Faculty and Staff

About Rebecca

Heaven Darling received a BFA in Painting from WWU in 1992 and an MFA from WCSU in 2004. He teaches painting and visual art and mixed media art classes. Prior to living in Connecticut, Heaven recorded and performed with various rock bands in Seattle and NYC, as a drummer. Heaven’s students love the free thinking that his classes open up for them and are always delighted with his classes.

Gina Silva attended the Hartford School of Ballet after receiving a BBA in Business from WCSU. She performed at Walt Disney World and danced on the Disney Cruise Lines. Miss Gina has been a dedicated teacher at Taps-N-Toes in Brewster, NY since 1990 and was also the owner for a majority of that time. She initiated a movement program at Village Preschool in New Milford while her daughters attended there during the late 1990’s. Miss Gina is responsible for creating the New Milford High School Dance Team in 2000 and coaching it for the following four years. She took a hiatus from coaching until 2009 and has been assistant coach for the New Milford High School Dance Team since then. She had been a teacher at the Maria Calegari School of Ballet and is now a devoted teacher of ballet, creative movement, hip hop, jazz, and tap at Studio D. Miss Gina’s teaching style promotes learning in her classes while inspiring fun and excitement.

Starting her 18th season with Studio D, Shannon has taught every style of dance at the studio.  While away from the studio, she works in Web Product Management at Waterworks in Danbury, CT. Shannon McLean has a B.S. in Business Administration. Throughout her life, she has studied dance at various dance studios and was lucky enough to have the opportunity to train at Enloe High School in Raleigh, NC, focused on Vagonava Ballet and Graham-Modern technique. She was a member of the Meredith Dance Ensemble in 1994. She began teaching dance in 2003 at Taps n Toes in Brewster, NY, where she taught and staged pieces in Ballet, Contemporary Jazz, Theater Jazz, and Modern. She was a Choreographer and Production Manager for the Prelude Ballet Ensemble from 2005-2009, where she choreographed and staged “Peter and the Wolf”, “The Toy Box” an original story ballet, and several contemporary ballet pieces such as “TUTU”, “Simple Gifts”, and “Kaleidoscope”. She began working at Studio D in New Milford, CT, in 2009 and was delighted to begin a Contemporary dance program in 2011.  Shannon’s classroom philosophy is for everyone in the classroom to work hard on improving their technique while finding their love and fun in the art of dance.

Annette Carlo is a Graduate of the University of the Arts and has been dancing since age 7. Her initial training began when she enrolled at Janet Rehban Nassif Dance Academy and at the age of 15 she became one of their instructors. She attended and taught there until she graduated from Danbury High School in 1989.  She then went to Philadelphia to study at The University of the Arts, where in 1993 she obtained her BFA in Dance Education with a Major in Modern and a Minor in Jazz. She has had the opportunity to study under various instructors, including: Janet Rehban Nassif, Faye Snow, Milton Myers, Wayne St. David and Ruth Andrien. While in Philadelphia she taught at the Franklin Learning Center and the Society Hill Playhouse.  Upon returning to Connecticut she taught at the Professional Dance Center in Sandy Hook for 3 years and she then became an instructor at Dancer’s Gallery in New Haven for the following 5 years. Her Choreography for competitions in 1998 brought her Trio “Fly” a Duo/Trio High Score Award.  In March 1999 she performed a self-choreographed solo at The University of the Arts Alumni Dance Concert in Philadelphia. She then joined the Planet Dance staff in 2001.  Where she has choreographed for the Eclipse Dance Company and the Planet Dance Choreography Project. She became the Owner/Director of Planet Dance in 2008.  She has continued her education by attending Dance Teacher Magazine’s Summer Conference and DanceLife Teacher Conference. She looks forward to sharing her love of dance with all her students.

Abby LaPoint was a 13 year student of Studio D. She has taken lyrical, tap, jazz, modern, hip hip, ballet and pointe. She has assisted with multiple ballet/tap classes as well as creative movement. You may have seen her as Grimsby in The Little  Mermaid or as Lumiere in Tales of the Forest. Abby is a senior at New Milford High School. She loves spending time with family and friends, playing with her dogs, traveling and dancing.

Katie Lukens was a student at Studio D for 15 years of dance experience, training in styles like jazz, contemporary, hip hop, ballet, and more.  In high school, she was a member of the dance team, performing at games, competitions, and school events. In college, she continued her dance journey, helping to recreate the dance team. She later became president of the university’s dance team- leading rehearsals, choreographing routines, and organizing performances. Outside of dance, Katie is a preschool teacher who brings that same creativity, patience, and joy into her classroom.

Carrie Allen has served as Office Manager at Studio D for three years while working as a Math Coach at K-5 schools in New Milford for seven years, with 18 years of teaching experience. Her work with children began early, progressing through roles as a Junior CIT, CIT, Counselor, Lifeguard, and Water Safety Instructor at her local town camp. She continues this commitment as a Unit Leader at a local Girl Scout camp and as a leader for both of her daughters’ troops. Carrie also worked seasonally as a ski instructor through high school and college. She holds a BS in Biology and an MS in Elementary Education. During her studies, she taught after-school science classes at Mad Science, music and tumbling at Kids U, and served as Birthday Party Director.  Her passion for music and education has driven her to pursue her dream of becoming a dancer at Studio D!!!!

This will be Brynn’s 15th year dancing at Studio D. She has been a teaching assistant since 6th grade, and this will be her second year teaching Ballet. Brynn takes Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary and Modern. She is a part of Studio D’s performance group D-tour and a co captain for the New Milford High Schools dance team. Brynn loves dancing at Studio D and being a mentor and teacher to the younger dancers.

Erica Gundersen is a dancer, choreographer, and educator with extensive training in ballet, modern, and jazz. She holds an MFA in Dance from Sarah Lawrence College, where she deepened her exploration of choreography and contemporary movement practices. Erica has worked as both a performer and instructor, sharing her passion for dance with students of all ages and experience levels. Her choreographic work blends classical ballet technique with contemporary expression, emphasizing artistry, storytelling, and individuality. She is dedicated to creating welcoming and inspiring spaces that encourage confidence, creativity, and a lifelong love of dance.

Siobhan Feeney, Connecticut native, holds a BFA in dance from Adelphi University in New York. She has performed in works by renowned choreographers and dancers, Maleek Washington, Doug Varone, Larry Keigwin, Frank Augustyn, Hannah Garner, and Fredrick Earl Mosley. Feeney has also trained at the Doug Varone and Dancers summer and winter workshops, the Jon Lehrer Dance Company summer intensive, and the Gallim Dance Company summer intensive. Most recently, she has finished an internship with the Education Team at Gibney Dance in Manhattan, New York and performed Daniel Padierna’s, Treasured Spirits, at The Joyce Theater. She also just performed Fredrick Earl Mosley’s, Running Spirits, at New York City Center. Currently, Feeney is a dancer with Salvatore LaRussa Dance Theatre based in New York City, and she is so excited to start teaching at Studio D!

Leah Brunner is a senior at New Milford High School, and a proud member of the NMHS dance team. She has been dancing at Studio D for 14 years, and has studied a multitude of styles, such as ballet, jazz, hip hop, modern, and contemporary. She also enjoys being a part of the NMHS theater program. Leah is very excited to be teaching hip hop/ acro, and share her love of dance with young dancers.

Kyler McLean has been dancing at Studio D for the past 12 years and is a junior honor student at New Milford High School where she is a proud member of the NMHS dance team.  She has spent several years serving as both a teaching assistant and substitute instructor at Studio D, developing a passion for working with young dancers.

Kyler has been a performer in the DMC Nutcracker for the past 10 years and has been a proud member of the D-Tour Dance Company for the last 8 years. She loves sharing her enthusiasm for dance while helping students build confidence, creativity, and a strong technical foundation in a fun and supportive environment.

Donatella Scaturchio, an Italian-American from Wilton CT, began dancing at the age of 3 at the Conservatory of Dance, where she trained in ballet, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, and tap on a competitive level. She attended the University of the Arts to continue her dance education for two years until its closure, and had the privilege of dancing in works by Paul Matteson and Shalya Vie Jenkins. Donatella is completing her BFA in Dance at Montclair State University, where she has performed in works by Stefanie Batten Bland, Hollie Wright, and TweetBoogie. As a dancer, choreographer, vocalist, performer, and actor, she is interested in constantly elevating her work to the next level in order to make a meaningful impact on people. This includes being open-minded, and willing to try new ideas while putting her own spin on things.

Nicolle Salazar is a senior at New Milford High School and has been dancing since 5th grade. She has trained in a variety of dance styles, including ballet, jazz, hip hop, choreo, modern, lyrical, and contemporary, and is a member of the D-Tour Dance Company. She is very involved in her school community through extracurricular activities and leadership opportunities. Nicolle looks forward to sharing her passion for dance with young dancers and helping them grow in both skill and confidence while fostering a positive and supportive learning environment.

Bio coming soon.