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Meet the Dance Center Staff ***
Kim Starsiak-Owner Director
Kim
Starsiak - Owner Director
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Erin
Kennedy
Erin graduated in May from Fitchburg State College, Magna Cum Laude,
with a Bachelors of Science in Education. Along with teaching at the
studio, she works at Open Arms Child Care Center in Southwick,
Massachusetts as a toddler teacher. She has been dancing since the age of
two, and danced at All Stars from ages 11 to 19, taking lyrical, tap,
jazz, acro, and ballet. She has experience teaching tap, lyrical,
and jazz.
Says Erin: "I have been teaching dance since I was 15, and
assistant teaching since I was 12. In college, I was an active
participant in my school's dance club. I took classes, taught them,
and was the president of the club my senior year. I look forward to
coming back to the All Stars family this year as a teacher. I am
excited to be back and I can not wait to start the dance year!!"
Jennifer DeMoe
Jennifer started competing in the sport of gymnastics in 1976. She was
a competitive gymnast for 14 years. She competed as a member of the
Westfield YMCA, the Springfield Turnverein, and as a member of the
Westfield High School Gymnastics team. During her years on the Westfield
High School Gymnastics team they won the regional title. After finishing
her High School Gymnastics career Jennifer decided to pursue her college
education at Westfield State College as well as continue her dedication to
the sport of gymnastics. She coached all competitive levels as well as taught recreational
classes at a local gymnastics facility while obtaining her degree in
accounting. Jennifer has been the coach of the competitive acro company at
All Stars Dance Studio since 1996 which has been recognized on both
regional and national levels.
Jennifer has had a successful career in bank
accounting. She is currently the Assistant Vice President of Finance at
Chicopee Savings Bank. She is the proud mother of 2 children and a wife to
Scott DeMoe. Her daughter Alexandra has been in the dance studio since 3
weeks of age and is now on the competitive acro company. Jennifer enjoys
the sport gymnastics and wants to share her enjoyment in the sport by
teaching children and watching them grow within the sport and within them
selves.
Kari DeMarinis,
R.D.
Kari has been involved in the sport of gymnastics
since 1975. She competed both nationally and internationally for 12 years.
She qualified to state, regional and national competitions. She was also
awarded a scholarship to University of Massachusetts for gymnastics. She
has coached both recreational gymnastics and competitive gymnastics in
many different settings. Most recently she has coached the All Stars
competitive acro company which has been recognized on both regional and
national level. In addition she has a passion for general health and
wellness. She is an accomplished dietitian where she was the senior
nutritionist at Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires a world renown health
resort.
Kari has spoken on the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship as well as numerous
programs sponsored by Shape Magazine. She is the proud mother of 2
children and wife to Frank DeMarinis, P.E. Frank is a nationally
accomplished wrestler as well as owner of Sage Engineering ,LLC. Her
daughter Sierra, age 7, recently won a national title for acro dance and a
regional title. She truly enjoys all aspects of the sport of gymnastics
and hopes to inspire children of all ages.
Kelly Sheaffer Kennedy
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Kelly is proud to have been a member of the
All Stars family for the past 11 years. She began dancing 38 years ago
at the the age of 6 at Anita's Dance Studio in Springfield, MA where her
first dance teacher was Kathy Buldrini Hertz. She has taken Ballet,
Tap Jazz and Acro. She loves to dance and teach an art which has taken
her all over the country, as far away as Los Angeles, CA for competitions
and conventions. She has continued taking classes as an adult, most recently
from local tap greats, David Bovat and John Burris. She also has a
strong background in playing piano, flute and saxophone. Recently,
she was privileged to judge for New England Star, New
England's version of American Idol, with televised finals along side of
Floyd Patterson.
Says Kelly: "My philosophy for my students is for them to love what they do and to
be proud of their performance. I want to make classes enjoyable for
them as well as productive learning experiences. Communication is a
key process. I believe in an open door policy and I want to hear from both
my students and their parents. I know that you are entrusting
me with your pride and joy and I am honored to have that trust. I have set
up an email for this purpose so that my time at the studio can be
concentrated on the children. My students know from day one that the most important thing to do on
stage is to SMILE. My job is to make that smile sincere for if they
love dance, then I have been successful."
Sarah Pullen
Sarah is staring her 5th year of teaching as a member of the
All Stars family. For the past two decades she has pursued her passion
for dancing. Her expertise is teaching younger children and tap
dancing. She received most of her training at the Dancers Image; she
was offered her first teaching job from the great David Bovat. In
addition, she has enhanced her tap skills from the tap legend, Savion Glover
in NYC. She has performed in A Salute To A Legacy: The Frank Hatchett
Show, which was an unforgettable experience. As a proud mother of two, Kaleb who is 6 and Cody who 2,
she truly
enjoys children in every way, loving to watch children grow and learn
new things. She looks forward to enjoying another year at All Stars
Dance Center and sharing the love and knowledge of dancing with your
children.
Tiffany-Leigh Jacquier
A dancer
from the age of 4, Tiffany has been trained in Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Lyrical,
Modern, and Hip-Hop for 20 years with many different choreographers. Most
of those years were spent at Dancer’s Image of Westfield with then owner,
Tina Girard, but additional training during the summers at Broadway Dance
Center in NYC exposed her to the professionals in the dance world like
Frank Hatchett. Tiffany spent her childhood traveling to NYC and Boston to
dance, act, and model in national and international commercials and TV
shows. In 2001, she was invited to take part in the StarPower PowerPak
Tour on the East Coast for the summer to perform at StarPower’s National
Dance Competitions and Walt Disney World in Ocean City, MD and Orlando,
FL. Tiffany’s teaching and choreography experience has grown over the
years from being an assistant at age 11, to a co-instructor at 14, to
having her own competitive classes at 17.
All the long hours in the studio have paid off! While receiving her BA
in Marketing and Advertising from Western New England College, Tiffany
started teaching at All-Stars in 2005 with just Ballet for the competitive
classes. Now she teaches many classes, solos, and duo/trios, including
Ballet and competitive Tap for ages 6 and up, but you may find her
anywhere filling in and having fun with the kids! You are invited to come
watch Tiffany’s classes anytime.
Lisa
Thompson
Lisa began dancing at the age of 4 at Kathy’s Dance Studio in Holyoke, Ma.
there she began her love for dance. Since then she has been trained in all
styles of dance for over 25 years. She enjoys teaching all ages, her love
for dance is seen in all styles, but her passion is Ballet. She continues
to dance and enjoys competing in Jazz, Tap, and Modern Companies, and has
won numerous Platinum and Gold Medals including trips to Myrtle beach,
South Carolina for a National Competition with Star Systems in 2005 and
studio performances at Hershey Park, Pa., in the summer of 2007.
Lisa has been currently teaching dance for the past 6 years at Steppin’
Out Dance Academy in Kingston, NH. In 2004, Lisa received a Certificate in
Dance Education from Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, Ma.
where she also earned High Honors and performed with the Stillpoint Dance
Company. Says Lisa: "I am very excited to be a part of all
–stars dance center and am looking forward to a fantastic dance year and
making many new friends."
Danielle Emery
The daughter of a former dance instructor, Danielle has always
demonstrated a passion for dance since she was a toddler. Her mother would
bring her along to the classes that she taught. Surprisingly, Danielle was
able to pick up the routines before the adults. Dance has always been a
passion of hers especially in the style of hip-hop. Having grown up
dancing for local shows and musicals it was no wonder that she became a
choreographer for the Westfield State Dance Club as a freshman. Not
only was she a member of the Dance Club but also dances on the Westfield
State Competitve Dance Team that finished this season undefeated!
Currently in her senior year, Danielle will receive her degree in
Elementary Education. Working with All Star Dance Center is a dream for
her since she is able to incorporate her two passions into one- dance and
teaching!
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