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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.
A born and bred Bostonian, Mary Haddad studied and performed with Children’s Ballet Workshop, Boston Ballet, and Harvard Summer Dance Center. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Mount Holyoke College where she continued her ballet training under Charles and Rose Flachs.
Mary has performed in over 30 countries in principal 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.
Her choreography has been seen in local commercials, as well as regional productions of Newsies, Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, State Fair, Joseph…Dreamcoat and High School Musical. She has also created and helmed several original ballets including, Anastasia, The Little Mermaid and Mary Poppins.
Mary’s greatest joy is sharing the studio with her students. She believes in the highest level of professional training, while still maintaining a fun atmosphere. She has been invited to teach at many programs and summer intensives around New England, including the Summer Musical Theatre Program at Emerson College, where she is currently an MFA candidate in Theatre Education. Mary is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique and 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.
Elizabeth Mochizuki grew up in California where she studied ballet with Diane Mosier. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies from Tufts University. Ms. Beth has performed with such companies as Boston Dance Company, Ithaca Ballet, Jose Mateo’s Ballet Theatre, Spindle City Ballet, and State Street Ballet. She recently retired from Festival Ballet Providence where she danced from 2012-2019, performing such roles as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker, Princess Florine in the Sleeping Beauty, and Princess Elena in the Firebird. Ms. Beth is passionate about offering high caliber training to dancers from all walks of life. She is the Ballet Division Coordinator at Tony Williams Dance Center and the former Assistant Director of the Urban Nutcracker. She founded the Asian American Ballet Project, currently the company in residence at SSBT, in 2022 to provide performance opportunities for AAPI ballet dancers. She lives with her husband and their 6 year old son in Easton. Ms. Beth is thrilled to join the South Shore Ballet Theatre faculty!
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.
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.
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.
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.
