Faculty
Karen Menter – Ballet, Pointe, Creative Movement
Karen was born to dance and has reinvented herself many times in her long dance career. Her father wanted her to be an educated dancer, so she received her BA and MA in dance from Butler University in Indianapolis, IN. She has performed with dance companies in Indiana (most notably Dance Kaleidoscope), Virginia, and New Jersey and has had the privilege to work with brilliant teachers, such as at the Joffrey School and Marjorie Mussman and innovative and world renowned choreographers. She has taught at A&M University in Alabama, Butler University and Northern Virginia Community College. When her sons started school, Karen created and implemented creative movement curriculums in pre-schools and movement curriculum syllabi in elementary schools in Virginia and New Jersey. She has been active in many organizations such as the Indiana Arts Commission and has been a board member of many arts and business organizations. Karen is teacher trained in Stott Pilates on mat and reformer and is certified in active isolated stretch. She continues her teacher training at the National Ballet School in Toronto, Canada. She now devotes herself to The Ballet & Dance Center teaching ballet, pointe and creative movement. She is also adjunct professor of dance at Syracuse University in the Musical Theater department and teaches Pilates at Mary Lou Corcoran’s and the JCC.
Danya Wikowski-Eades – Ballet, Pointe, Modern
Danya's early training began at the Lorraine Havercroft School of Dance and The Center of ballet and Dance Arts in Syracuse NY. She continued her training at Boston Ballet, Ballet West, Madame Darvash, Martha Graham and as a Merritt Scholarship student at Alvin Ailey's. Danya has danced professionally in Texas, Connecticut and North Carolina, as well as in T.V. and Film. She graduated from The Hartford Ballet's Teacher Training Program, and continued her teaching training at the National Ballet School of Canada. Danya has worked with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra as the Children's Rehearsal Mistress for the North Carolina Dance Theatre's production of The Nutcracker for 8 years (1999-2007) and continues to choreograph for the SSO on various projects for their Education and Family Series. In previous seasons this included Colors in Motion, The Polar Express, All Star Muscians and The Holiday Pops and this season she’s collaborating with Karen Menter for the SSO’s Halloween Spooktacular. Danya has taught and choreographed in CT, NC and NY for 18 yrs.
Andrea Leigh Smith – Jazz, Tap, Theatre Dance
Andrea Leigh-Smith attended SUNY Purchase for Dance and followed with a scholarship to The Joffrey Ballet and further training at The American Dance Machine. She continued to create her training program of dance, voice, and acting with numerous recognized artists in New York City throughout her career. Andrea performed on Broadway (Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Smile) and at Radio City Music Hall. She has also choreographed and performed Off-Broadway, in regional U.S. theatres and with national touring companies.
Andrea has recently relocated to Syracuse, New York from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Andrea is resident choreographer for The Irondale Ensemble Project Theatre Company and maintains a full choreographic and teaching calendar throughout the year. While living in Canada Andrea created over 25 new works in the contemporary world of dance as well as choreographing numerous musicals. She was also an artistic core teacher at Halifax Dance for sixteen years. Andrea headed the Tap and Theatre Dance programs as well as being a core teacher to the Jazz Department. She is particularly proud to have collaborated with Canadian dance legend Don Gillies on the creation and presentation of “Zing! Pop! Zap!” She has been a dance/ movement instructor at Acadia University and Dalhousie University in Canada as well as Humboldt University in Northern California.
She currently instructs at SUNY Cortland, Syracuse University, and Le Moyne College. Andrea is also a certified instructor of Stott Pilates both mat and reformer.
Larry Crabtree – Ballet, Workshop, Jazz, Stretch & Tone
Larry Crabtree was Assistant to the Director/Principal Dancer & Ballet Master for the Anglo-American Ballet for over 20 years in NYC, where he trained with Catherine Kingsley. He has performed as a Guest Artist/Principal Dancer with the New York Theater Ballet, Shore Ballet, Staten Island Ballet, New Jersey Ballet and Peter Pucci Plus Dancers. His varied career in Ballet, Modern, Musical Theatre and Jazz has traveled him throughout the United States and Europe, in addition to national television programs. He is the Founder/Creator of “Body by Me-Torture by Larry”, Personal Training Workouts, established in 1998. He has been a Faculty Member of the Anglo-American Ballet School, Circle in the Square Theater School and STEPS Studios in NYC; Dance Centre North and Center of Ballet & Dance Arts in Syracuse, NY, and at the Center for Dance & Theatre in NJ. Mr. Crabtree is originally from the Syracuse area where he received his training at the Center of Ballet & Dance Arts, under the Direction of Deborah Boughton. Since his return to Syracuse last year, Larry has taught and choreographed for Le Moyne College , directed and choreographed a “Community Wide Dance Project” for the International Healthy Building Conference at the Syracuse a OnCenter, and is happy to be a part of the School & Faculty at the Ballet and Dance Center.
David Wanstreet - Tap
David has performed, choreographed and directed at theatres throughout the eastern United States, including the Jupiter Theater, Westbury Music Fair, Pittsburgh Public Theater and numerous productions at West Virginia Public Theater. During college he was awarded a full scholarship with the Joffery Ballet School in NYC. Subsequent NY credits include the American Dance Machine and Radio City Music Hall, where he danced with the Rockettes and performed the title role in the Nutcracker during the annual Christmas show. His touring resume includes the roles of Bobby Child in Crazy For You, Billy Buck Chandler in My One and Only, Bobby in A Chorus Line and numerous roles in 42nd Street. David is a member of the dance faculty in the Drama Department at Syracuse University, where he has staged recent productions of Steel Pier, Chicago, Damn Yankees and Sweet Charity. This fall he will choreograph Oklahoma! for the Drama Department season.
Krystin Paci – Jazz ,Tap
Krystin Paci is originally from Westchester, New York. She is currently a junior at Syracuse University where she made the SU Dance Team as a freshman and is now a member of Syracuse University’s Danceworks. Krystin has been trained in various styles of dance including tap, jazz, ballet, and hip hop. She has taken master classes from such artists as Brian Friedman, Darrin Henson, and the Knicks City Dancers. Krystin has also performed in a number of venues in and around New York City, including Radio City Music Hall and Madison Square Garden and for a variety of benefit events, including DRA: Dancers Responding to Aids. Krystin is thrilled to be teaching at the Ballet and Dance Center!
Akilah “Lady Stylz” Cage Purkins – Hip Hop
Born 1980 in Memphis, TN: Raised in Syracuse, NY; She graduated from Onondaga Community College with a Criminal Justice AS Degree and a Juvenile Delinquent concentration. She majored in Dance Theater at Middle Tennessee State University and minored in Psychology in Murfreesboro, TN. She has completed over 1,000 hours of volunteer community service mainly to benefit the well beings of inner-city youth in arts; this is where she comes from. She has danced professionally for ten years in many genres of Urban Dance; Hip-Hop, Popping, Locking, Breaking, Street Dance and Hip Hop expression & history. She has directed local artist music video’s, choreographed some of the most inevitable routines and plays. She has instructed thousands of dancers in her seven year Professional career. For the past six years she has introduced many to the history of Hip Hop as an art along with its components since its development in the 1970’s. With much success and still extremely eager to grasp more to continue educating others, she now owns and Directs Young And Talented Dance Co. a company for competitive Dance and expression of the Hip Hop cultural movement; With this, she developed the “Stylzs 7 levels of Hip Hop”. Today she collaborates with many companies that endure Arts just as much as she does and continues to search for higher measures. Stylzs is also a Poet, Producer, and Lyricist, she continues to build a better today for tomorrows youth despite life barriers!
Call 446-6600 or email
3470 Erie Blvd. East, P.O. Box 375, Dewitt, NY 13214
