Call Us: (978) 774-2729
Email Us: dancedanvers@gmail.com
The Dance Center of Danvers
The DCD Faculty
Gia Carson, Owner
Gia began dancing at the Dance Center at the age of 6 under the direction of Pamela Christo, where she continued her studies in Jazz, Tap, Classical Ballet, Lyrical Dance, and Hip Hop through her teen years. She also trained in Classical Ballet at the Gene Murray School of Dance, a well respected and recognized technical dance school in Salem, MA. At the age of 16, Gia was selected to tour the country as one of Art Stone’s Dance Olympus V.I.P Dancers. A VIP has a once in a lifetime opportunity to study with a highly skilled and competent group of professionals, while traveling throughout the United States. A VIP becomes a stronger technician, a better performer, and a more mature person after an exciting, educational and exhausting summer with this tour. After high school, Gia continued her studies at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida with concentration in Classical Ballet and Modern Dance. After marrying and beginning her family, Gia returned to the Dance Center of Danvers to pursue her love of teaching and help keep the studio the successful teaching facility that it has always been.
Kristin Flynn
Kristin began dancing at the age of 8 at her local Boys and Girls Club. It was there she realized her love and passion for dance. She stayed there until her early teens and then joined a competitive studio to develop her skills. She immediately joined the competition team. She studied jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical and hip hop. During her summers, she danced at her studio and also studied at the Konservatoriet Dance Studio in Alfred, Maine. There she learned the strict techniques of ballet and contemporary dance. Throughout high school, Kristin danced at her local studio on the top competition team; dancing 12 hours per week perfecting her techniques. Kristin is also a licensed Physical Therapy Assistant and shares her expertise to increase our dancer's flexibility, technique, and strength. Miss Kristin has been teaching at The Dance Center of Danvers for seven years and is looking forward to starting her eigth year at DCD!
Caroline Norris
Caroline began her dance training at a young age at J & D Dance Academy in Reading. Here she learned the techniques of classical ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, and hip hop. Caroline is also well versed in dramatic arts and musical theatre performance. After high school, Caroline continued her dance career as a member of the UNH Dance Team. Ranking 7th in the nation, her team was intensely trained in Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Pom styles. Caroline also became a Lowell Spinners Dance for two years and performed in venues such as Fenway Park. Caroline holds Bachelor's Degree in Child Development from UNH and a graduate degree in Early Childhood Education from Salem State University. In addition to her work at DCD, Caroline is also a Kindergarten Teacher in Lexington. Miss Caroline is excited to return for her seventh year at The Dance Center and looks forward to sharing her love of dance with her students!
Sarah Tubbs
Sarah graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of New Hampshire where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and Management with a minor in Dance. Sarah was a student at Kerry's Dance Center in NH and has trained in tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, acro-jazz, modern, hip-hop, and lyrical for fourteen years. During her years as a student, she was an avid student-choreographer, assistant teacher, and part of her studio's competition team. Her choreography has been performed in front of thousands of people at UNH’s Cowell Stadium, in local promotional performances, state competitions, Boston Celtic’s Games, and even on the Miss New Hampshire Stage where she took home the title of Miss New Hampshire from 2019-2020. While training with her team at UNH, she studied tap, jazz, ballet, aerial arts, dance composition, and choreography. Sarah served as the head coach of the Timberlane High Dance Team, trains on Aerial Silks and Trapeze, and teaches various master classes in NH. Sarah is thrilled to return to The Dance Center for her sixth year and continue her passion for teaching.
Shawna O'Neil
Shawna began her dance training at a young age at Denise’s Dance Studio in Johnston, RI. She performed and competed in styles such as ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and her favorite – hip hop. She began assistant teaching at the age of 13 and had independent classes by the age of 16. She choreographed for the studio’s peewee (ages 8-10) and junior (ages 11-14) competition teams, winning an innovative choreography award twice. After high school, Shawna was selected to join the UNH Dance Team, a Division 1 collegiate team who competed against other colleges and universities across the country and where she trained in styles such as Pom, Hip, Hop, Jazz, and competed in Lyrical. Shawna holds bachelor’s degrees in History and Political Science and a Master’s degree in Public Policy. For the last 4 years, she has been focused on her other passion – her career as a commercial loan officer for affordable apartment buildings. Shawna has continued to take master classes and attend conventions to keep her dance skills fresh, and she is looking forward to her first year teaching at The Dance Center!
Courtney O'Brien-Driscoll
Courtney began dancing at an early age attending a local dance studio in Somerville, MA. A competitive student in all styles of dance and winning numerous awards, it was here she realized her love for dance. Courtney has a true passion for teaching and choreographing and has been teaching dance since 1988. She has led her students to receive numerous high-scoring and overall awards in regional and national championships along with multiple awards for her choreography. Courtney also works for the Executive Office of Education in the IT Department. This is Courtney's first year teaching at The Dance Center of Danvers and is looking forward to sharing her love and expertise with our DCD dancers.