Boston University Fitness & Recreation Center

Dance Faculty

Full-Time Faculty

Micki Taylor-Pinney , Coordinator of Dance, Instructor of Modern Dance. Adjunct Faculty in the College of Fine Arts. Co-chair of the dance minor and coordinator of the summer outreach program for teens. BS with honors in Physical Education with Dance Concentration, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; MFA in Dance, University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Joined Dance Collective in 1986 and was artistic director from 1998-2006. Her work has been commissioned by the musical ensembles Alea III and the Brookline Chorus. She is co-author of a how-to manual for teaching dance to children, a product of teacher-training grant in the Boston Public Schools. Served as officer and board member of Boston Dance Alliance for eight years. She is now artistic director of Mass Movement, Inc., bringing dance education to schools and after-school programs through Young Audiences of Massachusetts.

Ramelle Adams , Manager of the Non-Credit Instructional Programs and Instructor of Dance. BA with honors in French and Philosophy, Columbia University; MS in Physical Education, MFA in Dance, University of Wisconsin, Madison. She danced with "KRAUS AND.," the Massachusetts Dance Ensemble and in independent productions with Nancy Compton, Wendy Blum, Judith Chaffee, and Dance Collective of Boston. She received choreographic commissions from New Comp and MJT.

Ann Brown Allen , Full-Time Instructor of Jazz Dance and Ballet. BA in Education and Psychology, Simmons College. For the past two decades, she has performed with all of Boston's major modern and jazz dance companies including Peter DiMuro and Associates, Back Porch Dancers and Dance Collective of Boston, touring New England, New York and Europe. She has also been a guest artist with several ballet companies.

Lynda Rieman, Theatre Manager/Assistant Coordinator of Dance, has over 25 years experience as a manager in the dance and theater fields having worked primarily with San Francisco companies, including ODC and Joe Goode Dance Company. She studied dance at Bard College as an undergraduate and is also a lighting designer.

Part-time Faculty

Jossie Coleman, Part-time Instructor of Cardio-Jazz Funk and Hip-Hop Dance. Coursework in Dance, Boston Conservatory of the Arts. She teaches children and adults in the Greater Boston area and has an annual performance in Roxbury. She is the Director of the Dance Program at the Creative Arts at Park, a summer program for children.

David Connolly, Part-time Instructor of Tap. (Beginning Fall 2008) BA in Psychology, minors in Music, Theatre, and Education, Plymouth State College. David was the former owner and director of the Studio of the Performing Arts in Canton, MA. He is now the co-artistic director of the Dance Explosion Studio of the Performing Arts, Inc. and the resident Director of the Theatre Program at Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood. He has been a teacher and adjudicator for several organizations and has performed for various industrial and corporate events. Teaching credits include arts, educational and studio organizations working with children and adults. His students have won many regional and national dance titles. Many of David’s students are now working in the theatre and dance world both as performers and instructors. In his “free time," David enjoys directing and choreographing for theater companies throughout the Boston area.

Michael Jahoda, Part-time Instructor of Modern Dance and Choreographer/Advisor to Dance Theatre Group. Scholarship student at Alvin Ailey School. Performed with Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, New York City Ballet, Jennifer Muller/The Works, and most recently with Anouk van Kijk in Holland. Taught at Peridance in New York City, de Rotterdanse Dansacademie in Netherlands and throughout Europe as a guest teacher. Has also been a guest choreographer and teacher at many U.S. colleges including Connecticut College and Stephen College.

Dawn Kramer (guest artist, Fall 2007) Founder of Boston Dance Collective which she co-directed for 30 years, Received a two-year Choreography Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as three other NEA Fellowships, five choreography awards from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one from the French government, along with commissions from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Dance Umbrella, First Night, and the Fleet Center. Her work has been performed at Jacob's Pillow, Dance Theatre Workshop in NYC, and in Holland, Belgium, Germany, and France as well as throughout New England. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College; half-time associate professor in the Studio for Interrelated Media at Massachusetts College of Art. Her collaboration with Sean Curran and video artist Antony Flackett was selected for the NY Dance on Camera Festival and screened at Lincoln Center.

Margot Parsons, Part-time Instructor of Ballet. BA in Dance, University of Wisconsin, Madison; MS with honors in Dance, University of Utah. Produces dance shows in Boston for the Boston Ballet and the Robsham Theatre at Boston College. She also has performed successfully in New York on Broadway and was invited to join the American Ballet Theatre. She teaches ballet technique, dance history, and dance kinesiology at Boston College.

Anne Marie Paul, Part-time Instructor of Ballroom Dance. BFA, Massachusetts College of Art. Additional Study: Paris American Academy (Paris), Vesper George School of Art (Boston). Currently teaches at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and is a competitor and performer in American and International ballroom dance. Taught for and ranked the #1 counselor by Arthur Murray International.

John Paul, Part-time Instructor of Ballroom Dance, Swing and Tango. Currently teaches at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and Tempo Dance Center. Has received numerous awards as a professional competitor and performer.

DeAnna Pellecchia, Part-time Instructor of Jazz Funk. BA in Dance/Performance with a dual minor in Business Management & Latin from Roger Williams University, 1999. DeAnna is a dancer/aerialist, educator and choreographer committed to creating compelling, inter-disciplinary dance performances via collaborative process. She has performed and taught dance throughout the US with internationally acclaimed Paula Josa-Jones/ Performance Works, Kinodance Company and Bennett Dance Company, of which she is a founding member and for which she is Rehearsal Director & Assistant Choreographer. Ms. Pellecchia makes dances with Ingrid Schatz as co-founder/choreographer of Kairos Dance Theater. She is also a practicing ACE-certified Personal Trainer. www.deannapellecchia.com

Elena Solovieva, Part-time Iinstructor of Ballet. Graduated from Vaganova Academy of Dance in St. Petersburg, Russia. She was a principal dancer with the Stanislavsky Opera and Ballet Theater and performed as a guest artist with various companies around the world including the Bolshoi Ballet and the Lithuanian State Ballet Theater. Currently teaches at the Boston Ballet Center of Dance Education.