Meet the Team!

MARIA ZULLO

Studio Owner

Maria started her dance training at Andrea’s Dance Studio in New York. She studied ballet, tap, and jazz, attended various dance competitions and conventions, and eventually became an assistant dance teacher. When she began her college education at Fordham University, she enrolled in classes at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and after earning a Bachelor of Science in Finance, she began her career in the financial services industry in New York City. Although Maria had a very successful career in Finance, dance always remained a high-priority. While living in New York City and in between her business trips around the U.S. and overseas, Maria took dance classes at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway.

In 2008, Maria decided to embark on a new journey. She left the corporate world, relocated to Boston and began teaching dance at local area schools. Shortly thereafter, she came to realize her true passion

in life and knew it was time to make her childhood dream become a reality, and so in the summer of 2011, she took steps to open her own dance school and hasn’t looked back since!

Maria continues to remain abreast of current and new dance techniques by attending teacher training and certification programs offered by various dance organizations. Maria is a former Board Member of the Boston Dance Alliance, which provides services that raise the profile of dance, nurture artistic excellence, and enhance the effectiveness and vitality of its individual and institutional members.

Maria complements her love of dance with her joy of running. She has completed over 20 half marathons and 5 marathons, including the Boston marathon, which remains her personal best time. Maria is also fluent in Italian, and speaks some German, having studied at the Goethe Institut in Prein Am Chiemsee, Germany. She is a proud dog mom to her loving chocolate lab, PJ, and she enjoys cooking and traveling with her husband & best friend, Barry (aka Mr. Maria).

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JAMI CUNNINGHAM

Jami is a dancer from Belmont, MA and began her dance journey at the age of 2. She has studied and trained in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, contemporary and hip hop.

Jami is an alumni of Miss Maria’s School of Dance and went on to further her dance education at Dean College. At Dean she received her BA in Dance and her AA is Psychology. Alongside her academics, Jami has performed in a wide variety of dance concerts, showcases and musical theatre productions, as well as danced with the contemporary dance team on campus at Dean. Her choreographic work has been adjudicated live by industry professionals such as James Kinney and Patrick Cook, and has also been selected to present to Dean faculty. Jami received an Artistic Excellence award from the Joan Phelps Palladino School of Dance upon the completion of her degrees.

While teaching, Jami combines her love of dance with her interest in psychology. She has closely trained under Luciano Aimar, head of the Boston Ballet School’s Children’s Program in creative movement and children’s ballet pedagogy. Jami hopes to continue to share her love for the art through both teaching and performance.

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ANGELIQUC SMITH

Angeliquc is a gymnastics and dance instructor in the Cambridge and Boston areas. She is originally from Cambridge, MA and has received her training through JAM’NASTICS Inc. a non-profit dance and gymnastics

organization whose mission was to celebrate diversity, promote positive change, and build community and unity through the arts, gymnastics and dance. During the period from 1994 through 2009, Angeliquc held several positions within JAM’NASTICS, including Gymnastics and Dance Instructor, Director of Programming, Performance Program Coordinator and Executive Director. Angeliquc received a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and she has always had a passion to teach and work with children and she is well known in the City of Cambridge as “Miss Gymnastics”.

Angeliquc is also a Gymnastics and Textiles Instructor at the Charles River Creative Arts Program and is the Co-Director of the Children’s Ministry at The Cambridge Community Outreach Tabernacle, spreading the word of God several ways, including liturgical dance. She is First Aid and CPR certified and has received many awards and recognitions over the years for her hard work, dedication and commitment to the community. When she is not teaching, Angeliquc enjoys spending her time with family and friends.

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ODESSA ANDERSON

Odessa is an eclectic artist currently residing in the Boston area. Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, she developed a passion for all arts at an early age. While she considers herself an interdisciplinary artist,

dance has always been her primary focus. Growing up she participated in many dance competitions and productions of The Nutcracker scoring roles such as Snow (corps), Snow Queen, Dew Drop, and Clara. Ultimately her love for dance lead her to attend the Lehigh Valley Charter High School For The Arts. During summer breaks, she continued training at The Joffrey Ballet summer intensive and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She furthered her studies in dance at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where she earned a BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance with a double emphasis in ballet and composition. During her time there, Odessa worked with choreographers such as Otis Sallid, Gregory Dawson, and former Boston Ballet principal Yury Yanowsky. Her most recent studies include enrollment in the ballet syllabus certification with The Royal Academy of Dance. Her work with local companies include Tilted, Paradise Moves, and Dance Currents. Post pandemic, she hopes to be performing and auditioning again.
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SAMANTHA ROSENBERG

Samantha Rosenberg was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. She began her early training at Broadway Bound Dance Center in Natick, MA and eventually transitioned to the Dance III Program at Dana Hall School.

Samantha received a BA in Dance: Performance and Choreography as well as a BA in Educational Studies in 2020 from Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She has been dancing for 16 years and has experience in a variety of forms, including jazz, modern, hip hop, contemporary, ballet, and musical theatre. She is passionate about both dance and education, and how they can intersect to provide students with the tools they need to think critically, work towards achieving their goals, gain a deeper kinesthetic understanding, and create long-lasting, supportive relationships.
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GRETCHEN ADAMS

Raised in western Iowa, Gretchen began her dance career in a small studio at the age of 8. Beginning her teaching career at the age of 16, she quickly became encompassed by her love of movement and education.

To continue her dance education, she moved out to Massachusetts to pursue her now received BFA in Dance and AS in Business from Dean College. During her time at Dean, Gretchen spent much of her time writing her now published book Looking Back to Push Forward: What Modern Dance Legends of the Past Have Taught Us. With the guidance and mentorship of Joanie Palladino, Gretchen writes about the importance and significance of our modern dance ancestors in the classroom today. Bringing light to the historical significance of movement in every dance space is a passion of Gretchen’s that she is excited to share with the dancers at Miss Maria’s School of Dance.

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Shaniece Cooper

Shaniece Cooper is a Dancer, Choreographer and aspiring Fashion Designer. Shaniece began dancing at the age of 7 and studied Hip-Hop, Color Guard, Gymnastics, Step, Contemporary, Tap, and African from Alexandra Ferdinand at

Enmotion Inc. in Cambridge, MA. Shaniece became a member of Jam’Nastics Inc. shortly after and is now currently traveling, exploring and training in numerous styles of dance. Along with training, Shaniece has performed at Fundraisers, Weddings, Talent Shows, Sweet Sixteens, Carnivals, Community Events, Competitions, etc. Shaniece has choreographed and taught routines for her HighSchool Modern Dance Company, Summer Camps, Workshops, Competitions, and Dance Teams.

Alongside Dance, Shaniece Cooper is a Graduate of Salem State University, where she earned a BA in Graphic Design. Shaniece hopes to one day become own her own clothing line. With a passion for Fashion Design, Shaniece has designed costumes for performers including sweat pants, shirts designed for The Expressive Movement, has started her own clothing line and hopes to continue furthering that progress.

Creative and full of ideas, Shaniece views the Studio as not only a learning experience for the students, but also a learning experience for herself. Shaniece seeks to Inspire, Challenge and push each student past and beyond their limits.

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DEJA APPLEWHAITE

Deja began her dance journey at the age of 7. She grew up dancing in a company called Jam’nastics, which fused gymnastics with hip hop dance. As a member of Jam’nastics, Deja participated in various gymnastics &

dance competitions and performed at many Colleges and Universities around the Greater Boston Area and in New York. Deja continued dancing recreationally throughout high school and today she still occasionally performs with Jam’nastics.
Deja attended the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth where she received her Bachelors Degree in Psychology, with a minor in Sociology. Deja currently works as a teacher for Cambridge Public Schools and aspires to receive a Masters Degree in Education. She has been teaching with MMSD for 4 years and welcomes all of your children to come “JAM” with her!
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ANDREA MUÑIZ

From San Juan, Puerto Rico, Andrea is a Boston-based movement artist. Andrea is committed to channeling movement in collaborative environments. Her choreographic work lives on the edges of the physical and the

imagined. In 2019, she graduated from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee with a BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance. She has performed with El Taller Juvenil de Andanza, The Robin Aren Company, and Boston Dance Theater. Andrea is currently an artist with Danza Orgánica.
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Morgyn Crowley

Morgyn Crowley is a dancer with a background in ballet, modern, jazz, tap, musical theater dance, and various other dance styles. She is currently in her junior year at Boston Conservatory where she majors in dance. Prior

to attending Boston Conservatory, she graduated from Portland School of Ballet’s (PSB) pre-professional CORPS Program (Collaboration Outreach Responsibility Performance Scholars), where she performed with the Portland Ballet Company in the corps and in several featured roles, such as Olivia (aka Clara) in Portland Ballet’s Victorian Nutcracker. Morgyn also assisted with and taught dance classes for dancers of all levels while at PSB. Her further dance training includes summers at Ballet West Academy, The Rock School of Dance, ArtEmotion, and Bossov Ballet Theater. In addition to her teaching background at PSB, she worked as a program assistant at Bolshoi Ballet Academy’s summer intensive, is a teaching assistant for Movement Matters (a program that brings dance to retirement home communities) and works as the dance department chair for Colorful Bridges (a nonprofit organization which aims to bring free arts education to children in underserved communities). She is very passionate about sharing her love of dance, and making the classroom a safe and fun environment for all.
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Miss Maria’s
School of Dance

550 Arsenal Street
Watertown, MA 02472
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617-744-6095
info@missmariadance.com

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