Prior to entering college, Kristen gained her technical and competitive dance experience with Sally McDermott Dance Centers, LMT Dance Academy and Canty Dance Centre. Over the years, she was the recipient of several accolades including “Miss Ray of Sunshine,” “Best Overall Dancer,” “Best Technical Dancer” and multiple monetary scholarships. She has also had several years experience as an assistant and student teacher.
Kristen graduated from Worcester State College magna cum laude in Spring 2008, where she earned her BA in English/Journalism and French. She was an active member and choreographer of the Worcester State Dance Company, as well as President/Captain of the Worcester State College Dance Team for the 2007-2008 inaugural season. In addition to dance, Kristen was involved in several other campus-wide groups and activities including: Alpha Mu Gamma; staff writer at Worcester Business Journal’s intern program; the WSC French Club; Best Buddies; and “Who’s Who Among Students in America’s Colleges and Universities.” While completing her college education, Kristen continued to teach dance classes at local studios, dance companies and for performance events.
Professionally, Kristen has had experience working with children of all ages in various educational settings. She has worked as a one-on-one aid for autistic preschoolers; as a Creative Movement instructor at the former Commerce Insurance Daycare in Webster, MA; as a camp counselor for terminally ill children at Camp Sunshine in Saco, ME; as a Best Buddies mentor in Bristol, RI (the Roger Williams University chapter); as the resident instructor for the Sutton Elementary After-Care Dance Program, teaching ballet & hip-hop to grades K-5; and as a dance educator via Discover Champions in the Dudley/Charlton regional school district.
Kristen has taken several classes from highly-recognized choreographers & dance educators, including Cris Judd, Napoleon and Tabitha D’Umo (aka “Nappy-Tabs”), Kaelyn Gray, Gil Duldulao, Mark Goodman, Tricia Miranda, Matt Steffanina, Ian Eastwood, Nancy O’Meara, Derek Piquette and Tracie Stanfield, to name a few. She has taken part in the Dance Masters of America Teacher's Workshops, classes at The Jeannette Neil Dance Studio in Boston and several classes at “Steps” & “Broadway Dance Centre” in New York City - most recently in July 2023. Kristen continues to educate herself as both a choreographer and a studio owner, most recently participating in online classes from The Streamlined Studio, CLI Studios, Acrobatic Arts & other reputable, professional dance companies.
Kristen would like express gratitude to all of her students for inspiring her to create, teach & pursue her passion of dance performance & choreography. She would also like to thank her fellow teachers for encouraging & fully supporting her both in & out of the dance studio. Finally, she sends love and appreciation to her family for their consistent support in allowing her to chase her creativity & her passion for the art and education of dance, and never giving up on her dream of “dancing forever."
Miss Kristen has been involved in dance for nearly 35 years and has encompassed multiple roles during this time, including: student; performer; team coach; teacher; and studio owner. Kristen teaches at the competitive and recreational levels, specializing in tap, jazz + contemporary. She also teaches pre-ballet, lyrical, technique, conditioning and tot classes and works with several soloists and duets on the competitive level. As of July 2021, Kristen is proud to be a certified Acrobatic Arts Instructor (Modules 1-6).
Miss Greta Pearson - Competitive & Recreational Choreographer & Instructor
2021-2022 TDS Faculty & Staff
Miss Kristen Surprise St. Laurent - Owner/Director; Competitive & Recreational Choreographer & Instructor
Miss Abbie White - Recreational & Competitive Choreographer & Instructor
Abbie is a dancer, choreographer, and educator from Dudley, Massachusetts. She is a graduate of Salem State University where she earned a BA in Dance with a concentration in Hip Hop and a certificate in Dance Education. Her choreography has been performed at the Salem Arts Festival, the Salem State Dance Film Festival and at Onstage 360 in Boston, Ma. She also has been featured in a Boston Globe article about creating art during the pandemic.
Prior to graduating high school in 2011, Maddy was a member of the Canty Dance Centre Competition Team for 6 years and served as captain for both the 2010 and 2011 competition seasons. In addition to her studio and competition experience, she has taken master classes at Broadway Dance Center, Shock the Intensive, and the Radio City Rockettes Summer Dance Intensive.
Maddy attended Bridgewater State University where she earned a Bachelor's Degree, double-majoring in Early Childhood Education and Psychology and also minoring in Special Education and Dance. She graduated cum laude in May of 2011. Maddy returned to Bridgewater State University to pursue a Master’s of Education graduating in the Spring of 2023 as a Reading Specialist. Maddy is currently a seventh grade special education teacher at a local middle school.
During her time at Bridgewater State University, Maddy was very active in the dance community. Maddy was a 4-year member of the Bridgewater State University Dance team, a student run club that performed at homecoming, sporting events and fundraisers. She was among the leadership board of the first team to qualify for UDA nationals where their team placed 10th in their division at their first national appearance in Disney. During her senior year, Maddy served as President of the team, further helping raise the standard of the club by actively advocating for a coach and returning to UDA Nationals for a second time. As a member of the Bridgewater State University Dance Company, she performed in 3 seasons of Winterdance and 2 seasons of Dance Kaleidoscope, choreographing for her final season of each and being selected as a soloist. Additionally, Maddy was also part of a small audition-only group for 12 dancers called Dance Ensemble, which trained and performed at the American College Dance Festival National Conference.
Miss Maddy taught at TDS from 2018 to 2021, before taking two years off to finish her Master’s Degree and she is very excited to be returning to The Dancer’s Sole. After dancing and teaching in many different places and studios over the years and stepping away to pursue professional goals, she couldn’t be more excited to be back home!
She has been a partial and full dance scholarship recipient, as well as a Company member and a Company Team Captain. Erin was awarded “The Hall of Fame Competitive Scholarship” and was the “Dance Ovations” 1st and 3rd runner-up competitive Title contestant. Erin previously choreographed for the TDS Performance Group Team, bringing their routines to various locations throughout the area.
She has taken and continues to take master classes at Broadway Dance Center in New York City, Shock the Intensive and the Teacher’s Workshop at Dance Masters of America. Erin truly enjoys teaching at The Dancer’s Sole and wishes to thank her family for all of their support. A special shout out to all of her students– she has had a wonderful year with you, and is looking forward to teaching your future performances!
Miss Erin Katinas - Recreational Choreographer & Instructor
Miss Maddy Clouatre - Recreational Choreographer & Instructor
Abbie found a love of dance and performing at a young age where she danced with Canty Dance Centre and went on to be a part of the nationally-recognized show choir, Shepherd Hill “Fantasy” where she was the youngest dance captain in the program’s history. Additionally, she has trained at the internationally acclaimed Bates Dance Festival where she studied under Courtney Jones, Yvonne Hernadez and Brittany Engel-Adams. Abbie was a member of the award-winning, Emmanuel College Dance Team where she worked with Yiota “YoYio” Zeitinidis. Currently, Abbie is a member of The Concept Artists who have recently performed in Boston, New Jersey, Providence, and New Haven. When she’s not performing or teaching, she can be found continuing to train in various styles in the Boston area.
Abbie’s teaching philosophy encourages her to create a safe space for her students to learn, create, and explore. Her classroom provides a space of community where every student’s voice is heard. As an artist, Abbie is full of wonder and she enjoys exploring the curiosities of her students as well as her peers to create a lens in which their practice can showcase these.
Miss Maddy began her dance training at Wendy’s Dance Studio before moving to Canty Dance Centre where she went on to receive the “Junior Best All-Around Dancer” and the “Full Scholarship” awards. During her time as a student, she practiced ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, modern, hip-hop and tap. In addition to her dance classes, she was a student teacher as well as a teacher assistant.
Jean Wenzel, Lisa Vanessa Pari, Wyatt Jackson, Antonio Ricardo, Jr., Thomas Vacanti and Judie Clark. She was the recipient of the “Who’s Who Among Students in America’s Colleges and Universities” Award, the “Excellence in Dance” Award, and was the featured Baccalaureate Speaker at her graduation ceremony.
While in college, Greta served as the Vice President of Dean College’s Honor Society, and performed in numerous shows including, “Cabaret”, “Founder’s Day Show”, “Dance Extravaganza”, “Dance Composition Show”, "Midnight Madness", and “Senior Performance," to name a few. She participated in many dance workshops, including Tap Jam, Haitian Folklore, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. She worked with renowned dance choreographers and performers, including Denise Jefferson, Troy Powell, and Dudley Williams of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Diane “Lady Di” Walker, Jimmy Slyde, Jean Appolon, Maurice Hines, A.C. Ciulla, Derrick Grant, J.T. Jenkins, and Napoleon & Tabitha D’Umo (“NappyTabs”). To further enrich her dance experience, she has taken master classes with renowned teachers and choreographers at Steps and Broadway Dance Centre in New York City, the SHOCK Teacher’s Convention, and the Dance Masters of America Teacher's Workshop.
Prior to college, Greta gained her earliest technical dance training at the LMT Dance Academy and Canty Dance Centre where she was awarded a Full Scholarship and the “Best All-Around Dancer” Award. In addition to her dance training, she performed with Dance Prism's New England Touring Cast of the classic ballet “The Nutcracker,” and was a member of the University of Connecticut’s Tap Team. Currently, Greta teaches ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, tap, lyrical, musical theatre, character, and hip-hop. Each year, she also works with several groups, duets and soloists on the competitive level. Her competitive routines have been recognized for her choreography and concepts and have earned many accolades including “Top Scoring Routine,” “Amazing Concept,” “Outstanding Choreography” and “Most Entertaining.” In addition to teaching at The Dancer’s Sole, Greta is also a judge for dance competitions on the regional and national level.
Greta is extremely happy and grateful to be a part of The Dancer's Sole where she can share her passion and enthusiasm for dance education and performance with her students. She would like to thank her family for their unwavering support and encouragement, co-workers for their devotion to the studio, and her students for sharing their personalities, energy and talents. Her greatest joy as a dance educator is seeing her students’ hard work come to fruition when they improve, achieve and excel in their classes and performances. She encourages her students to always work hard, keep a positive attitude and “dance, breathe, smile and love it!” Enjoy the journey! The world is a stage, go out there and dance on it.
Miss Greta graduated from Dean College summa cum laude in May of 2007 where she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance and a Minor in Psychology. She completed in-depth coursework in Kinesiology, Anatomy & Physiology with a graduate focus in Dance History & Pedagogy. She studied all genres of dance with a concentration in ballet, modern, jazz and tap under the tutelage of Professors Joan Phelps Palladino, Jill Silverman, Nailah Randall-Bellinger, Maryanne Kodzis,
Miss Erin is a 2011 graduate of Auburn High School and also attended Quinsigamond Community College, majoring in Early Childhood Education. In addition to teaching at The Dancer’s Sole and pursuing her higher education, Erin also works as a full-time certified teacher at Up Up & Play Academy in Shrewsbury, MA.
Erin has more than 22 years of dance experience starting at LMT Dance Academy, then graduated as student and student teacher from Canty Dance Centre.