LUANN C. PAGELLA is the Owner/Director of Impulse Dance Center, which is celebrating its 23rd year in dance education. Additionally, she is the founder of The Connecting Point Dance Company based at Impulse. This performance ensemble can be seen in the Metrowest and Boston area sharing the art of dance. She received her dance training from Lillian Schovall of Connecticut, The School of the Hartford Ballet, also in Connecticut and Vergari Dance Center, of Ohio. She holds several certificates in Dance Education and is a member of The Boston Dance Alliance and Dance Educators of America. LuAnn also has a degree in business.

She has done work in children's theatre, was the resident choreographer for The Cambridge Performing Arts Theatre in Ohio, directed a dance ensemble affiliated with that Theatre and choreographed two televised telethons for the American Cancer Society. LuAnn's "Interactive Nutcracker" is a highlight of the Holiday Season and is enjoyed by children in schools and community events as well as at Impulse. She teaches all of the Children's classes, and Levels I & II of Ballet and Tap.

KAREN KROLAK is the Artistic Director of Monkeyhouse, a nationally/internationally touring, professional dance theatre company, and has been teaching at Impulse since 1996. Although most of the students only know her as the woman who developed the Modern program at Impulse or the Advanced & Repertory Teen Jazz Instructor, Karen also has extensive training in Ballet, Yoga, Contact Improvisation, Circus Arts and Pilates. She specializes in working with teens and her idiosyncratic classes encourage individual artistic expression and promote healthy technical training.

In 2000, Karen was commissioned by Dance Umbrella to create a residency program for at-risk-teens at the Germaine Lawrence School. She has also choreographed for six Dover Sherborn High School musicals, twice been a Guest Artist at Northwestern University, been a guest choreographer for the Latin School in Chicago, IL, taught at the National High School Institute in Evanston, IL and worked at Actors Gymnasium in Evanston, IL. Her work has been presented in theater, film, and concert dance productions in Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Winnipeg and Jackson Hole.

MEERA JO SMITH joined the Impulse faculty in 2005 to teach Ballet III, Repertory Ballet and Pointe. Meera received her dance training at The Donna Miceli Dance Center in Lowell, The Boston Ballet School, The Jeannette Neill Dance Studio in Boston and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She spent five years performing and modeling for the Ace Entertainment and Sportshots Agencies. Meera’s teaching experience spans 20 years and includes all levels of Ballet, Pointe, Jazz and Modern. She has been a faculty member at both The Donna Miceli Dance Center and the Jeanette Neill Dance Studio, where she started a children’s program in 1993.

Meera's teaching style reflects her belief that Ballet requires dedication and discipline to achieve the inner strength and outer grace required by that genre. At the same time, her first priority is always the healthy physical and emotional development of the student. Meera graduated as valedictorian from Bentley College in 1993 with a Bachelors Degree in Business Communications and Behavioral Science. She also earned a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology from Cambridge College in 2001.

SHANNON SULLIVAN joined the Impulse faculty in 2007 as instructor for all levels of Tap as well as the Artistic Director of The TAProject. Shannon began her formal dance training at the New Jersey School of Ballet. It was there she was first introduced to rhythm tap dance through the instruction of Margaret Morrison. She has continued her training with such masters as Julia Boynton, Brenda Bufalino, Barbara Duffy, Josh Hilberman, Pamela Raff and Lynn Schwab. Shannon has taught at Julia Boynton's monthly Tap Jam and has also interned for the New York City Tap Festival.

In addition to her tap dancing, Shannon has a B.M. in Music Education with a concentration in trumpet and a Masters of Music Education from Gordon College. She is well known for incorporating this formal music training into her rhythm tap classes. Currently, Shannon performs regularly with various instrumental and tap ensembles in the Boston and North Shore areas. Impulse is thrilled to have Shannon back as instructor for the Intermediate through Repertory levels of tap as well as the Artistic Director of The TAProject.

AMANDA MASTROIANNI received her initial training right here at Impulse Dance Center and went on to receive her BFA in Dance from Adelphi University. Amanda assisted choreographer, Karla Wolfangle at Barnard University, New School University, Stockton College and the American Ballet Theatre's Summer Program. Amanda's teaching credits include Joffrey Ballet's Summer Intensive, Adelphi University, Peridance Center, Brooklyn Arts Exchange and the Bronx Arts Ensemble.

Ms. Mastroianni is Co-founder and Co-choreographer of Guidance, Inc. and performs with her Company in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Additionally she is a certified Yoga instructor, teaches at Cornerstone Performing Arts Center and is a board member of the non-profit organization, The Music Exchange. Amanda is a versatile, experienced dance educator that will not only be teaching a broad spectrum of dance levels of Jazz and Lyrical at Impulse.

ARIE STEINER HOCKMAN began her classical dance training in Ballet at Ballet Arts, and expanded her studies as a four year member of the North Country Dance Company, under the direction of Cheri Skurdall, to include Jazz dance, Modern dance and Composition. In 2002, Arie received a BFA in Dance with cum laude honors from the University of Massachusetts Amherst as well as a Chancellor's Talent Award.

Her choreography has been performed in the Emerging Artist Concert at Green Street Studios, the American College Dance Festival Gala Performance, The North Country Dance Company Spring Concert, QNEK Productions, the Vermont Children's Theater, the Academy of Performing Arts Cape Cod and with Chaos Theory Dance Company and Tandem Dance Company. Additionally, Arie's choreography has been performed in concert venues in London, Boston, western Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. She continues to collaborate with choreographers including Billbob Brown, Annie Kloppenburg, and Ricardo Foster, Jr.

Currently, Arie is a faculty member at Step by Step Dance Studios, judges for Turn It Up! Dance Challenge and is a Personal Trainer/ Manager at the Miss Fit Club in Wellesley. Joining the Impulse faculty 4 years ago, Arie is the Artistic Director of The Connecting Point Dance Company and also teaches several levels of Jazz , Ballet, Lyrical and Strength and Conditioning for Dancers

NATALIE MICCILE is a junior studying Pharmacology at the University of Connecticut. Natalie also received her initial dance training at Impulse and is currently a dancer with Phunk Phenomenon. Recently, Phunk Phenomenon placed 2nd in the US and forth in the world out of 40 countries at the 2010 Hip Hop Internationals in Las Vegas.

Natalie has taken master classes with many professional indusrty dancers including Buddah Stretch, Danielle Polanco, Jose Hollywood, Kelly Peters and Rhapsody. As a Hip Hop dancer, Natalie has battled at "Slaughter House" and "The Smackdown." Natalie trains in styles including but not limited to Poppin, Break Dancing, House, New School and Old School Hip Hop. As the Hip Hop instructor at Impulse, Natalie would like to further introduce some of these styles to her students so that they can utilize them in their freestyles and experience what is truly happening in the world of Hip Hop.