Our Instructors

Through the years, she has also had the opportunity to perform in Island Moving Co.'s Open for Dancing, set guest choreography for the URI Dance Company, and teach in school enrichment programs and dance schools throughout Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Trish is an integral part of JPSD's competition teaching staff. She attends annual conventions, and always takes the opportunity to attend seminars and master classes led by industry professionals to continue to learn and bring back knowledge to share with her students. Her passion for her students can be seen through their dancing, and she is always proud to celebrate the successes of her former dancers who have gone on to perform at Disney World, college dance and theatre companies, and to pursue careers as both educators and performers through studying dance at a collegiate level.

When not at the studio, Trish can be found making memories with her husband, Adam, and their children, Ryan, Joshua and Lyla.

Crew Director and Instructor

Jessica Gencarella Lowe

Jessica, a South County native, began her dance training at JPSD when she was just a young girl. She studied all genres of dance and began student teaching at a young age under the tutelage of Miss Jennifer. After several years, Jessica became one of the most integral parts of the teaching staff at JPSD.

Jessica is cross trained in all traditional genres of dance and has specialized her teaching in tap and hip hop. She attends several master classes and dance conventions every year to ensure she has nothing but the best dance technique to pass on to her students. Jessica is on the competition team teaching staff as our Crew Director, and is also a Registered Nurse. She resides in South County, Rhode Island with her husband and three young children.

Instructor

Meaghan Foy-Anderson

Originally from New York City, Meag’s dance journey began at the age of four when she stepped into her first jazz class and fell in love with the combination of movement and music. From that day forward, tap, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, and eventually pointe, would find their way into her life. Over time her journey evolved from recreational study into a more serious multi-level/multi-studio approach, and she began competing at a young age, continuing to do so throughout high school. Soon after, through natural progression and noted talent, she moved on to teaching and choreography, followed by studio administration as well.

Meag comes to JPSD with over ten years of teaching experience in New York City, Westchester, upstate New York, and Rhode Island. She loves sharing her passion for dance in both a recreational and competitive class setting, encouraging her students to always find the FUN in the beauty of dance, while helping them build self-confidence and positive body image.

Whether it is through professional workshops, master classes, or taking classes at Broadway Dance Center in New York, Meag believes that there is never an end to learning in the ever growing dance world. She strives to always expand her own knowledge so as to bring the best to her students when in the studio.

Meag holds a B.A. in Psychology and English Literature from Iona College in New Rochelle, New York and when not teaching, she can be found dancing around her kitchen with her own two children.

Instructor

Nancy McAuliffe

Nancy McAuliffe (formerly Carey) is a native Rhode Islander who received her early training with Lidia Pettine at the RI Ballet Center in Providence. She went on to study with E.Virginia Williams at the Boston Ballet and Madame Swoboda in New York City at the Ballet Russe School.
During her career as a professional dancer, starting at age sixteen, she studied and worked with many of the great dance teachers in America; Arthur Mitchell of the Dance Theater of Harlem, David Howard in New York, Agnes de Mille, Petrus Bosman, Violette Verdi, Renzo Raiss, Alexandra Danilova, Winthrop Corey, Christine Hennessy, and many more. She is a graduate of RI College with a Bachelors degree in Psychology and Physical Education.
In New York City she danced in the Corps de Ballet at Radio City Music Hall. In Rhode Island she has performed as a soloist or principal dancer with the Rhode Island Civic Ballet, the State Ballet of Rhode Island, Rhode Island Ballet Theater, Artists Internationale Opera Company, and was a founding member and dancer of Festival Ballet of Rhode Island.
She has worked as a choreographer with the Island Moving Company of Newport, the Children's Dance Theater of Newport, the Mount Desert Island Ballet in Maine, and Spindle City Ballet in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Her teaching career has included several years at St. Patrick's High School in North Providence, as a part-time faculty member at RI College, The Dance Center (school of Festival Ballet of Rhode Island), and her own ballet school-Rhode Island Ballet Arts Academy since 1969.
Nancy has been a part of the dance community in Rhode Island since the early 60's and continues to foster and promote dance in our state. Many of her students have gone on to the professional stage or have become teachers themselves. She has also been involved with the "business" of ballet by serving as an Assistant Administrator for the Festival Ballet of Rhode Island. She has served several terms on the Board of Directors for Festival Ballet of Rhode Island and the Island Moving Company of Newport.
Nancy was the founder and Artistic Director for Rhode Island's ballet theatre . RIbt was a company that sought to expand the performance opportunities for the gifted dancers of Rhode Island and operated for twenty-five years. She was also on the Board of Directors for the Miss RI Scholarship Program in the Miss America Organization, a guest artist instructor for the Walsh School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Pawtucket, and is on the Board of Directors for the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Newport County.
Nancy is married to Warren McAuliffe, has two sons and two grandsons. She resides in Middletown, Rhode Island. 

Instructor

Grace Falvey

Grace started dancing at JPSD at age 10 and spent 8 amazing years studying ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary and pointe. Grace eventually joined our competitive dance competition team and became one of our leading assistant teachers. Grace was also our Team Captain in her senior year. She went on to study at Sacred Heart University, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Health Services and a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy. Alongside her studies she was an active member of SHU’s Theatre Arts Program, performing in several plays and musicals as an actor and featured dancer while learning from some of Broadway and Hollywood’s finest. Grace also spent two summers as a Counselor and Director for the University of Southern Maine Theatre Academy for high school students. She now works as an Occupational Therapist at Kent Hospital in Warwick. She is thrilled to join the JPSD family once again, and is excited to bring her love for dance to the next generation of JPSD dancers.

Instructor

Samara Prairie

Samara came to JPSD as a student and a little child who immediately loved to dance. When her little feet hit the dance floor she never stopped dancing. As she advanced in her dance studies, became a competitive dancer and won several high score awards in her solos and group dances as a Senior Dance Company Member. As well as being a very talented student, she was promoted to an assistant teacher role. Following this she was then promoted to full teacher with a concentration in cheer, acro, hip hop, jazz and acro classes. She is also our competitive SQUAD instructor and choreographer. Samara is also the head cheer coach at the South Kingstown High School and a Junior at the University of Rhode Island. You will always see Miss Samara either in the classroom or greeting all of our dance students and parents with her contagious smile and sunshine personality.

instructor

Sandra Olson

Sandra’s passion for dance started at age 3, studying ballet, tap, jazz and lyrical at Jo-Ann’s Dance Studio in Riverside, RI. She graduated from the Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston training course in 1996. She continued her studies in dance at Roger Williams University, where she worked with many choreographers and artists from all over the world. While attending Roger Williams University, she was a member of their dance company that traveled throughout New England to perform in many productions and festivals. After college, Sandra went on to teach at her childhood dance studio teaching classes ranging from Creative Movement to the Senior Dance Company Competition Team. Sandra’s daughter, Lily has been dancing with us for several years and is on our Mini Dance Company following in her mother’s footsteps.