Terrie Bater, Director
Miss Terrie began studying ballet at the E. Virgina Williams School of Ballet at the age of 2 and as a child began studying additional dance styles at the Agnes Strecker Dance School in Revere. As a teenager, Terrie transitioned to Chiampa Dance in Lynnfield under the tutelage of Mrs. T and Miss Chiampa. While there, she recognized that dance and theater are her passion and that she should make a career of sharing her love of dance with others. She pursued a degree that would give her the tools needed to be the best dance teacher possible. Terrie has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a Master of Arts in Theater Education, both from Emerson College in Boston. She graduated from the Dance Teacher's Club of Boston Dance Education Training Course in 1999 became a Member of the Dance Teacher's Club of Boston in 2008. Additionally, Terrie is licensed to teach Drama and English through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She is a middle school English teacher for the Saugus Public Schools. Terrie has choreographed middle school drama productions, high school drama productions, for local cheer squads, community theatre productions and for local talent, variety and fashion shows. Her students have won awards in both local and national competitions as has her choreography. Terrie continues to hone her craft through frequent professional development by taking dance classes in Boston, New York and Los Angeles during summers and vacations, by participating in Dance Teacher workshops through the DTCB and the Maine Dance Teachers Club and by taking college coursework centered on youth and adolescent development and business management.
Kristen Corning, Instructor
Miss Kristen began her dance career at the Agnes Strecker dance school in Revere at the age of 5 where she began studying ballet, tap and jazz. She continued her dance training in Revere until moving to Peabody and at age 12 began studying at Chiampa Dance in Lynnfield. Kristen was part of the award winning J.T. Dancers Dance Company and had the opportunity to perform and compete throughout the Northeast. She took a hiatus from Chiampa during which time she got married, had two children and became a licensed Hair Dresser. While she was gone, Kristen continued to take Ballet, Modern and Jazz classes locally. In 2011, Kristen resumed her studies at Chiampa and soon after began pursuing the opportunity to teach. Miss Kristen is a 2015 graduate of the Dance Teacher's Club of Boston Dance Education Training Course. Additionally she participates in several DTCB professional development workshops each year along with taking Ballet, Contemporary and Zumba classes through-out the North Shore.
De'Arna Krisnky, Instructor
Miss De'Arna has been a Chiampa Dancer for over 30 years! She was referred to Chiampa because her dad, a former Chiampa dancer and dance partner to Mrs. T knew that she would get the very best dance education from Miss Chiampa and Mrs. T. Ms. De'Arna began her studies at age 3 in the Babydance class taught by Miss Chiampa at the East Boston Studio. She eventually moved to the Lynnfield school and continued to dance through college. De'Arna was in the award winning J.T. Dancers Dance Company and won many local and national titles with her group and as a solo jazz dancer. With a desire to work with and help children and families, Miss De'Arna furthered her education and earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Suffolk University and a Master of Social Work from Simmons College. She graduated from the Dance Teacher's Club of Boston Dance Education Training Course in 1998 and became a Member of the Dance Teacher's Club of Boston in 2008. She is also an LICSW and works for the Beverly Public Schools as a School Adjustment Counselor.
Armanda Parello, Instructor
Miss Armanda began dancing at Chiampa when she was 6 years old. She had the distinct pleasure of performing several duets with Mrs.T's son for several years. Miss Armanda won many awards for her jazz/acrobatic solos. She performed and competed with the Dance Company for many years. While in the award winning "A Class Acte" Dance Company, she had the opportunity to audition for Star Search and also be the opening Act for the New Kids On the Block at Lynn Auditorium when the group was first starting out as a popular boy band. Miss Armanda graduated from the Dance Teacher's Club of Boston Dance Education Training Course in 1990. Armanda studied Criminal Justice at Suffolk University where she obtained her Bachelor of Science. She also has a Law Degree from Salem State College. Ms. Armanda continues to further her dance professional development by taking teacher workshops offered through the year.
Gina A. Passaro, Instructor
Miss Gina, a native of Winthrop, MA, has been dancing for thirty five years and has been an instructor and choreographer for twenty years. She began her dancing at the age of four at Tassinari and Tirrell Dance Studio. She has trained and taught at Nicole Zervas Dance Academy in Revere and studied ballet under the instruction of Paula Shiff from the Marblehead School of Ballet. She has a BA in English Language Arts and a minor in Dance from Salem State College, Masters of Education from Cambridge College, and is a Massachusetts state certified educator in Instructional Technology. Miss Gina is highly committed to education in the arts and is the former owner and director of Dancepiration Dance Studio in Reading. Throughout her dance career she has won numerous dance competitions and is also an award winning teacher and choreographer at Showstoppers, Star Quest and Miss Dance Olympus. She currently works for the Wakefield Public school system and has choreographed for the Lynnfield Middle School and Saugus Middle School drama societies. Miss Gina is very dedicated to the teaching the art of ballet to her students and works hard to improve her teaching and dance skills by attending teacher workshops offered by DTCB and Rhee Gold.
Office Staff
Doreen Costello, Office Manager
Ali Mahon, Office Staff
