Our Facility

    After completing four incredible years as an Apogee Extreme Team Dancer, Ariana is excited to continue to work with the team as a member of the faculty. Ariana is a nationally award wining dancer who has received much recognition over the course of her seventeen years as a competitive dancer. One of many highlights from Ariana’s dance career was representing the United States as she traveled to Germany to compete at the National World Dance Showcase. As a dance teacher, Miss Ari has received many special accolades, both regionally and nationally for the pieces she choreographed. 

   Ariana has performed and held lead roles in countless theatre and vocal performances around the state, including “Alice in Wonderland”, “The Little Mermaid”, and “A Christmas Carol”.  In addition to dance, Ariana has been involved with the Miss America Organization throughout her young life. She has represented various towns throughout the state as junior and teen titleholder, even making it into the Top 5 at the 2017 Miss Connecticut’s Outstanding Teen Pageant. Most recently, Ariana graduated Summa Cum Laude from Joan Phelps Palladino School of Dance at Dean College, with a BFA in Dance with a concentration in Performance and Choreography.

Miss Helene began her dance training at just under three years old. As her love for dance started to grow she quickly entered into the competitive world of dance at the age of five. Then in 2014 at the age of ten Miss Helene started with Apogee- in its opening year! Training with the Extreme Team for eight years Helene had the opportunity to dance across the country winning multiple national championships. She has also trained with the Hartford City Ballet participating in performances of the Nutcracker.

Most recently, in 2022, Helene earned the opportunity to be a KAR Protegé training in Anaheim, CA where she then traveled as a master assistant for KAR Conventions.  This allowed her to learn and take classes from incredible choreographers from throughout the US.

Currently, while going to school for her nursing degree, she is working as a Certified Nursing assistant alongside teaching classes at Apogee. 

Naomi is a graduate of the University of Hartford’s Hartt School with a BFA in Dance and a focus in Ballet Pedagogy. In her time at Hartt, she performed famous works by Jose Limon, Martha Graham, Michelle Thompson-Ulerich, Alice Klock and many others. As a pedagogy major, she also had the opportunity to intern with amazing dance educators at the University of Hartford Magnet School, Spectrum in Motion, and Hartt’s Community Division. Since graduating and starting her career in teaching, she has been both a guest and resident instructor at studios in MA, CT, and RI.

What led Naomi to a career in dance was her amazing training at Elite Academy of Dance in Shrewsbury, MA under Lauren Mangano Callahan. She learned from teachers such as Rachael Hopkins-Rockwell, Jordan Casanova, and Tucker Knox and won numerous awards including KAR Miss Dance America in 2016.

Along with a passion for dance, Naomi is also a costume designer/creator for competitive dancers and has had her own business, Costumes by Naomi, since she was just fifteen. Naomi is thrilled to be a part of the Apogee family and share her expertise and love for dance with all her students!

Emily Orzada is originally from Newark, Delaware where she began her ballet training at Mid-Atlantic Ballet under the direction of Patrick Korstange. After high school, she studied at The University of the Arts as a Dance major and was mentored by many established ballet, modern and jazz instructors. Emily began her career as a professional ballet dancer by joining the Ballet Theatre of Maryland with Artistic Director, Dianna Cuatto. She then went on to dance with Fort Wayne Ballet, Three Rivers Dance and Ballet Hartford. In 2020, Emily Co-Founded New England Ballet Theatre and served as Co-Artistic Director from 2020-2022. Currently, Emily is performing with Ekklesia Contemporary Ballet of Middletown, CT.

Brittany’s love for dance started at the age of 7 when she enrolled in her first dance class. During her 11 years as a student, she enjoyed learning many forms of dance including ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, modern and acrobatics. Her passion grew quickly as she dove right into the competitive field, where she won various dance awards and competed for many dance titles. 

Brittany has always grown up with a love and passion for working with young children. She holds a Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction and is currently a 5th grade teacher in the West Hartford Public Schools utilizing over 14 years of teaching experience. Her most important role and passion in life is family, being a devoted wife and mom to her husband, daughter, and son. 

Brittany is so excited to join our Apogee family and looks forward to sharing her gift and love of dance with the next generation of dancers!

Stephanie L. Foresi, MSPT, has worked as an orthopedic/sport physical therapist and private personal trainer/sports specific program specialist for over 25 years. Stephanie Foresi received her Master's in Physical Therapy from Springfield College (1997).  Stephanie competed in Division II Collegiate Gymnastics at Springfield College 1992-1995, and served as the assistant coach in 1996.   

  Other areas of training include:  AFAA Certified Personal Trainer, NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach, Body Balance Golf Fitness Trainer, Prenatal/Postnatal Fitness Instructor, and Polestar Pilates Rehab Instructor.  Stephanie is trained through the Balanced Body Barre Teacher Training program.  Stephanie has had over 18 years experience working with clients who struggle with chronic pain and eating disorders. 

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Bridge Dance Project Central Connecticut Member

Studying with DMEI Johns Hopkins Practicum Series on Dance Medicine. 

IADMS MEMBER Manual Training includes: Mulligan, McKenzie, Cyriax, Paris, IASTM Practitioner, Taping

Miss Jordan discovered her love for dance at a very young age, starting dance classes at the age of three. She danced for most of her childhood, and has been close to the Apogee family since 2019 and has loved every second.

In her free time, Miss Jordan loves spending time with her sister who is on the Extreme Team, pushing her towards becoming the best dancer she can be. Miss Jordan currently attends Grand Canyon University and is working towards getting her bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She has worked with kids since she was in high school currently and is so excited to be an instructor at Apogee.

Chris Salvatore, MS is a graduate from Central Connecticut State University. He received his bachelor’s degree in Finance and his master’s degree in Technology Management. Throughout his education he specialized in lean management focusing on continuous improvement and respect for people.

Chris brings over 10 years of experience in management, HR and marketing/sales. He has a passion for helping others while improving processes to become more efficient as an organization. He has received numerous accolades in his career such as President’s Club and several Professional Awards. He is excited to utilize his knowledge to continue to expand an already thriving studio while also overseeing day to day operations.