Michelle Spina, Director

Michelle has been dancing since the age of 2.  She began her training at Helen O’Neil’s and continued on at Position 1, where she was a senior dancer and instructor.  Michelle earned her Bachelor’s Degree from The University of Rhode Island in Business.  She studied under Herci Marsden during her years at college and continually takes classes and seminars to bring fresh content to her students. Michelle started Extensions School of Dance 27 years ago to bring her love of dance to the East Bay Area. She is passionate about sharing her technical training as well as supporting her students with the tools to be successful individuals in life. She has received several choreography awards and her dancers continually receive highest awards at competition. Michelle has taught at several local schools and is an advocate for outstanding education. She is a community volunteer and has been active in the Arts Magnet School, Guiteras Performing Arts and Bristol Warren Education Foundation. Michelle is a member of National Dance Education Organization and Rhode Island Dance Alliance. She lives in Bristol with her husband, four children and two dogs.  Michelle has been featured in “Women Who Own It”:  https://www.elan-studio.com/blog/women-who-own-it-extensions-school-of-dance and Motif magazine: http://motifri.com/art-seen-michele-spina-dancer-teacher-spiritualist/  When she is not at the studio, you might find her taking a walk, riding a bike, reading a book or sharing a meal with friends and family.

Kelley L. Pakenham

Kelley L. Deane Pakenham has been teaching the love of Dance to students of all ages for over 30 years. Miss Kelley began her studies at the age of three with the Helen O’Neil School of Dance in Newport, and at the age of seven followed Lorna Deane Rozon when she established the Position One School of Dance, in Portsmouth. In 1990 Kelley was invited to tour the country with the Dance Olympus organization, affording her the opportunity to study with the industry greats, like Jo Rowan, Frank Hatchet, Gus Giordano, and tap master Charles Kelley to name a few.  She began choreographing at the age of 16 and through her instruction, has helped her students win many prestigious awards at regional and national competitions. Some of her students have also continued on to successful professional careers as dancers on and off Broadway, as well as dance teachers. However, Miss Kelley does not measure her students’ successes by awards and trophies, but rather by the applied life lessons developed and learned through dance class.
Kelley founded the All Star Dance Academy in the summer of 2001 on Broadway in Newport, and in 2007 moved to its current and much larger location in Middletown, before retiring from ownership in the fall of 2019. Miss Kelley is grateful for the opportunity to share her love for dance to so many wonderful Aquidneck Island families.
Kelley resides in Portsmouth with her husband Scott and two sons, Evan and Jackson.

Brooke Spina

Brooke has been dancing since the age of 2.  She is the daughter of Michelle and has grown up at Extensions, taking classes, going to seminars and performing in competitions.  She is currently persuing a degree in occupational therapy and has been an instructor at Extensions School of Dance and All Star Dance Academy for seven years.  Brooke teaches beginner to advanced tap to all ages and is our certified acro teacher on staff.  Brooke will love you and challenge you, which is why her tap dances receive top awards.  When she is not studying and teaching, you might find her skiing, walking her dogs or enjoying our local area.

Sarah Johnson

Sarah Johnson is a graduate of Rhode Island College, majoring in Dance Performance and minoring in Creative Writing. She has been trained in contemporary, modern, jazz, ballet, pointe, hip hop, and tap. Throughout the years she has worked with choreographers such as Adrienne Hawkins, Rennie Harris, and David Dorfman. Sarah has been teaching dance for four years, and has choreographed numerous pieces for local dance companies.

Anne Conley

Anne Conley has been dancing for 22 years. She started dancing at Extensions School of Dance at age 2, and went on to dance competitively with both the junior and senior performance teams until she graduated high school in 2011. During her high school career she was also  a member of the St. Mary Academy Bay View Dance Team and a part of the Bay View Player’s Dance Ensemble. By her senior year Anne was named varsity captain of the Dance Team and had student choreographed for them and Bay View’s Manhattan at the Bay. At the conclusion of her senior year she was chosen to travel around the country with the 2011 Dance Olympus convention tour as a Dance Olympus VIP; for which she was featured in the Bristol Patch “Know Your Neighbor: Anne Conley Dances Through Adversity.” Anne went on to study dance at Rhode Island College. She placed 5th in the “So You Think You Want to be a Dance Major” Competition and was a member of the Rhode Island College Dance Company for 2 years. While studying Anne began to teach at Extensions School of Dance and was assistant coach of the Bay View Dance Team.  In 2012 Anne became head coach of the Bay View dance team and has been coaching there going on 8 years. In her time as head coach she has led the Dance Team to seven 1st place wins in the JV Jazz Division at the UDA Dance Championships in Westfield, MA. Anne began coaching the Bay View Cheerleading along with the Dance Team in 2016 earning her the title Director of Cheer and Dance.  Anne models for local photographers across the New England area. Her first publication was this past summer in Style Up Magazine’s 2018 Spring/Summer edition.  She and her fiance, Mike were engaged last October and get married November 2nd 2019.

Hazel McGovern

Anneke St Angelo

Anneke started dancing at age 2.5 going on to study Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Contemporary, Tap and Hip Hop. She began teaching as a Junior Instructor in 2018 with her own Tap, Jazz and Hip Hop classes. Anneke became a full instructor in 2020 to various age groups and styles and she is currently teaching throughout New England. Her classes are high energy, detail oriented, positive and inclusive, bringing all her students on a fantastic dancing journey! 

Her advanced Hip Hop choreography is often called “technically challenging” and “engaging” and her students enjoy the creative process in her classes.  One of her favorite pieces, “Bad Guy”, used a variety of styles exploring how each style can flow and work together, forming a unique dance experience for her students as well as her audience.

Deanna Gerde

Deanna was born in Syracuse, New York, and received her early training as a dancer at Syracuse School of Ballet. She went on to train at the Joffrey Ballet School in Manhattan, New York, and then started her professional career as a freelance dance artist. Most recently, Deanna spent two years dancing with Ballet Arkansas under the direction of Michael Fothergill. She joined Island Moving Company under the direction of Miki Ohlsen in September of 2019, and is excited to be back on the east coast working and creating with some beautiful artists. Deanna cannot wait to share her passion for dance with her students, and strives create a learning environment that inspires them to grow as young artists.

Elizabeth Jones

Elizabeth received her B.A. in Dance and Secondary Education from Roger Williams University, graduating Summa cum laude. She holds a teaching certificate in Dance, grades Pre-K-12. Elizabeth has been teaching competitive and recreational dancers for 10 years throughout MA and RI. She previously taught at Extensions School of Dance, Chance to Dance RI, and Jacqueline M. Walsh School for the Arts. Most recently, she served as the Director of a large dance school in Weymouth for 6 years. As Director, Elizabeth worked with competitive dancers ages 6-20 and set choreography for regional and national competitions. Elizabeth received multiple awards for her choreography as well as for the technical and performance skills of her dancers. She is a member of the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) and the Rhode Island Dance Alliance. Elizabeth performed with Fusionworks Dance Company from 2012-2014. In 2014 she was honored as ‘Dance Teacher of the Year’ by the Rhode Island Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. Elizabeth is currently serving as the Executive Director of Arts Alive!, a non-profit children’s theatre organization based in Barrington, RI. Originally from Bristol, RI, Elizabeth grew up dancing at Extensions and is thrilled to return once again as a teacher. Elizabeth now resides in Dighton, MA with her husband, son, and chocolate lab.