Sayville Dance Theatre's Staff and Visiting Faculty Marcia Lasser-Krenzel: Owner/Classical Ballet Director (Classical Ballet, Pointe, Combo Classes, Lyrical, Tap, Ballet Company, Pre-Ballet) "Long Island Lou," as he is known by in the city (Omar Edwards gave him his name), also has started a successful rhythm tap company in Southampton, NY named "Tap Into Your Soul," (or TIYS). There he has 40 boys and 2 girls, ages 5-14, performing twice a year. Lou also directs "The New York TimeSTEPS;" a group of young professional dancers from New York City and Long Island. Recently, they performed a 25 minute set to open Omar Edwards' show, "Tap Dancin' is Music." Lou also has appeared (quite briefly) on the second season of "So You Think You Can Dance." After making two cuts, he realized that the show was not made for tap dancers :). Louis received most of his dance training from Broadway Dance Centre, Adelphi University (BA Mathematics), Private Instruction, and by watching video clips of his favorite dancers. Of course, the education of a tap dancer - or any dancer - never ends. He has also studied Ballet/Partnering with Rebecca Wright (R.I.P. 2006) of ABT, Modern with Carmen DeLavallade of Alvin Ailey, Ballet with Gelsey Kirkland of ABT, Ballet with Robert Christopher, and Hip Hop with Spex and Jermaine Browne.
Marcia has been a successful dance teacher for many years. She enjoys the interaction with her students and watching them accomplish their goals. She promotes a supportive atmosphere along with artistic direction. Marcia has looked forward to owning and directing her own school with her son, Louis - a dream that has been realized with the rest of her family.
Since she began teaching in 1972 at the YMCA in Smithtown, NY, she has been a positive influence to many students. Of those students, several have gone on to achieve notable goals. Eileen Houghton-Hebron studied with Miss Marcia for 5 years. After further study on Long Island and New York City, she went on to be hand-selected by Mikhail Baryshnikov to dance for American Ballet Theatre for 8 years. Other students have attended summer intensive programs for Boston Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, NYSSSA at Saratoga, Pittsburgh Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Briansky Saratoga Ballet, The Rock School, Joeffrey Ballet, and The Burklyn Ballet in Vermont. Students have also attended the Pre-Professional progam at Steps on Broadway, the School of American Ballet in New York, and various college programs throughout the country.
In addition to Sayville Dance Theatre, Marcia currently teaches ballet and creative movement dance classes for grades K-8 at Our Lady of the Hamptons School two days a week. She is very proud to have spent most of her teaching career as the Ballet Director of Cheryl Rich School of Dance, finishing her tenure there in 1998. From 1998-2006, Miss Marcia was a ballet instructor at Amy Tyler School of Dance in Port Jefferson. There, she also volunteered her time for the local production of the Harbor Ballet Theatre Nutcracker. She has also taught at Dance Centre of the Hamptons, The Three Village School District, Suffolk Community College, The Stony Brook School, various community outreach programs, and has provided private ballet coaching to many students.
As a professional dancer, Marcia worked for The Eglevsky Ballet Company. She danced in various ballets and toured with the company for their production of The Nutcracker. She studied with Andre Eglevsky and several other teachers in New York and Jacob's Pillow in Massachesetts. Marcia has a BA in Liberal Arts from SUNY Stony Brook and is currently working towards her Master's Degree in Education. Throughout her life, Marcia has shared her love of dance to many people, including all three of her children. Marcia is happy to be married to her very supportive and loving husband, Michael.
Louis L Lasser IV: Co-Owner/Rhythm Tap Director (Rhythm Tap, Hip Hop, Partnering, Swing Dance, and LyRaBop)
His Rhythm Tap class focuses on technique, timing, discovery, and a little flash. As students progress and practice throughout the year, a sense of style and purpose will shine through. Students can also expect to learn about the history of tap and view some amazing videos of the greatest dancers who ever lived. He is an enthusiastic and motivating teacher who appreciates hard-working students.
Alicia Lasser (Jazz, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Ballet)
Alicia has been studying dance since she was 3 years old! She studied at Cheryl-Rich Dance Studio from 1992-1998 and at Amy Tyler School of Dance/Harbor Ballet Theatre from 1998-2006. Recently, she attended The Summer Intensive with American Ballet Theatre (2006) and performed in "Etudes" and "Metamorphosis." Alicia has also attended Summer Intensives with Briansky Saratoga Ballet and Harbor Ballet Theatre. In January 2006, Alicia performed professionally as a rhythm tap dancer opening for Omar Edwards' show "Tap Dancin' is Music." Alicia, a recent graduate of Mt. Sinai High School, also impressed the audiences with her dancing prowess in the High School Talent Shows with her Hip Hop Performances. Alicia has performed with the Harbor Ballet Theatre Company as a soloist in various roles such as Clara, Snow Queen, and Dew Drop. Alicia continues to study and perform in many different styles of dance, namely hip hop and jazz.
Lauren Zawadski (Broadway Tap, Jazz)
Vanessa Marcley (Lyrical, Jazz, Hip Hop, Modern, Ballet)
Angela Steen (Lyrical, Hip Hop, Swing Dance)
Leigh Harper (Modern)
Visiting and Guest Faculty:
Eileen Houghton-Hebron (Certified American Ballet Theatre Instructor, Classical Ballet)
Coming Soon...
Cara Connolly (Classical Ballet)
Cara's technique has been shaped extensively by Maggie Black's expertise and furthered by Pat Monaco and Christian Holder, both well acquainted with the clean lines and classical style of her teachings. Cara has studied with a diverse group of teachers in order to extend her versatility as a dancer. Originally working with Marcia Lasser, she went on to dance with Studio Maestro. There she trained and performed with Deborah Wingert, Francois Perron, and Fabrice Herrault. Huntington Ballet Theatre offered the opportunity to work with Karen Lynch and Anthony Jones, formerly of Pacific Northwest Ballet. Most recently, Cara has danced at the School at Steps with Leslie Browne and Ethan Browne. Cara has also been studying with Diana Cartier since American Ballet Theatre's summer intensive in 2004. Other influential ballet teachers include Elena Kunikova and Michael Vernon. In addition to American Ballet Theatre's New York Summer Intensive, Cara has attended summer intensives at the Washington Ballet School, New York State Summer School of the Arts (NYSSSA), and Boston Ballet to name a few. Cara is once again working with Marcia Lasser at Sayville Dance Theatre.
Sean Geackel (Hip Hop)
Sean has been a fun and inspirational hip hop teacher to hundreds of students throughout his career. Sean focuses on pure hip hop in the original form and integrates current forms of the dance to create his unique style.
Career professional highlights include:
* NIKE, Culture Shock Hip Hop Dancer
* MTV, Dancer on various shows
Cheryl Anderson (Broadway Tap)
Career professional highlights include:
* ROCKETTE at Radio City in NYC
* Studio owner and teacher for over 25 years
Jill Kenney (Rhythm Tap)
Emily Vallone (Rhythm Tap, Hip Hop)
Chrissy LaPerla (Lyrical)
Kershel Anthony (Hip Hop and Breakdancing)
Stephanie McHugh (Modern)
Stephanie McHugh was born in Manchester, CT and has been studying dance in local studios since she could walk. She graduated Dean College with a BA in dance in May of 2005. She has performed in multiple dance events @ Dean, with the Dean Dance Company, and with Kelley Donovan’s Dance Company in Boston. Stephanie has been choreographing the Dean College fall musicals since she graduated in 2005. She also teaches ballet, tap, and jazz at a local dance studio in Unionville, CT. This summer she plans to start her own tap company to further her performing experience as well as expand her professional dance career. Stephanie lives to dance and hopes to continue dancing until the end! Live, Breathe, and Dance!!!