Faculty and staff
JENNIFER AGBAY Jennifer is the celebrated director and founder of the Ballet Arts Worcester whose production of the Nutcracker graces the stage at The Hanover Theatre each November. She received a Bachelor of Science in Dance and Dance Education from New York University. While in New York City, Jennifer worked with several professional companies including The Washington Square Repertory Dance Company and the New York City based “Ballet for Young Audiences.” She was the director of dance at the Performing Arts School of Worcester, directed the Worcester Youth Ballet Company and choreographed all school productions including the Nutcracker. While at PASOW, Jennifer founded and directed Company X, created for professional dancers. Jennifer has served on faculty at the Boston Ballet School and has been invited to teach at the school’s Young Dancers Summer Workshop in past summers. She has also taught and choreographed in various private and public schools and as well as Assumption College. She was the former Artistic Director and Upper School Coordinator at Dance It Up! Dance Center in Grafton, as well as B.F. Brown Arts Vision Middle School in Fitchburg, MA and has served as one of Lincoln Center’s National Educators. She has been a dance instructor and choreographer for The Hanover Theatre’s Youth Summer Program since its inception. She was selected by The Pulse Magazine as one of Worcester’s 25 to watch in 2005.
JOANNE BUYNISKI Joanne began her costuming career by making Halloween costumes for her daughters. In fact, it was while costuming shows for her daughter’s theatrical productions that she discovered her passion for costume design and construction. When her family moved to Massachusetts in 2000, she began volunteering as a costumer at Worcester Academy and has since costumed 70+ shows for both their middle and upper schools. Her favorites include Shakespeare in Hollywood, Cabaret, The Mikado, Urinetown, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Miser, The Imaginary Invalid, and Metamorphoses, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Love for Three Oranges, and Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Once Joanne began teaching costume design and construction full time for Worcester Academy, she was able to take some very talented and dedicated students along with her on the joyful ride from initial sketch to finished costume. She has taught students of all ages how to sew, fit, combine colors and textures, and collaborate with set and lighting designers and directors. Joanne is particularly passionate about the psychology of clothing (why do we wear the clothes we wear every day?) and the history of dress by decade (especially the Victorian era and the 1930s). She also enjoys exploring traditional Japanese dress, the fabrics of Africa, and – most recently – neoprene and digitally-printed fabrics.
ISSA COULIBALY A master djembe drummer, originally from Mali, West Africa, Issa began studying the djembe and djun djun when he was 11 years old. Issa earned a reputation as a vocalist and mesmerizing performer while touring Africa and Europe before coming to the United States. He continues to travel from Maine to Puerto Rico facilitating retreats and performing as the lead drummer and musical director for a variety of African dance troupes, including Crocodile River Music’s troupe, Didakan. Issa’s performances, workshops, residencies, and drum circles are educational and fun for musicians of any age and range of experience.
DAVID DUBOIS David began his formal dance training in high school at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts (PCCA) in St. Petersburg, Florida. During that time David competed in the Youth America Grand Prix in Boca Raton, Florida and was awarded 1st place in modern dance. Upon graduation, David attended the Boston Conservatory where he studied with Luis Fuentes, Laszlo Berdo, Sean Curran and Daniel Pelzig. David began his professional career in 2003 with Jose Mateo’s Ballet Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There he had the opportunity to dance many roles including Cavalier in Mr. Mateo’s “Nutcracker” and many principal roles in Mr. Mateo’s original works. David joined the Island Moving Company in Newport, Rhode Island in the Spring of 2007, where he had the opportunity to work with many choreographers including Colin Conner, Scott Putman, Colleen Cavanaugh, Kelly Ann Sloan and Monica Bill Barnes. He originated the title role in Miki Ohlsen’s critically- acclaimed “Dracula,” David has worked as a principal guest artist at Providence Ballet Theatre, Connecticut Concert Ballet, Spindle City Ballet and the Patrick Notaro Dance Project. He also participated in the 2010 and 2011 Sibiu International Ballet and Contemporary Dance Competition as a non-competing partner with his wife Kristy Anne DuBois. David joined American Repertory Ballet for its 2011-2012 season. While with American Repertory Ballet, David most notably danced the title role of “Romeo” in Artistic Director Douglas Martin’s realization of the ballet "Romeo & Juliet." David re-joined Jose Mateo’s Ballet Theatre in the Fall of 2012, where he enjoyed dancing many principle roles along side his wife. David has been dancing in Rhode Island with Festival Ballet Providence since 2015 and has danced in a vast range of classical and contemporary works including Von Rothbart in Mihailo Djuric’s “Swan Lake” and Balanchine’s “Allegro Brilliante.” He has been teaching both ballet and modern for as long as he has been dancing professionally and finds great fulfillment in passing along his joy and knowledge of dancing to his students.



JAMIE IRWIN-BROWN Jamie received her training at the Allegheny Ballet Academy and Boston Ballet with several summers spent studying at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She was selected to perform corps de ballet roles in Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker and Swan Lake and was invited to tour in BBII’s production of Snow White. She went on to dance with Indianapolis Ballet Theatre and the Boston Dance Company where notable roles included the title role in Cinderella, Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen, and Dew Drop in The Nutcracker, and Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie and Minkus pas de Trois. Over the past several years, Ms. Brown has enjoyed sharing her passion as a teacher, choreographer and rehearsal coach for studios throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Her students have established themselves with professional ballet companies, in television and on Broadway, as well as continuing on to major in dance at prestigious universities.
NICK JOYCE Nick’s nearly four decade long career in audio spans the globe as a touring house mixer/monitor engineer/production manager for such artists as Miles Davis, Doctor John, Joe Satriani, Donna Summer and John Scofield. In addition to his touring repertoire, add such special events as the 1990 Earth Day in Central Park (to an estimated audience over 750,000), the rededication of The Statue of Liberty (with the Boston Pops, July 4, 1986 at Liberty State Park in New Jersey), numerous studio recordings, sporting events and 5 seasons at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee School of Music as audio designer and mixer for their musical theatre program. He brings his in depth knowledge and expertise of all aspects of audio to The Hanover Theatre Conservatory while starting his 10th year with The Hanover Theatre as the Head of Audio. He is the audio designer and mixer annually for A Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker, as well as the Youth Summer Programs.
LINNEA LYERLY Linnea holds a B.A. in Vocal Performance/Arts Administration from University of Maryland, College Park. Since moving to New England in 1998, Lyerly has worked in the Shrewsbury Public Schools as an Extended School Care teacher and Classroom Aide. She has been a Music Together parent at Pakachoag since 2004 and was so excited about the program and its benefits, that in 2005 she completed the Music Together teacher training. As the younger of her two children reached elementary school age, Lyerly was happy to be able to continue her involvement with Music Together by joining Pakachoag’s roster of Music Together teachers starting in the Fall of 2010.
KATRINA MCCORMICK Katrina studied ballet at Boston Ballet and Ballet Theatre of Boston. Katrina performed throughout the region with Ballet Theatre’s Youthworks. She has performed in The Nutcracker with both Boston Ballet and Ballet Theatre of Boston. She has acted as Ballet Mistress and Artistic Director of the Nutcracker at a local dance studio. Katrina is the mother of 3 young children, so she is thrilled to be sharing and teaching her passion of ballet again.
BRIAN MCGINNIS Brian lives, dances, teaches and choreographs in Boston. He began his training at the age of seven in Worcester, Massachusetts with Jo Ann Warren and then resided and danced in New York City for 20 years. He has toured with the companies of Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Elisa Monte Dance, Parsons Dance Company and Buglisi Dance Theatre. He is celebrating his first year as Associate Professor at The Boston Conservatory. Recently he was on faculty at ChiArts and Visceral Dance Center, both in Chicago. He is also a guest choreographer/teacher at The Fine Arts Center in Greenville, South Carolina. Brian has had the opportunity to perform at Jacob’s Pillow, Lincoln Center, The Cultural Center of the Philippines, The Bolshoi Theatre, American Dance Festival, The Joyce Theatre, NYC City Center, The Kennedy Center and The Spoleto Festival, Italy. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from The Juilliard School under the directorship of Benjamin Harkarvy and an Associates Degree in Occupational Science for Massage Therapy from The Swedish Institute, NYC.
CHARLOTTE MCNUTT Charlotte began her studies of classical ballet in northern Virginia where she had the opportunity to study with many wonderful teachers including Thomas Russell, Edward Caton, Leon Folkine, and Oleg Tupine. She then went on to study and perform with the National Ballet of Washington, D.C., under Frederick Franklin and Ben Stevenson. In 1972, she moved to Annapolis, Maryland and became a founding member and dancer with the Ballet Theatre of Annapolis, now Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Maryland’s only professional ballet company. While performing with BTM, she danced many roles including the DewDrop Fairy, Grandmother, Arabian, Snow, Flowers, and Mother Gigone in the Nutcracker, and created such roles as the lead Temptress in Artistic Director Edward Stewart's 11th Commandment and the mother in Three Faces of Eve. Other roles include the Queen in Sleeping Beauty and the nurse in Romeo and Juliet. Charlotte served as School Administrator for the Ballet Theatre of Maryland School and taught there until 2006. She also worked as Ballet Mistress and Rehearsal Assistant for the Ballet Theatre of Maryland under the direction of the founding Artistic Director, Edward Stewart. In 2012, she moved to Massachusetts and was excited to be able to share her love for teaching with Ballet Arts Worcester.
MEGHAN MONTANER is the director of education at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts. In addition to her role in helping to open the 2300-seat Hanover Theatre in 2008 and The Hanover Theatre Conservatory in 2017, Meghan is a trained dancer, singer, and actress. For 13 years, she was the artistic director, producer, and choreographer for the Grafton High School Theatre Department where she made significant strides in production quality, student involvement and audience participation. She was the program director and intensives program coach for the Westborough Players Club Children’s Musical Theatre Workshop from 2003-2009 and previously taught classes for the Foothills Theatre Children’s Program. Meghan’s work with the Worcester Public Schools garnered a Community Partner Award in 2012 and the Goddard Scholars Community Partner Appreciation Award in 2014. Her ground breaking Adopt-A-School Program, started in 2013, gained national attention for its achievements in incorporating arts into the core curriculum. Meghan was asked to present the program to the Education and Engagement Forum at the 2014 Broadway League Conference in NYC. Meghan holds a master’s degree in theatre education from Emerson College where she was awarded the Dean’s Fellowship Award.

BRENNA ROBINSON Brenna recently graduated from Dean College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance. While studying at Dean she trained in various styles (contemporary, modern, ballet, jazz, and theater); was given many opportunities to perform (opening number for the Patriots Game); and worked with choreographers like Rose Pasquarello Beauchamp, Julianne O’Brien Pedersen, Christina Berger, William Evans, Todd Shanks, and Robbie Mulrey. Brenna also studied at Broadway Dance Center under their Summer Professional Semester Program (2015). There she concentrated in commercial dance (jazz and contemporary); furthered her training and artistry; and performed in works by Derek Mitchell and Zanza Steinberg. Currently, Brenna is a professional dancer, choreographer, and teacher. As a member of Urbanity Dance Company, she works with choreographers such as Betsi Graves and Marcus Schulkind; performs in various shows throughout the season; and visits schools with the non-profit organization Young Audiences of Massachusetts. She also choreographs and teaches contemporary at various studios including Urbanity Dance, Paula Coffey Dance Center, and the Hanover Theatre Conservatory for the Performing Arts. While immerging herself in the dance world, she continues her interest in the potential of new movement and how improvisation and communication connects.
KELLY ROURKE Kelly is the education assistant at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts. To her work, Kelly brings a love for the performing arts fostered over the course of 13 years spent studying classical ballet. She began her training at The Performing Arts School of Worcester and continued her studies at Ballet Arts Worcester. Kelly has been fortunate enough to work with esteemed instructors and choreographers including Madame Gabriela Darvash, Oleg Briansky, Danita Emma, Christopher Hird, Jolanta Valeikaite, and Jennifer Agbay. In addition, Kelly is a licensed Zumba Fitness instructor and teaches classes in the Central MA area. She holds a BA from Clark University and is currently a candidate for Master of Business Administration at Clark’s Graduate School of Management.
.jpg)




