EDGE DANCE ACADEMY - Key Persons

Amy Wool-Kettell has been teaching dance throughout New England for 15 years and has recently moved back to Massachusetts. She began her interest in dance in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire at the age of four. She continued her passion of dance at Dean College in Franklin Massachusetts where in 1998 she graduated with an Associates of Arts Degree. In those two years she was awarded the Gregory Hines Tap Scholarship, The Carrie Grant Chilson Award for Excellence in Music and Dance, Dean College Trustees Award for Dance, and The Franklin School For The Performing Arts Showcase Scholarship. After, she continued her dance education at The University of The Arts in Philadelphia with a major in modern dance. In 2001, she returned to Dean College to become the first recipient of the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance. She has traveled to Chicago, New York, and Boston where she trained with Nationally recognized dance instructors. Amy is very excited to be back teaching in Massachusetts.

Ashlee Bourque started dancing at the age of two and continued dancing throughout high school and college. Growing up she trained at various dance schools in MA and RI, concluding her last years of high school at Festival Ballet in Providence, RI. Her passion for dance stretched far beyond the dance studio and she chose to study dance as a major in college, receiving her B.A. in dance from Dean College in 2010. Ashlee's expertise in dance comes from many years of competing and performing in High School and performing in Ballet and Modern companies in college, as well as being a dance team member at Dean. She has also extensively studied the art of teaching dance. Outside of school, Ashlee has taught at many different professional, recreational, and competitive dance schools. Ashlee currently works at the Newman YMCA in Seekonk, MA and started the Shooting Stars School of Dance Program. Among her credits, Ashlee was also elected as a 2017 New England Patriots Cheerleader. Ashlee has been teaching at EDGE Dance Academy since 2011. Her goal is to share her love, passion, and expertise in dance to all that are willing to learn.

Caitlin Pyron has taught at many studios within the Southern New England area focusing on tap, jazz, and contemporary. Miss Cait grew up competing in competitions nationwide and transitioned into choreographing for them in her early twenties winning many special and prestigious awards. She is recognized as a Master Teacher with the North East Workshop for Dancers and continues to learn by taking master classes annually. Miss Cait received her bachelors in Business from Rhode Island College in 2010. Her performance history includes being a member of the Rhode Island Independent Performers Group, dancing at the MLS halftime show in 2003, and a member of Taunton's performance group Heart to Heart productions in 2004. She continues to teach, inspiring creativity and brings out the best in her students while encouraging them to follow their own passion. Miss Cait has been a member of the staff at EDGE Dance Academy for two seasons.

Caitlyn Hart is from Coventry, RI, where she grew up to become devoted to dance. She is an occupational dancer mainly in the Greater Boston area. After studying for four years at Dean College, Caitlyn soon received her Bachelor's Degree in Dance and Fine Arts in May of 2016. She has been holding onto her passion of teaching dance to others as well has her proud role to be a performer. Caitlyn currently works as a pre-school teacher at Farmhouse Pre-school in Rhode Island, as well as a part time pre-school teacher at The Sunrise Montessori School in Massachusetts. She has been a dancer for United Styles Production and is a member of the United Techniques Dance Company. In the summer of 2016, Caitlyn had the pleasure of holding a spot on the Boston Cannons Dance Team. Being a part of a military family, Caitlyn has participated in several volunteer events and homecomings for military personal. She also takes her time to appreciate the outdoors and continues to stay active. Caitlyn is proud to announce that she has achieved her dream and has now taken her dance career to a higher level by becoming a rookie for the 2017-2018 New England Patriots Cheerleading Squad.

Kathleen started dancing at the age of three at The Turning Pointe School of Dance. She later trained at Festival Ballet Providence and became a member of their Junior Company under the direction of Mihailo Djuric. Throughout high school she attended many intensive programs such as Boston Ballet, Festival Ballet Providence, The Gold School, and trained at Valentina Kozlova's Dance Conservatory NY. Ms. Salamone is a highly decorated dance competitor having competed extensively, including in the Youth American Grand Prix Ballet Competition in New York City where she was a finalist. While at Festival Ballet Providence she was in many productions, which included The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and performed contemporary works by Viktor Plotnikov. After starting a family, she decided to change her focus from performance to education and attended Dean College as a dance major, where she graduated with an Associates Degree in Dance and continues education in the arts of teaching, dance technique, and performance. Kathleen is also on staff with Sophisticated Productions as a dance competition judge. She now shares her love of dance with students. Ms. Salamone has taught at a number of dance schools throughout MA and RI and is the owner and artistic director of EDGE Dance Academy.

Laura Paulette has 40 years of dance experience. She has taught for 25 of those. She was certified in dance education through Dance Masters of America and Dance Teachers Club of Boston. Laura attended The Boston Conservatory and followed many career paths but her love for dance kept bringing her back to her original field. When she was 25 she opened The Turning Pointe School of Dance and was the sole instructor and director for many years. After 14 years she sold to Kathleen Salamone and has continued instructing for her. Laura's beliefs are not just to instill her love for dance but to be a positive influence and role model for her students.

Samantha Petrosian has been dancing for 29 years. Sammi spent most of her time in the dance studio taking ballet, pointe, lyrical, jazz, tap, and acro. She was trained as a high level competitive dancer with Patti Eisenhauer for many years, winning numerous national high score titles. Through the years she has been very fortunate to take master classes with many of dance's greats. After having her son DJ, Sammi returned to her love of dance. Focusing primarily in hip hop, she studied with New York's own Rock Steady Crew, The Floorlords, Carl Alleyne, Rommel Childress, Kelly Peters, and many more. Ms. Petrosian is a USAG (USA Gymnastics) professional member and certified coach, certified in safety and risk management and certified in the fundamentals of gymnastics instruction. Sammi has been teaching for the past 12 years and has been with EDGE Dance Academy since 2008. One of her greatest prides has been watching her students grow into beautiful dancers. She looks forward to many more wonderful years to come at EDGE Dance Academy.