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Who We Are
Helene Nilsen has been active in the dance community for thirty years, from modern dance classes in Denver, Colorado to classes with the Wolcott Ballet in its beginning in 1977. She was active on the board of the Wolcott Ballet and was instrumental in its transition to an integrative arts program called On the Rise. For the last ten years, Helene has taught creative movement to 4-7 year old children integrating dance with children’s creations of their own fairy tales set to classical music and accompanied with narration.
Helene believes that the arts are critical for the development of each child’s sense of his/her creative self. The arts afford children a grounding in self discipline and focus. She believes that dance as the artistic modality and the teacher-student relationship are the key elements for the developmental benefits to occur.
Helene is a psychotherapist with a Psy. D. in clinical psychology. She integrates the arts and the creative process in her practice, working with children, adolescents, and adults. She also works part time as an adjunct professor in the graduate clinical psychology program at St. Michael’s College. She has the firm commitment and belief that the instrument to enriching people’s development is in the relationships created between each other.
She is committed to the Ballet Wolcott mission of creativity and dance through the community connection.
Brandy Ofciarcik-Perez received her Bachelor of Arts in dance from Point Park College in Pittsburgh, PA. Before that, she studied with the esteemed faculty of the Pittsburgh High School for Creative and Performing Arts and under the tutelage of Vivienne Bartman of the Chartiers Valley Arts Council Dance Company where she became well known for her performance as the Sugar Plum Fairy. Her dance education includes ballet, jazz, tap, modern, folk, and historical dance. Her experiences have taken her to Frontiertown Western Theme Park in Maryland where she taught, created dances, and performed. Since moving to Vermont, she has become a member of the Vermont Dance Collective, taught at Johnson State College, and has collaborated with many local choreographers and teachers. With the Collective, she performs in schools and theatres all over Vermont as well and around the country. The highlight of her experience is having the opportunity to share dance with all of her students.
Avi Waring began dancing at the Wolcott Children’s Ballet at age 8 where she learned a love of movement and performing from June Gorton. She studied ballet and modern dance with the Vermont Junior Ballet Company and with the National Youth Ballet at Walnut Hill School in Natick, MA. She danced with the Newcomb Dance Company at Tulane University in New Orleans, and went on to study the wild and endless art of improvisation with Fawn and Arol Wulf and the Heretica Dance Company at Zendik Arts in West Virginia. Avi is excited to bring her love of dancing back to where it began for her through the Ballet Wolcott.
Reinita Arnold is a Latin, ballroom and swing dancer and teacher who has been active for years. Holding a BA in Dance from Johnson State College, she has taught and performed in studios and other venues all over Vermont and has competed successfully in New York City and Montreal. She currently works with groups and individuals at Stowe Recreation and in Morrisville, VT. Reinita loves working with people and generates her love of dance in all those who dance and study with her.
Breanna Hart holds a BA in psychology with a minor in Dance from Johnson State College. As a student at JSC she was active in the Johnson State College Dance Ensemble. While in high school, she was a member of the North Country High School Dance Company. Breanna balances her administrative role with Easter Seals (working with and directing programs with families and children) and her human services career with her passion for teaching and performing dance. She consistently continues to take classes at the Contemporary Dance and Fitness Center in Montpelier. Breanna has also studied with Cecchetti Ballet Master Teacher Jennifer Wiley (hosted by River Arts' On the Rise Program) for the past five summers.
Breanna spent last year dancing for the Vermont Elements, a Company of Urban Dance Complex in Williston, Vt., directed by Sara Cover. Breanna has taken numerous classes in West Coast Hip Hop and Funk in Los Angeles, California. Her philosophy of dance instruction is to teach a dance form to students that is technical and requires a rigorous discipline yet in a context of a receptive, friendly, and respectful environment.
Jordan Mensah started traditional African Drumming at Age 9 in Ghana. He grew up in Bukom, a suburb of Acca, a community where drum and dance played an integral part of all community activities. He is a Juried Artist listed with the Vermont Arts Council, and has organized Onion River Arts and Community Connections sponsored residencies in elementary and high schools across Vermont as part of the Shidaa African Cultural Project, as well as workshops for adult community groups in Adamant, Barre, and Plainfield. He is a resource person on African Traditional studies.
Jennifer Wiley began her early training with Lorraine Peltonen and Flint Ballet Theater. She graduated from Western Michigan University and performed with the University Ballet Theater. Jennifer has directed the Dancscape program and numerous musicals at the Midland Center for the Arts. She is currently on the faculty of the Paavola School of Dance in Flint, Michigan, teaching ballet and jazz.
As a member of the Cecchetti Council of America, Jennifer is certified to teach the Cecchetti Method of ballet. The Cecchetti Council of America is an organization dedicated to maintaining the standards and method of ballet training established by Cav. Enrico Cecchetti. The organization uses his teaching and writings in a sequence of grades, carefully measured as to degree of difficulty and physical development, and provides a system of accredited examinations to test the student's proficiency within those grades. Jennifer continues her studies with Bethany Lenhart, Cecchetti Council of America board member and permanent examiner, and is currently working towards the Grade VI level of certification.
Ellen Leonard has been studying, teaching, and performing Afro-Carribean dance and music since 1987. She has studied with many master teachers over the years, including, Richard Gonzalez, Pat Hall-Smith, Arthur Hall, and John and Mona Amira. Most recently she continues to work with Cuban master teacher Reynaldo Gonzalez, and Haitian master teacher, Johnny Scovel. Her special love are the ritual dances, songs and rhythms of Yoruba, Bantu, Abakua, Palo and Yessa origin. Ellen has taught music in public schools for over 10 years and is now director and co-founder of AllTogetherNow! Preschool and Community Arts Center. She also continues to teach instrumental lessons and a family music class called Music Together.
Stuart Paton grew up in Tokyo Japan, where he started studying Congas in 1979. Indonesian and Japanese drumming followed, and soon after moving to Vermont, he began accompanying dance classes for Richard Gonzales and Sara McMahon. He has been studying and teaching Cuban and Haitian Drumming ever since. Along with being a lead accompanist and performer with the Jeh Kulu Dance and Drum Ensemble for six years, Stuart has been the primary drummer for Cuban-Haitian Dance classes In Montpelier and Burlington since 1987 and 1988 respectively. Stuart has been drumming for Ellen Leonard for over 20 years, and is also the artistic director for the Burlington Taiko Group.
Kaylee Halstrom began studying ballet and tap with Joni Calcagni when she was six years old. She later expanded her dance experience to include hip-hop, lyrical and jazz while assisting and teaching classes at Joni's School of Dance in Barre, VT. Yearly, she attends the Northeast Workshop for Dancers, where she has the opportunity to work with many well known dancers and choreographers. SHe is currently a student at Johnson State College where she is Co-captain of the dance club. Kaylee says, "I love to dance and I love being able to pass my love of dance on to the kids I teach."