Amanda is a lifelong dancer and lover of all the arts. She danced at studios local to the Merrimack Valley and trained as a competitive gymnast. Throughout her time as a dancer, Amanda trained in ballet, tap, jazz, and contemporary. Amanda continued her dance education at Merrimack College as a member of their dance team. In her senior year as captain, the Merrimack College Dance Team qualified for the NDA Finals at Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida, for the first time in the school’s history. Amanda continued to dance post-college and studied in Latin rhythm ballroom dance. She loves incorporating her diverse dance background into her classes.

Amanda’s favorite part about teaching is creating a safe community and environment where students can learn, make friendships, and create lasting memories. When she’s not at the studio, Amanda is spending time with her husband Ben, daughter Charlotte, and puppy Quincy at home in Amesbury.

Marissa Masson is a New England based dancer, choreographer, and educator. She graduated with her B.S. in Accounting with minors in Dance and Business Administration, as well as her MBA from Salve Regina University. While at Salve, Masson was a member of Extensions Dance Company and the Business Manager of SRU Dance Club. She received the 2019 Salve Regina University Dance Award. She has since returned to Salve as a guest choreographer and has also set work at Providence College. Masson’s choreography has been presented in festivals throughout the New England area and beyond. She is an adjudicator at Accelerate Dance Experience and Dance to Inspire Dance Competition. She is currently the Administrative Manager and Co-Director of the Ensemble at Pantos Project Dance in Waltham, MA and works full time as a personal trainer in Chelmsford, MA.

Claire has been an active member of the dance world for 20 years. A Bedford NH native, she graduated from Assumption University this past May and was a proud member and captain of the dance team. Claire had the privilege of competing at the regional and national level all four years of college. This past season, her team was selected to compete in finals and was ranked 5th in the DII division at the NDA competition in Daytona Beach Florida. 

Claire is specifically trained in ballet, jazz, pom, tap, pointe, lyrical, hip hop, and contemporary. Growing up she competed and performed throughout New England with her home studio, Dance Visions Network. Claire has grown as a leader through working with various teams, coaches, and students throughout her career. She was nominated and medaled as an All-American dancer in 2025 from the National Dance Alliance for leadership qualities and collegiate spirit. 

Since age 2, dance has been a part of who Claire is. She is continuously growing her portfolio as a choreographer, teacher, and mentor to young dancers throughout New Hampshire. Claire is thrilled to be apart of Above the Barre and aims to share her love for dance with all students. She strives for authenticity and collaboration between dancers to create a community on and off the stage.

Arianna Cavallaro is a dance teacher and choreographer from Massachusetts. She teaches preschool ballet and tap as well as middle school jazz and contemporary at JNP Dance Academy and is a desk manager at Above The Barre. During the day Arianna works at an elementary school in first grade and choreographs the school play. Arianna has been dancing for 20 years, studying tap, ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, modern, pointe, acrobatics, and improvisation. In 2024, Arianna graduated from Salem State University with Bachelor Degrees in both Geological Science and Dance. While at Salem State Arianna trained with Meghan McLyman, Betsy Miller, Michelle Dean, Greg Coles, Jeffery Bird, Ani Javian, and Jojo Caidor. At Salem State, she was a member of the Salem State Dance Ensemble (SDE) and Repertory Dance Theater (RDT). During her junior and senior years, she was treasurer of the executive board for RDT. Arianna choreographed several pieces for both SDE and RDT. In 2022 and 2023 Arianna attended ACDA in Vermont and New Jersey as well as attended nationals in California. During her time at ACDA, she performed her work and took master classes. While at Salem State, Arianna received the Presidential Arts Scholarship, Viking Grant, National Honor Society for Dance Arts and the Art and Science Dean's List.

When she is not teaching at dance or school, Arianna enjoys spending her time skiing, fishing and hiking.

Jessica graduated Summa Cum Laude from Dean College with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and a minor in business. She has studied dance for over 25 years - training in Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Pointe, Modern and Irish Step. Jessica competed as well as performed in local community and charity events throughout Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. Jessica completed the Dance Teacher’s Club of Boston’s Dance Education Training Course in 2005 and has been teaching ever since. Jessica has taught throughout the New England area including previous experiences as the Program Coordinator of a YMCA dance program and most recently the Assistant Dance Director of a studio in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Jessica has choreographed award winning competitive dance routines on a regional and national level. Her students have gone on to win regional titles, national titles, overall high score awards and top placements. Throughout her teaching career she has won numerous choreography awards and has been recognized for her creativity. Jessica hopes to pass down her love of dance and movement to each student in her class in a nurturing and safe environment. She loves watching the dancers have fun while learning and gaining confidence, focus and discipline.

Jessica lives in Atkinson with her husband, two daughters, and two huskies.

Mary has been dancing her entire life! Her training consists of ballet, pointe, tap, contemporary, jazz and hip hop. In high school, Mary began assisting dance classes and working with kids in her free time. She continued dancing through college at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she helped to plan and organize the annual showcase in the spring, and presented her choreography at several of them. Post graduation in 2020, Mary began working as a full time engineer at a medical device company. She couldn’t imagine giving up dance after having danced her entire life, which is when she started her teaching journey at Above the Barre. In Mary’s classes, she wants to build an environment where students can have fun while also learning the foundations of dance.

Outside of her full time job and dance, you can usually find Mary cuddled up with her two cats reading a book, cooking with her sister, or exploring new hikes in the area!

Victoria has been dancing for 17 years and grew up training and competing at Planet Dance Studio in Lowell, MA. Over the years, she has studied ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, pom, modern, and musical theater, giving her a well-rounded background and a true love for performing. In high school, she served as President of the Pinkerton Academy Dance Club and Assistant Artistic Director of the Pinkerton Academy Dance Company, where she discovered her passion for leadership and choreography.

Victoria is currently a Dance major with a minor in Education at Saint Anselm College. This year, she is excited to be teaching Kindergarten–1st grade ballet & tap as well as hip hop. She loves sharing her joy for dance with her students and creating a positive, encouraging space where they can learn, grow, and have fun. One of her favorite parts of teaching is helping students build confidence in themselves, both inside and outside of the studio.

When she’s not dancing or teaching, Victoria enjoys spending time with her family and caring for her two dogs. She loves bringing her passion for dance into every part of her life and hopes to inspire her students to find the same joy in movement that she has.

Rachelle has over 12 years of dance training in ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, pointe, modern, and acro. Her passion for movement began early and her interest in teaching grew rapidly. She choreographed for multiple theater productions and camps throughout high school, and later worked as the dance counselor at a 4-H camp, choreographing weekly performances. 

She continued at the University of New Hampshire where she studied as a dance major and was an active member in the Ballet Company as well as the Jazz, Tap, Aerial Company. She went on to obtain a bachelors degree with a focus in child psychology from 

Southern New Hampshire University. In addition to her dance background, Rachelle worked for three years as a preschool teacher where her passion for teaching flourished. 

A proud mom of four, Rachelle lives in Chelmsford with her husband and family.

She believes that dance has the power to build confidence, self-awareness, discipline, and persistence. She hopes to inspire children to learn new skills, express themselves creatively, and most importantly, have fun.