Faculty

David McCarty
Managing Artistic Director of School/ Ballet, Musical Theater
David was the first full time scholarship student right here at the Academy of Performing Arts under founding Directors John and Elizabeth Kelley. He continued his training in New York City at the School of American Ballet, The American Dance Machine, Acting at H.B. Studios and private voice with Robert Bass. Performance: New York City Opera Ballet, Boston Opera, and Les Ballet Trocadero de Monte Carlo. He has performed, taught, choreographed and directed for the International Arts Festivals of Crete, Kalamata and Athens. Most recently he has directed and choreographed for the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Cleveland Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Syracuse Opera, and the Cape Cod Opera. His most recent APA production was West Side Story.

Katherine Whitelaw
Honorary Chair of Dance Dept., Ballet, Broadway Jazz, Musical Theatre
Founder in 1983 of the Academy Dance Ensemble and co-founder of the Children's Musical Theatre Program, Ms. Whitelaw has been a teacher at the APA for over 30 years and Chairman of the dance department for over 10 years. In addition to a B.F.A from the Boston Conservatory, she trained with Ballet Russe, American Ballet Theatre, Luigi, Boston Ballet and Jacob's Pillow. Professional performing credits include The American Festival Ballet Co., The King & I, Oklahoma, Merry Widow, Carousel as well as the original Broadway production of Mame with Angela Lansbury. Locally she has both performed and choreographed for the Academy Playhouse, Cape Rep, and VIVA. She is currently active in the APA Outreach program Capewide.

Suzette Hutchinson
Contemporary Dance, Kidz Dance, Musical Theatre, Outreach Artist Suzette Hutchinson holds a B.A. in Dance performance, choreography and education. She has studied and performed in NYC, Boston and Providence. Suzette is Artistic Director of Danscapes Dance Theatre and her choreography has been performed in Orleans, Boston, Providence, and at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. In addition to teaching at the APA, Suzette is currently on the faculty of the Cape Cod Community College (adjunct instructor, Modern Dance) and the Harwich Junior Theatre (musical theatre, creative movement).

Elaine Chase
Tap Program Advisor
Training: Leticia Jay, Carlos, Eddie Wright in New York, Stanley Brown in Baltimore. Performance: Latin Quarter and Coconut Grove in Boston, The Clover Club in New York, Bouches Villa Venice in Florida. Elaine is the founder and Director of the Elaine Chase Dancers as well as the founder of the Academy’s tap program and Tap Night! Her award winning choreography has been seen across the Cape. Elaine has been on staff at the Academy for over 25 years.

Deborah Benker
Administrative Coordinator for School programming and Outreach;
Ballet, Creative Movement, Creative Drama
Ballet Training: Pennsylvania Ballet, Eglevsky Ballet under Edward Villella; Melissa Hayden and Briansky Saratoga Ballet Center in New York. She has studied ballet, pointe, jazz, musical theater, character, modern, tap and pilates. Performance: Chambers Ballet Theater, MA State Ballet, Cape Ballet, Inc., and Dancearts. She performed for over 10 years in soloist and principal roles including "Coppelia", "Nutcracker" and "Swan Lake". Ms. Benker has taught ballet to children and adults for more than 15 years. She is the former owner/director of The Academy of Ballet in Sandwich, Ma, director of The Dance Shopp in Hyannis, Ma and an instructor for MA State Ballet and Dance Arts. In addition, Ms. Benker has choreographed many musical productions on Cape Cod including "Oklahoma", "Guys and Dolls" and "Bye Bye Birdie".

Rebecca Burrill
Movement for Arts in Education
Rebecca is a dancer, watercolorist, and an advocate of educational renewal. She directly relates movement and art-making to fundamentals of child development, learning, and literacy. Her work is based in the experience that learning is fundamentally a creative process, and that aesthetic sense is primary in the development of self, intelligence and well being. This work stems from her own experience of being a creative, innovative child with learning disabilities.
2001: Doctorate in Education focusing on the relationships between movement, child development, art-making and learning. 1991:Masters in Education focusing on the creative process and dance. 1987: Massachusetts Certification in Elementary Education, currently recertified until 2009. Rebecca earned her degrees at U-Mass Amherst. Trained Observer and Notator of Movement Language: training received at Antioch University New England through the Dance/Movement Therapy Program in 1993.

Lucinda Deschamps
Ballet, Kinderdance, Creative Movement
Training: Ballet with John Kelly, Finis Jhung, Marie Kearing, Kathy Whitelaw; Jazz with Naomi Turner, Barbara Ehle and Tap with Elaine Chase. Performance credits include: Oklahoma, Hello Dolly, Mame, Pippin, Les Sylphides, Degas Suite, The Pied Piper, Hansel & Gretel and Steel Magnolias at the Academy Playhouse. In addition Lucinda has attended Tom Brown Jr.'s Wilderness Survival Classes and loved the experience.

Chuck Frates
Tap
Training: Elaine Chase, APA; Pamela Raff, Julia Boynton, Boston; veteran member of Footlight Club, roles in Boston area productions include: Jesus - ‘Godspell’; Harold Hill- ’Music Man’, Cocky- ‘Roar of the Greasepaint’; Hystarium-‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’, Michael-‘Shadowbox’, George M.Cohan- ‘George M’; writer,director and choreographer for ‘Harwich on Parade’; member of Elaine Chase Tap Dancers.

Gwen Leonard
Early Childhood, Little Explorers, Creative Movement
Training: Neubert Ballet Institute, American Ballet Theatre School, Stuttgart Ballet School, Finish Jhung, David Howard, Melissa Hayden. Studio: Art Student's League of New York. Performance: Prince and the Pauper, The Fair Ladies of Mantua, Broadway Dance Festival, North Carolina School for the Arts Nutcracker.

Terry Norgeot
Tap, Jazz, Musical Theatre Dance
Ms. Norgeot has received her dance training from Alfredo Corvino, Oleg Briansly and Finis Jhung in Ballet, Bob Audy, Jerry Ames, Charles Kelley and Henry La Tang in Tap and Charles Kelley, Betsy Haug, Tony Stevens, JoJo Smith and Frank Hatchett in Jazz. She studied acting at H.B. Studio and the Charles Kebbe Associates T.V. Workshop and voice with Leslie Harnley, Benny Carter and Jane Kennedy. Terry appeared professionally in productions from South America to New York City. Her Broadway and national tours include Hello Dolly with Pearl Bailey, My Fair Lady with Edward Mulhare, No No Nanette with Ruby Keeler and Don Ameche and Cabaret with Lucie Arnez and Annie Get Your Gun with Barbara Eden. She was a featured dancer at Lincoln Center and assisted Jacques d’Amboise with the National Dance Institute in NYC and has been a guest dance teacher in many studios nationwide. She is a well known director/choreographer throughout the Cape and her credits include Celebrate Broadway, Broadway Kids,You’re a Good Man, CharlieBrown and Honk for HJT, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat for the Academy and Urinetown for Cape Rep.

Debra Sawka
Tap, Jazz, Folk Dance
Training: ballroom and tap at Judy Kugler's School of Dance; affiliated with the Canadian Dance Ring; Ukrainian dance with various dance educators based in Alberta, Canada. Dance workshop in Lviv, Ukraine. At university, performed with St. John's Institute: Ukrainian Dance and Choral Group. Jazz education with the adult dance program at the Alberta Ballet School [Edmonton, Alberta] and recreational Jazz in Irvine, California. Active in tap and jazz at the APA since December of 2000. Ms. Sawka holds a degree in nursing and business management with a certificate in Management Informational Systems.

Joanne Sinerate
Tap, Jazz, Musical Theatre, Creative Drama
Ms. Sinerate currently owns and operates Creative Movement dance studio in Waltham, MA. She received her undergraduate degree in Theatre Arts and Education from Brandeis University. Her education experience includes working 10 years in the public schools. For 35 years Ms. Sinerate has worked with community performers of all ages, directing youth theatre and choreographing school, college and community theatre productions as well as industrial work.

Naomi Turner
Jazz, Ballroom, Fitness
Naomi has over 30 years experience as a dancer, choreographer, teacher and performer. Co-founder of VIVA! Dance Company and LifeDance Theatre, Naomi also produced the Wash Ashore Dance Ensemble, a company of internationally recognized dancers. She was the founder/director of Studio 878 and on the founding Board of Directors of the Academy of Performing Arts under the directrion of John and Elizabeth Kelly. She has served on the faculty of the Jeannette Neill Dance Studio in Boston, Wellesley College and the Academy. She studied extensively with Luigi, Sam Fiorello, American Dance Machine and the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange. Naomi is known for her expertise in theatre dance, jazz, improvisational dance and innovative children’s classes.

Jacqueline Underwood
AEA/SAG/AFTRA; Ballet, Musical Theatre, Creative Drama, Acting
Early training includes the Royal Academy of Dance and the School of American Ballet; her professional career began at age 13 when she was chosen as a principal dancer for the Ballet Theatre of Maryland.  After graduating with honors from Fordham University at Lincoln Center, Jackie performed extensively at Lincoln Center, The Majestic, Atlantic Theatre, Kennedy Center, and Wooly Mammoth as well as in film TV and radio.  She has taught for the Kennedy Center, the Roundhouse Theatre, the University of Maryland, American Dance Institute, and the Youth Performing Arts School.

Theatre Faculty

Ray Girardin
Special Guest Instructor, Acting
Ray Girardin's move to the Cape 2 years ago means he has come full circle: raised in Wakefield, he studied acting at Boston University on the GI Bill, got his Equity card at the Charles Playhouse, then went off to New York where he did a lot of stage work and met his wife Marlene. With a move to Hollywood, he found himself in front of cameras at MGM working with Julie Andrews on the movie Star. In the next 30 years, Ray directed, taught acting, and appeared in more than 200 films, TV shows and commercials as well as starring for 6 years on ABC's General Hospital, as the naughty Howie Dawson. Now back east, Ray is happy to be directing at the Academy where he has done Grease, Biloxi Blues, Amadeus, Lend me a Tenor and Social Security.

Todd Yates Gosselin

Judy Hamer

Julie Allen Hamilton
Has been directing and acting locally for over ten years.  She studied directing and stage management at UMass Amherst, and has enjoyed working in both academic and professional theatre.  She has directed locally at the Academy, Cape Cod Repertory Theatre, and Harwich Jr. Theatre, and has taught at the Cape Community College as well as the Academy.

Michelle Pelletier
Michelle’s professional credentials include directing at the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) in San Francisco, as well as the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival.  She was the founding director of the Creation Conservatory in Santa Rosa, Which won the 2001 North Bay Bohemian newspaper award for “Best place to let your kids express their creative selves.”  Michelle has presented her work at Santa Clara University, New College of California, Body and Soul Healing conference, Shotwell Studios, California Theatre Center, Womongathering and San Francisco Fringe Festival.

Music Faculty

Richard Stocks
Music Dept. Chair; Guitar, Electric Bass, Saxophone, Keyboard, Outreach Artist
Training: Hart College, 102nd Army Band, Hartford CT; self-employed musician, bandleader, teacher since 1962. Mr. Stocks has performed in concert with Tony Orlando and Dawn, Dionne Warwick, Kenny Rogers, and Johnny Maestro and the Crests to name a few. He is staff musician for APA musical productions.

Diana Toscano-Gross
Vocal Dept. Coordinator, Voice
Training: BM Vocal Performance, Simpson College; MM Vocal Performance, Manhattan School of Music.
Awards: Winner-Liederkranz Competition, NY-recipient of Alice Tully Hall Recital, Lincoln Center; 1st place-Nat.’l Assoc. of Teachers of Singing, Nat’l Fed. of Music Clubs, Metropolitan Opera Auditions. Recitals: Carnegie Recital Hall (formal debut recital), Nat’l Convention of Teachers of Singing, Academis Arts Theatre, The Liederkranz Foundation. Performance: Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Ensemble of NY, Aspen Music Festival, Lake George Opera, Art as Charity (Chatham), Cape Cod Concert Opera. Teaching: APA, Forestdale School, Sandwich MA.

Lary Chaplan
Violin, Viola
Training: BA music UCLA, BFA City University of NY. MEd. U.Mass Boston. Private study: Ben Berzinsky, William Heffeman, Stanley Applebaum; Orchestra affiliations: 1st violin: Cape Cod Symphony, Plymouth Philharmonic, Woods Hole Choral Society, SMU Symphony. String instructor for New Bedford School System.

Peggy Gerber
Flute, Recorder
Training: flute and piccolo performance at Bowling Green State University; private studies with Blain Cory, professor of flute at Brown University.
Performance: numerous chamber music groups in Ohio, Maryland, Massachusetts and India.
She is currently principal flutist for the Cape Community Orchestra. Her newest CD with piano accompanist Chris Morris is ‘Classical usic for my Grandchildren’.

Helene Guilet
Voice
Received her training with Frank Corsaro, Peter Wilhousky, Milan Petrovic, William Home, Ira Petina and Anna Hamlin.  She has been a performance soloist with The New York City Opera, Kansas City Lyric Opera, Chattanooga Opera, Connecticut Opera, Maine Opera Co and the New York City Center Gilbert and Sullivan Company.  Helene is a member of the New York Singing Teachers Association, The National Association of Teachers of  Singing, American Guild of Musical Artists, Actors Equity Association and The Screen Actors Guild.

Fran Hartswick
Musical Theatre, Piano
Training: BA State College of NY, MA Columbia: Music Ed and piano. Teaching: W. Hartford, E. Hartford Public Schools, Hartt College, Central State College

Richard Klopfer
Guitar
Training: Arlington Academy of Music, Arlington MA with instructor Chris Bennett. Additional studies with David Tegelaar. Richard has offered private guitar instruction from his home and continues his professional career with several music ensembles on the Cape and in the greater Boston area.

Daniel Edward LePage
Trumpet, Baritone Horn and Tuba
Training: BM Trumpet Performance from Hartt School of Music Performance: Cape Cod Symphony, Lower Cape Concert Band, The Five Shades of Brass Quintet NY, Hartt Alumni Brass Quintet, New England Brass Quartet and the Polished Brass Quartet among others

Berke McKelvey
Clarinet, Saxophone, Flute, Jazz Ensemble, Saxophone Ensemble Training: BM: Berklee College of Music, MA: UCLA, San Diego. Performance: Boston Pops Orchestra, Boston Opera Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Glen Miller Orchestra, Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Temptations; Fame, Quincy TV show studio bands; Teaching: Southwestern College, Chula Vista Calif.; Berklee College of Music, Boston; UCLA, San Diego Member: North American Saxophone Alliance, International Wind Synthesis Assoc.

Christopher Morris
Piano, Pre-school Music
Training: BM,MM Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Awarded the Carol Nott Piano Pedagogy Prize. Young Artists Piano program, Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Presenter, Music Educators National Conference, Washington D.C. Member of the American Choral Directors Association. Music Director for theatre productions at the Harwich Junior Theatre, the Chatham Drama Guild, and the Academy. Private study: Shirley Grew, Nancy S.Fadely, Lillian Enright and Lydia Frumkin.

Betty Tipton
Piano
B.S., M.S. Piano performance, Juilliard School of Music with major studies with Rosalyn Tureck, Beveridge Webster and Nadia Reisenberg. Post Graduate studies at Colombia Teacher’s College, NYC. Ms. Tipton has accompanied solo and choral performances including Plainfield Choral Arts Society, Middlesesx College Chamber Chorus, Hei Kyung Hong, Stephanie Chase, Derek Mann. She was co-owner of Tipton Music Studios in NJ and has performed extensive solos performances in NJ, NY, and Cape Cod. She has performed with the Meridian String Quartet, Moments Musicaux in trios, quartets, and quintets.

Martin Vazquez
Percussion, rock drumming, drum set
Training: Berklee College of Music, Boston. Martin is a marching percussion specialist who has been performing and touring with the Spirit of America Band for 8 years. He has taught privately since 1981 and has visited many schools throughout the Cape since 1985. He has been a studio recording performer since 1985.

Robert Wilder
Musical Theatre, Piano accompanist
Training: MM, Ohio U, student of Ken Andrews (former principal flutist-Montreal Symphony Orchestra) and Nathen Jones; piano study with Chiu Ling-Lin and Stephanie Brown; harpsichord study with C. David Harris; conducting with John Canarina and Ken Andrews; accompanist for recitals at the Chautauqua Inst., St. Paul’s Concert Series (NYC) and competitions (vocalists and instrumentalists) performing literature from the Baroque to contemporary; Musical Director for theatre at the Cleveland Playhouse, Gateway Playhouse, Monomoy Theatre, off-off Broadway, and "The Secret Garden" and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the Academy.