About Us
Dance Express of Tolland ~ A step above the rest!
Dance Express of Tolland, LLC has been teaching children to dance since 1988! Our philosophy from the beginning has been to teach children the wonderful artistry of dance while developing the students’ sense of discipline and lifelong interest in the performing arts. Our staff has over 75 years of combined teaching experience and many hold college degrees in the arts and education fields.
Beth Horr, owner/director
Miss Beth started her business in 1988. Before that she was dancing with her dance teacher, Linda Regulbuto at Stepin’ Up Dance Studio in Somers, CT. She was the Associate Director there for six years and loved her job. Beth lived in Somers most of her life and decided she wanted to stay in the Connecticut area when she opened up her own studio. Her Dad told her that Tolland was the up-and-coming place to be, and she should look there. Well, he was right. Tolland has been awesome to Dance Express and Beth! Miss Beth went on to study in New York at the Broadway Dance Center, Steps on Broadway and Ballet East. She also took teacher’s class in Springfield, MA with Steven Boyd at Frank Hatchet’s Dance School. She took private ballet lessons with Richard Stienert, a principal ballet dancer with the Baltimore and Houston Ballet Companies and now Director of Ballet Theater Arts in Hartford. She still furthers her education by taking classes and having teachers from New York City come to Dance Express to hold master classes for kids during the year. Miss Beth is a former director of the Tolland Youth Services Community Theater. Miss Beth taught for the National Association of Dance and Affiliated Artists (NADAA) and has taught at National Convention. She also taught at Rhode Island College during final exams and at other locations in the tri-state area. Miss Beth directed and choreographed many plays for the Ellington Cultural Association and the YMCA in Vernon. She has worked for the Mansfield Creative Arts Council, Ellington Cultural Arts and the town of Ashford teaching dance. She has given her time to help different schools and programs throughout the years in order to further dance education. Miss Beth has dedicated her life to dance and her dancers and she’s loved every second of it.
jenna bania
Miss Jenna began dancing at Dance Express at the age of 4. She was a Dance Express Company member for 9 years. Jenna continued her dance training at Rhode Island College, where she had the opportunity to collaborate with many talented artists. In 2008, Jenna graduated from RIC with a bachelor’s degree in Dance Performance. Jenna also danced with a Hartford based professional contemporary dance company “Dance Connect” where she has performed in numerous shows around Connecticut. Jenna's choreography has been performed in CT, RI and MA where it has won many different high point awards, including a Young Choreographer award. She loves sharing her passion and creativity of dance with each of her students.
Lindsay Castonguay hany
Miss Lindsay is a founding member and co-artistic director of IMMIX Dance Project, a contemporary dance company centered around collaboration with local artists. Her choreography has been performed in festivals around the Northeast including 5x5 Dance Festival, Built on Stilts and Ted Hershey Marathon. Her love for dance started at the at the age of three at Dance Express, where she studied throughout her youth and now directs and choreographs for the schools Modern Ensemble. Graduating from Suffolk University with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Lindsay performed with the Suffolk Dance Company and studied at the Jeannette Neill Dance Studio. After college, she attended the Jose Limon Institute’s Professional Studies Program in New York where she performed Limon repertory and studied under current and former Limon company members as well as artistic director, Carla Maxwell. During her time in New York she also studied with Tracie Stanfield, Marijke Eliasberg, Kristin Sudekis, David Howard and Dorit Koppel. Lindsay has performed most recently with DancEnlight, under the direction of Lorelei Chang where she also taught for the pre-professional company and summer intensives. Her performance experience includes The Next Stage Project in New York City, Peter Pucci Dance in White Plains and Works/Laura Glenn and Dance Connect in Hartford. She has extensive experience teaching and choreographing for both students and professionals and is also a STOTT trained Pilates and Barre instructor.
Emily Chase
Miss Emily began dancing at Dance Express when she was 8 years old. During her 11 years at Dance Express she was a member of multiple competing and company teams. After graduating in 2012, Miss Emily attended Syracuse University to pursue her bachelors degree in Child and Family Studies. While at Syracuse she was a member of Orange Pulse Dance Troupe for 3 years as a choreographer and member of their board. She also taught progressive movement at a local YMCA. Miss Emily has recently graduated from CCSU with her master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy and works full time as a therapist. She is excited to combine her passion for working with children and dance to create a fun, supportive environment for all kids to learn the art of dance and experience the family that Dance Express has given her.
Liane Fisher
Miss Liane started dancing in 1975 studying the Cecchetti method in her native England. Her later training in the United States includes Pioneer Valley Ballet, UMass Amherst, and José Mateo's Ballet Theater. She holds a master’s degree in Ballet Repertory and Dance History from Skidmore College and holds an advanced teaching certification in Ballet, Pointe, and Modern Dance from Dance Educators of America. She has been teaching for over 25 years and teaches a curriculum designed by the creators of the ABT National Training Curriculum. She also incorporates elements of Vaganova and Cecchetti. For pre-ballet she teaches the Royal Academy of Dance pre-primary and primary syllabus. Liane is a dance professor at Manchester Community College and formerly at Dean College. She was the Vice President of Outreach Support Services at Boston Ballet and taught in their outreach program. She has taught at several studios around New England and was the Ballet Mistress for Ballet Theater Company. Liane is also the artistic director of Fisher Ballet Productions, a performance company which has performed its annual community Nutcracker in Massachusetts and Connecticut since 2012 and includes students from several local studios every year. Liane has performed roles in Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Manon, Cinderella, Nutcracker, Snow White, La Bayadere, Don Quixote, and other ballets with the Royal Ballet, Boston Ballet, Rhode Island State Ballet, Hartford City Ballet, Brass City Ballet, Dance Prism, Ballet Theatre of Boston, Pioneer Valley Ballet and Northeast Youth Ballet.
Tressa Giordano
Miss Tressa started dancing at the age of 9 and found dance to be a way for her to express many emotions. During her years of dance education, she competed on various dance teams at her home studio and on her high school’s dance team. In college, Miss Tressa danced for the Bay Path College Dance Team and participated in the Bay Path College Theater productions. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Early Childhood Education, Tressa continued dancing with Manchester Musical Players. After the birth of her two children, she became a certified Zumba® instructor and an AFAA certified group fitness instructor. She is thrilled to be part of the Dance Express teaching team since 2009, and have the opportunity to combine her experience, her skill of teaching young children and passion for dance.
Alex Hasselberger
Alex started dancing 20 years ago at Dance Express of Tolland with Ms. Beth at 6 years old. Over his tenure he learned jazz, tap, lyrical, ballet, modern, hip-hop, and contemporary and was a member of DE’s Company team. After graduation, Alex continued his studies at CCSU and participated in their dance company working with Choreographers such as Jennifer Muller, Catherine Fellows, and many others. Alex graduated with a bachelors degree in Marketing and a minor in Dance. While in college Alex began working for the Star Dance Alliance, a company that produces over 10 Dance competitions 3 conventions and 2 global pageants. This has given Alex the opportunity to travel the country and see how dancers from studios around the country express their love of dance. He uses this experience to create new works with all his students.
Jennifer Starnick
Miss Jen has studied many styles of dance including ballet, Irish, modern, tap, jazz, hip-hop, and ballroom. She was a competitive gymnast and is an award-winning Irish Step Dancer. Attending the Debbie Sichol’s Dance Center in Southbridge, MA throughout her youth provided Jen with a solid technique foundation and the ability to focus on the love of performing. Studying with dance masters including David Howard, Frank Hatchett, and David Marquez, Jen has embraced opportunities to train at the Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway in NYC. In 2005 she was accepted to attend the Radio City Rockette Summer Intensive Program. Miss Jen completed her collegiate education from Rutgers University in 2011, earning a K-12 science teacher certification, an Ed. M in Science Education; an Ed. M in Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education, and a minor in dance. Teaching is one of Jen’s greatest passions, and in addition to her educational teaching experiences, her dance teaching experiences include instruction in a variety of dance, gymnastics, and tumbling classes for students ages 2 - adult at Debbie Sichol’s Dance Center, Miss Kelly’s Dance and Drama, the Tri-Community YMCA in Southbridge, MA, En Pointe Dance and Drama, and Wininger's Gymnastics. She is thrilled to be teaching at Dance Express and loves to share the joy of dance with her students.