Cathy Defregger
Owner/Director/Instructor

Cathy Defregger has studied dance since the age of 5. Through the years, she has trained in and performed ballet, pointe, jazz, modern, tap, and hip hop in Virginia, Florida, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and London, England.

Cathy received her BA in dance from Radford University in Radford, Virginia. During her studies, she spent a semester in London, England, where she studied dance and performed in the Malibu World Dance Championship. As the U.S. Representative, she placed in the top ten of over 35 dancers from around the world.

Cathy has taught dance classes to children and adults for various studios in Virginia, Wolfeboro School of Ballet, Tilton School, and 11 years at Edgewater Academy of Dance. She has performed with Chamber Ballet, Newport News Contemporary Dance Theatre, Student Dance Theatre and the Radford University Dance Theatre in Virginia. Cathy choreographed and performed in Street Car Company's “Oklahoma” and “Grease” and choreographed “West Side Story” for Tilton School. Cathy was voted as one of the top three New Hampshire community theater choreographers in 2010 for her choreography for the Winnipesaukee Playhouse's musical "A Year With Frog and Toad". For more details follow this link 2010 NH Theater Awards

Cathy loves teaching and is committed as owner/director of Edgewater Academy of Dance to providing dance classes that teach good technique and encourage creativity in a fun and nurturing environment. Cathy resides in Gilford with her husband and two children. As always, she is looking forward to this season with great excitement and energy!


Becky Gregoire
Instructor - Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop

Becky Gregoire began her training at Diane's Dance Academy at the age of 3. Her dance studies include tap, hip hop, jazz, modern, ballet, and pointe. Becky served as an assistant teacher for several years before joining Edgewater's teaching staff in 2001.

Becky has attended several dance intensives and workshops with New Hampshire Dance and at Plymouth State College as well as several hip hop workshops. Becky was a member of Edgewater Dance Company and has won many awards at regional and national dance competitions. Becky resides in Laconia with her husband and daughter. She is looking forward to teaching this year with her usual great energy and enthusiasm.

Marissa McNutt

Instructor - Ballet, Tap, Jazz

 

Karen Holland

Instructor - Yoga Kids

Karen has been a certified Childlight Yoga™ Instructor since June of 2009 and was recently certified as a Yoga 4 classroom instructor in December 2010. She taught group fitness for all ages for 18 years at health clubs in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. She is so excited to bring her experience and knowledge to Edgewater and to offer a relaxing mind and body experience to our yoga kids.

 

Sharon Blanchette
Instructor

Sharon began dancing at the age of 4 at the Alice Franz Dance School in Lawrence, MA. She later taught ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, modern and acrobat for Alice Franz for 8 years. Sharon was enrolled in ballet classes at the University of South Florida while attending college. During her summers, she taught dance at gymnastic camps in MA. After college, Sharon studied with the Connecticut Academy of Ballet, where she performed multiple roles in the Nutcracker.

Sharon has been certified to teach dance through The Dance Teachers Club of Boston and the American Society of Teachers of Dancing by completing their Dance Education Training Course (DETC). This intensive program is divided into three levels, beginner, intermediate, and advanced, and is presented over three summers. While attending DETC, Sharon was awarded a tap scholarship based on her top class performance and test scores.

Sharon joined Edgewater as a student in 2006 along with her daughters, Paige and Grace. She resides in Gilford and is employed at Freudenberg-NOK as a Technical Director. Sharon is excited to now join the Edgewater teaching team and bring her enthusiasm and dance experience to her students!

Carrie Waldron
Instructor

Carrie Waldron received her early dance training from Diane’s Dance Academy and Edgewater Academy of Dance. She continued to train pre-professionally with Petit Papillon and the Central New Hampshire Youth Ballet in Concord, NH. As a student, Carrie attended intensive training programs with the Vaganova Institute in Pittsburgh, PA, and the 2002 and 2006 International Ballet Competitions in Jackson, MS.

Throughout her college career, Carrie has trained at the Boston Ballet School, Jose Mateo’s Ballet Theatre, Boston Dance Company, The Portland Ballet, and under Lois Hanks, a former Boston Ballet dancer, at Plymouth State University. She has performed over the years with numerous youth and semi-professional companies. Carrie has taught ballet and modern dance at several schools across NH.

Sarah Sedgley
Instructor

Sarah Aldrich, from Gilford, New Hampshire, has been dancing for over 20 years. Her training includes ballet, modern, jazz and tap dance. She has studied with great dance masters such as Luis Montero, Maurice Hines, and Laura Alonso. She recently completed her BA in Dance at the Dean College School of Dance and is pursuing careers in both dance education and performance.

While at Dean, she was a featured member of the Dean College Dance Company and often taught the advanced level ballet classes. Sarah danced many years with Edgewater and has spent two years dancing on a cruise ship in Hawaii.

Trista Patten
Instructor

Trista Patten began dancing at the age of 5. She studied with Diane's Dance Academy, Edgewater Academy of Dance, Petit Papillon, as well as Dean College School of Dance. Her Studies include many forms of dance, such as ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, hip hop, and modern.

Trista has performed with the New England Ballet and was a member of the Edgewater Dance Company for 5 years. She has attended dance workshops with Monsters of Hip Hop, Hip Hop Invasion, and Universal Dance Association and was accepted into the Alvin Ailey Summer Intensive Dance Program.