Marissa Masson
JAZZ + STRENGTH/CONDITIONING
Marissa Masson received 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, where there was a focus on the technique, history, and evolution of jazz dance. 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. Her choreography has been presented in festivals throughout the New England area and beyond. She is an adjudicator and jazz faculty member at Alive Dance Tours. Masson is also a certified personal trainer and the manager of group classes at Best Fitness Chelmsford. She holds additional certifications in Barre, Indoor Cycling, and Group X Instruction.
Faculty
CARA MCMANUS
GRAHAM TECHNIQUE
Cara trained in her hometown of Falmouth, MA before earning a BFA in Dance and a BA in Comparative Literature from Fordham University and the Ailey School. Post-graduation, she danced with the Pantos Project before joining Graham 2 in New York City. A year later, she joined the Martha Graham Dance Company, where she performed in NYC Seasons and on tours for four years. She has also danced with the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company and with Joshua Beamish’s MOVE/THECOMPANY, as well as being featured in the film The White Wolf by director Sue de Beer. She has taught the Graham technique at Peridance and New Jersey City University, and currently dances with the Caterina Rago Dance Company and teaches at the Graham School and The New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble.
Carolyn Breton pantos
HORTON TECHNIQUE | PARTNERING
Carolyn Breton Pantos began her dance training at Lisa Pilato Dance Center in her hometown of Dracut, MA and went on to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Boston Conservatory. Breton-Pantos has premiered choreography at the Boston Conservatory Dance Theatre & Boston Contemporary Dance Festival, along with numerous competition works. Breton-Pantos holds a Master's Degree in Education from Northeastern University and is currently a full time dance teacher at Lowell High School. She has been a company dancer with Pantos Project Dance since its inception performing in various venues throughout New York and New England.
Breton-Pantos is PPD’s Rehearsal Director and educator at PPD intensives.
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LISA COLE
PILATES
Lisa Cole began her dance training in Georgia with Good Moves Dance Consort under the direction of Annette Lewis. Early in her career, Lisa performed as a guest artist with the José Limón Dance Company and acted as a rehearsal assistant under Ann Vachon and Clay Taliaferro during The Missa Brevis Project at Emory University. She is an alumna of both Perry-Mansfield and Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Traditions programs. Lisa received her BFA in dance performance from The Boston Conservatory, graduating cum laude in 2011. Upon graduation, she joined Boston’s Urbanity Dance, where she performed for three seasons. Over the course of her career, Lisa has had the privilege of performing works by José Limón, Paul Taylor, Alwin Nikolais, Alvin Ailey, Robert Battle, Aszure Barton, Helen Pickett, Jessica Lang and Larry Keigwin, among others. Lisa is honored to have been a member of Pantos Project since it’s founding in 2014. Lisa works as both a dance and fitness educator, specializing in improvisation and somatic techniques. Through both her dance and fitness backgrounds, she has intensely studied anatomy, physiology, and nutrition, as well as Pilates and the Alexander Technique. She has received certifications from NASM, Power Pilates, Exhale Barre, CrossFit, Foundation Training, and btone FITNESS, where she currently works as a Master Trainer and leads the Instructor Training program.
Kate O'Brien
NUTRITION FOR OPTIMIZING DANCE PERFORMANCE
Kate became a dietitian in 2017 after graduating from Simmons College with a Master's degree in Nutrition & Health Promotion, followed by completion of a dietetic internship at Harvard-affiliated Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. After working in a variety of settings and populations, from acute care to family medicine, she established her own private nutrition counseling practice, Kate O'Brien Nutrition, in 2022. Through her practice, Kate helps clients understand how to harness the power of nutrition and eat in a way that not only optimizes their physical health, but also cares for all other aspects of well-being. The result for her clients is a diet pattern that is balanced yet realistic, enjoyable, and sustainable for life.
Melenie Diarbekirian
BALLET
Melenie Diarbekirian began her formal dance training at the Acton School of Ballet under the direction of Kathryn Anderson and Chip Morris. She was also a member of the Commonwealth Ballet Company, a pre-professional ballet company based in Acton, MA, for three seasons. Melenie received her BFA in dance performance, graduating cum laude in 2011 from The Boston Conservatory. Upon graduation, Melenie joined Urbanity Dance, where she performed for five seasons, and Luminarium Dance Company, where she is in her ninth season. Melenie also dances with Turning Key Dance, and has been a member of Pantos Project Dance since 2015. Throughout her career, she has had the privilege to perform works by José Limón, Anna Sokolow, Alwin Nikolais, Thang Dao, Larry Keigwin, Jaclyn Walsh, and Andy Noble. Melenie also had the opportunity to be in Reagle Music Theatre’s Oklahoma! as a member of the Ensemble, performing the original Agnes de Mille choreography, restaged by Gemze de Lappe. Melenie has performed all around New England and New York in venues including The Boston Opera House, Jacob's Pillow, and the ICA/Boston. Melenie is a faculty member at the Acton School of Ballet teaching ballet to young dancers ages 4-18, and serves as the Ballet Mistress for the Commonwealth Ballet Company.
KENDALL BUSH
intensive & Mover program assistant
Kendall Bush grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts studying at Acton School of Ballet under director Chip Morris. In 2012 she started apprenticing with Urbanity Dance, performing throughout Boston. Through Urbanity she met Marcus Schulkind and began studying with him on scholarship at Green Street Studios. Kendall was accepted into The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2019 with a BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance with an emphasis in ballet. At the conservatory she worked with Darrell Moultrie, Yury Yanowsky, Greg Dawson and Jon Ole Olstad. Kendall began dancing with Pantos Project Dance in 2016 and has had the pleasure of performing with the company throughout the East Coast and assisting Pantos in master classes around New England.
KAT PANTOS
DIRECTOR | CONTEMPORARY | IMPROVISATION
Kat Pantos received her B.S. in Dance Performance and Management from Plymouth State University. Upon graduation, Pantos toured nationally with multiple contemporary dance companies. She has worked with artists such as Robert Battle, Roni Koresh, Amanda Whitworth, & Tommy Neblett, among others. In 2012, Pantos moved to New York City with a vision to expand her artistic library and research. She founded Pantos Project Dance (PPD) and moved the professional company to Boston. PSU featured Pantos as an 'Alumni in the Arts' commissioning PPD for an evening length show. Since the inaugural season, PPD has performed in venues across New England & New York, including Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out stage. Pantos is sought out for her educational classes and choreography. PPD holds annual intensives and a pre-professional youth program. Pantos choreographs commercial work for studios throughout the New England area and most recently, an adjunct faculty member and guest choreographer at University of New Hampshire, Salve Regina University, and Rhode Island College. Pantos strives to inspire students to develop their own artistic abilities while continuing to advance technically and create choreography that is stimulating to the artist and audience alike.