Artistic Directors

Ashley Carlisle is a dancer and educator who combines classical dance training with a master’s degree in Language Arts education.  She began her studies at the Pioneer Valley Ballet School with Gail Collins, where she performed in the company’s productions of classical ballets and in original works by professional choreographers. Her training included summer intensives at American Ballet Theatre, the Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet, and The Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. While pursuing a Literature major at McGill University, she danced and choreographed for Mosaica Dance Company, performing on campus and in venues throughout Montreal. She entered the field of public education as a New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching ELA for three years in Brooklyn, NY. After returning to Western MA, Ashley taught at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School, merging her passions for literature and dance. She is trained in the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) model of dance education and is a member of the National Dance Education Organization.  She lives in Amherst with her husband and four children.

Caddy Carlisle is both an educator and a dancer.  She received her training at the Pioneer Valley Ballet in Northampton with Gail Collins, Megan Bonneau McCool, and Jeremy Collins. There she performed leading roles in the company’s Nutcracker and principal parts in original choreographies. Her education included summer intensives at the American Ballet Theatre and Joffrey Ballet, and under the direction of Cirque de Soleil’s Michael Montanaro, she studied in the contemporary dance department at Concordia University in Montreal.  As an Ada Comstock Scholar at Smith College, she majored in dance, studying with Susan Waltner, Rodger Blum and many others, and continued to teach, choreograph and perform in the community.  She has worked with the Dance Department at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School in South Hadley, Academy of Ballet Arts formerly of Hadley, and at the Valley Dance Project in Amherst.  Caddy is trained in the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) model of dance education and is a member of the National Dance Education Organization. Caddy lives in Montague with her partner, and their children.

Ashley and Caddy have facilitated dance residencies in public schools throughout Western Massachusetts, both through DEL-PVPA and as visiting artists.  They have produced five original works, “The Last Winter,” “Beyond Sidewalk’s End,” “A 21st Century Nutcracker,” “The Enchanted Bookshelf,” “The Magic Pebble Returns,” and created a full-length adaptation of Daria Peoples-Riley’s picture book, “This is It.” Ashley and Caddy have written and recorded upwards of seventy “movement stories” based on their favorite children’s literature. In addition to their roles as co-Directors, Ashley and Caddy teach all levels of ballet, choreography labs, and The Center’s full lineup of Pre-K programming.

Faculty

Anaia Cayode (BIPOC Ballet, Ballet 2/3, Modern Movement) is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher in Western Massachusetts. Anaia has a Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a minor in Psychology from Dean College. While at Dean, she was the president of the contemporary dance company on campus, a peer advisor to first-year students, an honors scholar, and a member of the Black Student Union. Along with artistic success, Anaia focused on the importance of dance history and political activism in the arts. During Anaia’s undergraduate years, she wrote a book delving into the racial inequities and injustice presented in the dance community. She has also led several dance workshops highlighting the importance of using dance as a form of political activism. Anaia was also awarded the Trustee’s Prize for the Joan Phelps Palladino School of Dance. Anaia now works alongside Ann Biddle as a teacher assistant for the Dance Education Laboratory at Jacob’s Pillow. As Anaia begins her post-undergraduate career, she continues to dance, choreograph, and teach, with hopes of attending Graduate School in the upcoming year.

Jai Fuller (Ballet 1 & 3) has worked with children in many capacities her whole life. She is a certified childcare provider, and has worked alongside her parents in their holistic daycare center for over 15 years. Jai founded the Khalsa Camp in 1999 and has been co-directing the program ever since. She has presented children’s programs at both The Omega institute and Kripalu, as well as at the Sat Nam Fest, Yoga and Music festivals. In addition to being a dance teacher, Jai also teaches yoga and meditation to children and adults. She has especially enjoyed working with prenatal and postnatal students over the years. Jai began her dance training at The Pioneer Valley Ballet under the direction of Gail Giere Collins. She attended summer programs at The Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet and The Boston Dance Company. Jai danced professionally with the Boston Dance Company from 1999 through 2001 where she danced leading roles in ballet classics and contemporary pieces. In 2002 Jai began studying West African dance under numerous masters in the field such as, Sekou Sylla and Youssouf Koumbassa. She traveled to Guinea and Senegal to further her training in 2004 and 2005. She has taught West African dance at Greenfield community college and Marlboro College, as well  as many local community classes around the Pioneer Valley and Brattleboro Vt. Currently in her free time, Jai is enjoying learning various styles of partner dancing as well as partner acrobatics. She especially loves this time of year when she gets to be a part of the magic and community spirit that is always present for “A 21st Century Nutcracker!”

Kylie Gregory (Hip Hop 3 & 4) began dancing at age eight and has always found herself drawn to a plethora of dance styles. Being from Harlem, NYC, good music and rhythm were hard to escape and she has enjoyed access to many traditions, such as West African, hip hop, funk, street jazz, contemporary and more. Kylie honed her skills as a choreographer while serving as co-director of her dance company, and is currently the Creative Director of her Five College hip hop club, Smoovez. Kylie attends Smith College, where she is pursuing a major in Africana Studies and a minor in Psychology. She joined The Center Dance Studio’s faculty this past fall, and will return to teach Hip Hop 3 and Hip Hop 4 for the studio’s Winter/Spring ’24 Session.

Tiffany Joseph (Hip Hop 1 & 2, Homeschool Hip Hop, BIPOC Ballet) is a woman full of education, experience, gifts, and talents. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a Bachelor’s in Communications and a Masters in Social Justice Education. Presently, she facilitates community discussions and workshops around the Pioneer Valley surrounding different social justice issues including sexism, internalized racism, storytelling, financial aid, and elder abuse. She is a dancer, a writer, a poet, a spoken word artist, peer mentor, dance teacher, a Yoga instructor, and Zumba instructor. Tiffany has danced since the age of 3, studying ballet, contemporary, hip­ hop, jazz, lyrical, modern and tap, with Day Dance Center and with Joan Sherry Studio. She attended  Burncoat Senior High School, a performing arts school in Worcester, MA, where she began her career as a dance team member, traveling dance team ensemble member, choreographer, and co-facilitator of community dance teaching programs. During her college career she worked at the Woman of Color Leadership Network, where she then joined the group Body Politics, an award winning spoken word performance group, creating original productions by and about women of color, exploring a diverse number of topics ranging from body image, mental health, intimate relationships, family, and oppression. Tiffany performed in this group for three years, and then became the artistic director for two years.

Carson Kelly (Rhythm & Rhyme) is a performer, dance educator, videographer, and choreographer. Ms. Kelly began dancing in elementary school and has been training from there on. Ms. Kelly trained at D.A.N.C.E. by Kristin in Collinsville, CT for 9 years, 6 of which she participated in competitive dance. Ms. Kelly has trained in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and modern. Aside from training, Ms. Kelly has also taken on various performance opportunities throughout her dance career such as; Diving Inward Senior Thesis Concert (Sophie Leveille and Niamh Rollins), Meeting/Thunderstorm (Lauren Cox), The Nutcracker (Fisher Ballet Productions), and even taken on the role of Stage Manager for Thomas Vacanti’s production of Scheherazade as well as Stage Manager for the 2023 University of Massachusetts and Hampshire College Faculty Show. Ms. Kelly has also choreographed her own work for the 2023 production of the Junior Choreography Projects in association with the University of Massachusetts Amherst Dance Department. Additionally, Ms. Kelly presently holds a position as Dance Educator at The Center Dance teaching tap to 1st through 6th grade students. Ms. Kelly is passionate about writing, media, and content creation. This past summer Ms. Kelly worked as a Communications Intern for Maison Il Conservatorio in Sorrento, Italy. Ms. Kelly is currently studying Dance and Communications at The University of Massachusetts Amherst in pursuit of a dual degree with an anticipated graduation of 2024.

Kate Martel (Ballet, Book & Bar(re), Theme & Variation) relocated back to the Pioneer Valley in 2017 after 15 years in New York City. While in NYC, she performed and choreographed as an independent dance artist. Most notably, she has been a collaborating artist with Laura Peterson Choreography for ten years, performing throughout NYC and internationally. She has also danced for choreographers Rebecca Brooks, David Hurwith, Luis Lara Malvacias, Juliette Mapp, Nora Stephens and Sarah White-Ayon. Her own choreography has been presented by Women in Motion, Triskelion Arts, Dixon Place, Center for Performance Research and Rooftop Dance Series. She was a collaborator on Nicole Wolcott’s solo PaperPieces, and Conor Simpson’s film Jux Lucid, which premiered at the Flatlands Dance Film Festival. Kate has been part-time faculty at Adelphi University, Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, and Western Connecticut State University. She has also taught at Newport Academy of Ballet. She earned her BA from Goucher College and MFA from University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Kate is an AmSAT board certified Alexander Technique teacher who studied under Ann Rodiger at the Balance Arts Center. Kate has choreographed numerous contemporary and ballet pieces for The Center Dance’s spring productions and A 21st Century Nutcracker. 

Sophie Schilling (Ballet 1 & 3, Story Arc, Modern Movement) was introduced to dance at a young age through creative movement with Iris Berkman and The Valley Dance Project. It was here that she began dancing with Caddy and Ashley Carlisle, and joined The Center Dance. She studied modern dance, ballet, and improvisation with them for 7 years, performing in all productions of their original works. While studying at The Center, Sophie became a Dance Education Laboratory, or DEL, Essentials certified teacher, and has completed workshops at Jacob’s Pillow under Ann Biddle. She is currently majoring in Dance at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.