Melissa Fudale, Director
Melissa studied Ballet, Jazz and Pointe for over fourteen years at the Greenwich Ballet Workshop under the direction of Felicity Foote, and at Allegra Dance Studio both in Greenwich, CT. She is also licensed to teach aerobics, dance fitness and Pre and Post-natal fitness. She began her business training in 1989 by working in various corporate positions and most recently was the CFO for Thomas W Fudale Painting and Wallpapering. Since 2005, Melissa works as a Professional Assistant with children with disabilities at the Greenwich High School. She also volunteers as a Brownie Troop Leader with the Girl Scouts of Connecticut. She had been a part of the defunct Norwalk Dance Academy since 2004 helping the founder organize events for the competition team and accepted the position of Events Planner in 2007. She is fulfilling a lifelong dream by opening her own studio, the Norwalk Academy of Dance .
Patricia Gray, Creative Director
Pat received her BS degree in dance and her MFA in dance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is licensed to teach dance K-12, in both North Carolina and Connecticut. She has co-created or created the Standard Course of Study for Dance in Education for North Carolina and Connecticut cities. Pat spent ten years teaching and directing dance at Elon University (formally known as Elon College), in North Carolina. She has also taught dance in public school systems, for grades K-12. Pat has experience teaching; Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Tap, and Musical Theater in studio settings, as well as a diverse choreographic experience. She has years of performance experience and has directed many performing companies. She is excited to begin teaching and choreographing for students at the Norwalk Academy of Dance.
Kathy Fleurissaint, Hip Hop/Jazz
Kathy has taught Hip Hop to students ranging from 6 yrs of age to adult. She teaches all the elements of Hip Hop such as Breaking, Popping, and Locking. Kathy excels at helping her students understand choreography, counting and freestyle techniques. She helps them incorporate what they learn to express themselves as individuals. Kathy is a patient, outgoing, charismatic teacher that will have the kids involved by having fun and learning at the same time. She studied Hip Hop (Dance Theory, Musicality, Breaking, Health and Nutrition) at the prestigious Hip Hop Dance Conservatory and has been a principal dancer with Blade Dance Entertainment. She was the lead model in an Oil of Olay Print ad, and has danced in numerous television productions on Comedy Central and MTV among others. Kathy's choreography for the Norwalk Dance Academy Dance Team garnered top awards at competitions in the tri-state area.
Stephanie Lietchnam, Ballet, Lyrical, Modern
Stephanie began teaching while still in high school at the Basically Ballet School in New Jersey, where she trained. She received a BFA in Dance from SUNY Purchase College. While studying there she taught for the Purchase Youth Ballet. After graduating she danced professionally in New York City for several ballet and modern companies including Lydia Johnson Dance, Michael Mao, Company Elke Rindfleich, and Nancy Turano, among others. Miss Stephanie always wanted to teach as much as she wanted to dance so after a few years she retired from performing and began teaching full time. Miss Stephanie believes strongly in the importance of ballet as a base for most other styles of dance. She believes anatomy is an important part of dance education, so she often brings her plastic skeleton, Isadora, to class to teach students about their alignment and structure. She does not use just one method, but incorporates lessons from Vaganova and Cecchetti syllabi, as well as her own more neoclassical background. Her modern class is based on Graham, Cunningham, and Limon techniques. This will be her fourth year teaching ballet, modern and lyrical.
Gianna Vinelli, TBC, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, Hip Hop
Gianna has trained in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical and modern. She trained as a teacher under Jennifer Risola and has taught TBC, Jazz, Hip Hop and Lyrical. She has danced competitively on the Norwalk Dance Academy’s platinum-award-winning Competition Dance Team. Gianna also worked the front desk of Norwalk Dance Academy as an office assistant, offering friendly customer service and tackling a multitude of behind-the-scenes tasks with poise and versatility, from typing to sewing. She is thrilled to be teaching at the new studio, Norwalk Academy of Dance.
Jennifer Franzetti, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, Hip Hop
A dancer since the age of three, Jennifer has studied Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Tap, Modern, and Hip Hop. She received her Bachelors Degree in Dance and Theater from Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY. She currently teaches for a studio in Stamford teaching children and adults ballet, jazz, lyrical and tap. In addition to her teaching, she has also instructed a tap class for the Senior Citizens at the Senior Center in Stamford. Jennifer also teaches hip-hop and modern for the Continuing Adult Education Program in Stamford and during the summers she is head of the dance program for Long Ridge Camp in Stamford. Jennifer also has instructed for Kinderdance and Arthur Murray. Aside from teaching, Jennifer also enjoys performing. She recently was a part of the theater production “Mack and Mabel” and performed and choreographed for many dance concerts and ensemble performances in college where she received the Manhattanville Achievement Award. She has worked with some of the best in the industry including Barbara Duffy for tap, Earl Mosley from Alvin Ailey School, and Frank Hatchett for jazz technique. Today, Jennifer continues to teach, perform, and audition, as she loves to be on stage! Norwalk Academy of Dance welcomes her to the staff.
