Emily Daly

Emily Daly is the owner and director of Verve Dance. She is a dance artist, educator and choreographer based in Connecticut. Emily completed her early training with the American Academy of Ballet, Boston Ballet, the School at Steps NYC, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and The Ailey School. Emily graduated from Muhlenberg College with a B.A. in Dance and was the recipient of the Baker Award for Excellence in Performing Arts. She began her professional career in New York City dancing with Parsons Dance and Bryn Cohn & Artists. After moving to San Francisco she performed with Katie Faulkner/little seismic dance company, Risa Jaraslow & Artists and CALI & Co. She has also performed with the Teriaca Ensemble in Italy. She has toured and performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Emily was the program director of RoCo Dance in Marin County, CA for a decade where she focused on dance education and youth program development. Emily is also the co-founder of MDRN YGA, a hybrid vinyasa yoga and modern dance class that has been featured at Wanderlust Yoga Festival. After becoming a mom to two boys, Emily returned to her home state and has been on faculty at Ballet Theater Company and Miss Porter's School. She is a teaching artist in the Moving Matters program in the Hartford Public School system and has taught master classes at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts. 

Meghan McDermott

A graduate of the Hartford Conservatory with a double major in dance performance and pedagogy, Meghan has extensive experience in dance performance, musical theater and dance education. Currently, she performs and choreographs with IMMIX Dance Project and is one of the four core founders. Previously, she has danced with numerous CT companies including SOMA Dance Company, dancEnlight (Lorelei Chang), Sonia Plumb Dance Company and Justice Dance Performance Project.

For the past 15 years, she has taught dance throughout the state of Connecticut at various workshops, dance schools, intensives, private schools, as well as residency programs in Oklahoma and New York. Meghan served on the Dance faculty at Westminster school from 2015-2022. Further teaching and choreography credits include: the Kingswood Oxford School, University of St. Joseph, Westminster school, Miss Porters School, Ted Hershey Dance Marathon, 5x5 Dance festival, Built on Stilts Dance Festival in Martha’s Vineyard and West Hartford Community Theater (including a Broadway Review Tour to Ravello Italy). In addition to her dance career, Meghan is a certified barre instructor with STOTT Pilates and teaches for LIFER Fitness studio in West Hartford.

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Annabelle Aber

From an early age, Annabelle Aber has had a strong passion for helping others. She is a graduate of Skidmore College in New York, where she earned a
degree in Early Childhood Education with a second major in Dance Performance and Choreography. She trained at Nutmeg’s Dance and Theater, Co. in Southwick, MA and Westminster School in Simsbury, CT. At Skidmore, she has worked with professors such as Erika Pujič, Jason Ohlberg, Brian Lawson and guest artists Larry Keigwin, Brenda Way and Dexandro Montalvo from ODC/Dance, and Fredrick Earl Mosely.
This is Annabelle’s sixth year as a dance teacher. At Skidmore, she created and implemented interdisciplinary movement workshops for elementary schools, taught local adult dance classes, and most recently choreographed for Skidmore's student showcase. Annabelle also works as an assistant teacher for an on-campus preschool. She is so excited to continue educating dancers and igniting a joy for movement!

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Lili Soto

Lili St.Amand Soto has been teaching Hip Hop for almost ten years and found her love for dance at the age of six. She is passionate about spreading her love and knowledge of Hip Hop to people in all different communities. Through the years  Lili has traveled to participate in dance battles as well as judge and teach master classes. She is especially passionate about teaching Hip Hop to underserved communities. Lili has been teaching at Grace Academy in Hartford for the past 8 years, and at Horizons for the past two summers. Lili also teaches Moving Matters in the Hartford Public Schools, and at the Bridgeport juvenile detention center through The Justice Dance Performance Project. Lili has received various awards such as the Jumpstart award through CDA. She has choreographed Breakdancing Shakespeare at Hartford stage and performed in the production as well. Lili is focused on providing the best education for her students and strives to create a positive expressive environment in her classroom. 

Emily Orzada

Emily Orzada is originally from Newark, Delaware, where she began her training at Mid-Atlantic Ballet, under the direction of Patrick Korstange. Emily began her ballet career by joining the Ballet Theatre of Maryland with Artistic Director, Dianna Cuatto. While at BTM, she performed with the company in their performances of The Nutcracker, A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream, Cinderella, Carmen and Sleeping Beauty, to name a few. She then went on to dance with Fort Wayne Ballet, with Artistic Director Karen Gibbons-Brown. At Fort Wayne, she danced in many productions, her favorite role being the lead Mazurka in Coppelia, mentored by Ms. Eleonora Pokhitonova. Emily then moved to Connecticut to dance with BalletHartford under Elizabeth McMillian, where she performed classical and contemporary repertoire by Stephen Pier, Elizabeth McMillian and Michelle Thompson Ulerich. In 2020, Emily Co-Founded New Enlgand Ballet Theatre and served as Co-Artistic Director until 2022. While with NEBT, Emily had the opportunity to work with many outstanding artists, as well as perform leading roles including, The Dying Swan in ‘The Carnival of the Animals’ and the Raven in Christopher Flemings ‘The Myth and the Madness of Edgar Allan Poe’. During the Spring of 2023, Emily had the opportunity to perform with Ekklesia Contemporary Ballet in their tour of ‘The Curve’ in collaboration with Ameen Mokdad and Cuatro Puntos, spreading the word about social injustice around the world. For the 23/24 Season, Emily is thrilled to be back at Ballet Hartford with Artistic Director, Leyna Doran.

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More instructors coming soon...