Faculty

Marthavan McKeon

Artistic Director

Mrs. McKeon has been teaching ballet for nearly 30 years. She began her ballet training with Merrilee Smith at the Atlanta School of Ballet. At 17, she joined the Atlanta Ballet under the direction of Robert Barnett, a former soloist with New York City Ballet. Rising to the rank of soloist, Marthavan performed a number of roles including “Lilac Fairy” in “Sleeping Beauty”, four little swans in “Swan Lake” and “Dew Drop” in Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker”. Marthavan continued her career with other prominent companies including the Pennsylvania Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and the Nurnberg Staats Oper in Germany.

Marthavan taught in a number of summer programs including at the l’Academie Americaine de Danse á Paris (AADP) in France, and as Artistic Director of the Milton Academy Summer Dance Program. She taught at Boston Ballet School for 10 years until opening her own school, South Shore Ballet Theatre, which has since relocated to a state-of-the-art facility in Hingham, MA.

Marthavan is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management from Georgia State University. She also holds a University Certificate of Proficiency (Zertifikat Deutsch als Fremdsprache) in Business German from Friedrich Alexander Universitat in Erlangen, Germany.

Most recently, Mrs. McKeon was nominated to the Who’s Who in Dance by CID-UNESCO (International Council on Dance) based in Paris.

Marisa Roman

Head of Lower School, Ballet Mistress

Marisa began her training at Children’s Dance Workshop with Nan Keating and later at Boston Ballet School in Norwell. As a full ballet scholarship student, Marisa received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Hartford (Hartt School) in Ballet Pedagogy. During her time there she taught ballet at the Hartt Community School (a division of the Hartt School at the University of Hartford) and followed a Cechetti based curriculum. She attended the Martha Graham School of Dance with a full scholarship.

Some of her performance repertoire include roles in Giselle, Les Sylphides, Napoli, Martha Graham’s Panorama, Paquita, The Nutcracker, and Balanchine’s Valse Fantasie. After college, in addition to teaching at SSBT, Marisa received a certification in children’s yoga instruction. In 2012 she completed her certification with ABT’s National Training Curriculum for levels Primary through level 3. She has presented students for examination at SSBT and is currently an ABT Primary – Level 3 Affiliate teacher. Marisa has been with SSBT for 10 years as Head of the Young Dancers Program and in 2019, as the Head of the Lower School.

Haissan Booth

Haissan Booth is a performer, choreographer and entertainer. Haissan began his classical training at the Boston Arts Academy performing arts high school where his true passion for the dance evolved over the years. Haissan is trained in Ballet, Modern, Jazz, West African, and Hip-Hop genres. Upon graduating High school Haissan decided to further his dance training at University of Hartford Hartt School dance program majoring in Dance Performance Emphasis training in Ballet, modern, contemporaneous ry and improvisation. During his time there he became knowledgeable in music theory, choreographic composition, and Laban movement. Haissan later went on to working with various dance companies and programs such as BoSoma Dance Company, Anna Myers and Dancers, Mystique Illusions Dance Theater, and Deborah Abel dance company, Contemporarily Out of Order Dance Co.

Mary Haddad

A born and bred Bostonian, Mary Haddad spent 18 years as a performer and teacher in New York City, before returning to New England in the spring of 2017. As a performer, Mary has sang and danced around the world in lead roles in musicals including Grease, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, 42nd Street, Chicago, and Hey, Mr. Producer, as well as kicking up her heels on the high seas as Singer/Dancer for Jean Ann Ryan Productions aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines. Trained in classical ballet, Mary studied and performed with Children’s Ballet Workshop, Boston Ballet, and Harvard Summer Dance Center, and holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Mount Holyoke College. She has been on staff at Broadway Dance Center in NYC as well as spending 8 years with Broadway Classroom, an education program through Broadway.com. She is currently the Ballet Curriculum Director at In Sync Center of the Arts outside of Boston, and has helmed their ballet productions of Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid and their upcoming production of Anastasia. Her choreography has also been seen in local commercials, as well as regional productions of Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, Joseph…Dreamcoat and High School Musical. Mary is Certified in Progressing Ballet Technique, Acrobatic Arts – Module 1 and is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association

Nicola Montt

Nichola Montt, originally from Boston, MA received her training under the direction of Marylou Cunningham in Hanover, MA and at Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre in Cambridge, MA. She has also trained with the American Academy of Ballet, Festival Ballet Providence, and in Paris, France with Dance New York International. While in Paris, Nichola studied with teachers from the Paris Opéra Ballet, Stefanie Batten Bland and had the opportunity to perform a piece set by a member of the William Forsyth Company, at the invitation of Kazuko Hirabayashi. While with the Purchase Dance Company, Nichola performed multiple works by Jessica Lang. Ms. Montt graduated from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Arts Management. Upon graduation, she started her professional dance career dancing with XACO Contemporary Ballet in NY before joining Ballet Spartanburg where she danced as a company dancer for 7 years. Nichola has performed lead roles in The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cinderella, An American in Paris, The Sleeping Beauty, The Great Gatsby and The Balcony Pas De Deux from Romeo and Juliet. In September 2016, Nichola and Ballet Spartanburg company member Will Scott performed Passages, a duet choreographed by Lona Gomez for TEDxTryon in North Carolina. Most recently Nichola has been dancing with Hudson Ballet Theater in White Plains, NY. Nichola is excited to be back in Massachusetts and is looking forward to teaching at South Shore Ballet Theater.

Lacey Sasso

Ballet Faculty, Jazz and Modern

Lacey Sasso is the founder and Artistic Director of Sasso & Company, a Boston-based modern dance company. She attended Missouri State University where she earned a B.F.A in Dance Performance with a minor in Psychology. Lacey spent six seasons with Undertoe Dance Project (NYC) where she served not only as the Jazz Captain, but she was also the resident Jazz teaching artist and a featured choreographer. Lacey relocated to Boston where she was a member and featured choreographer for Six One Seven Dance Collective for four seasons. She served on the faculty at Boston University and Walker’s Dance. Lacey spent two years living in the United Kingdom where she was on faculty with the Royal Academy of Dance, Montage Theatre Arts, and Kew Dance Arts. Since returning to Boston, Lacey has completed the Dance for PD® Introductory Dance Teacher Training Course and is NGCP® certified in the basic, beginner, and intermediate levels of Giordano technique. She is also certified in Progressing Ballet Technique®. Lacey is an independently licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) and holds a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology and Expressive Arts Therapy from William James College. Lacey is in her fourth season with Project31. Lacey currently teaches on faculty at South Shore Ballet Theatre, Urbanity Dance, and Raquelle’s Dance.

Jessica Smith

Born and raised in central Illinois, Jessica has been training in various styles from a young age. As she got older, she found a passion for ballet and completed her training at Peoria Ballet and Central Illinois Ballet under Rebekah von Rathonyi. She later received her minor in Theatre Dance at Illinois Wesleyan University, following which she performed and taught with Central Illinois Ballet, where she was eventually Assistant Artistic Director.

After her time there, she became incredibly interested in the intersection of biomechanics and the art of dance, which led her to attend physical therapy school at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. There, she worked with dancers in both clinical rotations and research while obtaining her doctorate. Upon graduation, she has continued to relentlessly pursue her passions of helping dancers to dance pain free and to maximize their performance though a variety of scientifically proven biomechanical techniques.

Harunaga Yamakawa-Moser

Ballet Faculty, Guest Artist

Originally from Japan, Harry received his formal training with Nowa Ballet School in Kanagawa, Japan, as well as with John Cranko School in Stuttgart, Germany. Harry believes strongly in teaching ballet from the fundamentals to ensure health and safety in the development of professional dancers. By participating in ballet, young dancers can learn life lessons including patience, respect, listening deeply, and finding one’s own way to improve and express.

Harry performed professionally with National Company of Portugal, Colorado Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Festival Ballet Providence. Harry often performs as a guest artist in Japan and the USA. He enjoys classical ballet and also contemporary choreographers, including working with George Balanchine, Wayne McGregor, Dwight Rhoden, Helen Pickett, and Mauro Bigonzetti.

His repertory includes the Nutcracker Prince and Cavalier from The Nutcracker, James from La Sylphide, Peter from Peter and the Wolf, and various roles in Swan Lake, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Who Cares?, Kazimir’s Colours, Dracula, Four Seasons, Moments of Dis, Rush, Eden/Eden, and Prayer of Touch.

Robert Giambo

Accompanist

Robert Giambo graduated from Woonsocket High School in Woonsocket, RI. He then went on to study music at Rhode Island College. In 2006 he received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance. Since then Robert has received many musical opportunities accompanying many talented musicians and dancers.