Turning Pointe Dance Center
18 Hemlock Street, Latham, NY 12110
518-783-1800
First Day of Classes
Monday September 11th
Halloween Celebrations
October
Costumes my be worn to class.
Tuesday the 24th- Monday the 30th
October 31st- Closed
Trunk or Treat
Sunday, October 29th
TPDC Parking Lot
Thanksgiving Recess - Closed
November 22nd-26th
Holiday Recess - Closed
December 23rd - January 1st
Martin Luther King Day- Closed
January 15th
Winter Recess - Closed
February 17th - 23rd
Good Friday - Closed
March 29th
Spring Recess - Closed
March 30th - April 5th
Memorial Day - Closed
May 27th
Picture Day
Sunday June 2nd
Recital
Sunday, June 9th
11:00 am & 3:00 pm Show
The Egg - Empire State Plaza
Class Calendar
Our Teachers
Rose O’Brien - Assistant Director and Instructor
Rose has been involved in the dance industry for over 20 years. She started dancing at the age of 10 and continued her love for ballet as a teenager. Along with ballet, Rose also studied pointe, jazz and tap. In 1993, she resumed dancing and she began teaching in 1997. Rose has taken master classes from different choreographers as both a dancer and a teacher and has also participated in several dance teacher seminars.
Frankie Soldevere (she/her) - Instructor
Frankie is an Upstate New York-based dance educator, choreographer, and scholar. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from SUNY Brockport and a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dean College where she was the 2016 recipient of the Board of Trustees Prize for the Joan Phelps Palladino School of Dance. Her legacy lives on at Dean College as the Founder and President of Loose Screws, the Dean College Tap Team. She has performed with Ryan P. Casey’s Off Beat Tap Company, The Boston Tap Company, and Dropkick Murphys. Currently, Frankie travels nationally to set choreography, teach master classes, and adjudicate for StarQuest Dance Competition. Frankie is so excited to share her passion for dance with the students at TPDC!
Andre Robles - Instructor
Andre Robles is now in his eighth season with the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company. Prior to joining the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company, he has performed with The Joffrey Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Teatro Colon Ballet (Argentina). His training includes The Joffrey Ballet School (NYC), School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Center.
Emilie DeGroff - Instructor
Emilie started her dance career at TPDC in 2011. She has trained in various styles of dance including Tap, Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Hip-Hop and Musical Theater. She has received numerous scholarships and awards at both the regional and national level. She attends Russell Sage College where she majors in Expressive Arts in Mental Health with a Concentration of Dance. Emilie is super excited to share her love of dance with younger students. When not studying or teaching, she is a volunteer firefighter at Shaker Road Loudonville Fire Department. Emilie says, "Success is not driven by wanting to be better than your peers or your biggest competitor but it is driven by wanting to be better than who you were yesterday and showcasing something you are proud of!"
Megan Grabowski - Instructor (Ballet, Contemporary, Pointe, Competition)
Megan started dancing at the age of six at The Studio For Dance in Blue Ash, Ohio where she studied clogging, ballet, jazz, tap and lyrical. Soon after beginning dance, Megan joined The Studio Company and began competing in regional and national dance competitions and taking extensive ballet training at CCM (Cincinnati Conservatory of Music) and The Cincinnati Ballet. Megan holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance from Kent State University and was a member of the Kent State Dance Ensemble and the KSU Dance Team. After graduation, her training in modern dance continued in New York City at Dance Space and in Boston at Green Street Studios. She has had the honor of performing with the Cincinnati Ballet and modern companies Bryce Dance and Kelley Donovan and Dancers. In addition, Megan is thrilled to have performed on NBC’s “Today Show” and at New York City’s world-famous Carnegie Hall with Eric Kunzel and The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Megan is very excited to share her passion for dance with the students at TPDC and helping them grow as artists.
Kathleen McGrath – Instructor (ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, adult)
Kathleen grew up in Greece, NY where she spent her childhood studying dance at Danc’letics of Rochester. In addition to taking her own classes, Kathleen became an assistant dance teacher at age 13, a co-teacher at age 16, and an instructor by age 18. Throughout her life, Kathleen has studied many types of dance including ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, lyrical, hip hop, contemporary, modern, liturgical, and musical theater. She has attended several master classes and seminars. Kathleen performed shows with Danc’letics in Walt Disney World during the summers of 1997, 1999, and 2001, and again returned to Disney for a performance as a Danc’letics “legacy” dancer in the summer of 2017. Kathleen earned degrees in Political Science (B.A.) and Psychology (B.A.) from the University at Buffalo. Kathleen lives in Latham with her husband and two children. She knows first-hand how important dance education can be for physical and emotional development and is excited to begin a new year at TPDC!
Emily Relyea-Spivack (she/her) - Instructor
Emily is a professional Dancer and Pilates Instructor currently based in the greater Albany area. Emily was first formally introduced to the Pilates method as a means of rehabilitation after undergoing bilateral knee surgeries between 2011 and 2012; results of malalignment and a lack of cross-training in her dance education. As she found herself getting stronger and overall more aligned from her Pilates rehab regiment, she couldn't help but look into this unique movement method on a deeper level.
In 2015, Emily completed her first comprehensive Pilates certification with Polestar Pilates, and went on to complete her second comprehensive teacher training in 2021 with Real Pilates NYC. In 2020, she founded her own Pilates business; Emily RS Pilates LLC.
Over the last nine years that she has been teaching, Emily has completed many continuing education courses including Pilates Adaptations for People with Scoliosis, Pilates for Hip & Knee Pathologies, Pre & Post Natal Pilates Workshops, as well as industry-specific forums. In 2020, she was ranked #11 in Equinox's Top 50 Pilates Instructors.
Emily's teaching style can be described in one word: relatable. She is passionate about making Pilates feel accessible and empowering to each individual she has the pleasure of teaching. Emily is currently in her third season dancing professionally with the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company.
Tara Haswell - Artistic Director and Instructor
Tara has been dancing since 1990 and teaching since 1999. She has won many awards, both locally and nationally in dance, and has taken master dance classes from some of the most renowned teachers and choreographers in the dance industry. Tara opened Turning Pointe Dance Center in September of 2009 and created the Turning Pointe competition team in September of 2010. The competition team has already won many overall, entertainment and choreography awards in the short time that they have been competing. Most recently, Tara has studied at The Pulse Dance Intensive, taking classes from choreographers such as Desmond Richardson, Wade Robson, Chris Judd and Brooke Lipton, among many others. Tara has a Bachelor’s degree in child psychology from Alvernia College. She is the director of Turning Pointe Dance Center, and is looking forward to another enjoyable year of dance!
Carly Martin - Instructor
Carly started dancing at age 12, and has been dancing at Turning Pointe for years. Her favorite style of dance is contemporary. Over the years she's grown to love choreographing and teaching. Carly is so excited and grateful to be sharing her passion of dance with her students this year and to teach at TPDC!