FlynnArts Teaching Artists have extensive experience both as educators and as artists. All are committed to the FlynnArts mission of fostering the creative spirit in students of all ages and backgrounds, igniting a curiosity about the artistic process, and helping students claim the arts as an integral part of their lives. We pride ourselves on a low student-teacher ratio. Click or scroll down for summer faculty.

Summer Camps, Classes, & Workshops: children / teens / adults
Semester begins in late April/early May (See class descriptions for specific start and end dates. No camps or classes will be held on July 4, and dance classes do not meet the week of July 16-20.)

SUMMER 2007 FACULTY

ELIZABETH BRODYearned her B.F.A. in ballet and technical theater from the University of Utah. She has taught ballet for the Christiansen Academy and the Deaf Shall Dance Program in Salt Lake City, Utah, and locally for the Vermont Conservatory of Ballet and the University of Vermont.

MARGOT BUTTON earned a M.A. in music and opera performance from Boston Conservatory and a diploma in dramatic presentation from the New Zealand Academy of Performing Arts. She has taught dramatic presentation and voice at Boston Conservatory and has appeared widely as a soloist.

ROBIN FAWCETT is an artist and teacher devoted to fueling the urge for artful expression in others. For more than 20 years, she has taught acting, directing, physical theater, and the teaching of theater while creating original works and directing plays at the University of Iowa, the University of Vermont, Champlain Valley Union High School, FlynnArts, and others.

ARDEN GOLLearned a B.F.A. in dance from the Conservatory at the University of Missouri and trained at the Alvin Ailey School, among other New York studios. Proficient in modern, ballet, African, and hip-hop, she has performed, choreographed for competition and performance, and taught a wide range of ages, skill levels, and styles.

LISA GIORDANO earned a B.A. from Boston University and is pursuing an M.F.A. in dance. A dancer, choreographer, and nationally-ranked competitive figure skater, Giordano draws on her extensive training under floor barre creator Zena Rommett and Broadway Dance Center Ballet Master Finis Jhung to help skaters and dancers to work with more efficiency and expression.

MICHAEL HALLORANis an experienced actor, singer, accompanist, and director who has worked professionally across the country. He teaches voice privately and at Johnson State College.

JULIE URQUHART HOLMESearned a B.A. in music from Colorado College and an M.A. in teaching the arts from Saint Michael’s College. She has taught general music and drama in elementary schools for four years, early childhood music at Union Colony Children’s Music Academy in Colorado, and private piano lessons.

SETH JARVIS is a playwright, director, performer, and poet whose recent credits include The Once and Future Ubu, The Next State, and The Bus. Jarvis teaches commedia dell’arte, performance poetry, and art in curriculum—the history-theater synthesis in FlynnArts summer camps.

KIM JORDAN is an actress, educator, and poet who has taught theater and performance poetry to children and teachers in Vermont, Spain, and Northern Ireland. She is an advocate of arts-ineducation, and trains teachers to incorporate theater into school curricula. Jordan also founded and directs the Breathing Poetry Project, bringing performance poetry to Vermont schools.

DARRAGH LAMBERT’s background in psychology and bioenergetics led her to the Feldenkrais Method in 1989. Now a certified Feldenkrais practitioner, Lambert maintains a private practice and enjoys helping individuals to reach greater fulfillment by overcoming discomfort and physical limitation.

JOSIE LEAVITTworked as a standup comic in New York City prior to moving to Vermont. She has taught numerous comedy workshops to high acclaim and regularly emcees FlynnSpace’s popular comedy series, Stand up, Sit Down, and Laugh. She also owns the Flying Pig bookstore in Shelburne.

JUDITH LEOPOLD KURTZ earned a B.A. in English and theater from Bryn Mawr College, and a M.A. in teaching the arts from Saint Michael’s College. Kurtz was a professional actor in Philadelphia, and locally with Vermont Stage Company, before becoming an educator at Essex High School and the Flynn Center.

TRACY MARTIN is co-artistic director of Phantom Theater—creating original works in dance, theater, and music. She teaches dance in Stowe, Montpelier, Warren, and at Harwood Union High School. She holds a degree from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

TAMARA MCFALLis co-artistic director of Phantom Theater—an innovative company that specializes in creating original works in dance, theater, and music. She teaches dance in Stowe, Montpelier, Warren, and at Harwood Union High School. She earned a degree from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Dance Program.

SARA MCMAHON has been involved in the research, teaching, and performing of movement as a form of artistic and personal development for more than 25 years. Her teaching approach draws from elements of Barteineiff Fundamentals, Body-Mind Centering, the basic principals of anatomy and kinesiology, and improvisational and modern dance techniques.

SUSE MOWRERis a freelance cartoonist and owner of Pun Intended Graphics. She earned a M.Ed. and teaches art in the public school system.

LISA NELSON is a dance-maker, improvisational performer, videographer, and collaborative artist who has been exploring the role of the senses in the performance and observation of movement since the early 1970s. Her original approach to spontaneous composition and performance is called “Tuning Scores.” Nelson has received a Bessie (New York Dance and Performance) Award, among other honors.

SCOTT NICHOLAS is the musical director of the New England Conservatory Opera Workshop and an accompanist for the Minnesota Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Suffolk University Contemporary Opera Theater, Brown Bag Opera Company, and the Leontyne Vocal Arts Competition. Nicholas earned a B.A. in music education and a M.M. in accompanying/coaching from the New England Conservatory. He has served as a professor of voice and piano at Emerson College, Boston Conservatory, Suffolk University, the New England Conservatory, and the Franklin School for the Performing Arts.

SUSAN PALMERearned a M.F.A. in theater directing from Middlesex University in London, England, and studied acting in Russia. For the past 10 years she has directed, taught, and performed in Europe and Canada, as well as locally with Vermont Stage Company, the Waterfront Theatre, and Vermont Commons School.

BRITTANY PETERSEN has studied with numerous dance visionaries, including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Broadway Dance Center, Folkuniversitet Balettakdemien in Sweden, and Broadway and hip-hop choreographers. She has been teaching and developing her unique tap/hip-hop fusion since 1995.

TONY PIETRICOLA, voted the 2003 Vermont Music Educator of the Year, teaches music at Charlotte Central School. He has worked as a consultant to the Vermont Department of Education and is a member of the Vermont Jazz Ensemble.

BILL REED earned a Ph.D. in vocal music education from Columbia University. He founded the acclaimed musical theater program at Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City 25 years ago. Privately and at Circle in the Square, Reed continues to provide vocal coaching to aspiring theater and opera performers who regularly succeed on Broadway and in professional opera.

THE RIOT GROUP has brought uncompromised intensity to the world of contemporary theater since 1997. Tightly-knit and fiercely committed, the ensemble has produced a string of original productions that combine absurd comedy and powerful political satire with a unique, confrontational acting style. The Riot Group was last in FlynnSpace in May 2006 with the awardwinning works Pugilist Specialist and Victory at the Dirt Palace.

JOAN ROBINSON is associate director for school programs at the Flynn Center, to which she brings more than 25 years of experience performing, teaching, and storytelling. She also serves as adjunct faculty for the Saint Michael’s College Graduate Program in Education.

DANIELLE SERTZ is a director, choreographer, playwright, teacher, and performer who has taught dance and acting to students, ranging from young children to professionals. Her training includes the National Theater Institute and Ann Reinking’s Musical Theater Project. She earned a B.A. in drama from Ithaca College and an M.F.A. in directing from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

KAREN SHARPWOLF earned a M.Ed. in arts education from Saint Michael’s College, where she focused on linking creative drama and environmental education. She directed the Green Mountain Club for six years and is the master puppeteer for Kids on the Block Vermont, performing in schools throughout the state.

SCOTT SMITH’s professional experience includes traditional and classical dance forms, as well as new dance and improvisation. In addition to creating his own work, he has danced in the companies of various postmodern choreographers, including Bebe Miller, Lisa Kraus, and Lisa Nelson.

EVA SOLLBERGER has worked in the film industry for more than 10 years, producing visual effects on big budget pictures, working the San Francisco and Sundance film festivals, projecting 35mm at art houses, posting her own movies on YouTube, and filming, producing, and starring in her own TV show, The Deadbeat Club.

LOIS TROMBLEY is the co-creator, director, and choreographer of Spielpalast Cabaret. She has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland and studied West African dance in Senegal.

RAY VEGA, trumpeter, has established himself as one of the innovators of the new generation of Latin jazz players with his own fiery brand of real New York Latin jazz. He is a veteran of salsa and Latin jazz bands of Tito Puente, Ray Barretto, and Hector LaVoe, among others, and has created numerous recordings. His band, the Ray Vega Latin Jazz Sextet, performs extensively. Vega is a professor at the State University of New York at Purchase.

CHRISTINA WEAKLAND is the director of education at the Flynn Center with a background in performance, direction, and choreography— most recently contributing to Lyric Theatre’s Seussical. Her training includes dance, drama, and voice at Carnegie Mellon University and a B.A. in theater from Bryn Mawr College.

LIDA WINFIELD has a diverse background in direction, choreography, performance, and the visual arts. She has taught theater and dance to students of all ages for more than 10 years, and advocates the creation of a supportive environment that fosters exploration and development. Winfield founded her own studio in Massachusetts and creates and tours solo performances across New England.

JAZZISMO: Summertime Jazz
Ensemble-in-Residence

RICK DAVIES, trombonist and teacher, earned his Ph.D. in jazz history from New York University. Davies founded and leads Jazzismo, a Latin jazz sextet based in New York that featured bassist Harvie Swartz, trumpeters Chocolate Armenteros and Ray Vega, and many of the finest salsa and Latin musicians.

STEVE FERRARIS, drummer and performing arts educator, has performed and taught rhythm and drumming for all ages nationally and internationally since 1985. He has been involved with the New Hampshire Council on the Arts, Very Special Arts New Hampshire, Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, and the University of Vermont, among other arts education institutions.

JOHN RIVERS is an active freelance bassist who teaches applied jazz bass at the University of Vermont, Johnson State College, and through Advance Music. Rivers has studied, performed, and traveled nationally and internationally with Don Coffman, Vince Maggio, Ron Miller, Arturo Sandoval, Othello Molineaux, Ira Sullivan, Karl Berger, Kim Pensyl, Phillip Hamilton, and other artists.

JEFF SALISBURY, drummer, has played for Albert King and Cold Blood, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Linda Tillery, and many other artists in rhythm-and-blues and jazz. A former artistic advisor for the Discover Jazz Festival, Salisbury was commissioned by the Flynn to compose and perform original percussion quartet music in 2003.

BRUCE SKLAR is a skilled pianist who performs regularly in the Sklar/Grippo Band, Jazzismo, the Discover Jazz Festival, and other groups. He teaches jazz improvisation, music technology, and the middle and high school jazz programs at Harwood Union High School and in South Burlington.

ALEX STEWART, professor of music at the University of Vermont, earned an M.A. in music from Manhattan School of Music and a Ph.D. from the City University of New York. He has toured, performed, and recorded with Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Manhattan Transfer, Ray Charles, Wynton Marsalis, and many others.

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