dance and theater arts.com

 instructors

mary rotella

Mary is an actor, dancer, choreographer, director, singer, and teacher based in the Hudson Valley, New York. Her National Tour and Broadway credits include 42nd Street, Cabaret with Joel Gray and Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. She performed in an international tour of My Fair Lady and several regional productions including, Damn Yankees directed by George Abbott.  Mary has also appeared in industrial shows, commercials, and on film. She’s directed and choreographed in the United States and abroad.

After a twenty-year career as a freelance artist, Mary transitioned to academia, teaching both theater and dance courses. She served as Chair of Dance at Stephens (2002-2007), Director of Dance at The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry (2008-2016) and Chair of Performing Arts at The John Cooper School in the Woodlands, TX (2016-2019). She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Stephens College; where she also studied voice and acting. Mary is thrilled to be back in New York working as a freelance actor, director/choreographer, and teacher.

Hillary Jackson

Hillary is a teacher of ballet, contemporary modern and jazz dance with extensive knowledge.  She provides a safe, scientific, and organic approaches to dance training. With her background in the Vaganova Teaching Method, the ABT® National Training Curriculum, and Simonson Technique, she strives to instill a sense of somatic awareness in her students and she teaches musicality and personal expression as well as technique in her classes. Her vast experience, training and performing in both ballet and contemporary dance allows her to offer instruction in both genres with equally strong expertise. Being a good dancer and a good teacher are two different skill sets and Hillary continually to engage in opportunities to advance her education in dance pedagogy.

ANDREA PASTORELLA

Andrea is a professional Dancer/Choreographer and Director of Movita Dance Theatre and has studied Zena Rommett Floor-Barre Technique(TM) since 1983. As a certified teacher of ZRFB Technique, Andrea has been sharing this work in the Hudson Valley for eight years. Andrea also offers classes in Modern Dance and the elements of Dance. She offers both group classes and private lessons.

Karina Powers

Karina recently relocated from California to the beautiful Hudson Valley, and I am excited to introduce myself to you and tell you a bit about what I can offer the community. In California I was performing, choreographing, teaching and I founded Compania de Danza Folklorica Reginal Mexicana. My company performed at various venues in Monterey, Salinas and beyond. We performed for weddings, festivals, in theaters and for many other community events and celebrations.

SETSUKO MARUHASHI

Setsuko was born and raised in Japan and started her ballet training at the age of eight. After moving to NY, she added jazz, tap and modern to her dance training. She became the first minority Rockette at Radio City Music Hall and performed for many years in numerous productions, including: The Christmas Spectacular, The Easter Show, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Super Bowl half-time show, and Late Night with David Letterman. She also performed in musicals and industrial shows. She holds a BA in dance from Empire State College, SUNY and is a certified personal trainer and an accredited Pilates instructor. Before moving to Red Hook, Setsuko taught  introductory level to advanced ballet and her own private-group fitness class over 20 years in New York City. At Dance and Theater Arts, she offers this 90 minute Beginner to Advanced-Beginner level ballet class for adults in a friendly, supportive and non-competitive environment.