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Jilleen Bruderick
Jilleen is pleased to join the faculty of Deborah's Stage Door. She recently returned from Beijing, China where she taught ballet, her true love, for the past four years. Jilleen has studied ballet extensively since she was a small child with Carmen Wade, the Ballet Met and attended numerous workshops throughout the United States. Jilleen's
passion for what she does is contagious! Top |
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Michelle Chirco
Michelle has literally grown up at DSD. She began dancing at age 6 and joined a dance line at age 7. She was a member
of our national championship Repertory Company the past
4 years. Michelle was part of the senior tap group that placed first at regional and national competitions each year. She was also a member of our Senior Ballet Company and performed
in both Emajica and the Nutcracker. Michelle attends Oakland University majoring in psychology. She loves all types of
dance and is excited to be teaching here at DSD her
"home away from home" for so many years. Top
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Katey Elkins
Katey is an alumni dancer from Deborah’s Stage Door.
She has been dancing since 3 years old, and began her training here at DSD before she made her big move out to Los Angeles. She attended the apprentice program at the Performing Arts Center under the direction of Joseph Malone studying dance,
voice, and acting. Katey has danced and studied with manyfamous choreographers. Her credits include voiceovers for the
“Dixie Chicks” live television Concert. She has danced in the music videos of pop artist Lynze Robbins, and Ben Marshall.
She has made appearances on “Ally McBeal”, and “Visible Panty Lines” with Tracy Ulman. She was a lead dancer in the show “A Tribute to Elvis” and has danced with Wade Robson
at Club 17. She has performed at the famed Key Club in many Choreographers’ Carnival showcases. This will be Katey's 6th year back at DSD. She is very excited to be back sharing her passion and knowledge with all of her students. Top |
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Linda Fournier
Linda is thrilled to be part of the DSD teaching staff for the 7th year in a row and truly enjoys working with the students of all ages. She has experience in jazz, hip hop, modern and ballet...but tap, is her favorite by far. Linda began dancing as a young adult, was a member of a competitive dance line for over 10 years and coached competitive dance for over half that time. Linda has a 20 year professional background in print advertising, the last four of which she has run a successful agency of her own. Linda and her husband, Jim, have two grown children with families of their own and a son at home who is a member of one of the competitive dance lines here at the studio. Top |
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Jarell Gordy (J.G.) has been dancing for 17 years. At the age of 18 he became the head choreographer for the dance group, CORE. Recently he was an audition finalist for "So You Think You Can Dance" and opened for Hip Hop Artist, Lil Wayne, and opened for R & B Artist, Charlie Wilson. As a dancer he strives to conquer any obstacle that he encounters. He wants his students to know that in this business there are going to be up's and down's and as a dancer it is important to stay focused. He encourages his students to push beyond their expectations and to go the extra mile and prove to everyone that you have what it takes. His advice is to never allow anyone to tell you NO! Just believe in yourself. Top |
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Nicole Higgins - Nicole Higgins is excited to join the faculty at DSD where she studied dance while growing up. Nicole recently returned from Los Angeles where she earned numerous television, film and theatre credits. Nicole can be seen on Miley Cyrus music videos, has appeared with Ashley Tisdale and in the films, "Make The Call", "Angelica", and "Deep in the Valley" and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild. She has also performed in the musicals "Chicago", "Hairspray" and "Guys and Dolls" among others. Nicole has received extensive training in dance, acting and tumbling. She has studied with Jackie Sleight, Jerry Evans, Lindsey Lorenz, Leslie Cook, Gustavo Vargas to name a few. Nicole is also a national award-winning gymnast and one incredible tumbling coach. Top |
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Heather Hothem
Heather has been dancing for 21 years. She was a
member of the competitive dance line for 10 years at DSD.
This is her sixth year teaching at the Shelby Studio at Deborah's Stage Door. Heather graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Marketing and Communications. She currently works for HOUR Media, along with Deborah’s Stage Door. Top |
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Britne Hruska
Britne is returning back for her fifth year of teaching at DSD. She has been a member of DSD's competitive family since
she was eight years old and has won many awards including
Top Senior Tap soloist at Showstopper American Dance
Championship and Nexstar Dance competition. She was also
featured on CBS for the Showstopper American Dance
Championships' winning number two years in a row. Britne
is currently studying performing arts at Oakland University,
and was also a member of the OU dance team. Top
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Beth Johnson
Beth Johnson Cheer One Coach & DSD Gymnastics
Beth loves to work with children of all ages and has
participated multi-dimensionally in sports and dance for over
18 years. She is a six time National Championship Award Winning All Star Coach, Certified Personal Trainer and was
the award winning Lake Shore High School Varsity and
Junior Varsity Head Cheerleading Coach. In addition, Beth
has a degree in criminal justice from Oakland University and
she is also heavily involved in strength and weight training
for all types of athletes. Top |
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Vicki Krier
Vicki is looking forward to beginning her 6th year teaching
here at Deborah’s Stage Door. She has been teaching ballet,
jazz and tap for the past 14 years. She has studied at the Schule Des Balletts in Stuttgart, Germany, Ballet Intensive Moscow under the direction of Dimitri Roueduv in Chicago and attended
the University of Illinois champagin - Urbana with a
choreography and performance major. Vicki was a member
of the UIUC Dance Tour and has performed in the Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, and a Jazz Troup of Coulumbia College Chicago. Top |
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Stephanie Lafata
Stephanie is an alumni dancer from Deborah’s Stage
Door. She danced at DSD for 10 years on the competitive
line, and assisted teachers with classes up until graduation. Stephanie then attended Central Michigan University
where she earned her degree in Commercial Recreation with a minor in dance and hospitality. While attending college Stephanie danced with Orchesis Dance Theatre, she also instructed various dance college courses. Stephanie started teaching at Deborah’s Stage Door in 2003 for two years before moving out of state. She has since returned and is now beginning her 5th year back at DSD, excited to be teaching more than ever and Stephanie is also enjoying
her duties managing the Shelby studio office.Top |
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Susie Newberry
Susie is proud to be among the dance faculty of DSD.
She began studying ballet, tap, jazz and pointe at a young age.
She was a student at the Virginia School of the Arts on scholarship
and also attended the Cleveland School of Ballet. Susie continued her studies as a dance major at Western Michigan University.
Susie had the opportunity to choreograph as well and was
awarded the prestigious American College Dance Festival"Excellence in Choreography" award in 1999. She has since
choreographed for the Detroit Skate Club, the Wellspring/Cori
Terry and Dancers "Dance Forum", “Impact” at Ford Field and
the Trypod Dance Company. She also served as the program director for the Walled Lake Community Education Fall Dance Showcase. Susie has a true passion for teaching and is looking
forward to sharing her love & knowledge of dance with the
students of Deborah’s Stage Door. Top |
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Jamie Rustowicz
Jamie is the director and head naturalist at Moose Tree Nature
Preserve, a 35 acre preserve and nature center that is part of the Lake Orion School District. She also works as a guest naturalist at the Lewis E. Wint Nature Center at Independence Oaks in Clarkston. Jamie has a degree in Recreation, Parks and Leisure
with a focus on Outdoor and Environmental Education and a degree in Earth Science as well. She has danced at DSD since she was 3 and has taught dance to our younger students for the past five years. Jamie has studied dance with Master Teachers from both New York and L.A. and believes that dance should be part of every child's life experiences. Working with young children is her forte' and she is excited to be back at DSD for another year! Top |
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Jennifer Stimetz
Jennifer is returning to DSD for the 4th year as part of the
teaching staff. Jennifer has studied dance for over 16 years and was a part of DSD's national championship Repertory Company. Jennifer has appeared on CBS's Showstopper American Dance Championships. Prior to teaching her own classes, she was an assistant teacher at DSD. Jennifer is a sophomore at Oakland University. She is thrilled to be able to teach again at DSD and share her passion for dance with her students. Top |
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Tammy Varilek
Tammy is a former club and collegiate competitive all-around
gymnast. She trained and competed for nearly ten years with the Saginaw Gym Jesters and Eastern Michigan University. Tammy has experience teaching, choreographing and judging gymnastics. She taught club gymnastics with the Saginaw Gym Jesters and Bay Valley Gymnastics. She taught recreational gymnastics,
has choreographed high school floor exercise routines and has judged beginning and intermediate gymnastics competitions. Tammy has had a successful career in information technology with the same company for over 21 years. Three of her children have studied dance at DSD and two have participated on competitive dance lines. She is delighted to be teaching gymnastics at DSD. Top
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Jessica Walker
Jessica is happy to join the faculty of DSD and share her passion for ballet and contemporary with the students!
Jessica has a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Dance. She performed with the Grand Rapids Ballet Company as a member of the Touring and European Touring Groups. Jessica was a scholarship student at the School of the Grand Rapids Ballet Company as part of the Junior and Senior Professional Trainee Programs. She also studied with the Joffrey Ballet Company. Jessica has performed such ballet works as Bolero, the BlueBird Pas d Duex from Sleeping Beauty, Valse Fantasie by George Balanchine, the Nutcracker, La Source by George Balanchine and many others.
DSD is pleased that Jessica is here! Top |
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Dusty Welch
Dusty loves working with children and is excited to be on
staff at Deborah's Stage Door. She began studying ballet, tap and jazz at a young age and has had the opportunity to study under wonderful teachers, including Amy Cooper Ingham, Claudanne Solwold, Ann Parsley and Cornelia Sampson.
Dusty is trained in Cecchetti and studied dance at Central Michigan University. She graduated from Oakland University with a degree in Psychology with a concentration in Elementary Education. Dusty has been a substitute teacher and looks forward to bringing her experiences and passion for learning to
the classroom at DSD. She lives with her husband and four
children in Rochester Hills. Top
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Jill Zmijewski
Jill, an alumni of DSD, has been dancing for over 25 years. She attended the University of Michigan on a dance scholarship and shortly after took her dance studies to Los Angeles. She returned home to MI in 2004 to continue to study dance while exploring the avenue of choreography and production. In May 2007 she graduated Cum Laude with a BA in Communications from Oakland University. Some of Jill's credits include dancing on film in shows such as AllyMcBeal and the Tracy Ullman show. She has dancing in music videos with Usher and 8-Ball, and industrials with Microsoft. She has had the opportunity to dance and study with many of the nation's top teachers and choreographers. Since Jill's return back to Michigan, she has danced in and choreographed events for Comerica Bank, Chrysler, Channel 955 and Detroit's Fash Bash. Jill is also choreographer for high school and college dance teams, including the Harvard University Crimson Dance Team. She is currently the choreogrpaher for the locally filmed television series, Th Wannabes. Jill is very excited to be back where it all started and share her love and knowledge of dance with her students Top |
Private Voice/Piano/Guitar
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Bethany Caldarona - Director of Theatre and Performing Arts Program
Bethany comes to us from the faculty of MaryGrove College Institute of Music and Dance. She has a BFA in Theatre/Acting with a minor in music from Wayne State University. She is the President/Director of Twice Upon a Time Theatre Project. Her theatre performance is extensive and spans the acting venue from musicals to drama to monologues. She will be instructing theatre classes as well as teaching private voice and piano lessons and will also direct the show choirs. Bethany brings numerous new ideas and courses to DSD this fall. She is incredibly excited to be able to work at DSD and share her passion and knowledge of theatre and music with the youngest students to adults. Top |
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Bill Gerazounis
Bill is excited to be a part of the performing arts department at DSD. He is an accomplished musician and will be
instructing the guitar students. Bill has numerous years of teaching experience and teaches every facet of guitar
including rock, classic, modern, and Flamenco. He performs and records in the Detroit area as well. |
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Beth Ann Thibault: Beth is excited to be making her DSD teaching debut! She will be instructing all theatre classes at the Shelby Township location and is ready to roll her sleeves up and get to work. Well versed in everything from musical theatre to technical theatre, Beth looks forward to sharing her knowledge, experience, and professionalism with anyone who wants to learn, young or old. Beth holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance from Wayne State University and is the co-founder of Barefoot June Events. She is actively involved in the Detroit theatre community as a professional actress but her true passion is her family. She and her husband Brian (also a local actor) own a home in Sterling Heights and have two cats, Griffin and Pachelbel. Top |
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Phil Turkington
Phil has been teaching voice and piano at DSD for almost
1 year now. He has been a professional musician for 35 years. Currently performs with one of Michigan’s premier pop bands “2XL” and two 17 piece big bands named “Jump Street Swing Band” and “The Pros”. He also sings in a professional choir
during the Christmas season named “The Festival Singers”.
He also has the ability to produce and orchestrate music of any style. His education is in music theory and composition from Wayne State University. He looks forward to helping students improve their musical ability at Deborah’s Stage Door. Top |
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Hannah Waterstone
Hannah has a degree from Eastern Michigan University and Wayne State University. She has studied with Boris Maximovich and Yidislav Kowalsky, both concert pianist.
Hannah has a long history of working with children from Grades K thru 12 in general music and has been an accompanist for many schools in the area. She has taught private piano lessons for all age groups. She is activity in many civic groups, Ford Motor Chorus, Zamir Chorale, and is looking forward to working with the students at DSD. Top |
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Beth Johnson
Beth loves to work with children of all ages and has participated multi-dimensionally in sports and dance for over ten years. She is a second year All Star coach and has four years of award winning high school coaching experience. In addition, Beth is heavily involved in strength and weight training for all types of athletes.Top |
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Laura Placidi - Assistant Coach
This is Laura's 2nd year as Assistant Coach for Cheer One. Laura started her extensive cheer background in grade school where she cheered competitively and then coached for several years. Laura continued her passion through High School cheering all 4 years and was captain of her Varsity Squad. After graduating High School she coached the Varsity and Junior Varsity Teams for 7 years. Laura also cheered/danced for the "Chicago Bulls" for 2 years.
She absolutely loves working with the girls and boys and looks forward to a great season.
Laura is married and has 2 children. Top |
Pilates / Zumba
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Sharon Wilson - Pilates:
After working a number of years at a desk job, Sharon decided to pursue her life-long dream of becoming a fitness instructor. She decided on Pilates because Pilates is anatomically based, it can be customized to accommodate everyone from rehab patients to elite athletes, and it often delivers quicker results than other forms of exercise. Sharon is a Stott Pilates® Certified Instructor and she is certified in CPR. She would be delighted to guide you through the Pilates exercises and help you develop a stronger, leaner and more flexible you! Sharon is married with two 4-legged children. |
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Deborah Agrusa, Owner/Artistic Director
