Bettina holds a BFA in Dance, Cum Laude, from Temple University.
In Philadelphia, she performed professionally with Philadelphia’s Sybil Dance Company, Artistic Director Eva Gholson, and Dance Conduit, Artistic Director Ann Vachon, for the reconstruction of Doris Humphrey’s “Dawn in New York.”
In the Berkshires, Bettina performed with choreographer Dawn Lane, Artistic Director Community Access to the Arts, as an independent choreographer and as a member of choreographer/film maker Laurie McLeod’s Victory Girl Productions with whom she performed extensively throughout the Berkshires, New York, and abroad.
Bettina’s dance training began with her mother Christa Montano, a student of renowned dancers Mary Wigman, Herald Kreuzberg, Martha Graham, José Limón and Louis Horst. Her early training continued under the direction of Truda Kashman, Martha Graham technique with Debra Zall, with various teaching artists at the Murray Louis and Alwin Nicolais Dance Lab and later with Educators/Choreographers Eva Gholson, Ann Vachon, Hellmut Gottschild and Marilyn Middleton Sylla. Bettina’s passionate belief in accessible dance education led her to teaching and inspired the creation of The Flowering Child Performing Arts Program in 1995 — which ultimately evolved into Berkshire Pulse in 2005. Bettina has been teaching classes in modern dance for students of all ages and levels throughout her 27-year directorship of the organization.
Erin has been an avid dancer since she could walk. Throughout her youth, she studied ballet, modern, and jazz as well as hip-hop and Afro-Caribbean, being one of the first graduates of the Flower Child Performing Arts Program that became Berkshire Pulse. She has been teaching dance and gymnastics since she was a young adult as well as being a preschool teacher for the past 15 years here in the Berkshires. In her spare time she enjoys playing paintball and kayaking with her partner and snuggling her 3 cats.
Eric Otto was born and raised in Westchester, New York. He began dancing at
the age of seven with the School of American Ballet in New York City. He
has danced professionally with the New York City Ballet, American Ballet
Theatre, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and
BalletX.
He was an original cast member of Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away,
performing the leading role of Sid. Mr. Otto was invited to join the cast of
Tharp’s Movin’ Out where he starred in the Broadway and First National Tour
companies as James. He has appeared on Broadway in The Phantom of the
Opera and toured with Twyla Tharp for her 50th Anniversary.
Mr. Otto has performed an extensive repertoire, including ballets by
Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, John Cranko, Jiri Kylian, Kenneth
MacMillan, and Jerome Robbins. He has danced roles created for him by
Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Lynne Taylor-Corbette and Matthew Neenan.
Eric’s academic credentials include serving as Artist in Residence in Classical
Ballet at Skidmore College from 2018 to 2021, where he choreographed
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons recomposed by Max Richter and staged Paquita. He
has also been the Artistic Director of the Peoria Ballet in Illinois, Rehearsal
Director for BalletX in Philadelphia and taught on faculty at Ballet Academy
East and Peridance in NYC. He is on guest faculty with The Rock School for
Dance Education and the Joffrey Academy of Dance in Chicago. Eric Otto is
an ABT Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT Teacher
Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 6/7 and Partnering of the
ABT National Training Curriculum.
As a choreographer, Eric has received commissions by Peoria Ballet
Company, Albany Berkshire Ballet, Saratoga Arts Fest, The Bruce Museum,
Bucknell University, Skidmore College and the Toledo Ballet.
In 2022, Eric accepted the Artistic Director and Head of Curriculum position
with Toledo Ballet.
Raymon “Red Ink” Padro is an accomplished Hip Hop dancer hailing from Hartford, CT. His dance journey began in 2009 at the age of 8 when he joined the Kalligraphy dance crew. After learning about Litefeet in 2018 through YouTube, he had fully immersed himself in the art by 2021. Since 2022, he’s been a dynamic member of the Brooklyn Nets’ Team Hype and has also joined Bombsquad, an critically acclaimed Litefeet team. Passionate about the dance style, Raymon is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and experience with aspiring dancers, aiming to share the Litefeet community with the present and future generations.
Click here to see Raymon teaching Litefeet at Studio 860!
Miriam Piilonen is a musician, dancer, writer, and professor of music theory at UMass Amherst. Miriam grew up in Blacksburg, VA where she was a member of the Hoorah Cloggers Appalachian dance troop. She holds a PhD in music theory from Northwestern University, an MS in human development from Virginia Tech, and a BM in composition from New England Conservatory.
Nominated for a Tony Award and a National Broadway Theatre Award for choreography for Blast!, George Pinney received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for the PBS broadcast of Blast!
Professor Emeritus and creator and former Head of the B.F.A. in Musical Theatre in the Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance at Indiana University, George has directed and/or choreographed for Broadway, the West End of London, national and international tours, regional theatres, and more than one hundred university productions.
Recognized as a master teacher, George was awarded the prestigious Friedrich Herman Lieber Award for Distinguished Teaching, five Indiana University Board of Trustees Awards for Excellence in Teaching, and membership in the Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching.
With years of research and study in pedagogy and methodology, George approaches each student as a unique individual, working to develop each student’s potential for success. His outlook is global and holistic. The College of Arts and Sciences’ recognition of George as Professor of the Year underscores both his work with students and his contributions to Indiana University. His students have made their mark on Broadway, the West End, national and international tours, regional theatres from coast to coast and around the world, as well as in television and film.
Pinney’s current interests focus on new musical theatre works. His production of Front Page Flo, for which he was one of the book writers as well as director and choreographer, was a hit at the Adirondack Theatre Festival in 2018. George was also the lead book writer for Tuning In, which enjoyed highly successful runs at the Bloomington Playwrights Project in Bloomington, Indiana, and at the Adirondack Theatre Festival.
Young Choreographers Program Director
Susan Quinn is a teacher, choreographer, and performing artist. She is currently enjoying directing the Young Choreographers Initiative at Berkshire Pulse with a focus on Movement and Activism and how choreography shows up in our everyday lives. She co-founded and co-directed Choreo Collective for seven years, a laboratory for choreographers to engage in the creative process and produce new work in the Triangle area of North Carolina. She also developed the Choreographers’ Workshop Series to showcase and provide feedback for artists across NC through the North Carolina Dance Alliance. Her choreography has been produced in a variety of venues, including the American Dance Festival and Dixon Place. She directed the dance department at Cardinal Gibbons High School and has been a guest choreographer in high schools and colleges. She has studied composition with Donald McKayle, Marlies Yearby, Neil Greenberg, Faye Driscoll, and David Dorfman. She studied technique privately with master teacher Sarah Neece and Alexander Technique with Anne-René Petrarca. Susan has also performed with many dance companies and choreographers, including Thread Dance Theater, HMK Dance, Sarah Daunt, Insurgo Stage Project, Sara Smith, Carol Finley/The Postcards Project, Isabel Gotzowsky, Stephanie Landouer, Caroline Williford, Beth Fath and Five Chick Posse Productions. (Photo: Skye Schmidt)
Ted Randolph grew up in Alabama, graduated high school in Texas, took several gap
years in Colorado, finished college in Vermont, and taught at a tiny K-12 school for five
years after that. He learned and enjoyed many varieties of folk dancing along the way,
but did not become aware of Scottish Country Dancing until the summer of 1988, shortly
before moving to the Berkshires.
Fortuitously, there was a Scottish Country Dance class in Great Barrington, and Ted
was able to pursue his newfound passion there. He has attended regularly since
October, 1988, eventually becoming its teacher in 2018. This class has had many
homes, and has been held happily at Berkshire Pulse since 2014.
Ted taught SCD at The Mountain Road School in New Lebanon, NY, from 1992-1998,
and in 2016 he started a children’s SCD class at Mettabee Farm and Arts in Hillsdale,
NY, continuing until 2023. He was a member of a Scottish dance demonstration team
led by the Albany SCD Class from 1989-2020, performing occasionally at the Altamont
Highland Games, NEFFA (New England Folk Festival Association), and every year at
the Saratoga Dance Flurry Festival. He has been a certified teacher of the Royal
Scottish Country Dance Society (https://rscds.org/) since 2019. Ted is also an avid contra
dancer, a dance organizer, and is working on improving his skills as a contra dance
caller.
Andres Ramirez is a Berkshire resident and owner of The Funk Box dance studio. He has been dancing for 11 years and has competed and taught in many different countries. His studio has placed top 3 within the USA Breakin’ League, has grown its reputation and was voted 2018’s Berkshires Best Dance Studio. Andres is here to share and spread his knowledge on breaking and hip hop culture.
Andrè Robles (he/him/his) is a dancer/choreographer, and educator based in Albany, NY. He has danced
for the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company, Dresden SemperOper Ballet (Germany), Metropolitan Opera
Ballet, Teatro Colon, Ulster Dance Company, and Ajkun Ballet Theatre. His training began in NYC at
Westside Dance Project and was further developed through the School of American Ballet, Joffrey Ballet
School, San Francisco Ballet School, and The Ailey School. Andre is on the faculty at Skidmore College
and many local dance schools in the Capital Region. Andre holds degrees from American University,
Empire State University, and Queensborough Community College. He hails from Brooklyn, New York.
