Meet the Faculty
Nichola Johnson Mercier: Director The Complex Performing Arts Centre/Breakin’ Through Dance Companies, Ballet, Modern, Choreography, Tap. Nichola holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts and is a member of the Connecticut Dance Alliance, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing public awareness of dance in all its forms and serving the needs of the state-wide dance community. She began her training under Roy Perrault and went on to study under M. Lynn Castelli, Claire O’Donnell, Brad Roth, Julia Boynton, Thelma Goldberg, Savion Glover, Alexa Melonopolous and many other extraordinary educators and artists. Nichola is the founder of the Breakin’ Through Dance Company, an adult contemporary dance company and Breakin’ Through II, a student developmental dance company. In 2005 she started Nichola Johnson’s Studio of Dance, a dance conservatory dedicated to bringing the highest quality dance education to the community. The studio focuses its energy on performance, training, self awareness and confidence, giving a total appreciation of the art form so students receive the most comprehensive experience available. Nichola has taught and choreographed all over New England and in New York City at the Circle in the Square Theatre. Nichola’s choreography credits include Body and Soul, Destination: Life, Eclectic Humanity, Oppressing Oppression, Fishbowl, Grease, Cats, Broadway Live, Nunsense A-men!, Les Mis, Sweeney Todd, Annie, Encore!, Beauty and the Beast, Footloose, Rocky Horror Show, Chicago and dozens of other productions throughout Northeastern CT. Nichola is a guest teacher and choreographer at the Pomfret School, a guest teacher at The University of Hartford Community Division, served on the faculty at Arts at the Capitol Theatre, a performing arts high school and is currently pursuing her MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at Goddard College.
Carl R. Mercier: Artistic Director Black Box Theatre, Acting. Carl holds a bachelor’s degree in theatre from The University of Connecticut and has been involved in over 100 productions. Carl is the Artistic director for the Black Box Theatre in The Complex Performing Arts Centre. Carl serves as Executive director for Break A Leg Productions at the Pomfret School and founded the Picnic Players, an adult, outdoor theatre company. Carl has performed, directed, technical directed and stage managed over 100 shows, some of his favorites include: Nunsense A-men, The Nerd, Grease, Sweeney Todd, Les Miserables, Rent, and Private Wars. Carl is the technical director at The Pomfret School.
Leslie Kimble Snow: Advanced Ballet/Pointe, Child Development Dance, Leslie has been a part of the ten town arts community since marrying and moving from NYC to NE CT in 1980. It has been her privilege to work with many hundreds of students and adults in dance training and education throughout the years. She ran her own studio, “CT Young Artists” for eighteen years and additionally developed many programs for Public Schools. She was also an educational advocate for ten years and co-founded APT Northeast, bringing special education information and support to parents and teachers. She has choreographed and directed numerous plays and musicals throughout the Bradley Playhouse, Pomfret School and assorted high schools. Many of her students went on to pursue arts careers. Mrs. Snow has been a member of Screen Actors Guild and Actors Equity Associations since 1965 and began her professional life at nine years old in her home state of California. Her classical training in ballet was with three great dancers of the De Basil Ballet Russe De Monte Carlo (Irina Kosmovska, Titiana Riabouchinskaya and David Lichine) and over the years has studied with many other notable teachers in LA, Chicago and NYC. At seventeen she was hired by Gower Champion to be in the national touring company of Hello Dolly with Mary Martin. After playing Asia and Vietnam she continued her musical theatre education and career with Ginger Rogers and Betty Grable in Hello Dolly all over the United States. Mrs. Snow studied with master acting teacher Sanford Meisner in NYC. Her professional acting life evolved as she spent a two year acting commitment with Meisner. She experienced jobs as diverse as group sales director for Godpell and the Fantasticks, summerstock, as well as industrial and commercial films sent to her by agent, Fifi Oscard. Mrs. Snow has taught with New York City Ballet Company members Gail Katchadurian and Bruce Wells and finally captured her dream by receiving her bachelor’s degree in 2004. She shares Nichola’s belief that we must support our students in the academic life while they seriously study in the arts. We also must work with and support parents as their children evolve into well-rounded citizens. Mrs. Snow is glad to be back in this fusion of theatre, dance and education.
Michele Gullifer: Ballet/Jazz/Tap, Hip Hop, Jazz, Contemporary, Summer Faculty. Michele has been dancing for the past 18 years and received her early, local training from Kimberly’s School of Dance. While attending Putnam High School she choreographed and performed in Godspell, A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum, Man of LaMancha, and Anything Goes. Michele has performed with the Russian Ballet Company in the Nutcracker. Locally, she has choreographed for the Theatre of Northeastern CT, Break A Leg Productions, and the Breakin’ Through II Dance Company. Michele has devoted much of her performing to benefit others, such as, Relay for Life, Katrina Relief and the Bradley Playhouse Restoration Fund. In 2004 Michele joined the Breakin’ Through Dance Company and has been performing with them ever since. This is Michele’s third year teaching at the studio and she couldn’t be more proud of how far her students have come.
Ellen Guglietti: Guest Faculty. Ellen was raised in The Berkshires of MA. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University’s Performing Arts, BFA Program. As an undergrad she was invited into the Joyce Trisler Danscompany. In 2001 she began dancing for Gina Bashour’s, GiBa in motion. She danced, and was company manager for Imago Dance Theater. Ellen is co-owner and Artistic Producer of Guidance, Inc., a non-profit modern dance company born in NYC, which has recently moved to MA. In 2004, she had the opportunity to teach in the Bronx (NY), through a grant funded by the Bronx Art’s Ensemble. She is Co-Producer for Guild Dancers, Inc. annual performance in Lunenburg (MA). Teaching has enabled her to work extensively with toddlers, elementary, middle school, high-school students and adults through technique classes and dance workshops. In September 2005, Ellen taught at Applewild School (MA), through a grant made possible by the Marshall Fund for the Creative Arts. Before becoming director of dance at Pomfret School (CT), Ellen was on the dance faculty at Harvard University. Ms. Guglietti has recently become Artistic Director of Cornerstone Performing Arts Center (CPAC) in Fitchburg (MA), a center for performing arts and community outreach. Ellen believes that arts in education are a vital necessity for building the next generation, and should be on everyone’s priority list.
Tiana Mancuso: Guest Faculty. Tiana is a native resident of Connecticut and is celebrating twenty-five years of study, performance and passionate sharing of dance. She has danced with the Contemporary Dance Ensemble of CT, Bare Bones Dance Project, Stop/time Dance Theater and is currently a member of Breakin' Through Dance Company. Most Recently Tiana was principle dancer in a Jazz Technique video, conceived, written and produced by Jean Sabatine at The University of Connecticut. Choreography credits include various student and professional works at UCONN School of Dramatic Arts, including Evening of Jazz, Carmen and Jazz Collaboration. Other UCONN credits and positions include works for Spectrum Dance Team, and coach of the UCONN Dance Team. Tiana received a Bachelors degree from UCONN and began her teaching career in its School of Dramatic Arts in 2001 and in 2004 was recognized by Who's Who Among America's Teachers for her work with those students. Currently she is the Co-Director at Aprille's Danceprints in Ellington CT, a Senior Faculty member at Arts at the Capitol Theater in Willamantic, CT and is on faculty at the University of Hartford. Tiana is a company member of The Full Force Dance Company
Laura Snow: Guest Faculty. Laura teaches guest classes in post-modern dance at the Studio of Dance and has performed with the Breakin’ Through Dance Company. Laura is a graduate of Connecticut College in New London; double majoring in dance and American studies. Laura first danced in her mother’s school, “CT Young Artists”, under Mrs. Snow, Rene’ Rumrill and Patricia Smith. She attended Putnam High School and the Greater Hartford Arts Academy simultaneously for four years, graduating at the top of her class in both. In her senior year she studied post-modern dance with David Dorfman and Lisa Race. She was asked by the Conductor of the Hartford Symphony to present her own dance composition with the symphony. Laura currently lives and studies in Australia.
