The North Andover School of Dance is dedicated to teaching dance to students of all ages. Our focus is on creating a fun and positive environment for our students and our staff. Our studio strives to offer variety and choice to meet the needs of the dancer and their family. Many of our students have danced together for years. It is with great pride that we watch dancers grow - both as dancers and as self-assured adults.

Come visit our studio, take a class and join in the fun! Learn more about our staff below:

Director Debbie Lamontagne    

Office Staff: Jay Zaffini

Instructors: (listed alphabetically by first name)

• Angela V. Carter
• Angela Gleckman
• Courtney LaPalme
• Kathy Piotte

• Leo Lamontagne
• Nicole Zaffini
• Nikki Fields

Debbie Lamontagne – Director

Debbie graduated from the Dance Teachers Club of Boston Education Course in 1973 and is a 38 year member of that organization. While attending Castle Junior College in Windham, New Hampshire, Debbie became the co-director of Marilyn’s School of Dance in 1973. She then became the director of North Andover School of Dance & Gymnastics in 1986.

Debbie’s early dance training took place in Lawrence, Massachusetts under the direction of Madeline Mahoney and her sister Marilyn Twomey. She studied during the summer months with the late David DiMarie in Buffalo New York; Gene Murray in Salem, Massachusetts; and with Gus Giardano, Diane Walker, Julia Boynton and David Howard, just to name a few. Debbie has performed in Summer Stock and attended numerous dance festivals across the country.

Debbie has taught all levels of dance, Preschool through Advanced, Special Needs Children and Adults, for 36 years. She has taught in many after school and child care programs, choreographed many school musicals, and brought her students to perform on a Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship and at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. She has won numerous awards and trophies and is most proud of the Village Hero Award from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC) for her contributions to children and their families of our community.

Project Motivate Award For Excellence: In May of 2006 the Merrimack Valley area suffered from the damaging effects of flooding. Jane O'Donnell, owner of a competing dance studio, the Center For The Performing Arts, lost everything in her studio. Not only did Debbie arrange to join the two studios efforts in a Fundraiser Show, she also generously offered studio time to Jane’s students to prepare for their upcoming recitals. For her generosity Debbie was awarded the Project Motivate Award For Excellence. The plaque was presented to her on July 30, 2006 and read:

Thank you for setting the example for all dance educators. Your unselfish desire to help a fellow dance teacher and her students in their time of need has taught us all that appreciating, respecting and assisting each other can be accomplished among the dance profession. You are a SHINING LIGHT in the DANCE TEACHING WORLD.

Debbie and her husband, Leo, have two adult sons, Leo and Matthew.

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Angela V. Carter
Ms. Carter’s professional dance career began at the age 14 when she appeared with the Houston Ballet. She has danced and toured with Ballet Concerto, Ballet Galaxy, Milwaukee Ballet, and Atlantic Ballet and Ballet New England. 1995-2007, Ms. Carter has been a Company Member, Ballet Mistress, Principal Dancer, Certified Pilates Instructor, Principal Instructor of Classical Ballet, Junior Company Coordinator, Company Instructor, School Director, and 2006 Director of Nutcracker, for Ballet New England.

She has appeared as a guest instructor with ballet companies in MA, ME, NH, FL, VA and VT. In November 2002, Ms. Carter appeared as a guest artist with The Siren’s Song, and January 2003 appeared with the Greater Palm Beach Symphony Orchestra with Guest Conductor Maestro Vladimir Ponkin in the role of The Dying Swan.

Ms. Carter has been featured in “Classic New Hampshire, Preserving the Granite State in Changing Times”, written by Linda Landry, and “Ballet Resources”. In 2008, she was recognized as an Honored Lifetime Member and VIP Member of the “Cambridge Who’s Who”.

Ms. Carter has been teaching for many years and is excited to join our staff.

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Angela Gleckman
Growing up in a small town in Maine, Angela Gleckman, developed an interest in performing arts at a young age. Dance being her first passion, she began tap and jazz at age 5 and has since trained in Ballet and Modern. In high school, she was chosen to participate in the Gifted & Talented Dance Program where students choreographed dances for each other to perform. She was very active in show chorus, singing and dancing and was asked to choreograph the dancing for the Jr. High show chorus.

At Plymouth State College in NH, she was a member of the Contemporary Dance Ensemble. There she studied under Joan Wiegers who was trained by Martha Graham. Angie was taught ballet and further developed her love for Modern. Throughout her studies Angie has choreographed and performed many of her own pieces. She also performed in guest-artists’ productions including the Alvin Ailey Company and Stomp. While dancing and working on her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design from Plymouth State she helped Wiegers run summer dance camps for teens.

After graduation in 1999, Angie and her husband Matt, traveled out west for four years. During that time in southwest Colorado, she taught Ballet and Creative Movement to 3-5 year olds and adult Yoga Classes. In Washington State, at a local YMCA, she started a Yoga for Kids Program and taught adult Yoga Classes.

In 2003, Angie and her husband moved back east while pregnant with their daughter, Anna. She then became a preschool teacher at the YMCA on Cape Cod and incorporated dance and yoga into the curriculum. In 2006, while pregnant with her son Parker, she taught Yoga Classes for adults at the YMCA.

Angie and her husband, Matt, live in Atkinson, NH  with their two children. Angie will be teaching Preschool and Grade School dancers in Ballet, Tap, and Jazz. Angela is thrilled to be beginning her third year at North Andover School of Dance and is looking forward to passing on her love for dance to others.

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Courtney LaPalme
Courtney comes to us from West Springfield, MA where she began her dance training at age 4 at Hackworth School of Performing Arts. By age 10 she was a convention circuit assistant. She has performed with such dance legends as Frank Hatchett, Savion Glover and Joe Tremaine. She has studied Jazz, Tap and Contemporary at the Broadway Dance Center and Steps in N.Y.C. as well as Millennium in Los Angeles. She was also a performer in the NFL Pro-Bowl Half-time show and is an All American Dancer as well as being associated with the Eastern Dance Association.

As an award winning choreographer she has received numerous awards for her original choreography and her students have won multiple Overall Awards and Individual Titles. She is also a national judge for 2 major competitions.

In her spare time Courtney enjoys spending time with her husband,Nick, and her 3 children, Isabelle, Boston and Timothy. She will be teaching Competitive Dancers in Jazz, Musical Theater, Lyrical, and Contemporary. Courtney is also Zumba Certified. Courtney is looking forward to her fourth year as part of the North Andover School of Dance family.

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Kathy Piotte
Kathy began dancing at a young age and has completed more than 25 years of training in Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical and Acro. Her primary dance training took place at Joyce Sartorelli’s Broadway Studio of Performing Arts, where she became a student teacher. In 1989, she graduated from the Dance Teachers Club of Boston Dance Education Program and went on to complete a teaching apprenticeship under Dolores (Terenzi) DelViscovo. She has been a certified member of the Dance Teachers Club of Boston since 1992.

Kathy has studied under dance greats such as Marcus Alford, Sam Fiorello and Mary Jane Brown. She holds numerous gold medals and first place awards for solo and group performances. Kathy’s 20+ years of teaching experience range from preschool classes, to competitive students, to adult recreational classes in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, acro, Zumba and more. Her students have performed in various recitals, community venues, competitions and Disney World. She is proud that several of her former students now teach dance at various studios throughout Massachusetts, sharing their knowledge and love for dance with a new generation.

Kathy holds a B.S. in Management from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, where she was a founding member of the University’s Dance Team. In addition to her dance career, Kathy was HR Manager for Brodeur Worldwide for seven years and is currently employed part-time as Staff Assistant to the Vice President of Finance/CFO at Northern Essex Community College. Kathy lives in North Andover with her husband, Joe, and their daughters, Kylie and Christina. 

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Leo Lamontagne
Leo earned a Bachelor of Science in Communication, majoring in Dance with a minor in Not-For-Profit Business, from Northwestern University. While there he founded and directed the university’s first and only tap dance company, TONIK Tap. He is a graduate of The Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston Teacher Training Course and the recipient of The Dance Teachers’ Club of Boston Award and the Mary Jane Brown Award for excellence in teaching and tap respectively.

Leo has studied with Dr. Susan Lee, Billy Siegenfeld, Glenn Leslie, Bril Barrett, Laura Wade among others. After graduating from NU, he danced professionally with Jump Rhythm Jazz Project in Chicago. While with the company he had the opportunity to perform and teach across the country.

In 2007 Leo received an Emmy Award in Outstanding Achievement for Individual Excellence On Camera/Performer for his work in the multiple-Emmy-Award-winning documentary Jump Rhythm Jazz Project: Getting There, produced by HMS Media. Leo most recently performed in Clara's Dream: A Jazz Nutcracker at the Music Hall in Portsmouth, NH.

Leo grew up dancing at North Andover School of Dance. He has been on faculty at the Boston Conservatory where he taught jazz and directed the Hoofers, the student tap company. He also teaches Master classes throughout the North East. He loves being home at North Andover School of Dance. Things really have come full circle. There is no place like home!

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Nicole Zaffini
Nicole is a lifelong member of North Andover School of Dance. She began dancing at North Andover School of Dance at the age of 4, where she studied Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, and Pointe. She was part of the Competitive Dance Team for eight years, where she was able to take part in community service performances and also dance at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and on a Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship. While dancing at North Andover School of Dance she was also an Apprentice Dance Teacher for six years.

Nicole has taught dancers from ages 3 to 15 in all disciplines of dance. She has been the coordinator of our Summer Fun Dance Program for the past six years and is also our Dance Birthday Party Coordinator. Nicole is a graduate of the three-year Dance Teachers Club of Boston Education Training Course.

Nicole is a graduate of Merrimack College where she holds a B.A. in Psychology and Elementary Education with a Concentration in Moderate Disabilities. She was a part of the Merrimack College Dance Team for all four years. She has performed at the Boston Celtics Pre-Game Show, Merrimack College Homecoming and Basketball Games, and has also competed with the Team in Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida.  Nicole is an Elementary School Teacher in Peabody, MA. 

Nicole is very excited to begin her fifth year as part of the North Andover School of Dance staff! This year she will be teaching Grade School, Preparatory, and Competitive Dancers in Ballet, Tap, and Jazz. She is also Zumba certified.

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Nicolette “Nikki” Fields
Nikki is a 25 year old graduate from Texas Woman’s University with her Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Dance. She has had the honor of using her Performing Arts Skills to help out her community. She is a highly talented dancer with extensive experience in the use of movement, gesture and body language to portray a character, situation, and abstract concept to an audience, usually to the accompaniment of music; interpreting the work of choreographers, sometimes requiring improvisation.

Nikki has a remarkable background in a variety of genres of dance including, Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Hip Hop, Contemporary, and African. Nikki loves teaching children of all ages!

She lives in Exeter, NH with her husband, Randall and her son, Damien. Nikki will be teaching Grade School, High School, Adults, and Competitive Dancers in Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop, and African. She is excited to share her joy of dance at North Andover School of Dance!

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Jay Zaffini - Office Manager
Jay has been affiliated with North Andover School of Dance for the past 18 years. She is a certified graduate of the Executive Secretarial Program of Burdett School. Prior to working at North Andover School of Dance, she was an Administrative Assistant for a Home Improvement Company and an Administrative Sales Assistant for a publishing company, R.L. Polk & Company. Jay also owned and operated a Children's Clothing and Novelty Store.

Jay has one daughter, Nicole, who is an Alumni and teacher at North Andover School of Dance and a graduate of Merrimack College.

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