Faculty | The Dance Extension

Meet the Directors

Maggie Dennis, Artistic Director & Founder

Maggie grew up dancing under the tutelage of her mother, Evelyn. She earned her Master's Degree in Dance from UCLA and was the Director of the Dance Department at the State University of New York at Fredonia before moving to Connecticut. She opened The Dance Extension in 1984. Maggie has been instrumental in instilling the value of giving back through dance and exposing her students to master teachers traveling to classes throughout New England and New York. Maggie has been recognized nationally for her career in dance education with feature articles in Dance Teacher Magazine, February 2000 edition, and most recently in Dance Studio Life Magazine's "Teacher Spotlight", November 2015.

Maggie is the artistic director and president of the Community Dance Ensemble, a concert company which performs at countless charities and for thousands of senior citizens at nursing homes and hospitals throughout southern New England. She has choreographed for community theatre including the Pfizer Players prooductions of "Can-Can" and "Oklahoma" and stays current in tap, her specialty field, by attending professional workshops in the U.S. and Europe.

Many of Maggie's students have gone on to dance professionally while others are teaching at universities and private studios throughout the country or have opened studios of their own. 2024 marks the 40th Anniversary of The Dance Extension and Maggie's 52nd year teaching in Southeastern Connecticut.

"Maggie: Your true gift is the spirit of performance and the force of magic you instill in all who walk through The Dance Extension doors. Thank you for the love and light you bring to lives and all you have brought to mine." - Lindsay MacDougall

Nancy K. Dennis, Associate Director
Tiny Toes, Pre-School, Ballet, Tap, Jazz

Nancy earned a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from the State University of New York at Brockport where she received the Dance Scholar Award & the Rose L. Strasser Award for excellence in dance. She has performed at the American Dance Festival, Tisch School of the Arts and the Doris Humphrey Dance Festival, and has studied with Tim Draper (Draper Ballet), Jennifer Muller the Works Company, Garth Fagan and Ronald K. Brown.

Nancy has been on The Dance Extension faculty for 28 years. She serves as the Vice President of the studio's performing company, the Community Dance Ensemble. She was honored to be on the Global Volunteers 100th Team to Quito, Equador where she taught dance to preschoolers at FUNDAC, a daycare for underprivileged children.

Nancy remains active in the field of dance education attending conferences and continuing education opportunities through Discover Dance, American Academy of Ballet, Dance Teachers Club of Boston, Leap 'n Learn, Dance Life/Rhee Gold, Little People's Creative Workshop, UDMA, Dance Teacher Web Live and the Broadway Dance Center. She is an active member of Dance Studio Owners Association. In Nancy's words: "I'm blessed to come from a family of teachers. Teaching is in my D.N.A."

"Miss Nancy, Thank you for being a thoughtful and kind teacher. Thanks for listening to our "shares" every day." - Sarah D., age 9

Meet the Faculty

Our all adult faculty has decades of teaching experience in the field of dance, and their love of teaching leaves students feeling refreshed, motivated and open to new ideas & creativity. Our faculty gives all TDE students the opportunity to train with a diverse team of teachers to insure they're well versed in a variety styles and methods.

Miss Marcia

Marcia began dancing at the age of five in her childhood hometown, Escondido, California. She was inspired at a young age become a dance educator by her own teacher, Georgia Copeland. Marcia has been teaching at The Dance Extension for 38 years.

Marcia has choreographed over 35 musicals for local high schools and community theatre groups, and has also had many starring roles. Marcia leads a liturgical dance group at the United Methodist Church of Gales Ferry, which has performed for a national audience. Marcia has served as the secretary/treasurer of the Sacred Dance Guild for over seven years. She has taught at three SDG festivals and has been a dance clinician for the Fellowship of United Methodists in Music & Worship Arts in both Florida and North Carolina.

Miss Kiana

Sarah began her dance education at The Dance Extension at the age of three in Miss Helen's Rhythm & Movement class. From that moment on, she knew dance was something she would love for the rest of her life. Growing up Sarah studied ballet, pointe, jazz, modern, and tap and performed with the Community Dance Ensemble from ages 10-18. Sarah was inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts (NHSDA) for her years dedicated to the art of dance.

Sarah has attended the Tremaine Dance Convention (NYC), multiple Broadway master classes, the Rockette Experience at Radio City Music Hall. While she in high school at Saint Bernard, she helped found a dance club that performed regularly at school functions and events, and she choreographed for the Saint Bernard School Drama Club.

Sarah continued her dance education at Adelphi University where she studied with Frank Joseph Augustyn (principal dancer of the National Ballet of Canada and the Berlin Opera Ballet), Orion Duckstein (Paul Taylor Dance Company), and many other notable professionals. She performed in the Dance Adelphi Spring performance in choreography by Oliver Tobin (Graham 2 and the Martha Graham Dance Company). Sarah graduated from Adelphi University in 2019 with B.B.A. in Management and a specialization in Marketing. She is absolutely thrilled to be back at The Dance Extension as a teacher and is excited to share her knowledge of dance with her students.

Kiana began her dance education at The Dance Extension at the age of three. She studied ballet, tap, jazz, modern, hip hop, and pointe. Kiana was a Class Assistant for the studio’s preschool program, and tap, and ballet classes for 8 years. At the age of 10, she was invited to perform with Kids in Motion, and at age 11 she successfully auditioned for the Community Dance Ensemble (CDE). She danced with the CDE for six seasons and served as the Dancers’ Representative on the CDE’s Board of Directors for two years. In 2016, Kiana was inducted intothe National Honor Society for Dance Arts (NHSDA).

Kiana graduated as an Honors Scholar from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and minors in Human Rights and History. While completing her undergraduate degree, Kiana was a competing member of UConn’s Tap Team, a student-run Club Sport that competes in regional and national competitions, for four years. During this time she worked with choreographers such as Ryan Casey, artistic director of Off Beatperforming ensemble (Boston), and Kate Cavenagh, founder of the Connecticut Tap Collaborative.

Kiana has attended several dance festivals, including Beantown Tap Festival and Wesleyan’s DanceMasters Weekend, as well as master classes where she has had the privilege of studying various dance styles from many dancers distinguished in their styles, such as Michelle Dorrance, Dianne Walker, Wendy Whelan, and Stephanie Pope.

Kiana earned her Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction at UConn’s Neag School of Education where she is served as President of Leadership in Diversity (LID), a mentoring program that works to maintain and encourage confidence and success in students of color as they pursue careers in the field of Education.

A life-long learner, Kiana is very passionate about community and uplifting and empowering those around her. She is very excited to share these passions as well as her passion for dance with her students.

Miss Sarah

Anna began her dance education at the age of 5 at The Dance Extension and continued to dance for 14 years through high school. She performed with The Community Dance Ensemble for eight years. While studying at The Dance Extension, she joined the Class Assistant Program and worked with children in the Mini Movers Academy & Spotlight programs for five years assisting in jazz, hip hop, tap, and ballet classes. Anna was the 2018 recipient of the Evelyn Erving Dance Scholarship at The Dance Extension, and in 2019, she was inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts.

In addition to teaching at TDE, Anna teaches dance through the Ledyard Parks & Recreation program. Anna is passionate about teaching children the art of dance and seeing them progress each week.

Miss Martha
Ballet & Pointe

Bio coming soon!

Miss Annaleah

860-579-1154

Welcome to The Dance Extension!