WELCOME TO NORTHSTAR DANCE ACADEMY

Director/Teacher

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Madigan Flynn, or Ms. Maddie has been dancing with Northstar for 20 years now! Ms. Kandie asked her to be a helper when she was 11 years old and she has now been an official teacher for the past five years. There is nothing that she loves more than watching students fall in love with dance classes. Ms. Maddie says "it has been an honor to have been able to watch so many students grow up to be amazing dancers". She is so excited to see how Northstar will grow in the future!

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Erin Courtney grew up dancing with Northstar’s original competition team and has been a part of the studio since opening day in 2003. She has been teaching her own classes at Northstar for thirteen years now, as well as choreographing award-winning dances for the competition team, and is thrilled to step into her new role this year as Competition Director. Erin worked hard to earn her Bachelors in Allied Health Science at Uconn, as well as her Bachelors of Science in Nursing at Quinnipiac. She served as the captain of UConn Tap Team during her time in undergrad, and has been honored to witness many other NSDA alum follow in her footsteps. Erin keeps herself very busy and also works full-time as a pediatric nurse at Connecticut Children’s in Hartford. Northstar has always been her home away from home, and she hopes to help all of her students feel that way too!

Brennen is a CT based dancer and performer. He’s trained in various disciplines of dance and theatre, and is a graduate of Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts as a Musical Theatre Major. He has learned from living tap dancing legends such as Ayodele Casel and Dianne “Lady Di” Walker. As a performer, he has been a part of dozens of local shows and showcases all over the state, working with many different organizations. Brennen has over 10 years of regional and national competition and convention experience, training with a variety of teachers of all different artistic backgrounds. He is a previous Teen Mr. Dance of Connecticut. As a teacher, he has taught for local studios, stand-alone classes, as well as at Hartford Stage’s Summer Studios and Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Half Day program. He is certified with Hillary Marie's iTap Teacher program. In a studio setting, he has experience teaching and choreographing both recreationally and competitively.

​Caroline Schroer holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance with a minor in Musical Theatre from Mercyhurst University, in Erie, PA. Currently, she dances professionally with Ballet Hartford, performing classical and contemporary ballet in Hartford and the surrounding areas. Caroline teaches ballet, jazz, contemporary/modern, and musical theatre at multiple studios across CT, and has choreographed for several high school and junior musicals. She is passionate about inclusivity and accessibility in dance, and her teaching style strives to give students the skills to assess how technique can be a tool to help them with their own personal goals.

Celia Klotzer has been a cherished member of  Northstar’s dance family since she was 3. Her passion for dance continued through college, where she served as president of UConn’s Tap Team and was a member of the Kickline Team. Celia earned a dual degree in Human Rights and Sociology, and is currently working as a paralegal at a local law firm. Celia is thrilled to join the studio as a teacher and excited to dance with all of you!

Ella has been dancing for fourteen years now and has been teaching at Northstar for four. She is  currently an Apprentice with Ballet Hartford and has been trained in classical ballet, pointe, modern, contemporary, jazz, and even musical theatre. Ella can not wait to share her knowledge and see this generation of dancers grow!

Teacher

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Emily is thrilled to enter her 19th year of dance and to be part of the amazing staff here at Northstar Dance Academy. Emily took classes in various dance styles at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, where she graduated from the Musical Theater department. She's danced with Northstar since 2010 until her graduation in 2021, and has several years of tap, jazz, contemporary, ballet, lyrical, and acrobatic experience. Emily has been an involved member of Northstar's staff since 2016, first assisting Ms. Erin with Acro classes since 2018. This year, Emily is in her first year of her graduate program at the University of Hartford, where she’ll be receiving her Masters of Science in School Psychology, and will also earn her LPC. Emily is always inspired by her students here at Northstar, and looking forward to a new year and new friends!

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Erin began dancing at age 3 and began competing at age 7 at Steppin' Up! Dance Studio under the direction of Ms. Linda Regulbuto. She studied jazz, tap, ballet, acrobatics and street jazz and was a member of the Dance Company, the Tap Company, and the Aerialstars Acrobatics Team. Erin danced throughout high school and college and then went on to dance for the Mohegan Wolves Arena Football team and the Hartford Wolfpack. She has been teaching for over 25 years now and has experience teaching acrobatics, lyrical, contemporary, jazz, tap and hip hop at both the recreational and competitive levels. When she's  not teaching, you'll find her at a concert or at the dance studio, gymnastics, the soccer field, or the ice rink with her two daughters.

Kayla has been a dedicated dance teacher at Northstar Dance Academy for the past 10 years. During her undergrad studies, she was a member of the Fenomena hip-hop dance team at the University of Hartford, where she spent two years as a co-captain. After completing her undergraduate degree, she went on to graduate school and earned a degree in social work. Kayla was crowned Miss Dance of CT in 2017 and was able to compete for the title of Miss Dance of America in New Orleans. At the studio Kayla teaches technique, hip-hop, jazz, lyrical/contemporary and competition classes.

Teacher

Kaylee is in her Senior year at Manchester High school and Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts half day program where she majors in dance. This year will be her fifteenth year dancing and her second year teaching lyrical, jazz, contemporary, tap, technique, and hip hop classes. In 2023 Kaylee was crowned Teen Miss World Class and last season she was crowned Teen Miss Dance of Connecticut which provided her with the opportunity to compete in a national competition in California. Kaylee is so excited to see how everyone grows and advances throughout this upcoming season! 

Teacher

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Maya Leavitt is 23 years old and has been dancing for 21 years. Maya started taking classes at Northstar at the age of eight and trained in all styles until she graduated high school. After high school, she attended Clemson University, where she made the Tiger Strut competitive dance team. While at Clemson she also taught and served as president for the Clemson Dancers club her senior year. Maya was crowned Teen Miss Dance of CT in 2017 and in 2018 was given the opportunity to perform with the American Tap Company, gaining professional experience. Maya is so excited to be teaching back at her home studio!  

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