Who's Who at Impulse . . .

LuAnn LUANN C. PAGELLA is the Owner/Director of Impulse Dance Center, which is celebrating its 22nd year in dance education. Additionally, she is the founder of The Connecting Point Dance Company based at Impulse. This performance ensemble can be seen in the Metrowest and Boston area sharing the art of dance. She received her dance training from Lillian Schovall of Connecticut, The School of the Hartford Ballet, also in Connecticut and Vergari Dance Center, of Ohio. She holds several certificates in Dance Education and is a member of The Boston Dance Alliance and Dance Educators of America. LuAnn also has a degree in business.

She has done work in children's theatre, was the resident choreographer for The Cambridge Performing Arts Theatre in Ohio, directed a dance ensemble affiliated with that Theatre and choreographed two televised telethons for the American Cancer Society. LuAnn’s “Interactive Nutcracker” is a highlight of the Holiday Season and is enjoyed by children in schools and community events as well as at Impulse. She teaches all of the Children's classes, and Levels I & II of Ballet and Tap.
Karen KAREN KROLAK is the Artistic Director of Monkeyhouse, a nationally/internationally touring, professional dance theatre company, and has been teaching at Impulse since 1996. Although most of the students only know her as the woman who developed the Modern program at Impulse or the Advanced Teen Jazz Instructor, Karen also has extensive training in Ballet, Yoga, Contact Improvisation, Circus Arts and Pilates. She specializes in working with teens and her idiosyncratic classes encourage individual artistic expression and promote healthy technical training.

In 2000, Karen was commissioned by Dance Umbrella to create a residency program for at-risk-teens at the Germaine Lawrence School. She has also choreographed for six Dover Sherborn High School musicals, twice been a Guest Artist at Northwestern University, been a guest choreographer for the Latin School in Chicago, IL, taught at the National High School Institute in Evanston, IL and worked at Actors Gymnasium in Evanston, IL. Her work has been presented in theater, film, and concert dance productions in Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Winnipeg and Jackson Hole.

Meera MEERA WERTHER joined the Impulse faculty in 2005 to teach Ballet III, Repertory Ballet and Pointe. Meera received her dance training at The Donna Miceli Dance Center in Lowell, The Boston Ballet School, The Jeannette Neill Dance Studio in Boston and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She spent five years performing and modeling for the Ace Entertainment and Sportshots Agencies. Meera’s teaching experience spans 20 years and includes all levels of Ballet, Pointe, Jazz and Modern. She has been a faculty member at both The Donna Miceli Dance Center and the Jeanette Neill Dance Studio, where she started a children’s program in 1993.

Meera’s teaching style reflects her belief that Ballet requires dedication and discipline to achieve the inner strength and outer grace required by that genre. At the same time, her first priority is always the healthy physical and emotional development of the student. Meera graduated as valedictorian from Bentley College in 1993 with a Bachelors Degree in Business Communications and Behavioral Science. She also earned a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology from Cambridge College in 2001.

Shannon SHANNON SULLIVAN joined the Impulse faculty in 2007 as instructor for all levels of Tap as well as the Artistic Director of The TAProject. Shannon began her formal dance training at the New Jersey School of Ballet. It was there she was first introduced to rhythm tap dance through the instruction of Margaret Morrison. She has continued her training with such masters as Julia Boynton, Brenda Bufalino, Barbara Duffy, Josh Hilberman, Pamela Raff and Lynn Schwab. Shannon has taught at Julia Boynton’s monthly Tap Jam and has also interned for the New York City Tap Festival.

In addition to her tap dancing, Shannon has a B.M. in Music Education with a concentration in trumpet and a Masters of Music Education from Gordon College. She is well known for incorporating this formal music training into her rhythm tap classes. Currently, Shannon performs regularly with various instrumental and tap ensembles in the Boston and North Shore areas. Impulse is thrilled to have Shannon back as instructor for the Intermediate through Repertory levels of tap as well as the Artistic Director of The TAProject.
Amanda AMANDA PAGE received her initial training right here at Impulse Dance Center and went on to receive her BFA in Dance from Adelphi University. Amanda assisted choreographer, Karla Wolfangle at Barnard University, New School University, Stockton College and the American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Program. Amanda’s teaching credits include Joffrey Ballet’s Summer Intensive, Adelphi University, Peridance Center, Brooklyn Arts Exchange and the Bronx Arts Ensemble.

Ms. Page is Co-founder and Co-choreographer of Guidance, Inc. and performs with her Company in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Additionally she is a certified Yoga instructor, teaches at Cornerstone Performing Arts Center and is a board member of the non-profit organization, The Music Exchange. Amanda is a versatile, experienced dance educator that will not only be teaching a broad spectrum of dance levels of Jazz and Lyrical at Impulse, she is the Artistic Director for Impulse’s own Connecting Point Dance Company.

Arie ARIE STEINER is a classically trained dancer who received her BFA in Dance from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, an Emerging Artist Award from Green Street Studios and receives invitations to choreograph and teach throughout New England including the American College Dance Festival Gala Performance, The North Country Dance Company and Boston’s Dance Across the City. Arie also enjoys musical theater and has choreographed seven musicals with QNEK Productions, the Vermont Children’s Theater and the Academy of Performing Arts on Cape Cod.

Her Modern and Jazz choreography has been produced in London, The Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, The Arsenal Center for the Performing Arts, Green Street Studio’s Emerging Artist Concert, Step by Step’s Spring Concert and Providence College to name a few. Arie’s most recent accomplishment is becoming a member of Billbob Brown’s Chaos Theory Dance Company. Additionally Arie is a Personal Trainer with Fitness Therapists, Inc at the Fitness Club for Women in Wellesley. If that were not all enough, Arie can also be found at the judge’s table of Turn It Up! Dance Challenge. Impulse is delighted to have Arie back for the third year teaching Jazz and Lyrical.