Faculty
Debbi Gould has been around the dance industry for numerous years. Debbi started as a dancer at SGDC, then transitioned into a teacher and choreographer. She now serves as the Director of Debbi Gould Dance Center (formerly Sally Gould Dance Center), following in her mother’s footsteps. Her duties at DGDC include recruiting Faculty, developing the curriculum, scheduling classes, directing performances and shows, and teaching her own classes. Her dancing and choreography have won top awards at several New England dance competitions. She holds teaching certifications from Dance Masters of America and the Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston. She also earned a scholarship at the Tremaine Dance Center in Los Angeles. Debbi currently studies in Los Angeles, CA, and New York City, NY, where she trains with leading choreographers. Her credits include an MTV Video, Reebok industrial shows, the LA stage production A Gypsies Heart, Boston Celtics games, and serving as a New England Patriots Cheerleader for three years.
Debbi started her own dancewear collection called “D Style,” available for children and adults and holds her D-Style Workshop once a year bringing in choreographers from around the country to inspire dancers and teachers in the New England area. She also teaches several Master Classes and Workshops throughout the year and has been a guest teacher at Dance Masters of New England.
Melissa Bistany began her dance training at the age of 10 and has competed locally and nationally winning multiple titles include: American Dance Awards “Dancer of the Year”. She has also won many single, yearlong and national scholarships at conventions such as Jump, New York City Dance Alliance and West Coast Dance Explosion. She continues to regularly attend such conventions to stay current and up to date with the ever-changing styles of dance. Melissa also performed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia and is certified in dance teachers training by the Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston. She is currently teaching in the styles of Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Lyrical, Contemporary and Acro. Along with being a dancer, Melissa also studied Martial Arts for 5 years earning a black belt. This has helped her bring strength, conditioning and discipline to her dance classes.
Angela Carter was born in Norfolk, VA. Her formal dance education began at the age of six in Jacksonville, FL. Ms. Carter’s professional dance career began at the age of 14 when she appeared with the Houston Ballet. She has danced and toured with the Ballet Concert, Ballet Galaxy, Milwaukee Ballet and Atlantic Ballet. She has been a Company Member, Ballet Mistress, Principal Dancer, Company Instructor, School Director and 2006 Artistic Director of the Nutcracker, for Ballet New England. Ms. Carter is a member of the Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston and Dance Masters of America – NE Chapter 5.
Alannah Joyner began her dance training at SGDC in her hometown of Billerica. She auditioned for our dance company at the age of 8 and competed with the studio for 10 years.
Alannah is a graduate of Dance Teachers Club of Boston and was a Boston Celtics cheerleader from 2009-2010 NBA Season. She has her Bachelors of Science degree in Pre-Med. She is currently working in General Operation in a Bio-Tech start-up company.
Ally Rivers trained at SDGC as an assistant and a member of our Dance Company for over 12 years under the direction of Debbi Gould. She was a competitive dancer for many years and was awarded “Miss Dance Xplosion” for her performance as a soloist. Ally was awarded the Pulse Protégé and has won numerous scholarships throughout New England dancing and competing. She has traveled to numerous cities assisting with Advanced Classes along side Debbi Gould as well as many Master Classes and Workshops.
Shannon Scarpaci began dancing at the Sally Gould Dance Center at the age of 3 and joined our Elite Dance Company at 7 years old. She continued training and competiting and was chosen to be a soloist at 13. Shannon continues her dance training at SGDC with Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Lyric, Hip Hop and Tap and is excited to share her love of dance as a faculty member. She has her Bachelors Degree in health and I am a respiratory therapist for 5+ years now.
Nevada-Dawn Anderson started dancing and the SGDC as a young girl and grew up in our dance company training in all styles of dance.
She was a competitive dancer winning high scores and started teaching and sharing her passion of dance in 2015.
Her vivacious energy and love is sought out by many students.
Lauren Sylvia started ballet at 5 years old at the YMCA. At age 9, she became a scholarship student at Festival Ballet Providence. At 13, Lauren joined the junior company and performed alongside professionals. Her roles included Clara, Snow Corps, and Flower Corps in The Nutcracker, Swan Corps in Swan Lake, and a Willi in Giselle. She also performed many other ballet roles and stage productions. She placed top 12 in the YAGP contemporary semi finals in 2010, and attended summer programs at CPYB and Chautauqua. Lauren joined the professional company after graduation, her favorite role during that time was the Canary Fairy from Sleeping Beauty. Lauren began freelancing in fall 2014 and participated in many contemporary dance projects and performances. One performance took place on the outdoor stage at Jacob’s Pillow. She continues dancing lead roles in many ballet productions under Cosmin Marculetiu. Her favorite role is Giselle.
Christine Lewis began her early training in the New England Area studying both teaching and choreography. She has danced has been a faculty member at the Sally Gould Dance Center for several years. She is a graduate of Dance Educator’s of America. Christine’s love and excitement for dance is contagious amongst her students at the dance center.
Cosmin Marcusetiu is a native Transylvanian from Sibiu, Romania. At age 9, Cosmin was discovered in a nation-wide search for artistic talents and accepted into the Academy of Arts and Choreography in Cluj-Napoca, RO. He continued his professional dance career with the Croatian National Ballet in Croatia’s capital, Zagreb. Cosmin danced in various productions and commercials produced by Zagrebacka Televizija, which was the leading television network in Croatia. Cosmin has established himself as a master ballet instructor in New England and the east coast since his arrival to the USA in 2002. He was on the dance faculty of the Boston Arts Academy and artistic associate at Jose Mateo’s Ballet Theatre where he coached, taught and rehearsed students and company members. In August of 2010 Cosmin founded the International Ballet Academy of Norwell which is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to serve the South Shore of Massachusetts, New England and artistic communities abroad.
Skyler Podziewski has always been an artistic individual, dancing for 20 years and utilizing hair and makeup as her art medium. Growing up dancing and studying. Skyler studied numerous genres of dance focused on ballet, jazz, tap, pointe, contemporary, and modern dance. Dancing competitively for 10 years as a soloist and ensemble dancer, she has achieved numerous regional and national titles at various competitions. Sky is excited to continue their teaching journey with the Debbie Gould Dance Center as she feels it’s necessary to be apart of something larger than herself to spread dance education and exposure across New England.
Guest Teachers
Michaela Duffy began her dance training at the age of 5. Throughout her training, she studied multiple dance styles, including tap, jazz, hip hop, ballet, and contemporary. She traveled across New England, attending dance competitions and conventions while earning awards and scholarships. As a member of the pre-professional Stonehill College Dance Company, “Stoneworks,” Michaela studied dance at Stonehill College. Explore our Competitive Dance Program to learn about advanced training and performance opportunities. There, she began developing her love for choreography and teaching. She traveled to Ireland in 2018, where she participated in an intensive at the Fragolini School of Dance in Cork studying modern and contemporary improv concepts. She also teaches dance classes weekly at Stonehill College. And she is excited to join SGDC to share her knowledge & love of dance.
Brenda Lavin has an extensive background in musical theatre having performed with the Concord Players and the Reagle Players since 1999. Her credits include “Annie Get Your Gun”, “The Music Man”, and “My Fair Lady” just to name a few.
Brenda is an innovative teacher who is currently performing as a soloist with the Dance Prism. She has over 27 years of dance training and has been a dance instructor since 2001.
Jenn Lentini started dancing at the age of 3 at a local dance studio in Stoughton, MA where she studied all styles of dance. She competed in regional and national competitions, receiving numerous high-level awards. She was invited by the dance team at St. Joseph’s College and the Stoneham High School cheerleaders to choreograph routines for competitions. Jenn has been on the SGDC faculty for many years and continues to share her love of dance with her students.
Emily Cue has been a part of the SGDC Company for over 16 years and trained as an assistant for all styles from children through adult. She has competed with the SGDC Company as a young dancer and continues her training attending conventions and workshops yearly. She has become part of our faculty teaching all ages sharing her love and passion for dance. Emily is a graduate of the Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston teacher-training program and continues to train in all styles of dance with the SGDC.
Leticia Guerrero was a principal dancer with the Rhode Island Festival Ballet. A native of Venezuela, she studied dance extensively in Caracas with teachers from England, Russia, Cuba, and North America. Throughout her career, she performed principal roles, including Black Swan in Swan Lake, the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, and roles in Romeo and Juliet, among many others.
Kayla Ostrowski is a performer, dance teacher, choreographer and Massachusetts native. She graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in 2019, where she studied dance with a minor in photography. During her time in NYC, Kayla has performed at the Park Avenue Armory, Dixon Place, Steps on Broadway, Carnival Choreographer’s Ball, Museum of Ice Cream and as a part of the Table of Silence Project at Lincoln Center. She has set her own work on Marymount Manhattan students, Boston Community Dance Project and Refine Dance Company. Kayla currently enjoys teaching and performing throughout the Boston area, most recently making her acting debut in the cast of Rocky Relationships at the Boston New Works Festival. Other recent credits include working as assistant choreographer for a local tour of Sleeping Beauty the Musical. A forever student, she strives to always continue learning and sharing.
Tatiana O’Beso is a native of Peru and a Kennedy Fellowship of the America’s award winner! Her training includes the National School of Ballet in Peru and Boston Ballet. In addition, Tatiana is a former lead dancer with Margot Parsen Dance Company and the National Ballet of Peru. She also performed for Pope John Paul II at the World Youth Day in Toronto Canada.