The Mile Square Theatre Dance Academy Open House Schedule
Free Demo Classes
Tuesday 9/15
4:30-5:30 Ballet 1 & 2
5:45-6:45 Modern
Wednesday 9/16
4:30-5:30 Ballet 1 & 2
5:45-6:45 Jazz/Theatre Dance
Thursday 9/17
4:30-5:30 Ballet 1 & 2
5:45-6:45 Hip Hop
Friday 9/18
4:30-5:30 Fundamentals
5:45-6:45 Adult Ballet
Refreshments will be provided. Pointe Readiness Assessments are available upon request.
Fall classes in dance! Age 6 through adult @ the Monroe Center for the Arts
The MST Dance Academy
Sarah Weber Gallo, Dance Education Director
The Mile Square Theatre Dance Academy specializes in pre-professional-level training in Ballet, Modern Dance and Theater Dance, and is staffed by working professional dancers. Emphasis is placed on alignment, technique and purity of form.
Classes are based on a semester system. Parents may attend the final class of the Fall and Winter semesters to view their child’s progress. There will be a Spring performance to demonstrate the students’ abilities and give them a chance to dance in front of an audience.
All students are placed according to ability. Dancers may advance to pointe shoes at age 12 or older, when the appropriate musculature and bony supports are generally developed.
Girls should be attired in dark-colored leotards, pink tights, and pink ballet shoes, with hair neatly back in a bun or tight braid. Boys should wear white T-shirts and black tights or shorts, with black ballet shoes and neat hair.
MST Dance Academy Faculty Bios
Dance Education Director Sarah Weber Gallo holds an MFA in Dance Performance Studies from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee's Peck School of the Arts. She is a senior member of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, where she has worked with such choreographers and directors as Graciela Danielle, Benjamin Millepied, Julie Taymor, Doug Varone, and Christopher Wheeldon. Sarah has also performed with Sean Curran, Mark Dendy, Donald Byrd, American Dance Machine, and The Radio City Rockettes.
Sarah Giarrusso is a life-long dancer with extensive experience in ballet, jazz, contemporary, and Horton technique. She currently studies ballet with Kat Wildish, a former dancer with New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. Sarah specializes in classical ballet repertoire, including Les Sylphides, Giselle, Coppelia, and Romeo and Juliet. She has been a faculty member at Central Pennsylvania Dance Workshop; and she studied dance composition and production with Pat Heigel-Tanner at Pennsylvania State University, where she produced, choreographed, and performed in numerous Choreographers’ Showcase productions for Orchesis Dance Company. A mother of two, Sarah believes that ballet builds confidence, patience, and discipline in young children within a unique community of expressive explorers. Her class focuses on building a foundation for strong technique while incorporating musicality and performance quality, ensuring that dancing is always fun and rewarding.
Originally from St. Louis, MO, Christine McMillan is a NYC based artist and Bessie award-winning performer cited for her work with Ben Munisteri and The Metropolitan Opera. Performing in over 45 productions at the Met including several soloist roles, she has worked with renowned choreographers and directors including Doug Varone, Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, Mark Morris, Benjamin Millipied, Graciella Daniele, Mark Dendy, Julie Taymor, Mary Zimmerman, Deborah Warner and Fiona Shaw. She earned a B.S. from Indiana University in Ballet & Psychology and an M.F.A. in Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. A certified yoga teacher at the 500 hr level, Christine studies somatics with Amy Matthews and Laura Gates.
Erin M. Kernion hails from New Orleans, LA where she received her dance training from the Giacobbe Academy of Dance and performed with the Delta Festival Ballet. Her professional career has brought her from New Orleans to the high seas to New York. Her favorite credits include featured dancer for Celebrity Cruises, Rockette in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, The Metropolitan Opera’s The Merry Widow (Susan Stroman, dir.), and Goodspeed Musical’s La Cage Aux Folles. Erin loves to share her passion for dance and professional experience with her students. She has had the joy of guest teaching ballet and musical theatre throughout southern Louisana, for Backstage Dance Competitions, and at Joffrey Young Dancers summer program. Visit erinmkernion.com!
Valerie Ornstein is a native of Richmond, VA, where she studied at the School of the Richmond Ballet. She holds a B.A. in dance from the Laban Center in London and Connecticut College, where she received the Joan Connell Memorial Award for Performance. Additionally, she has taught and studied in China at the Beijing Dance Academy and the Guandong Modern Dance Company. She has assisted Oscar-winning Chinese composer Tan Dun on several projects, and her choreography has been seen at the Chashama, Taipei Theater, Cunningham Studio, Judson Church, The 92nd Street Y, and in subway stations and other non-traditional locations in New York City.
Matthew J. Harris is a NY based artist continuously performing in theatre (The Garden of Rikki Tikki Tavi - Mile Square Theatre, In The Heights - Walnut Street Theater, Midsummer Nights Dream - CTH), television (Person of Interest) and commercials (Coke Zero, Verizon, Footlocker) He is also a frequent hip-hop dancer/teacher/choreographer for Master classes and workshops through the company ManInMotion. His choreography has been seen at Ailey Citigroup (audience choice award), Peridance, Dixon Place and more. Stay up to date on Matthew's projects by visiting www.matthewjharris.net
milesquaretheatre.org for more information