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Susan L. Smith BFA hons, RADRT, IDTA
Susan was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland Canada where she began dancing at the age of 6. Upon graduation from Prince of Wales Collegiate in 1975 she attended Memorial University of Newfoundland. One year later she decided to pursue her dream to become a dance teacher and was accepted at the Canadian College of Dance at Ryerson University in Toronto Ontario. After three years of study and completing her Royal Academy of Dancing and Imperial society of teaching examinations, in the diploma program Susan was accepted into the Bachelor of Fine Arts, dance program at York University also in Toronto. She graduated in 1982 with honors BFA in Dance. Upon graduation she taught in the children’s dance intensive program at The Ottawa Dance Center & Theatre, and the Cumbrae School of Dance, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In 1984 Susan moved to New Hampshire and taught in Derry and Nashua, NH. In 1986 she founded the New England School of Dance in Goffstown, NH.
Laura Micklovich
Laura graduated Trinity High and went onto Merseyside Dance College in Liverpool, England. There she was educated through Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (I.S.T.D) in tap, modern, national, ballroom, and Latin American. She received her Advanced II in tap and national and Teaching Certificate in tap, modern, and national. She also received her Teaching Certificate from the Royal Academy of Dancing (R.A.D). After graduating, she taught in Wellington, New Zealand. Upon her return to America, Laura has continued to teach at New England School of Dance and also Londonderry Dance Academy. She now resides in Manchester, NH and also works at Prudential Verani Realty.
Ali Smith
Ali began training with New England School of Dance in 1990 and continued to pursue an education in the field dance, having since earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in Dance from York University, Toronto, Canada and a Masters in Choreography (MAC) from Laban Contemporary Dance, London, UK. She enjoys teaching ballet, contemporary, and jazz with the students at New England School of Dance and is thankful for the opportunity to encourage and instill a sense of creativity and confidence in dancers of all ages.
Kellie Haigh
Kellie Haigh holds a degree in dance and has found a passion for teaching, choreograhing, directing and performing for over 20 years. She has trained in New York and Boston and studied with The School of the Hartford Ballet. She has performed professionally with several dance companies throughout New England. Primarily a dancer, she "fell into" musical theatre years ago where she discovered the love of singing and acting. She has choreographed many musicals and has performed in professional theatre. Along with teaching dance, Kellie also enjoys teaching fitness and yoga, but her biggest joy is being a mother to her two beautiful children.
Brannigan Burstein
Brannigan Burstein started her serious dance training at NESD at the age of 6. She studied the RAD syllabus thorough Advanced I. Brannigan continued her dance training at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland where she earned a Bachelors of Arts in Dance with concentrations in Education and Choreography/ Performance. While at Goucher, she worked with esteemed choreographers such as Mino Nicolas, Ed Tyler, Violet Verdi, Adrienne Clancy and Amy Marshall, to name a few. She also studied era specific dance with Crystelle Bond where she was a frequent tap soloist. Brannigan went on to gain a Masters of Education at Goucher College and was a dance teacher in the Cecil County Public School system. She moved back to New Hampshire, where she was married and loves every minute of teaching dance at NESD in addition to choreographing local high school musicals.
