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The North Andover School of Dance is dedicated to teaching dance to students of all ages. Our focus is on creating a fun and positive environment for our students and our staff. Our studio strives to offer variety and choice to meet the needs of the dancer and their family. Many of our students have danced together for years. It is with great pride that we watch dancers grow - both as dancers and as self-assured adults.
Come visit our studio, take a class and join in the fun!
Learn more about our staff below:
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Debbie Lamontagne – Director
Debbie graduated from the Dance Teachers Club of Boston Education Course in 1973 and is a 37 year member of that organization. While attending Castle Junior College in Windham, New Hampshire, Debbie became the co-director of Marilyn’s School of Dance in 1973. She then became the director of North Andover School of Dance & Gymnastics in 1986.
Debbie’s early dance training took place in Lawrence, Massachusetts under the direction of Madeline Mahoney and her sister Marilyn Twomey. She studied during the summer months with the late David DiMarie in Buffalo New York; Gene Murray in Salem, Massachusetts; and with Gus Giardano, Diane Walker, Julia Boynton and David Howard, just to name a few. Debbie has performed in Summer Stock and attended numerous dance festivals across the country.
Debbie has taught all levels of dance, Preschool through Advanced, Special Needs Children and Adults, for 36 years. She has taught in many after school and child care programs, choreographed many school musicals, and brought her students to perform on a Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship and at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. She has won numerous awards and trophies and is most proud of the Village Hero Award from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC) for her contributions to children and their families of our community.
Project Motivate Award For Excellence: In May of 2006 the Merrimack Valley area suffered from the damaging effects of flooding. Jane O'Donnell, owner of a competing dance studio, the Center For The Performing Arts, lost everything in her studio. Not only did Debbie arrange to join the two studios efforts in a Fundraiser Show, she also generously offered studio time to Jane’s students to prepare for their upcoming recitals. For her generosity Debbie was awarded the Project Motivate Award For Excellence. The plaque was presented to her on July 30, 2006 and read:
Thank you for setting the example for all dance educators. Your unselfish desire to help a fellow dance teacher and her students in their time of need has taught us all that appreciating, respecting and assisting each other can be accomplished among the dance profession. You are a SHINING LIGHT in the DANCE TEACHING WORLD.
Debbie and her husband, Leo, have two adult sons, Leo and Matthew.
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Angela Gleckman
Growing up in a small town in Maine, Angela Gleckman, developed an interest in performing arts at a young age. Dance being her first passion, she began tap and jazz at age 5 and has since trained in Ballet and Modern. In high school, she was chosen to participate in the Gifted & Talented Dance Program where students choreographed dances for each other to perform. She was very active in show chorus, singing and dancing and was asked to choreograph the dancing for the Jr. High show chorus.
At Plymouth State College in NH, she was a member of the Contemporary Dance Ensemble. There she studied under Joan Wiegers who was trained by Martha Graham. Angie was taught ballet and further developed her love for Modern. Throughout her studies Angie has choreographed and performed many of her own pieces. She also performed in guest-artists’ productions including the Alvin Ailey Company and Stomp. While dancing and working on her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design from Plymouth State she helped Wiegers run summer dance camps for teens.
After graduation in 1999, Angie and her husband Matt, traveled out west for four years. During that time in southwest Colorado, she taught Ballet and Creative Movement to 3-5 year olds and adult Yoga Classes. In Washington State, at a local YMCA, she started a Yoga for Kids Program and taught adult Yoga Classes.
In 2003, Angie and her husband moved back east while pregnant with their daughter, Anna. She then became a preschool teacher at the YMCA on Cape Cod and incorporated dance and yoga into the curriculum. In 2006, while pregnant with her son Parker, she taught Yoga Classes for adults at the YMCA.
Angie and her husband, Matt, live in Atkinson, NH with their two children. Angie will be teaching Preschool and Grade School dancers in Ballet, Tap, and Jazz. Angela is thrilled to be beginning her third year at North Andover School of Dance and is looking forward to passing on her love for dance to others.
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Courtney Williams
Courtney comes to us from Springfield, MA where she began her dance training at age 4 at Hackworth School of Performing Arts. By age 10 she was a convention circuit assistant. She has performed with such dance legends as Frank Hatchett, Savion Glover and Joe Tremaine. She has studied Jazz, Tap and Contemporary at the Broadway Dance Center and Steps in N.Y.C. as well as Millennium in Los Angeles. She was also a performer in the NFL Pro-Bowl Half-time show and is an All American Dancer as well as being associated with the Eastern Dance Association.
As an award winning choreographer she has received numerous awards for her original choreography and her students have won multiple Overall Awards and Individual Titles. She is also a national judge for 2 major competitions.
In her spare time Courtney is currently pursuing a nursing degree and enjoys being a mom to her 2 children, Isabelle and Boston. She will be teaching Competitive Dancers in Tap, Jazz, Musical Theater, Lyrical, and Contemporary. Courtney is also Zumba Certified. Courtney is looking forward to her second year as part of the North Andover School of Dance family.
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Joel D. Seger
”Mr. Joel” has a multi-faceted background which includes dance, musicals, plays, movies, modeling and radio. He fondly remembers his first performance on stage…. as a singing and dancing marshmallow.
It’s been uphill all the way! Proving the adage “you’re never too old to dance”, Joel started studying at 17 years old. He has never been the same! Since his humble beginnings, Joel has performed with and choreographed for many regional theatre companies. His favorite shows include “George M” (playing George) and “West Side Story”(choreography). Another favorite was performing in a touring production of “The Nutcracker”. Over the years, Joel has worked or studied with many great teachers including; Sabina Copilu, Jim Caisse, Jason Samuels-Smith, Robin Dunn, Frank Hatchett, Sheila Barker and Crystal Chapman, to name a few.
In the past, Joel has also worked as a private Ballet coach, choreographed for a competitive body builder, coached pageant contestants and has won rave reviews for his hair, make-up and costume designs for many theatrical productions. Joel continues to teach dance workshops in many different styles and has worked at Cushing Academy and St. Mark’s School teaching dance to students from all over the world.
Last season, Joel created “Les Petit Etoile”, a youth Ballet company. This season, the company will host their own workshop, and perform in two local concerts.
Joel and his wife, Christine, live in Holden, Ma with their three children. Joel will be teaching Competitive Dancers in Ballet and Pointe.
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Kathy Piotte
Kathy began dancing at a young age and has completed more than 25 years of dance training in Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical and Acro. Her primary dance training took place at Joyce Sartorelli’s Broadway Studio of Performing Arts, where she became a student teacher. In 1989, she graduated from the Dance Teachers Club of Boston Education Program and went on to complete a teaching apprenticeship under Dolores (Terenzi) Del Viscovo. She became a certified member of the Dance Teachers Club of Boston in 1992.
Kathy has studied under dance greats such as Marcus Alford, Sam Fiorello and Mary Jane Brown. She holds numerous gold medals and first place awards for solo and group performances. With more than 16 years of teaching experience, she has choreographed many dances in all disciplines for area recitals and community venues. She and her students have performed at Walt Disney World’s MGM Studios. For three years Kathy served as Production Co-coordinator and Scholarship Chairperson for Greater Suffolk County’s Young Woman of the Year Program.
Kathy holds a B.S. in Management from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, where she was a founding member of the University’s Dance Team. She continued to teach dance while serving as Human Resources Manager for Brodeur Worldwide, before leaving to be home with her children.
Kathy will be teaching Preschool, Grade School, Adult and Competitive Dancers in Ballet, Tap and Jazz. She is also Zumba Certified. Kathy lives in North Andover with her husband, Joe, and their daughters, Kylie and Christina.
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Leo Lamontagne
Leo earned a Bachelor of Science in Communication, majoring in Dance with a minor in Not-For-Profit Business, from Northwestern University. While there he founded and directed the university’s first and only tap dance company, TONIK Tap.
He has studied with Dr. Susan Lee, Laura Wade, Glenn Leslie, Bril Barrett, Molly Shanahan, among others. After graduating from NU, Lamontagne danced professionally as a company member of Jump Rhythm Jazz Project in Chicago. While with the company he had the opportunity to perform and teach across the country. In 2007 he received an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Achievement for Individual Excellence On Camera/Performer for his work in the multiple-Emmy-Award-winning documentary Jump Rhythm Jazz Project: Getting There, produced by HMS Media for public television.
Leo, most recently, was cast and performed in Clara's Dream: A Jazz Nutcracker, presented by Mad Theatricals at the Musical Hall in Portsmouth, NH. He is a graduate of The Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston Teacher Training Course and the recipient of The Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston Award and the Mary Jane Brown Award for excellence in teaching and tap respectively.
Lamontagne grew up dancing at North Andover School of Dance, and continued there throughout high school. He also studied at Jeannette Neill Dance Studio as a member of Boston Youth Moves, where he was given the opportunity to perform with Ace Entertainment, a company specializing in film, stage and corporate entertainment productions nationwide. He is on faculty at the Boston Conservatory where he teaches jazz and directs the Hoofers, the student tap company. He also teaches Master classes throughout the North East. He is excited to be returning home to North Andover School of Dance. Things really have come full circle. There is no place like home!
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Nicole Zaffini
Nicole is a life long member of North Andover School of Dance. She began dancing at North Andover School of Dance at the age of 4, where she studied Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, and Pointe. She was part of the Competitive Dance Team for eight years, where she was able to take part in community service performances and also dance at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and on a Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship. While dancing at North Andover School of Dance she was also an Apprentice Dance Teacher for six years.
Nicole has taught dancers from ages 3 to 15 in all disciplines of dance. She has been the coordinator of our Summer Fun Dance Program for the past four years and is also our Dance Birthday Party Coordinator. Nicole is a graduate of the three year Dance Teachers Club of Boston Education Training Course.
Nicole is a junior at Merrimack College where she is a Psychology and Elementary Education Co-Major with a Concentration in Moderate Disabilities. She is also a part of the Merrimack College Dance Team. She has performed at the Boston Celtics Pre-Game Show, Merrimack College Homecoming and Basketball Games, and has also competed with the Team in Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida. (April 2008 & 2009)
Nicole is very excited to begin her fourth year as part of the North Andover School of Dance staff! This year she will be teaching Grade School, Preparatory, and Competitive Dancers in Ballet, Tap, and Jazz. She is also Zumba certified.
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Nicolette “Nikki” Fields
Nikki is a 24 year old graduate from Texas Woman’s University with her Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Dance. She has had the honor of using her Performing Arts Skills to help out her community. She is a highly talented dancer with extensive experience in the use of movement, gesture and body language to portray a character, situation, and abstract concept to an audience, usually to the accompaniment of music; interpreting the work of choreographers, sometimes requiring improvisation.
Nikki has a remarkable background in a variety of genres of dance including, Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Hip Hop, Contemporary, and African. Nikki loves teaching children of all ages!
She lives in Exeter, NH with her husband, Randall and her son, Damien. Nikki will be teaching Grade School, High School, Adults, and Competitive Dancers in Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop, and African. She is excited to share her joy of dance at North Andover School of Dance!
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Tara M. Kelly
Tara M. Kelly brings a lifetime of musical theater performance to Music Makers. She starred opposite and understudied Julie Andrews, Liza Minnelli & Raquel Welch in the Broadway musical Victor Victoria. Other leading roles include Pippin, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Into The Woods, and Sweeney Todd.
Off Broadway, she has performed with Musical Theatre Works, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and the Round-about Theatre Company. Tara has performed under the direction of Oscar winning film director Rob Marshall (Chicago) and Blake Edwards (Breakfast At Tiffany’s and The Pink Panther). She studied voice privately in New York and received her BA from Tufts University where she met her husband.
Tara and her husband have been married for 14 years and currently reside in North Andover with their two children. Tara is the creator of our NEW Music Makers Theatre Program.
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Jay Zaffini - Office Manager
Jay has been affiliated with North Andover School of Dance for the past 17 years. She is a certified graduate of the Executive Secretarial Program of Burdett School. Prior to working at North Andover School of Dance, she was an Administrative Assistant for a Home Improvement Company and an Administrative Sales Assistant for a publishing company, R.L. Polk & Company. Jay also owned and operated a Children's Clothing and Novelty Store.
Jay has one daughter, Nicole, who is an Alumni and teacher at North Andover School of Dance and is now attending Merrimack College.
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