Mill Ballet School Teaching Team

Mrs. Roxey began her studies with the syllabi of The Royal Academy of Dancing at 5 years of age. Mrs. Roxey danced with the American Repertory Ballet as a soloist, then as a principal with the Dayton Ballet Company. Melissa has worked with choreographers including Septime Webre, Marjorie Mussman, Dermot Burke, Bill Craty, Suki Schoer, Christine Holder, Patricia Mcbride, Mark Diamond, among many more. She has served on the faculty of many ballet schools around the country and is the Founder and Executive Director of the Mill Ballet School in New Hope, PA.

Founder & CEO

Mr. Roxey began his formal training at Joffrey Ballet in New York City, where he was awarded a full scholarship and later graduated at the top of his class. He went on to dance professionally with Joffrey Ballet Concert Company and The Joffrey Ballet under the direction of the late Robert Joffrey. He then joined American Repertory Ballet and Dayton Ballet as a principal dancer under the direction of Dermote Burke and Marjorie Mussman. Mr. Roxey has performed in works by George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Robert Joffrey, Paul Taylor, Jose Limon, Alvin Ailey, Twyla Tharp, William Forsythe, John Cranko, John Butler, Maurice Petipa, Augusta Bourniville, and many others.

Co - Founder

Laurence Potvin:

Laurence was born in Montreal, Canada. She started her training at BCHR at 5 years old and was accepted into Ballet Montreal Performing Arts School’s vocational program. She graduated in 2022 under her dear teacher Paula Urrutia. As a student, she had the opportunity to participate in productions such as Giselle, Nutcracker, Don Quixote and La Bayadère. ⁠
⁠
As a professional dancer, Laurence had the chance to perform abroad. She danced in Greece with the Remarc Company and then joined Grand Classic Ballet in Germany. She toured with the company and performed in various productions including Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. She also had the chance to perform soloist roles including Sleeping Beauty Wedding Pas de Deux and White Swan Pas de Deux and she performed in various contemporary works. ⁠
⁠
Laurence's teaching experience began as an assistant at Ballet Montreal Performing Arts School, and she completed her Cecchetti Associate certification in 2022. This teacher certificate allowed her to teach many students starting from 3 years old. Her passion for teaching is constantly growing as the years go by. ⁠
⁠
In Laurence's own words, "I’m so excited to be joining the Mill Ballet and Roxey Ballet family. It will be an amazing season and I’m so thrilled that I will get to meet you all very soon." Please join us in welcoming Laurence as she begins with us this summer, teaching ballet and pointe in the Ballet Technique Intensive and continuing through the 2024-25 season!⁠
⁠

Skylar Fry grew up in Naples, Florida, where she began dancing at age three, training at Backstage Dance Academy and Gulfshore Ballet. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with Honors from the University of Arizona, earning a BFA in Dance and a BA in English in addition to a Pre-Law Thematic Minor and Technical Writing Certificate. She is honored to have been selected as the Outstanding Senior for both the School of Dance and the College of Fine Arts for her work in scholarship, community, and service in her field. Skylar has trained in classical ballet, modern, jazz, tap, hip hop, salsa, contemporary, choreography, and dance pedagogy. She has performed excerpts from George Balanchine’s Serenade, David Parson’s Side Effects and Nascimento, and Jose Limon’s The Winged and There is a Time. She has also attended workshops in Gaga and Countertechnique, served as assistant choreographer and soloist for an interdisciplinary multimedia performance called PlanetScape, and choreographed a music video for Murray Decock’s Right Here, Right Now. In her next chapter, Skylar is ecstatic to join the Roxey Ballet team as an artist and teacher at the Mill Ballet School, bringing her passion for movement and experience as an instructor. She cannot wait to share her love of dance onstage and encourage the dreams of her future students!

Giovanni Ravelo began his ballet training at

Anna Pavlova School in Bogotá. He studied at the School of the National Ballet of Cuba and in the professional division of the Rock School for Dance Education. Giovanni was a member of National Ballet of Colombia, one of the most important folklore companies in the world. Invited to perform the role of Romeo by Ballet Theatre of Scranton in 2003, he later moved to the US as a member of The Roxey Ballet Company, Inc, with whom he performed works created for him such as Times Square Goodbye, Lago inOthello, and in Wheels and Bodies in Motion at the Joyce Theater, NYC. Giovanni has also choreographed several pieces for The Roxey Ballet Company, Inc, including Frida, Narcisa, Bread for Your Heart, andIn the Orchard. He has been a guest artist with Northeast Youth Ballet, Contrast Dance Theater, and Les Ballets Grandiva, and performs with Les Ballets Trockadero de Montecarlo. Giovanni is the rehearsal assistant and ballet master of Roxey Ballet Company.

Pinja Sinisalo was born in Vantaa, Finland. At the age of 16 she had the privilege to be accepted for the Hungarian Dance Academy, under the direction of Szakály György. She received the 3rd prize in the choreography competition with her piece "Szürkület" in 2014 and a jury diploma with her piece "Forgotten" in 2015. She also won the 3rd prize in the non- solo category, with the duet "Neapolitan Dance from Swan Lake", in 2016. Pinja graduated in 2017, completing the Bachelor Degree in Arts specialized in Classical Ballet. From there she started her professional career with Ballet of Sorbisches National Ensemble, under the direction of Mia Facchinelli in Bautzen, Germany. She had the amazing opportunity to tour all over Germany with the company, performing very versatile repertoire in different styles - ballet, folk dance, contemporary and dance theatre. In 2019 Pinja joined Roxey Ballet Company and has performed in multiple principal and soloist roles. Pinja has also thought masterclasses in Finland.

Reggie. O is a Dancer, Choreographer, and Teacher from Pennsylvania Who has experienced many different areas of entertaining and performing! From the stage to the Television set and even Catalogs and Magazines. Some of Reggie’s credits include dancing for Toni Braxton, Macklemore, Keke Palmer, Pitbull, Ozuna, and The Weeknd at his most recent performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show! Reggie has also danced on and been featured in a host of Award shows and music videos on Networks such as Nickelodeon, BET, VH1, and MTV just to name a few. In addition Reggie.O has also been featured in and has choreographed commercials and Promotional ads for products and companies such as Boost Mobile, Samsung, Costume Gallery Dance Catalog and Dance Apparel as well as Pastry Sneakers! It is Reggie’s Hope to one day be a Positive and Influential Staple In The Pennsylvania Dance Community and history! Reggie believes that hard work will gain you access to anything you want in this world and with his all of his experiences and many more to come there is no doubt that Reggie.O will become the influencer that he aspires to be!

Pinja Sinisalo was born in Vantaa, Finland. At the age of 16 she had the privilege to be accepted for the Hungarian Dance Academy, under the direction of Szakály György. She received the 3rd prize in the choreography competition with her piece "Szürkület" in 2014 and a jury diploma with her piece "Forgotten" in 2015. She also won the 3rd prize in the non- solo category, with the duet "Neapolitan Dance from Swan Lake", in 2016. Pinja graduated in 2017, completing the Bachelor Degree in Arts specialized in Classical Ballet. From there she started her professional career with Ballet of Sorbisches National Ensemble, under the direction of Mia Facchinelli in Bautzen, Germany. She had the amazing opportunity to tour all over Germany with the company, performing very versatile repertoire in different styles - ballet, folk dance, contemporary and dance theatre. In 2019 Pinja joined Roxey Ballet Company and has performed in multiple principal and soloist roles. Pinja has also thought masterclasses in Finland.

Pamela Hetherington

Since 2013, she has created award-winning work for the The Philadelphia Jazz Tap Ensemble that has been commissioned by numerous cultural institutions, received multiple awards, and most of all, has fostered deep and lasting connections between tap dancers and jazz musicians, thus building bridges between the audiences of dance and music. The PJTE was the 2023 Overall “Fringie” Award winner, given by the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, for her piece, “Terry Pollard: A Jazz Epistolary.” For the company, she has choreographed multiple commissions for the Fairmount Waterworks, Philadelphia Jazz Project, Creative Philadelphia, and PhillyCAM and her work has been presented by Solar Myth, ArtYard, Symphony Space, the Barnes Foundation, Allentown Art Museum and more.

Pinja Sinisalo was born in Vantaa, Finland. At the age of 16 she had the privilege to be accepted for the Hungarian Dance Academy, under the direction of Szakály György. She received the 3rd prize in the choreography competition with her piece "Szürkület" in 2014 and a jury diploma with her piece "Forgotten" in 2015. She also won the 3rd prize in the non- solo category, with the duet "Neapolitan Dance from Swan Lake", in 2016. Pinja graduated in 2017, completing the Bachelor Degree in Arts specialized in Classical Ballet. From there she started her professional career with Ballet of Sorbisches National Ensemble, under the direction of Mia Facchinelli in Bautzen, Germany. She had the amazing opportunity to tour all over Germany with the company, performing very versatile repertoire in different styles - ballet, folk dance, contemporary and dance theatre. In 2019 Pinja joined Roxey Ballet Company and has performed in multiple principal and soloist roles. Pinja has also thought masterclasses in Finland.

Caitlyn Kresky was born and raised in New Jersey where she began her training in classical ballet, contemporary, jazz, and tap. At the age of 16, she continued her pre-professional training at The Rock School for Dance Education. Upon graduation, she joined Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Graduate Program. Caitlyn began her professional career with Columbia Classical Ballet under the direction of Brooklyn Mack. She also had the opportunity to perform as a guest artist with The Charleston Ballet in Dracula. Caitlyn joined Roxey Ballet as a Company Artist for the 2022/23 season. When she is not in the dance studio, she continues to share her love for movement as a Pilates instructor. Both Pilates and dance require an attention to detail and emphasize quality, control, and proper alignment. Caitlyn is super excited to join the staff of The Mill Ballet School.

Pinja Sinisalo was born in Vantaa, Finland. At the age of 16 she had the privilege to be accepted for the Hungarian Dance Academy, under the direction of Szakály György. She received the 3rd prize in the choreography competition with her piece "Szürkület" in 2014 and a jury diploma with her piece "Forgotten" in 2015. She also won the 3rd prize in the non- solo category, with the duet "Neapolitan Dance from Swan Lake", in 2016. Pinja graduated in 2017, completing the Bachelor Degree in Arts specialized in Classical Ballet. From there she started her professional career with Ballet of Sorbisches National Ensemble, under the direction of Mia Facchinelli in Bautzen, Germany. She had the amazing opportunity to tour all over Germany with the company, performing very versatile repertoire in different styles - ballet, folk dance, contemporary and dance theatre. In 2019 Pinja joined Roxey Ballet Company and has performed in multiple principal and soloist roles. Pinja has also thought masterclasses in Finland.

Ella Hyatt is a current tap and ballet teacher at the Mill Ballet School. She began her dance training at the age of 3 in creative movement with Mrs Roxey and for the next 18 years became classically trained in ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, contemporary, and flamenco dance. Throughout her years studying at the Mill Ballet, Ella performed in all main stage and in-studio productions with Roxey Ballet Company through 2022, with her favorite roles being Spanish from The Nutcracker and Rat from Pied Piper. As a teacher, she enjoys fostering her knowledge of dance education and making connections with students, creating a safe space for them to learn, grow, and have fun. Outside of being a teacher at the school, Ella is currently studying to be an ultrasound technician. She is forever grateful for all the memories she has made and looks forward to making more with her students.

Pinja Sinisalo was born in Vantaa, Finland. At the age of 16 she had the privilege to be accepted for the Hungarian Dance Academy, under the direction of Szakály György. She received the 3rd prize in the choreography competition with her piece "Szürkület" in 2014 and a jury diploma with her piece "Forgotten" in 2015. She also won the 3rd prize in the non- solo category, with the duet "Neapolitan Dance from Swan Lake", in 2016. Pinja graduated in 2017, completing the Bachelor Degree in Arts specialized in Classical Ballet. From there she started her professional career with Ballet of Sorbisches National Ensemble, under the direction of Mia Facchinelli in Bautzen, Germany. She had the amazing opportunity to tour all over Germany with the company, performing very versatile repertoire in different styles - ballet, folk dance, contemporary and dance theatre. In 2019 Pinja joined Roxey Ballet Company and has performed in multiple principal and soloist roles. Pinja has also thought masterclasses in Finland.

Christina D'Astoli began her dance training under the direction of former Broadway actress Alison Gertner-Mann at the Center for Music, Theatre, and Dance in Jackson, New Jersey. Christina graduated with honors from Montclair State University (MSU) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance in 2017. At MSU, she studied ballet, pointe, and various modern techniques such as O’Donnell, Limón, Horton, and contemporary. She has performed in choreographic works by Larry Keigwin, Christian von Howard, Fredrick Earl Mosley, Antony Tudor, Nancy Lushington, and others. Christina has previously trained at the Princeton Ballet School Summer Intensive and attended the Tuscan Summer Dance Intensive in Livorno, Italy. Christina danced with the Roxey Ballet Company between 2017-2022 and she is honored to be a part of the faculty of the Mill Ballet School.

Teaching team

current and past faculty include