carolina School of the Arts, Wake Forest University, the Hartt School, and Springfield College. |
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Chelsea Perry
Hawley St Ballet Chelsea lives in Western Massachusetts and holds committed practices in poetry and dance. They are a graduate of Hampshire College. She received professional ballet training from Boston Ballet. Chelsea’s current dance practices are grounded in somatic experience, which meet their extensive ballet training in tensions that inspire their current research . Chelsea works at a Montessori school, where they will be taking on a new role this upcoming school year: guiding poetry and creative movement for elementary-aged students, as well as facilitating an after school environment. Chelsea has a loving affinity for plants, and is grateful to be an animal. |
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Jen Polins
Hawley St Ballet & Open Modern Jen Polins specializes in combining dance techniques and composition with rigorous improvisational practices, has been bridging somatics, performance practices, and contemporary dance techniques for over 25 years. Jen is certified in Pilates, Gyrotonic, Gyrokinesis, Yoga, and Massage and studied Body Mind Centering for over 10 years. Jen's ongoing somatic studies deeply affect her curation, teaching and making. She has danced professionally in America and Europe, starting with the Joffrey Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet and then the Zurich Operahouse Ballet companies before migrating to a professional career in contemporary performance art. She has been deeply influenced by many mentors, most notably- Thomas DeFrantz, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Nancy Stark Smith, Steve Paxton, and Lisa Nelson. She has collaborated most recently with late and great Kathleen Hermesdorf and Nancy Stark Smith, Lisa Nelson, Jen Nugent, Wendy Woodson, Maurice Fraga, Joy Davis, Stephanie Maher, Peter Schmitz, Sarah Shelton Mann, Paul Matteson and James Morrow. |
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Molly Rose-Williams
Open Modern Molly Rose-Williams is a performer, writer, audio producer, and educator. Their work melds dance, physical theater, and circus, and draws heavily on a childhood spent playing sports and practicing Chinese acrobatics. They have presented on stages across the US, and in Canada, Belgium, and Mexico. When they’re not dancing, they work as a creative producer for The Nocturnists podcast, teach cooking and science, and write about dance. |
