Faculty
Aaron Tolson
A New Hampshire native, Aaron started dancing at the age of ten. At 14 the tap prodigy was invited to perform in the Great Tap Reunion at the Apollo Theatre alongside tap legends Derick Grant, Savion Glover, and Gregory Hines, as well as the rest of the cast of the movie TAP!
When not on the track or in class studying communications, Aaron was in Manhattan honing his tap skills. During his senior year to successfully auditioned for the New York Shakespeare Festival tap program, also known as Funk U! Soon Aaron became a company member of Manhattan Tap and worked in the show Tap Dogs. Jumping feet-first into choreography, he landed a job with Absolut in a national tour titled Absolut Tap!
Soon after, Aaron accepted a role in the national and international tours of Riverdance. He was a featured soloist and captain of the tap dancers for six years as he performed on Broadway and at Radio City Music Hall, on various TV shows, at NBA games, and on stages the world over.
In 2006 Aaron began working with longtime friend Derick Grant on Imagine Tap!, a Chicago-based show whose formation would become the subject of a feature-length documentary, titled Tap or Die.
As a faculty member at The Boston Conservatory and Plymouth State University, Aaron choreographed, produced and directed Something to Tap About, Tapped, Tapped In and Inspired, all featuring performers from his own New England Tap Ensemble. Aaron formed New England Tap Ensemble, a non-profit organization, in May of 2007 to promote the art of tap in the community while fostering a sense of individuality in a professional artist.
From Montana to Moscow, Aaron has performed and taught at numerous festivals including LA Tap Festival, Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Beantown Tap Fest, Tap United, Tampa Bay Tap Festival, Tap Kids, Brazil International Tap Festival and FeetxFeet. Other favorite performances include Brookline Chorus’ Duke Ellington Sacred Concert, The Late Show with Liam O’Conner in Ireland, and playing Drosselmeyer in Clara’s Dream in A Jazz Nutcracker.
Aaron recently taught at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway in New York City. He is also the director of The Intensive, the national spokesperson for SoDanca, and the Director of Speaking In Taps, a pre-professional dance company.
Kaylee Impavido Millis
Impavido was born and raised in Boston, MA. Trained in various styles, Impavido has used her talents to fuse those styles into her very own. As she grew older, she developed a love for teaching as well as performing, which carried her to where she is today, traveling and teaching in studios and conventions all over the world. At just 18 years old Impavido finished top 5 on So You Think You Can Dance season 14 and continued on to tour with her season performing all over the country once again. Impavido has most recently danced for Iconic artists such as Halsey, Janet Jackson, and MC Hammer. Now 24 and based out of Boston MA, she continues to create pieces recognized throughout the country, as well as perform for many different events, showcases, and conventions. For Impavido, there’s no limit.
Kaylee Impavido Millis
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Whitney Wilson
Whitney Wilson is a highly accomplished dancer and choreographer with a BFA from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and a graduate degree from Trinity Laban Conservatoire in the United Kingdom. Her extensive training includes studies at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, China, Ballet West, and the Martha Graham Dance Company. She is also a certified yoga instructor and holds a teaching certification with the Royal Academy of Dance.
With a rich performance history that includes the New York City Ballet, Moscow Ballet, and other prestigious companies, Whitney is well-versed in various dance genres, including ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, modern, and acro. As a result of her exceptional dancing and choreography, she has been recognized with numerous awards and scholarships around the country.
Whitney is honored and excited to teach at the Aaron Tolson Institute of Dance at Saint Anselm College this summer!
Danielle Gautier
Danielle Gautier, from Southbridge Massachusetts began dancing at the age of 2 and continued her dance training at Rhythm Dance Company until graduating high school. She is trained in Hip Hop, Contemporary, Tap, Latin Ballroom, Ballet and Lyrical. She has performed the works of Teddy Forance, Marlee Hightower, Kenichi Kasamatsu, Wade Robson, Liana Blackburn and Manny Castro. She recently completed her training at the CLI Conservatory and will be choreographing and teaching classes at Rhythm Dance Company. .
Lauren Lassila
Lauren is a dance instructor and choreographer specializing in classical ballet, pointe, contemporary, and conditioning. She currently teaches at Southern New Hampshire Dance Theater, a school recognized as the preeminent school for pre-professional ballet training in the area, and does extensive private coaching.
Her teaching career began at the Cincinnati Ballet Academy, where she was the youngest instructor to ever join their renowned faculty. At this same time, Lauren danced full-time with the Cincinnati Ballet and performed numerous ballets and works, including a featured role in Kirk Peterson's Swan Lake.