Dance Teacher Bios
ABOUT OUR TEACHERS
All our teachers are Jean DeLuca graduates, have participated in master classes and have won numerous competition awards for performing and choreography.
Kris Macaruso-Marotti
Kris, along with Lori Barrone, is honored to continue Jean’s legacy of providing quality dance education in a creative, nurturing environment. She is a practicing attorney at Tarro & Marotti in Warwick, RI.
She began her dance training at age 5. Her passion is Jazz-Lyrical-Contemporary dance. Early ballet training with Festival Ballet took her to the stage as “Clara” in the Nutcracker. As a member of Festival, she was honored to work with Arthur Mitchell, Christine Hennessy and Winthrop Corey. She was a founding member of the Clint Hamblin Dancers in Boston, Ma. and a member of the Sherry Gold Dancers performing in Las Vegas and New Jersey.
Her performances, as a soloist and group, received many awards, including national titles with Dance Masters of America and Dance Educators of America.
She has been teaching dance for over 30 years. Her work with the JDD Competition Team has earned many awards and special judges’ recognition.
Lori Barrone-Pitocchi
passion is Ballet. Her many years of training and teaching experiences, and her creativity and musicality consistently gives her students the gift of wonderful original choreography that always produces "beautiful pictures".
Lori began classes with Jean at 4 years old and for several years danced with Festival Ballet Company' During her college years, she studied dance at Hofstra and competed in National competitions while also training at the Long Island Dance Conservatory.
Graduate studies for occupational therapy at Springfield College gave her the opportunity to dance with the Longmeadow Conservatory and perform with the Springfield Symphony.
Married to Mike Pitocchi with two beautiful and talented little girls, Lori continues to (Her Quote)"Love Teaching ballet at our school and grateful that my daughters have the opportunity to learn and love dance with Jean".
Alesia Wetsel-Payne
Alesia has been studying and teaching with us for more than 30 years. Her passion is tap. She has enjoyed many master classes with Savion Glover, Gregory Hines, Dianne Walker, Josh Hilberman, Buster Brown and our own Joe Pizzi.
As a performer and a choreographer, her routines in competitions produced many special awards and Gold metals.
Jackie Grossi
Jackie began dancing with us at age three and quickly progressed to being a highly competitive dancer, winning many special judges awards and Gold Medals. Through almost 30 years of training, she studied with Jean, Donna Rodriguez, Alesia Payne, and Kris Marotti and is currently taking weekly master tap classes with Dianne “Lady Di” Walker. Other master classes include Joe Pizzi, Dante Sciarra, Clint Hamblin and more. In her younger years, Jackie was also a lead performer for Kaleidoscope Theater, and did special dance performances in Florida and California. Jackie holds a Master’s degree in Accounting and is a licensed CPA; however, she loves this opportunity to exercise her creativity outside of work! Jackie has been instructing at Jean’s studios for over 15 years, choreographing both recital and competition pieces, and has seen many students at our studio grow from young girls to high school and college graduates. She primarily specializes in tap and currently instructs our Senior Company class, but is fully trained in jazz and ballet also.
Kristin Capaldo
Kristin has been dancing since the age of three, studying jazz, ballet, and tap with Kris Marotti, Alesia Payne, and Donna Rodriguez. She has attended numerous master classes with Clint Hamblin and Dante Sciarra, and won numerous awards at dance competitions in her younger years. In reecent years she has started teaching jazz and tap for the junior and senior companies.
Elena Donahue
"Elena started dancing with Jean at age 3, and it has been her passion for over 30 years. She has studied tap, jazz, ballet, contemporary, and pointe with Jean DeLuca, Donna Rodriguez, Kris Marotti, Lori Barrone, and Aleisa Payne. She also attended various master classes with Joe Pizzi, Clint Hamblin, Dante Sciarra and others. She currently studies tap with the infamous Dianne Walker. Elena graduated from RIC with a BS in Music Education and has studied clarinet since age 10. This has helped her to study tap rhythms in depth, notate various routines, and help her tap students have a higher understanding of rhythm, music, and ear training. She currently teaches the Junior Company Tap and Jazz, and is also a choreographer for the Jean DeLuca Competition Team."
Lori Badessa-Jaiswal
Lori began dancing with Jean, in the basement of her home, at age 3. Her passion lied within tap and jazz and she also did gymnastics in her younger years too.
Though her promotion as Regional manager, for the French/Canadian Aldo Shoe Group would have her reside in California from 1991- 2001, she always knew one day she'd come back to her roots.
After getting married, her and her husband opened four high-end boutiques from 2001-2007 and had their daughter, Sydney. It was then she felt it time to move back to R.I. She immediately enrolled her daughter, at that time, 3 years old, into dance classes with Jean where she would soon assist her until her retirement in 2014. Lori continued to teach that class for one more year until currently taking on her four classes today ranging from ages 2 -10. These classes include: Mommy and Me (2-3) Dance Intro- (3-5) Beginning Basic /6 & 7 and Young Company (8-10)
Lori's passion for dance has extended for almost 50 years where her love of the art is equal to the love of her students.
She continues to take dance classes at the studio as well as master classes with Mr. Dante Sciarra and Ms. Dianne Walker.
She is also the dance captain of Rhode Island's "Dancing with the Stars of Mentoring" for the past 6 years.
Donna Greco-Rodriquez
Began her training with us at age 13, with a very obvious passion to perform and to teach. She soon spent many hours by my side as a teachers' assistant. Taking all master classes available, studying at Jeannette Neil's and Leon Collins in Boston, and her own innate talents have brought her to a place of awesome expertise in choreography.
Donna finds time to choreograph for local teacher groups, Mount Hope High School and Kaleidoscope theatre. She is an elementary school teacher by day, an exciting dance teacher by night.
of three and continued until graduating from high school. While attending Franklin Pierce College, she joined the modern dance company there. This afforded her the opportunity to be exposed to many different styles of dance through numerous workshops and master classes. After experiencing an African dance class, she was hooked and later pursued this genre with Seydou and Michelle Coulibaly in Providence. During this time, she also became interested in hip hop dance and began taking classes at Fusionworks , with Cindy Klenk. Shortly after, she was chosen to perform with a hip hop singing group touring RI, Boston, and NY.
Stephanie Stabile
Stephanie started dancing at three years old with Jean DeLuca. She was a member of the Jean DeLuca Competition Team, with whom she competed in regional competitions, as well as, performed numerous times at Walt Disney World.
While studying at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, she danced at The Baker School of Dance in Buzzards Bay, MA and was a member of The Sandra Baker Dancers National Competition Team. Stephanie has over a ten-year working relationship with Camp Broadway. First, as a performer, then a teaching artist and assistant stage manager in both New York City and in Providence, RI having the opportunity to work closely with Broadway performers Tony Parise, Michelle Robinson, Sue Delano, and Karen Pisani. Stephanie was a member of the opening performance for the 81st Annual Macy’s Day Parade and danced alongside the Zhu Zhu Pets float in the 85th Annual Macy’s Day Parade. She shared the stage with The New York Pops, Stephen Reineke, and Ann Hampton Callaway at Carnegie Hall in Too Marvelous for Words: A Johnny Mercer Centennial Concert. Stephanie’s love for musical theater and classic Broadway jazz has brought her to Luigi Jazz Center in New York City where she studies under Luigi’s protégé Francis Roach. Stephanie is always happy to be back home at Jean Deluca’s to take classes and to teach.