Nicole Nelson is a hip-hop teacher and dancer in the greater Madison area. In her students, she values a global mindset, hard work ethic, and an openness to explore and express. Her pursuit of dance and sense of adventure has taken her beyond the Madison area and even the U.S. to cities such as Florence, Italy, and Buenos Aires, Argentina to participate in shows, workshops, and conventions.

Her dance experience, however, began with musical theater, where she discovered her love of the arts, and dance in particular; her intensive dance training began much later when she was 19. When she isn’t teaching dance, Nicole is typically managing Barrio Dance and her clothing line, 1LIFE, or planning her next chance to travel.

She is excited to join the MPDC staff this year and share her passion for hip hop & street/social dance styles!

Clare began her training at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School when she was four years old and continued train professionally until she was 18. She grew through the student roles in the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Nutcracker under artistic director Terrence Orr, and eventually took on company roles by the time she graduated high school. She is trained in classical ballet, modern, jazz, pointe and character. Clare also attended various summer dance intensives as a young adult including programs at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet under Martine Van Hamel, and Indiana University.

Clare is a recent graduate of Bucknell University where she earned her B.A. in Environmental Studies and History. At Bucknell, Clare minored in Dance and was able to continue her dance training as well as explore her choreographic side. She was a member of the Bucknell Dance Company which exposed her to various guest artists through the Bucknell Dance master class series. She has taken classes from Diavolo: Architecture in Motion, Chalvar Montiero of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Fosse™ dancer Lloyd Culbreath, Calvin Royal III of the American Ballet Theatre, and Sidra Bell. Working with such esteemed artists allowed Clare to become a very versatile dancer. At Bucknell, Clare enjoyed working with Colby Damon, Jordan Llyod and Nathaniel Hunt, as she was cast in their residency pieces.

While at Bucknell, Clare worked at a local dance studio where she taught ballet and hip hop. One of her favorite teaching moments was when she choreographed a hip hop piece on a group of young students that was performed at a Bucknell Men’s Basketball halftime show. She is excited to continue to share her knowledge and passion of dance with the students at MPDC!

Sarah is the former coach of the nationally ranked University of Wisconsin Dance Team and a former member of the nationally ranked University of Minnesota Dance Team. Sarah is also a former instructor for West Side Performing Arts in Madison, Wisconsin under the direction of Sharon Butler. Sarah currently teaches for the Madison Professional Dance Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

Sarah acts as a choreographer and consultant for studio-based, elementary, high school, all-star and collegiate dance teams across the Midwest.  Sarah is also a former instructor and choreographer for Universal Dance Association, and is a veteran judge for the National College Dance Team Championships and National High School Dance Team Championships hosted by UCA/UDA and televised on ESPN.

Sarah is an American Ballet Theatre® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.

Sarah possesses over 30 years of dance experience in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, modern, hip hop, and pompon.

Lillian Wilner began her training at the University of Utah’s School of Ballet, under the direction of William Christiansen. She received a scholarship to attend high school at the North Carolina School of Fine Arts. Her early training also included scholarships to the Banff School of Fine Arts and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.

Lillian trained in New York City with Maggie Black, Zenna Rommett, Laura Alonso and David Howard. She performed as an Apprentice with Les Grand Ballet Canadians before starting her professional career with the Alberta Ballet Company. Her professional career included lead roles in Allegro Brilliante, Raymonda, Paquita, Coppelia, Firebird, Cinderella, Promenade, Melodie, Effanesence/Knoxville, Alice in Wonderland and The Nutcracker, as well as numerous other roles. Lillian was a Principal with the Indianapolis Ballet and the Alberta Ballet Company.

During her professional career, Lillian taught at various schools in Edmonton, Alberta, such as the Alberta School of Ballet, Lecky School of Dance and Dance Workshop Studio.

She attended Canada’s National Ballet School’s Intensive Teacher Training Courses for three years before moving to Wisconsin in 1988 with her husband. In 1988, Lillian opened her own school, The Wisconsin Academy of Ballet, in Spring Green, Wisconsin. She taught all levels of Ballet and produced and choreographed The Nutcracker for six years. She also was a guest teacher at Ballet Madison, the Madison School of Ballet and Kanopy Dance.

In 2000, she closed her school to take a job with the Madison Ballet as the Ballet Mistress. In 2001, she began working at the Madison Professional Dance Center (MPDC), teaching Intermediate and Advanced Ballet, Pointe, Variations and Stretch & Strengthen. She started up the “Ballet Company”, working with a chosen group of ten dancers to prepare choreography and set variations for competitions. She moved back to Calgary, Alberta, in 2006, and taught at the Alberta School of Ballet, as well as the MacDonald Wilson Dance Academy.

Lillian returned to Wisconsin in September 2010 and has enjoyed teaching at MPDC and choreographing for the MPDC Company.

Elizabeth Newberry began dancing at the Madison Professional Dance Center at the age of 3. Her passion for dance grew quickly and by the age of 10, Elizabeth was traveling to different states attending rigorous dance intensives such as Joffrey Ballet and River North Dance Chicago. Throughout this time Elizabeth continued her training with the Madison Professional Dance Center in various styles of dance.

Elizabeth was a member of MPDC’s Senior Company for 8 years. She competed in numerous dance competitions receiving over 15 titles as well as multiple scholarships for further extensive training at studios such as Broadway Dance Center in New York City and Millennium Dance Complex in Los Angeles.

Over the past 4 years, Elizabeth has traveled to Los Angeles to train with the top instructors in the commercial industry including, Brian Friedman, Dana Alexa, Hamilton Evans, and many more.

Elizabeth was fortunate to participate in WE Day, a youth empowerment event created by Marc and Craig Kielburger, as a part of their talent crew performing for thousands of people and alongside Ciara and Paula Abdul. She also has participated in other dance events/performances such as The Nutcracker and MPDC’s annual Dance for Hunger. In 2015 Elizabeth and her sister Jeanette Newberry won the adult dance category for Rising Stars Competition for their duet, choreographed by Carol Ceniti.

Elizabeth has thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to train in various styles of dance over her years of training and is excited to begin her journey as a part of the MPDC staff.

Valerie’s journey into the world of dance began at the age of two due to her inability to avoid running into inanimate objects. Unbeknownst to her parents, this problem-solving tool would quickly become one of the most essential aspects of her life. Valerie danced at several studios in Madison until finding her home at The Madison Professional Dance Center, where she studied under the care of Carol Ceniti. She was a member of MPDC’s Senior Company for six years and team captain her Senior Year. Valerie has also gained experience by attending Jazz Dance World Congress, River North Dance Chicago workshops, and multiple other summer programs. She was also a member of Monona Grove’s Dance Team and captain for two of the years. She was three times voted as the Most Valuable Dancer and was also recognized with multiple awards by Badgerette Pom Pon and UDA programs.

Valerie has performed in Madison Ballet’s production of the Nutcracker and was The Sugar Plum Fairy in Verona Youth Ballet’s production in 2011. She also had the opportunity to perform with the late company Jazzworks.

Additionally, she played an integral role in putting together and performing a multi-faceted performance through UW Madison’s OMAI First Wave. She is a UW Madison graduate in Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies.  While at the UW, she had the opportunity to study many different styles of dance through elective courses.  Valerie turned her focus towards teaching in 2011, and has taught ballet, jazz, and lyrical at MPDC. The rewards of teaching are boundless, and she is excited to continue sharing her passion with others.

Allison has been dancing for over 30 years and teaching for nearly 20 years. She received her training at West Side Performing Arts in Madison; the EDGE and the Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles; the Broadway Dance Center in New York; and Ballet Chicago.

She is trained in ballet, pointe, lyrical, jazz, tap, hip hop and musical theater and has taught a variety of ages and styles. Her classroom emphasizes technique, core strength, and encourages students to “dance with intent!”

Allison’s experiences include teaching dance at multiple studios in the Madison and Milwaukee areas, dancing competitively with teams and as an individual, choreographing award-winning pieces for several high school, college, and studio dance teams, performing in scholarship shows in Los Angeles and New York, and traveling nationwide for numerous convention circuits – both as a student and assistant. At these conventions, Allison received over 15 scholarships to study at studios in LA and New York, won the titles of “Distinguished Performer” for LA Underground/LA Dance Magic in the junior and teen divisions, and was a finalist for Tremaine Dance Conventions “Dancer of the Year” in the junior, teen, and senior divisions.

Breanna first began dancing at the age of three and immediately found her greatest passion. She trained at Green Bay School of Dance for a few years but later moved on to train under Jeanette Makaroff of Makaroff School of Ballet in Appleton, WI. While with MSB, she was also a company member of the Makaroff Youth Ballet and performed roles including the little match girl in “The Little Match Girl” and Arabian in “The Nutcracker” at the Appleton PAC. She spent her summers going to summer intensive programs with the American Ballet Theater and the Rock School of Dance where she was trained by former professional dancers such as Ted Kivit, Robert La Fosse, and Alaine Haubert.

After high school, she attended UW-Stevens Point and received her BA in Dance, BS in Psychology, and a Pilates teaching certification through Balanced Body. While at UWSP, she was able to expand her dance education under the direction of Jeannie Hill, Joan Karlen, Pamela Luedtke, and Michael Estanich. She enjoyed exploring other dance genres she had never tried before: modern, jazz, tap, and hip hop. Ballet still remains her favorite dance genre but she enjoys teaching modern, basic movement fundamentals, improvisation, and Pilates.

Breanna is a descendant of the Menominee and Potawatomi tribes of Wisconsin. Growing up, she danced at pow wows as a fancy shawl dancer and so has a great cultural tie to dance as well. Breanna understands the cultural significance of dance around the world and aims to bring that knowledge to her students. Being a dancer of color, she hopes to create more representation and welcoming dance space for other dancers of color.

Outside of dance, Breanna loves to make Native jewelry, ride her horse, read, hike, and play with her cats, Nyx and Pumpkin!

Bailey began dancing at the age of three.

From any early age it was clear that dance was the best outlet for her self-expression. Bailey’s dance development took place at Madison Professional Dance Center where she competed with the senior company for six years. She has trained in ballet, modern, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, and hip hop.

While at MPDC, Bailey worked as an assistant for classes in ballet, modern and hip hop. She expanded her training further by participating in summer intensives with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, River North Dance Chicago, and Alonzo King Lines Ballet.

She is a rising senior at University of Wisconsin – Madison where she is studying neurobiology, psychology and global health.

Bailey remains active in the Madison dance community and is excited to share her passion for dance!

Carol Marion Ceniti
Owner/Director of the Madison Professional Dance Center (MPDC)
Jazz – Lyrical – Musical Theater

Carol received her B.S. in Physical Education and Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has been active as a dance instructor, performer, and choreographer nation-wide for the past 29 years; training with professionals from jazz and modern companies, including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, River North Chicago Dance Company, Spectrum Dance Theatre, Nicholais/Murray Louis Dance Company and the Joseph Holmes Dance Company.

Carol has served as Jazzworks Dance Company’s Artistic Director and principle choreographer since 1985, contributing 60 works to the company’s repertoire. Under her direction, the company has earned a reputation for being “sophisticated, technically proficient, and tremendously entertaining…” (The Wisconsin State Journal), and “one of the gems of Madison’s performing arts landscape” (The Overture Center).

Carol teaches all levels of jazz dance and choreographs for the dance companies at MPDC. Carol’s choreography is dynamic and athletic, often combining movement vocabulary from ballet, modern, and jazz dance. Her work has been described as “Innovative…charming and breezy…no clichés” (Dance International).

Career highlights include receiving one bronze and two silver medals at the International Choreographer’s Competition at the Jazz Dance World Congress, performing her work at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, as well as in Wiesbaden, Germany, setting her work on the Amsterdam School of the Arts Dance Company in Holland, receiving the 1999 Wisconsin Dance Council Leadership Award and the 2003 and 1997 Choreographer’s Fellowship from the Wisconsin Arts Board. Carol travels throughout the United States, teaching dance majors at university dance programs and setting her choreography on regional dance companies.