Nancilyn Ferguson - Instructor in Pre-Ballet 1 and 2; Hip Hop Intro, Hip Hop 2 and 3; Tap/Jazz Intro, Tap 1A and 1B, Teen Tap; Broadway

Born in Santiago, Chile, Nancilyn was raised in Sea Girt, New Jersey. In 2002, she graduated from Point Park University, a renowned performing arts college in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After just three and a half years of study, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance, with a concentration in jazz. While attending college, Nanci performed professionally for The Pittsburgh Playhouse and the Pittsburgh Musical Theater in productions of “Fandango,” “Boogie Wonderland,” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” During her summers, she performed professionally as a dancer in “Odyssey” at Six Flags.

Nancilyn’s teaching experience includes most recently, Kinderdance, New York City, where she specialized in ballet, tap, and gymnastics for ages two to five; Ms. Elaine’s Dance Studio, Pittsburgh, specializing in hip hop; and Standing Ovation Dance Studio, Brick, NJ for ages three to 16, teaching competitive levels in all genres of dance specializing in hip hop and tap.

Nanci has had a true love of dance since the age of three and she has always had the devotion and dedication required to share that love of the art with her students.

Aurelia Michael - Instructor in Hip Hop 3 and 4

Aurelia was born and raised in the northern section of the Bronx, New York – the birthplace of hip hop. At the age five she began to take ballet and tap lessons at the Dance Theatre of Harlem, but by the age of 14 she realized that hip hop dance was her calling.

A recent graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, Aurelia double-majored in Modern Dance and Business, and is the founder of the University's Dynamic Dance Team, a nationally recognized hip hop dance troupe on campus. She was a four-year member of Culture Shock Dance Troupe DC, performing throughout the metro area as well as San Diego, Idaho, and Canada.

Aurelia has trained at several studios including Broadway Dance Center, City Dance Center, Dance Place, DC Dance Collective, Joy of Motion, Millennium Dance Complex, The Edge, and Debbie Reynolds. She is currently working on a second project with members of the world renowned company Cirque du Soleil, and works as a certified NCSF Personal Trainer as well.

Sophie Alpern - Instructor in Pre-Ballet 2 and 3; Ballet 4; Intermediate Ballet; Pre-Pointe; Intermediate Pointe; Advanced Technique; Open Level Ballet 1

Sophie Alpern, a native New Yorker, has been dancing for 17 years. She has trained at the School of American Ballet, Steps on Broadway, North Carolina School of the Arts, Houston Ballet Academy, and the Royal Ballet School. While at SAB, she performed with New York City Ballet in The Nutcracker, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, and Circus Polka.

Sophie is a graduate of The Brearley School in New York City, and holds a B.A. from Vassar College with honors in Sociology. She danced leading roles with the nationally known Vassar Repertory Dance Theater for four years, culminating in the principal role in George Balanchine’s Valse Fantasie under the direction of renowned ballerina Merrill Ashley at the historic Bardavon theater. While at Vassar, she also taught open ballet classes for college students and faculty. She has worked in the Education Department at American Ballet Theater, and has brought the dance experi- ence to underprivileged children through Ballet Tech and Ballet Ambassadors.

Sophie has successfully combined her dance career with continued academic pursuits. She is the author of a groundbreaking sociological study entitled The Perception and Role of Dance and Classical Ballet in the Liberal Arts Academy. She has also written and published an article in Dance Spirit Magazine entitled “Best of Both Worlds: Balancing Dance and Academics.” Sophie assisted in the compilation of the College Guide in Dance Magazine for students seeking to pursue dance in an academic setting. At Vassar, she took courses in Dance in Higher Education and Dance Writing and Criticism. In her own dance research, she has interviewed such ballet stars as Julie Kent, Jenifer Ringer and John Meehan.

Sophie is currently studying dance criticism at Columbia University, and dancing with Columbia Ballet Collaborative. She most recently performed in a work choreographed by a well-known New York City Ballet dancer. She continues to take a daily professional ballet class with her mother Nancy Bielski, an internationally-known master teacher for American Ballet Theater, Steps on Broadway, and Staatsballett Berlin. Sophie has been accepted into the Dance in Higher Education and the Professions: ABT Ballet Pedagogy program at NYU, and plans to attend next year while concurrently teaching at AYDT.

Megan Wright - Instructor in Pre-Ballet 2; Hip Hop Intro, Hip Hop 1

Megan Wright was born and raised in Canton, Ohio where she first began dancing at age 8. Beginning with only ballet and jazz she progressed quickly and added lyrical, pointe and tap to her repertoire at Avondale Dance Centre. It was at this studio that she was part of a competitive team, contributing in solos, small and large group dances. Megan also began teaching dance as an assistant in pre-ballet, jazz and tap classes as a teenager.

After graduating high school, Megan attended Ohio University where she majored in art education and minored in dance. This new step exposed her to the various other styles of dance including modern and African dance. She also began choreographing and performing, not only in class, but also in various student-run dance shows. As a freshman, Megan made Ohio University's dance team where she eventually became captain her junior and senior years. As captain, she helped choreograph hip-hop dances for 15 members as well as run practices and workshops throughout the year. The dance team performed for all home football and basketball games and was actively involved with the university's athletic department.

Megan graduated with a BFA in art education in 2006 and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina where she taught art at an elementary school and took ballet classes at a local dance studio. In 2008, she moved to New York where she has continued to take dance classes at various studios around the city. This fall she is excited to begin teaching dance again as part of the AYDT family while also joining a local school where she will be teaching 4 year olds.

Melissa Bobick - Instructor in Mommy-n-Me; Advanced Ballet; Intermediate Pointe. Certified in the ABT® National Training Curriculum for Ballet Levels Primary-Three

Melissa Bobick grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and was primarily trained by James and Regina Eaton. She received additional training with such well-known teachers as Eleanor D'Antuono, Paul Sutherland, John Meehan and Cynthia Gregory. She graduated with a degree in ballet and nutrition from Indiana University in Bloomington where she studied under Violette Verdy.

From 2001 through 2007, Melissa danced with Eugene Ballet/Ballet Idaho where she was featured in such roles as Arabian in The Nutcracker, Diamonds in Sleeping Beauty, the Autumn Fairy in Cinderella and numerous contemporary works choreographed by Toni Pimble. While there, she was awarded two grants from the Idaho Commission on the Arts and subsequently was commissioned to choreograph three new works for the company. After being hired as a dancer for the National Choreographer’s Initiative in Irvine, CA, Melissa was one of four dancers engaged by New York City Opera for their new production of Cendrillon, directed and choreographed by Renaud Doucet. She was also commissioned to set a new work on the ballet majors of Belhaven College in January of 2009.

Melissa recently received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Choreography from Purchase College, Conservatory of Dance in New York. While there, she was selected as a graduate teaching and research assistant to Ms. Bettijane Sills; a former New York City Ballet soloist. Melissa was also a ballet faculty member at Ballet Hispanico. She is an ABT® certified teacher, having completed Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Teacher Training Curriculum.

Catherine Baggs - Instructor in Tap/Jazz Intro and Tap 1A

Catherine is a dancer/singer/choreographer and is a native New Yorker. She graduated from American University with a dual degree in Music Theatre and Mathematics in 2006. She has performed with Disney Cruise Lines, The Smithsonian Institute, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and various regional/community theatres throughout the East Coast.

Catherine has had the opportunity to choreograph multiple shows, her favorite being the Washington, D.C. premiere of Wish Eye Knew. She has taught and Company Managed for US Performing Arts Camps, and has taught at various private studios throughout NY, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. She is currently a pursuing her MA in Dance Education for Higher Education and the Professions at NYU.

Alison Rosenstein - Instructor in Pre-Ballet 1, Hip Hop 1 and 2

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Ali was raised for the latter part of her life in Oldsmar, FL. She began her dance training at the age of 9, and has since become well versed in various idioms, including jazz, tap, hip hop, ballet, musical theater and contemporary. Her training has led her to work with many inspiring choreographers and teachers, and she has had the opportunity to train at some remarkable venues including the NYSO Tap Kids Summer Intensive, the prestigious Broadway Theater Project and, most recently, as a summer intern at Broadway Dance Center, where she studied intensively with members of the esteemed faculty.

Ali has established herself as an inspiring teacher and upcoming choreographer in both Florida and Oklahoma, having taught and choreographed works for Suncoast Academy of Dance, CenterStage Dance Academy, and the Community Dance Center of Oklahoma City University. She recently received her B.S. in American Dance Pedagogy from Oklahoma City University, where she performed as a member of the American Spirit Dance Co., as well as in various stage productions throughout her time there. Some of her credits include dancing on Good Day Tampa Bay, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and a Step Up 3D promotional video. Ali has recently moved to New York City to pursue a career in theater, and continues to explore her passion for performing and the joy of dance education, striving to bring a unique and fun philosophy into her classroom.

Pat Peters - Studio Administrator

Pat's administrative, management and marketing skills have been honed over a 30-year career in the public and private sectors. She began her professional life in the administration of Governor Hugh Carey, eventually rising to manager of his New York City office. Subsequent positions included Assistant Public Information Officer for the New York State Insurance Fund; Senior Director of Communications in the Office of Communications and Marketing, and Senior Speechwriter for the President of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation; and Director of Branch Services and Communications for the English-Speaking Union of the United States, where she also served briefly as Director of Development.

A New York City native, Pat holds a B.A. in French from Mercy College and an M.A. from Fordham University. In her spare time, Pat returns to her first love, writing, and is currently at work on a murder mystery that takes place –where else?—at a dance school.

Monique Massiah - Class and Performance Coordinator

Monique Massiah graduated magna cum laude in 2008 from Arizona State University with a B.F.A in dance and minor in business. While in school Monique received numerous academic and dance scholarships.

Monique was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and started her dance training at the age of four. She went on to study at the renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for 10 years. Monique was awarded a fellowship at the Alvin Ailey School and became a teacher assistant. In addition to her training at Alvin Ailey, she trained at LaGuardia High School for Music, Art & Performing Arts.

Her professional accomplishments include: a 1998 performance at the Goodwill Games, Opening and Closing Ceremony; in 2000 she performed Cry at the Kennedy Center Awards for honoree Judith Jamison; performed Memoria at City Center in 2003; in 2004 was a National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts Winner for modern dance; in 2005 was a member of Dance Arizona Repertory Theater; in 2008, performed and choreographed Ophelia at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.