Nicolette Wilford | Jazz IIA III, V, Jr. Jazz Rep A
Nicolette “Nicki” has been the owner and director of Brixham Danceworks since 1990. Nicki received her BFA in dance from the University of California-Irvine with an emphasis in teaching. She taught in Southern California as well as the seacoast area before opening her studio in 1990.
Nicki has worked with area schools performing demonstrations and workshops. She has studied with many world renowned teachers as well as in Boston with Jeannette Neill & Danny Sloan, at Broadway Dance Center and many dance conventions. She has won awards for her dancers as well as her choreography at many national competitions.
Nicki along with Barbra Childress have founded the nonprofit Dancers Making a Difference DMAD. Each year local studios are invited to perform together in a non competitive environment while raising money for a local nonprofit.
Maiya Jordan | classes Jazz IIIA, Jazz IV, Jazz V, Lyrical I & II
Maiya Jordan began dancing at age 11. She received her primary dance education at Sole City Dance, The Dance Annex, and Bellete Ballet. Maiya also attended several summer programs including the Urbanity Intensive, in Boston. Maiya performed locally with The New England Dance Project, BeBaCo, and Sole City’s ensemble.
After High School, Maiya spent 2 years furthering her dance education at The Boston Conservatory and University of the Arts, in Philadelphia. She was cast in several original pieces which gave her the opportunity to dance in Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City.
Maiya has had the opportunity to share her love of dance with students, teaching at several local studios as well as Berwick Academy’s Summer Program. Maiya has experience choreographing both solo and group pieces in a diverse range of styles.
Elisa Gerasin| Ballet IIB, IIA, IIIB, IIIA, IV
Elisa Gerasin, the founder of Great Bay Academy of Dance, was born in Mexico City, Mexico. Ms. Gerasin received her early ballet training at Victoria Ballet in Guadalajara, Jalisco. From 1993-1997, her training continued at various Ballet Companies including Cubalet, Boston Ballet, 12th and 13th International Ballet Seminar Lake Michigan, Pittsburgh Vaganova Seminar, Point Park College, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater School, and Colorado Ballet. Elisa’s professional performing career spans from 1993-present. She has performed with Colorado Ballet, Victoria Ballet, Jose Mateo Ballet Theater Company, Ballet Theatre Workshop, Portland Ballet Company, Arts Rochester and Ballet New England. She has danced in several productions such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, La Bayardere, Paquita, Giselle, Pas de Quatre, Don Quixote, Le Fille Mal Gardee, Romeo and Juliet, Diana and Acton, Night Before Christmas, The Wizard of Oz and Raymonda. Ms. Gerasin started teaching beginner students in 1993 and has continued to bring her broad ballet training and knowledge to students of all abilities. Since 2001, she has taught in various Seacoast studios including Ballet Theatre Workshop, Arts Rochester, Ballet New England, Fusion Dance Academy, Brixham Dance and New Hampshire Academy of Performing Arts. In 2009 Elisa Gerasin opened Great Bay Academy of Dance (GBAD) with the mission of starting the Seacoast’s Non-Competition Dance Education Center. Since it’s beginning, Ms. Gerasin has created pieces such as “An 1836 Portsmouth Nutcracker”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Snow White”, “Cinderella”, “Tinker Bell”, “Fantasia”, “Lion King”, “The Little Mermaid” and “Peter & The Wolf” and “Swan Lake” in collaboration with the PSO.
Leah Richardson | Hip Hop V & Hip Hop Rep
Leah has had a love for dance since she was seven years old. She would choreograph dances at home as a little girl. Her passion grew over the years and she started to assist with classes at Brixham. Leah started teaching hip hop and jazz her senior year in high school.Hip Hop has always been a joy for her, but she also loved studying classical jazz under Nicki’s tutelage.Leah competed in dance from the age of nine to the age of eighteen and went on to win many awards. She also spent time performing around New England in Trashcan Lid Productions (TLP) dancing, acting, and playing instruments.Since graduating, Leah has continued to study in Boston, Pennsylvania & Los Angeles to educate herself and keep up with the changing style of hip hop. She also attends various workshops throughout the year such as Monsters of Hip Hop and Dance Olympus.
Jenny Letendre | Contemporary 5, Contemporary Rep.
Acro 3-4, Acro Rep
Jennifer “Jenny” Letendre started baton twirling at the age of two, and discovered her love of dance as a high school Freshman. After high school she studied dance performance for two years at Roger Williams University where she had the opportunity to work with many inspirational choreographers and performers. Jenny is a certified Acrobatic Arts Instructor. She has completed the training for levels 1-6 She has performed and choreographed with both companies Sonar Dance and Collective Motion, as well as with the Maine Red Claws Dance Team.In 2010, Jenny appeared on 16 episodes of the television hit “Deal or no Deal”. Along with teaching dance, Jenny is also a professional DJ.
Carolyn Hughes | Combination Classes, 6-8 Hip Hop, 8-10 Hip Hop,
Ballet I, Ballet IA, Jazz I, Jazz IA, "Dance With Me", Dance Fitness
Carolyn started dancing at Brixham Danceworks in 1988. In 1996, she began assisting Julie McKay with her combination classes. She later met her soon to be husband Michael and they were married in 2005. She is now the mother of four beautiful children.
In 2010, Carolyn became a Turbo Kick and Zumba Instructor and found herself back at Brixham teaching Zumba classes. Within the year she began subbing for different teachers. “I loved being back in the studio! The joy of being around children and their excitement was contagious!” She began teaching Saturday combination classes in the Fall of 2013. She is looking forward to all her sweet and special students that will join her this coming year!
Shannon Paone | Tap I-III, Beg. Teen Tap, Adult Tap, Jr. Tap Rep,
Adult Jazz, 8-10 Hip Hop
Shannon grew up in MA where she studied tap, jazz, ballet and pointe at Miss Cathy’s School of Dance from 1970 to1985. She moved to Maine in 1990, and enrolled her daughter at Brixham Danceworks in1997. It wasn’t long after that she began taking classes at Brixham, which reignited the passion she had always had for dance.In 2003, Shannon began teaching at Brixham Danceworks. Since then she has also volunteered in the community teaching hip hop at Central School and Marshwood High School as well as teaching tap classes at Marshwood Adult Ed.
Cheryl Arnold| Tap III, Tap IV, Tap V, Tap Rep
Cheryl graduated in 1992 with a BA in Dance/Theatre with a dance emphasis from the University of New Hampshire. She performed with the UNH Dance Company from 1988-1992. She studied and performed with the Seacoast Ballet Company for three years dancing several ballets.
Cheryl also attended the Dance Teachers Club of Boston for two summers and has attended classes and workshops with renowned teachers. She has been at Brixham Danceworks since 1995
Meghan McCoy Seedner| Ballet IIIA, Ballet IV,
Ballet V, Pointe I, II, III
Meghan primarily trained at the Portsmouth School of Ballet, with summer training at Joffrey Ballet Theater NYC and Jose Mateo Ballet Theater in Cambridge MA.
In 2010, she graduated from the University of New Hampshire with her BA in Theater and Dance.
She joined the Portland Ballet Company as an apprentice for their 2010-2011 season before being promoted to company dancer in 2011. During her time with Portland Ballet, Seedner performed in many classical and contemporary works.
In 2013, she joined the Teatrul de Balet Sibiu, in Romania. Upon her return to the States, she began her teaching career and continued dancing as a guest artist with Portland Ballet and other companies and schools across the Seacoast. As a teacher now for 7 years, she enjoys training dancers of all ages in both classical and contemporary ballet.
Gracelyn Kuzman | Jr. Jazz Rep A & B, Sr Jazz Rep, Lyrical IV,
Tap 5, Sr. Tap Rep.
Gracelyn began dancing at Brixham Danceworks in 2002 where she developed her passion for movement.
In 2016, Gracelyn recieved her BA in Dance Performance/Choreography and English from Palm Beach Atlantic University. She performed with the PBAU Dance Ensemble for 4 seasons and was mentored by numerous industry professionals.
Gracelyn spent a semester in Florence, Italy studying and performing ballet, modern, and flamenco, and a summer in Pretoria, South Africa teaching creative movement classes.
Gracelyn has training in tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, modern, and flamenco techniques. She began teaching at Brixham in 2018.