Meet Our Faculty
CO-OWNER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, DANCE FACULTY, THEATRE FACULTY, COMPANY DIRECTOR, PRODUCER
Corey John Snide
Corey John Snide is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Capital District Arts Initiative. Snide started dancing in Albany, NY, competing at the regional, national, and international levels at a very young age. His earliest accomplishments were receiving two gold medals for Team USA for Tap and Contemporary dance at the age of 10. From there, his professional career took off as he started performing in the hit West End show as the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical. Having performed the role in London and Australia for a year and a half, he returned to NYC to immediately join the Original Broadway Cast of Jason Robert Browns 13, the musical leading the show alternating the role of Evan Goldman. He then continued to pursue his education and completed four years of training at The Juilliard School, graduating with a BFA in Dance in 2015. Upon graduation, he joined the regional
production of Andy Blankenbuehler’s Bandstand at the Papermill Playhouse. He has since been the Dance Captain for the Broadway revivals of Cats as well as Rogers and Hammerstein’s Carousel (both of which cover every male track in the show). Recently, he Tapped on the FX hit mini-series Fosse/Verdon as USO Bob. He then returned to London to be the Assistant Choreographer for the most recent Cats film as well as performed in the principal ensemble. Whenever he’s not performing on stage or screen, he is constantly working on his own choreographic career, performing several of his works across NYC. He is sought out internationally as a versatile teacher and mentor. Most recently, he originated the role of Tiger (u/s Riff) in Ivo van Hove’s West Side Story. Corey’s passion for arts empowerment and collaboration is the driving force behind co-founding the initiative.
CO-FOUNDER, BUSINESS MANAGER, DANCE FACULTY, COMPANY DIRECTOR, PRODUCER
Jenna Snide
Jenna was born in Albany, New York, and began dancing at the age of three. She grew up studying tap, jazz, ballet, contemporary, and hip hop. At the young age of 14, she began exploring her passion as an educator teaching children ages 5-17 years old with the same level of versatility she trained with. After graduating high school, it became clear to Jenna that becoming an educator in the arts was something that she was extremely passionate about. She went on to receive her Bachelors of Science in Business Administration, with a marketing concentration, at The University at Albany. During her studies, Jenna continued performing with many regional and local dance groups, all while continuing to teach young aspiring artists state-wide. Jenna was a member of the semi-pro Albany Empress AFL Dance Team during her
junior year and took on the position of Captain of the UAlbany Dance Team her senior year of college. Jenna continues to study dance with several master teachers as a way to continue to provide the most up-to-date and relevant information to her students.
Being an Albany native, giving back to the Capital Region and educating young artists is something she has looked forward to doing for years. She is eager is pass on her knowledge to each student who crosses her path.
DANCE FACULTY
Rachale Mullally
Rachale Mullally has studied dance since age of 4 in Upstate New York. After learning under inspiring mentors at a prestigious tap studio, she decided to continue her career and earn her BFA in Dance Theater at AMDA Los Angeles. Upon graduating, she knew her teaching would be the most rewarding way to pass on this new-found knowledge and love within the art. She feels extremely inspired to have the opportunity to continue sharing her art and what she’s learned to the generations of dancers to come.
DANCE FACULTY
Conservatory. Mary's career includes dancing at The Metropolitan Opera and encompasses performances as a principal guest artist for Ohio Dance Theatre and Granite State Ballet, and as a soloist with Ballet Artists of Cincinnati, Maryland Ballet, Lexington Ballet, and Charleston Ballet. She performed in numerous off-Broadway musicals and plays
A seasoned educator, Mary has been on faculty at Broadway Dance Center, The Ballet Hispanico School, Barnard College, and The New School University. She is currently on faculty at Ballet Academy East and the world famous Steps on Broadway. Notably, Mary directed nine ballet classroom music recordings with Roper Records, covering creative movement through advanced ballet. She is a featured instructor in two DVDs for RizBiz Productions, namely "Budding Ballerinas" and "From Tights to Tutus." Mary's creativity shines through in her creation of "The Magical World of Ballet" DVD in collaboration with Roper, tailored for young dancers, teachers, and parents.
In addition to her dance Mary is certified in Pilates mat and Progressing Ballet Technique. As a master pointe shoe fitter with over three decades of experience, Mary has worked closely with dancers from prestigious companies like ABT, The Royal Ballet, and NYCB. Noteworthy engagements include delivering pointe shoe lectures at esteemed summer programs for ABT/JKO, Dance Theatre of Harlem, NYSSSA, and Oklahoma Summer Arts in Quartz.
Mary's influence extends beyond the studio; she served as a panelist on pointe shoes alongside Misty Copeland, coached Julia Stiles for her role in the film "Save the Last Dance," and assisted NYCB principal dancer Jenifer Ringer with pointe shoes for Oprah Winfrey's television appearance. Her expertise is highlighted in the last video project by the late master teacher David Howard, titled "I'll Be Seeing You" on Vimeo. In 2015, Mary launched her YouTube channel, "Dancewithmary NYC," offering monthly segments where she shares her pointe shoe expertise.
Continuing to push boundaries, Mary's latest venture involves collaborating with Metropolitan Opera Ballet pianist Steven Mitchell on music for his music app, Balletrax. As a featured master teacher for adult beginners on Dancio.com, Mary invites enthusiasts to experience her virtual ballet classes. She is a contributing writer at danceinforma.com for their USA, UK, and AUS editions.
MARY CARPENTER
Mary trained at CCM/Cincinnati Ballet school, graduated with high honors from Butler University, and continued training on scholarship at the renowned David Howard Dance Center. Her acting training was developed at The National Shakespeare
DANCE FACULTY
teaching dance. Sarah is a 2017 graduate of DeSales University, located in Center Valley, PA, where she received a BA in Dance. During her time at DeSales University, she trained under Trinette Singleton, Julia Mayo, Angela Grossman, Timothy Cowart, and Tara Madsen Robbins. While studying dance at DeSales University, she taught pre-ballet and creative movement classes for the Conservatory of Dance at DeSales University, under the direction of Trinette Singleton. She was also a member of the 2017 DeSales University Dance Touring Company, and while in this company she performed and taught dance classes at local public and charter schools. She had the opportunity to perform in numerous dance concerts in the Lehigh Valley, which included the Rivers Merge Dance Festival (2015), the DeSales University Dance Ensemble Concert (2016), and the Riverside Festival for the Arts (2016). Her first professional choreographic work, Aube a la Nuit, a contemporary ballet piece, premiered in the production of Illuminate: The Emerging Choreographers Concert (2016), held at DeSales University. Upon graduation, she joined the faculty of Berkshire Dance Theatre and taught all levels of ballet, jazz, tap, pointe, and children’s programming. She also served as a faculty member for Studio North Dance Arts from 2019-2020, where she taught all levels of ballet technique. From 2020-2022, she worked as a faculty member for Barbara’s School of the Dance and taught all levels of ballet, musical theatre, contemporary, and pointe. While at Barbara’s School of the Dance, she developed a new ballet and pre-pointe curriculum, which included additional pre- pointe workshops to help dancers achieve their goals for dancing on pointe. Sarah has spent the last two summers choreographing musicals for Saratoga Children’s Theatre, located in Saratoga Springs, NY. Her most recent productions include Sister Act JR (2022) and Legally Blonde JR (2023). Sarah served as a faculty member for CDAI in the Spring of 2022, where she taught lyrical and jazz. She is currently teaching all levels of ballet technique at Mary Ann Fortune’s Dance Studio. Sarah is ecstatic to be a part of Capital District Arts Initiative and cannot wait to share her love and passion for dance with the students and faculty.
Sarah Nolan
Sarah Nolan, a former resident of Southern Vermont, found her way back to the Capital Region after being born in Albany, NY and has been dancing since she was 7 years old. As a dance student in high school, she began working as a dance teaching assistant at Berkshire Dance Theatre under the mentorship of Karyn O’Toole, the former Artistic Director. After spending a year studying at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC, she transferred to DeSales University to pursue a BA in Dance and to further develop her passion for
DANCE FACULTY
Gianna Goldey
Gianna grew up in Troy, New York and began dancing at the age of 2. She grew up training in various styles that include ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, and hip hop. She began competing when she was 8 years old and continued until she was 18. Along with competing, she partook in dance conventions, assisting, and other studio performances. Gianna’s passion for dance led her to teaching and choreographing at her home studio at a young age. After high school, she danced for the NAL Albany Empire Arena Football Dance Team for two seasons, (2021-2022), while also in the position of assistant choreographer. Gianna continued her dance career at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance in Westchester, New York for two years. At school she studied/performed ballet, contemporary, partnering, and Graham and Cunningham technique. She is now back in her hometown and employed at Lululemon as the Guest Experience Lead. Gianna is teaching various styles of technique and choreography for studios in the capital district while she continues to study and perform.
DANCE FACULTY - Performance Connection
JJ Papielion
JJ is a fitness enthusiast specializing in sport-specific functional movement. His background in coaching reaches a variety of individuals, and he has earned certifications as a USA Weightlifting Coach and Crossfit Level 1 Trainer. He has competed at the highest level of Crossfit competition, so he understands how to get to the top and will help you maximize your body’s performance potential to do the same. While he isn’t coaching, training, or studying taxation, he can be found watching sports.