Faculty & Staff
Mary Petersen
Artistic Director
Ms. Petersen began her training in Chicago studying ballet, jazz, and character dance with Lorel Hessler, Walter Camryn and Bentley Stone. Her professional training continued at Joffrey School of Ballet in NYC and at the Royal Academy of Dancing in London, England. She augmented her dance training at the American Conservatory of Music, where she majored in piano and composition, and studied dramatic arts at Harvard University's American Repertory Theatre. Ms. Petersen has taught ballet in New York, Chicago and Boston, and was artistic director of the New England Dance Ensemble. She received the Massachusetts Arts Grant for choreography.
Deidre Williams
Director of Jazz Program
Ms. Williams earned her BA from Boston University. She was a scholarship recipient at Steps on Broadway in NYC where she studied with Ann Reinking, Suzie Taylor, Desmond Richardson, and Dwight Rhoden. She has performed in commercials, TV shows, theme parks, and has choreographed for nationally-ranked figure skaters. Ms. Williams has been teaching jazz at LSB since 1995.
Annie Browne
Ballet Faculty
Ms. Browne is a company dancer with North Atlantic Ballet in Boston and teaches around the Boston area. She began her pre-professional training in Arkansas under Arleen Sugano, and joined Ballet Arkansas’ Second Company at the age of 14. Annie holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ballet from the University of Utah, where she also earned her Ballet Studio Teaching Certificate. After earning her undergraduate degree, Annie freelanced in New York City for several years performing project-based works in the contemporary genre, and taught in the NYC tri-state area. She loves sharing her joy of movement with young artists!
Rhonda Lee
Ballet Faculty
Ms. Lee received her early training with Phillipa Annesley in Scottsdale, Arizona. She went to high school and trained at the National Academy of the Arts in Champagne. Ms. Lee went on to dance with Ballet West under the direction of Bruce Marks. As Principal dancer, she performed leading roles in both classical and contemporary ballets. She has toured both nationally and abroad. Ms. Lee has taught at The Boston Ballet School and has been a guest teacher at The University of Utah and Walnut Hill School for the Arts. She joined LSB in 2015.
Nadine Moody
Ballet Faculty en emeritus
Ms. Moody danced with Agnes DeMille American Heritage Dance Theater, Ruth Page International Ballet and Radio City Ballet. She was featured in “Casino de Paris” at the Dunes Hotel and in “Hallelujah Hollywood” at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. She taught ballet at Steps and Alvin Ailey in NYC, as well as Floor-barre for Zina Rommett.
Dede Albers
Visiting Emeritus Director of the Character Dance Program/Ballet Faculty
Ms. Albers has a BFA in Ballet from the University of Utah. She was the recipient of a Fulbright-Hays Performing Arts Grant to the Bolshoi Ballet School in Moscow, Russia. Ms. Albers has been on the Ballet Faculty at the University of Utah and taught and choreographed for the National Dance Institute in New York City, working under artistic director Jacques d'Amboise.
Linda DiBona Brassel
Director of the Advanced Ballet Program
Ms. DiBona Brassel is a former Principal dancer with the Boston Ballet (charter member), Harkness Ballet of New York, London Festival Ballet, and Basel Ballet of Switzerland. She has been a guest artist with companies throughout the U.S. and Europe, highlighted by a U.S. tour with Dame Margot Fonteyn and a return visit to South Africa with Stars of American Ballet. Ms. DiBona Brassel was co-founder/director of The Newport News Ballet of Virginia and its affiliated school, The Dance Academy. She has also taught at North Carolina School of the Arts, Steps Studio, Eliot Feld School of Ballet, and the Boston Ballet School. She joined the faculty of Lexington School of Ballet in 1989 and was named Director of Advanced Curriculum in 1995. Along with pianist Rodney Hazen, she is the co-author of "Music for the Ballet Class," published in NYC by Lyra Press.
Christin Caplan
Jazz Faculty
Ms. Caplan holds a BS in Elementary Education and a minor in Dance from Boston University. She trained at the Lexington School of Ballet, Summer Stages Dance at Concord Academy, BU, and Dana Hall. She is a performing member of Rainbow Tribe's Embrace Dance Company, Linx, and Tribe the Dance Company. Christin is currently on the dance faculty at BU, MIT, the American Chinese Art Society, and the Boston Public Schools. Christin has been teaching at LSB since 2005.
Narumi Denise Herlihy
Ballet Faculty
Ms. Herlihy began training with Francis Kotelly in Arlington, MA and then entered Boston Ballet School's professional division, where she continued her training through junior high and high school. She graduated from Wellesley College where she danced as a member of Wellesley College Dancers. Denise has performed with the Continental Ballet Company, Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre, the Urban Nutcracker, and North Atlantic Dance Theatre. She has taught at Minnesota Dance Theatre, the Acton School of Ballet, and Jose Mateo's Ballet Theatre. Denise has been on the faculty of LSB since 2014.
Gail Fanning Grove
Pre-Ballet, Ballet, Modern Faculty
Ms. Fanning-Grove holds a BFA in Dance from The Boston Conservatory with a concentration in choreography, pedagogy, and Laban Movement Analysis. She has choreographed and performed her own work at Mobius Theater, Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, Green Street Studios, the University of New Hampshire, and The Boston Conservatory. She was a semi-finalist at the American College Dance Festival at Bates College in Maine, and a recipient of Somerville Arts Council award for her choreography, and was the director The Dance Workshop, a creative dance program for children at The Hill House on Beacon Hill. Ms. Fanning-Grove has taught youth in both public and private schools in the Greater Boston area, at Citizen School Arts, and Med-O-Lark Arts Camp in Maine. She joined LSB in 1998.
Li-Ann Lim
Ballet Faculty
Ms. Lim began her dance training at the Lexington School of Ballet and continued her dance studies at the Joffrey Ballet School. She has performed with Chen and Dancers (NYC), Rosanna Gamson/World Wide (LA), and more recently, Lorraine Chapman the Company (Boston) and North Atlantic Dance Theatre (Boston) among others. Ms. Lim has served on the faculty of University of California, Irvine, Fullerton College, and Scripps College, teaching ballet, modern, and choreography. In 2009, she returned to LSB, joining the faculty. She holds a BA in Anthropology from Columbia University and an MFA in Dance from the University of California, Irvine.
Jennifer Dawson
Registrar
Jennifer Dawson comes to Lexington School of Ballet after recently retiring from Endicott College, where she worked for 17 years in Institutional Advancement. Jennifer has a background in arts administration with North Atlantic Ballet, and previously taught ballet at North Atlantic Ballet, Bill Fowler Dance Studio in Medford, Friends of the Performing Arts in Concord, and Joy of Movement in Medford. Jennifer’s early ballet training was at the Cambridge School of Ballet with Esther Brooks and Carol Jordan. Jennifer is a choral singer with Newburyport Choral Society, and a volunteer at Rockport Music.
Rachel Roccoberton
Performance Director
Ms. Roccoberton is an arts administrator with 15+ years of experience. Whether organizing systems or bringing productions to life, Rachel has a passion for making magic. With training in ballet, modern, jazz, and various ballroom styles, she has taught students of all ages, and continues to run a summer musical theater program. Rachel currently works as Operations Manager at The Dance Complex. She served as Development Manager for Revels Inc in Cambridge and on the boards of Puppet Showplace Theater and Cambridge Nonprofit Coalition. Rachel also regularly works as a production manager for The O’Neill National Puppetry Conference. Her favorite role is as mom to her son.
Lily Caouette
Administrative Assistant
Miss. Caouette is a junior at Lexington High school where she is very academic driven when it comes to taking care of her grades and participating in after school clubs. She was a competitive figure skater for 12 years and it is a huge part of her identity. She has also done a little bit of dance including ballet, jazz and hip-hop. Lily enjoy creative arts very much and loves to be involved with performing. She comes from a big family where she is the youngest of 5 siblings, and their favorite thing to do is go to the beach.