Heejin Thelen - Owner/Director
MHDS Owner/Director Heejin Thelen began dancing at the young age of four in South Korea. After moving to the US at eight years-old, Miss Heejin continued her dance training at numerous dance studios all over Massachusetts. Miss Heejin graduated from Plymouth State University, where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in both Business and Dance, specializing in Dance Pedagogy, which certified her to teach early childhood - adult. While in college, Miss Heejin performed with the Contemporary Dance Ensemble and the Plymouth State University Dance Team. Post graduation, Miss Heejin continued her dance training and performed all over Boston, MA with various choreographers and worked as the campaign model for Health Works and City Sports.
While at Plymouth State University, Miss Heejin discovered her true calling - teaching dance and passing on her vast knowledge to the next generation of dancers. She began teaching in college and then went on to teach classes at numerous dance studios and camps in the New England area. Wherever she taught, Miss Heejin was well-known for the upbeat, positive energy that she brought into her classroom and her undeniable passion for dance.
Miss Heejin opened Miss Heejin’s Dance Studio in November 2012 and was quickly recognized for her high-quality training, award-winning choreography, and unparalleled dedication to her students. Miss Heejin believes strongly in creating a safe and nurturing environment at her studio that will help support every dancer, regardless of their age or level, reach their individual dance goals. Miss Heejin is thrilled to continue to share her over 20 years of teaching experience with her dancers and to help motivate them to be their best self, both in and outside of the studio!
Brittany McNally - Assistant Director
Brittany McNally began dancing at the age of four on Cape Cod, MA, where she studied and trained competitively in a wide variety of genres. Brittany then went on to further her education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Psychology. While at UMass, Brittany was lucky to be the co-president of The UMass Dance Company and an executive board member of Alive with Dance, where she she fell in love with choreographing and teaching.
After graduating UMass, Brittany moved to Los Angeles, CA to pursue her dreams of a professional dance career. While living in LA, Brittany trained with “Geometry,” a contemporary company under the direction of Mackenzie Martin. Brittany later moved to San Diego and was a Sirens Dancer cheering for the San Diego Seals Lacrosse Team under the direction of team coach Teran Brown.
Brittany then relocated back to Massachusetts and has been an instructor at Miss Heejin's Dance Studio ever since. Brittany is an Acrobatic Arts Certified Instructor. She is so honored and excited to have the opportunity to share her love for dance with the next generation of dancers!
Kristen Hopkins
Kristen was born and raised in Southern California, and grew up as a competitive dancer at Just Plain Dancin under the direction of Terry and Mandy Schulke. She won many awards, scholarships, and opportunities to travel and perform. She got to train and learn from many well known choreographers like Mandy Moore, Dan Karaty, DJ Guthrie, and Jackie Sleight, just to name a few. After graduating, she went on to be a member of the Orange Coast College dance team where they were undefeated in the nation that year. From there, Kristen followed her passion for performing and auditioned for the Disneyland Resort where she remained performing in parades, shows, and media events for 9 years. While working at Disneyland she was given the opportunity to perform with Nick Cannon, as well as the cast of Disney's Teen Beach Movie. For the last few years, Kristen began realizing her true passion was teaching and being involved in the dance competition industry. She has been teaching, choreographing, and judging ever since. She is so excited for this new opportunity at Miss Heejin's Dance Studio and cannot wait to get to work with all the amazing dancers there.
Gennaro Della Ragione
Gennaro is a professional dancer from Naples, Italy, trained in all styles and disciplines of dance. He began studying at the age of 9 at Centro Danza Sheherazade, the best dance studio in Naples. He graduated in contemporary and ballet with a mark of 30/30, the maximum that a student can have. During his training he had the opportunity to work with teachers such as Carmela Pirozzi, and Margherita Veneruso, (etoile of the San Carlo Theater in Naples) and Ferdinando Arenella (the most famous and recognized dance teachers in Naples and director of the Dance Factory Company in Italy). Gennaro had the opportunity to study in Germany at the Palucca Hochschule für Tanz Dresden, the official school of the Semperoper Theater in Dresden. Gennaro improved his technique with teachers like Jason Beechey (the director of the academy) Alen Bottaini (winner of the honorary title of Kammertänzer in Bavaria), Marina Antonova (silver medal and "Best Couple Award" in "USA International Ballet Competition Jackson) and Guy Albouy, (winner of the Third Prize, "Prix Carpeaux" International Ballet Competition in 1991 and principal dancer with Tulsa Ballet in USA). Gennaro also trained as an apprentice with Mystic Ballet company directed by Goran Subotic (director on the founding board of the CT Dance Alliance and artistic evaluator for the RI Council of the Arts, and International competition adjudicator for NAMUE in Tokyo).
Gennaro has been privileged to work on stage, television and in music videoclips. He was chosen as solo dancer for the show Una voce for Padre Pio, the show aired in prime time on Rai 1 (the historical network of the Italian TV). He was selected to act and dance in the music video of Parolacce, a song by Sergio Sylvestre, the winning singer of the italian talent show Amici. The song is produced by Sony Music and has received over a million views on the various digital platforms, on Youtube VEVO the video has 836.776 views. Gennaro was a solo dancer for the TV show Prodiges broadcast on French TV. He performed at Le Dome, a stage where artists such as Rihanna and Beyoncè performed. He also performed as a principal dancer in the ballet La Bayadere with Centro Danza Sheherazade, at the Teatro Mediterraneo in Naples, where artists such as Danil Simkin (American Ballet Theater) performed. Gennaro has been principle and soloist dancer for Ballet Theatre Company from January 2022 until July 2023, he played the role of The Magrib in the production of Aladdin, he also played Prince Charming in Cinderella, and the Snow King for The Nutcracker. WIth Ballet Theatre Company Gennaro performed at The Bushnell Performing Arts Center. The theatre had over 30 million people of five different generations coming to watch over 20,000 illuminating, energizing performances. Gennaro also performed for Ekklesia Contemporary Ballet in their annual Ahavah show.
Gennaro has been a scholarship holder from Mystic Ballet Company. He was also the winner of the San Giuliano Culture award, an acknowledgment that the city of Giugliano, where he was born, gives to those who stand out during their training.
Gennaro is currently one of the most appreciated dancers in Naples and the whole Greater Hartford Area. He is very excited to continue his career in the US and be inspired by art in America.
Danielle Carangelo
Danielle Carangelo joins Miss Heejin's Dance Studio with extensive training in Acro, Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Lyrical/ Contemporary, Modern, Hip Hop &Tap. Beginning her career as a gymnast she broadened her education through the art of dance where her talents and strengths complimented one another. Throughout her dance career she was honored with many prestigious titles and overall high score placements from nationally ranked competitions and conventions. Danielle graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Health Science from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Danielle was a part of a NDA nationally ranked college dance team and also had the opportunity to assistant teach college level classes under the head of the dance department, Liz Lapuh at UMass Boston. Shortly after College, Danielle moved to Los Angeles, California to enhance her training. There she had the chance to train under many top choreographers; Galen Hooks, Jojo Gomez, Brian Friedman, Antoine Troupe and Kolanie Marks just to name a few. She was also part of LA’s 1st exclusive elite training academy known as KreativMndz Dance Academy where she studied with many hiphop legends. The limits do not exist for Danielle but what she enjoys most is passing on her abundance of knowledge of dance and being a positive influence on her students dance education. She is delighted to share her talents and knowledge with you!
Melissa Wintemberg
Melissa Wintemberg fell in love with dance at the young age of 2 and started competing in all styles just four short years later. Throughout her 22-year dance career, she went on to hold numerous dance titles on a national and international level. Upon high school graduation, Melissa attended Stonehill College to pursue a business degree. During her time there, she continued her passion for dance and advanced her technical training on Stonehill College’s Stoneworks Dance Company as well as the Stonehill College Dance Team. Stonehill’s dance team traveled to NDA Nationals and was ranked highly amongst the other Division II college teams. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Marketing in 2016, she became a Financial Analyst for the Army Labs in Natick, MA. Although she enjoys her work and supporting the mission of the armed forces, Melissa could not stay away from dance. She began teaching dance in her spare time to find a renewed adoration for the art. Teaching has allowed her to learn the other side of the curtain and discover an enthusiastic interest for inspiring and training young dancers. Melissa is delighted to share her passion of dance with her students and is excited to be a part of Miss Heejin’s Dance Studio.
Shay Sales
Shay was born and raised in Boston, MA. She began dancing at the age of 9, training in styles such as Hip Hop, Jazz, Ballet, Modern, and more. Shay is an alumni of Boston Arts Academy. Her journey began with the help of her family to dance in the Boston community. Shay was soon under the influence of Isaiah “MoveLikeZay” Beasley, Jerome Johnson, and Joshua Greene from Status Quo Crew who was on TV Hit Show “Americas Best Dance Crew”. Shay started choreographing at the age 15 and became a Hip Hop teacher at 4 Star Dance Studio. Her choreography was shown on Boston Neighborhood Network (BNN) featuring Jermaine Dupri’s Artists Young Lyric and Lil Poopy. Shay’s choreography was also showcased at Prelude New England, Tremaine Dance Convention, Bring The Hype Dance Competition, and Artistic Dance Exchange(ADE) in the Boston area, winning 11x Best In Teen Competitive HipHop, 3x Best 1st Overall, and 1x Junior Hip Hop Division Winners.
Shay’s hip hop choreography recently scored High Score Teens Overall, and her dancers are set to compete her choreography again in Argentina 2024.
Shay’s goal is to inspire the youth, and provide a safe space for any skilled level dancer. Shay is excited to dance with you!
Laura Jones
Laura grew up in Wellesley, MA where she started dancing at two years old. She trained in many genres of dance including; Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Jazz, Musical Theater, Contemporary, Modern, Acro, Tap and Hip Hop. Growing up, Laura competed at regional and national competitions across New England, scoring in overalls for numerous solos, duets and group dances, as well as receiving various invitational/scholarship awards. In High School she taught classes and summer camps for preschool and elementary students at her studio, KMDC. In college Laura joined the Northeastern University Dance Company, where she was a company dancer, lyrical choreographer and elected treasurer. She graduated from Northeastern with a BS in Business Administration concentrating in Marketing, and currently works at TJX in Merchandising. Laura is excited to get to share her passion for dance and appreciation for technique with her students. Laura is also an Acrobatic Arts Certified Instructor.
Megan Mayfield
Megan grew up in Marlborough Mass and started dancing when she was three. She developed a love of musical theatre in high school, and continued to perform in college. During her time in university, Megan attended an opera intensive, performed in multiple show premieres, and traveled to Vietnam to compete in a choir competition with the university Chamber Singers. She graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a BA in Musical Theatre Performance and a minor in Dance. Megan had plans to pursue her masters in Theatre Education, and is working as an actor and makeup artist in the mean time. As much as she loves to perform, Megan absolutely lives to see her students nail routines and have the time of their life. She is very excited to be apart of Miss Heejin’s Dance Studio!
Guest Instructor/Choreographer - Kat Pantos
Kat Pantos received her B.S. in Dance Performance and Management from Plymouth State University. Upon graduation, Pantos toured nationally with multiple contemporary dance companies. She has worked with artists such as Robert Battle, Roni Koresh, Amanda Whitworth, & Tommy Neblett, among others. In 2012, Pantos moved to New York City with a vision to expand her artistic library and research. She founded Pantos Project Dance (PPD) and moved the professional company to Boston. PSU featured Pantos as an 'Alumni in the Arts' commissioning PPD for an evening of dance splitting the bill with Whitworths, Tributary Dance. Since the inaugural season, PPD has performed in venues across New England, PA, & New York, including Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out stage. Pantos is sought out for her educational classes and innovative choreography. PPD holds annual intensives and a pre-professional youth program, the MOVERS, composed of dancers looking for additional training and performance opportunities. In addition, Pantos choreographs commercial work for studios throughout the New England area and is an adjunct faculty member and guest choreographer at University of New Hampshire, Salve Regina University, Rhode Island College and Endicott College (spring 2024) November 2023, PPD Company will bring Rain or Shine to Endicott College as a part of their Encore series. Most recently Pantos Project has set ground in Waltham to house the professional company, the adult collective, the pre-professional youth company, and welcoming the growing artist into our studio programming. Pantos strives to inspire students to develop their own artistic abilities while continuing to advance technically and create choreography that is stimulating to the artist and audience alike.
