Faculty & Staff

Elizabeth Parkinson

Owner and Founder
Dance Director

Ballet, Jazz, Theatre Dance

Elizabeth is the Co-Owner and Co-Director of FineLine Theatre Arts. Highly acclaimed in ballet, modern, and jazz styles, Ms. Parkinson has performed worldwide as a principal with the Joffrey Ballet, Feld Ballet, Peridance Contemporary Ballet Company, Donald Byrd/The Group, Mark Dendy and Dancers, and Twyla Tharp Dance. In 1999, she segued to Broadway and received tremendous praise as a lead in Fosse and later in the hit Twyla Tharp/Billy Joel musical, Movin’ Out, where she earned the 2003 Tony-Award nomination and the highly coveted Astaire Award for best female dancer on Broadway. She has appeared in the filmsStay, Romance and Cigarettes, and Every Little Step. As a freelance artist, Elizabeth has performed at Carnegie Hall with Clint Holmes and at the American Dance Festival with Martha Clarke. She teaches master classes and workshops nationwide including at the North Carolina School of the Arts, The West Coast Dance Explosion, and The Joffrey Summer Intensive. She is also currently on the musical theatre faculty at Western Connecticut State University and a Director of AIM, a not-for-profit youth dance company. Elizabeth lives to dance and hopes to pass on her passion, love and strong work ethic to her students. Along with her husband, Scott Wise, she is the Co-Owner and Co-Founder of Fineline Theatre Arts.

Email [email protected]

Zoe Czerenda

Ballet, Tap, Jazz

Zoe Czerenda has loved to dance for as long as she can remember and has always been her preferred form of expression. Theatre has provided her with an outlet, a community, and a support system. She completed the majority of her training at Fineline Theatre Arts until graduating in 2015. She was a member of their pre professional repertory dance company, Artists In Motion (AIM). In addition to her dance studies, Zoe trained in acting and vocal performance. At age 15, Zoe started assistant teaching classes at Fineline and showed interest in early childhood education during high school. Witnessing her mother being an artist and teacher, and knowing her grandmother taught, she felt inspired and driven to continue that tradition of being an educator. 

After graduating in 2015, Zoe continued her education at Eastern Connecticut State University, graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics and minors in Communications and Theatre. Being involved in the Theater Department required participating in shows but also included taking classes across other areas of theater including history, costuming, makeup, set design and building, lighting design, directing, and stage managing. The show that Zoe feels impacted her the most was her senior year when they put on a production of Cabaret. She had the opportunity to play Sally Bowles and explore her abilities as a performer. Zoe was a member of Modern Movement, a club led by the head of the dance department, Alycia Bright-Holland. She was on the club’s executive committee, becoming President her junior year, which required her to help plan events and showcases the club would be participating in or hosting, collaborating with other departments and clubs, running and organizing rehearsals, and performing in showcases/events. 

Zoe believes that everyone can and should learn to move their bodies, free of judgment. Dance is meant for all to participate in and enjoy. Zoe wishes to create space for her students to feel comfortable and confident in themselves. She welcomes all her students to try something new, put themselves out there, and support each other as we grow and learn.

Email: [email protected]

Sarah Fay

FineLine Voices, Vocal Performance

Sarah Fay is a versatile music educator and performer.  She has musically directed over thirty school and community theater musicals in CT and NY.  Following her selection as a Tanglewood Young Artist in her youth, she received a Bachelor of Music from Boston University, and a Master of Science in Education (Music) from WCSU.  She is a founding member of the quartet, “ensemble earlybird,” which specializes in Renaissance music and has performed at venues ranging from Yale University’s Battell Chapel to inside the iconic tunnel at Steep Rock. Sarah is an Adjunct Music Instructor and Musical Director for the Spring Musical at The Frederick Gunn School in Washington, CT, and teaches piano and voice at Bearclaw’s Music Academy.  Sarah plays the organ and directs the choir at New Milford’s First Congregational Church, where she is Music Director.  Her upcoming performances include “Tick, Tick, Boom” at the Brookfield Theater for the Arts in October ‘22, “Head Over Heels” at the Frederick Gunn School in February ‘23, and soloist with Crescendo Chorus in March ’23.

Kerry Gallagher

Ballet, Modern

Kerry Gallagher started her dance career at the School of Performing Arts under Arlene Begelman and Barbara Braverman when it was first opened on Bank Street in New Milford.  She then studied at the School of American Ballet in NYC under such teachers as Alexandra Danilova, Elise Reiman, Richard Rapp, Kay Mazzo, Helene Dudin, Antonia Tumkovsky, Muriel Stuart, Andrei Kramarevsky.  While at SAB she had the honor of performing with the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center.  She spent summers training at the New York State Summer School of the Arts in Saratoga Springs, NY under teachers Olga Kostritzky, Bojan Spassoff, Stephanie Wolf, Peter Martins, Stephanie Saland, Heather Watts and other members of the New York City Ballet.  Her professional career began when she became a member of Annamaura Silverblatt and Co. from 1989-1991 where she performed works by the Martha Graham trained Ms. Silverblatt.  She joined Fusionworks Repertory Dance Company under artistic director/founder Deb Meunier from 1991 to 2001performing works by choreographers Art Bridgman and Myrna Packard, David Dorfman, Pooh Kaye, Creach and Koester, David Parsons, Sita Fredrick, Deidre Morris, Laura Bennett, Deb Meunier.  While with Fusionworks, Kerry began her teaching career teaching ballet at the Fusionworks School and also teaching modern dance residencies in public elementary schools throughout Rhode Island.  She danced with Classics Dance Theatre Ballet Company under Artistic Director Catherine Barribal from 2001-2010 performing works by Catherine Barribal, Janet White, Justin Sherwood, and her own choreography.  She dance with Adam Battlelstein of Pilobolus from 2003-2008 performing his work in school systems throughout the country.  Kerry danced with MacArthur Dance Project from 2007-2010 under artistic director Browen MacArthur touring throughout New England.  Kerry began her involvement with the American Dance Legacy Initiative(ADLI) in 2001 while dancing the Parsons Repertory Etude with Fusionworks. In 2005 she was asked to join Dancing Legacy – the performing company of ADLI.   With ADLI and Dancing Legacy, Kerry has performed, taught and coached the Repertory Etudes of David Parsons, Robert Battle, Danny Grossman, Donald McKayle & Anna Sokolow all over the country including many public schools & private dance schools, Brown University & the New York State Summer School of the Arts.  She is honored to be currently working with ADLI on developing the Limon Etude in conjunction with Carla Maxwell Artistic Director of the Limon Company.  In addition to teaching ballet and modern dance, Kerry has taught dance to children with special needs in Brooklyn, NY.  She is a Co Director of Artists in Motion, a 501c3 student pre professional dance company in residence at Fineline Theatre Arts  and is currently developing a program with fellow Co Directors Elizabeth Parkinson & Arlene Begelman to bring dance to children with special needs in New Milford.  Kerry is a certified teacher of the American Ballet Theatre Teacher Training Program in Primary Level through Level 5.

Email [email protected]

Georgina Bates 

Ballet

Georgina Bates is a NY and CT  based dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director. She trained in ballet, theatre dance, Fosse, jazz and hip hop in Los Angeles under teachers such as Jennifer Nairn-Smith, Josie Walsh, and Lisa Kellogg among others. After moving to CT, Georgina trained at SOPA under Arlene Begelman and Barbara Braverman. She was awarded scholarships to various programs such as Musical Theater at CCY (Wesleyan University), American Musical Theater Lab (Hofstra), The Dance Theatre of Harlem School. Georgina holds an M.F.A in Dance from the Tisch School of the Arts (NYU), and a B.A. in Theatre Performance from Marymount Manhattan College. 

Georgina was an originating member of Lauren Beirne Dance Works, and has presented work and performed at venues such as HERE Arts, Robert Moss Theater, Triskelion Arts, DeBaun Performing Arts Center, NYU, IDA Art Gallery, Pianos, The Martha Graham Theatre, and various world peace festivals at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, City Center, Town Hall (NYC), and Lincoln Center.

Ms. Bates’ dance film UNSTOPPABLE was selected from the #mydancefilm campaign and screened at the Film Society of Lincoln Center for the Dance Films Association’s Dance on Camera festival 2018. Other festivals: Stay Home Film Festival, Greensboro Dance Film Festival, DANCE SHORTS by The Physical Plant, and Directed by Women – Shorts of All Sorts. Cloud Kumo (Student Academy Award – 2016 among other awards). Recent productions include Romeo & Juliet (Smith St. Stage), Going South (Dixon Place), Man Frog & Other People (Planet Connections Festivity 2018, Outstanding Choreography nomination), The (Last) Station (Planet Connections Festivity 2017, Outstanding Choreography nomination), Somehow We End Up Here, Again (HERE, Sublet Co-Op Series), The Master and Margarita (West End Theater). She is a member of SDCF Observership Class 2016 -2017, and League of Professional Theatre Women. 

Georgina’s diverse background has inspired her to blend various forms of art to create unique, stirring, and impactful works. Whether teaching privately or in a group setting, Georgina is excited to dig into the work and help dancers shine as their individual selves, knowing that each person has something special to bring to the table. She is mom to two little boys (who love to dance!). 

Trish Haldin 

Resident Photographer

Trish Haldin was a freelance photojournalist for The New Milford Spectrum/Danbury News Times/Hearst Media for the better part of 15 years.  When moving from upstate New York to New Milford, CT in 2001, it was a great way to get to know her community. After covering a story for a Fineline Spring Recital, Trish investigated registering her daughter for acting lessons. That fall in 2011, she photographed the acting performance of “What Lies Beneath” which began a highly successful professional relationship with our school. Because her daughter needed headshots for her auditions, Trish began offering that service officially in 2012 from our tap studio and still offers that service on site several times throughout the year. Trish continues to be production photographer for The Sherman Playhouse and has been hired out for New Milford High School, Theatreworks New Milford and PAC at 32 Below productions. For the past 8 years she has been staff photographer for FineLine’s annual Nutcracker and has just recently been taken on as photographer for Danbury Music Center’s annual production of  their Nutcracker.  Trish is excited to be photographer in residence at FineLine; which helps to extend their consistent growth in excellence in dance, theater and musical performance training.

Scott Wise

Owner, Founder and Director

Acro, Tap, Theatre Dance

Scott Wise , co-director and co-owner of FineLine Theatre Arts, has been Broadway’s leading song & dance man throughout the last three decades. He is a Tony award winner (Broadway’s highest performance honor) for Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. Additionally, he was nominated for the Tony Award for his performances in State Fair and Fosse. He is also the proud recipient of the 1997 Connecticut’s Best Actor in a Musical Award for Lucky in the Rain at East Haddam’s Goodspeed Opera House. You can also see Mr. Wise in the hit movie musical Chicago. A veteran performer of thirteen Broadway shows, Mr. Wise has also choreographed and directed Off Broadway and regionally. He worked side-by-side with Twyla Tharp as assistant director for the award-winning hit musical, Movin’ Out. Certified by the Dance Educators of America, Scott has taught nationwide as well as in New York’s Broadway Dance Center and Step’s on Broadway. Scott is currently on the creative team of the new Bruce Hornsby musical SCKBSTRD. With his background so rooted in performing on Broadway he hopes to share his knowledge, guide aspiring performers, and share the joy he has found throughout his career to students of all levels.

Email [email protected]

Tiffany Billings

Ballet, Jazz

​Tiffany Billings is a professional dancer and Radio City Rockette since 2011. Most recently, Tiffany has been teaching and judging for West Coast Dance Explosion, a national touring dance convention and competition. She has also served as the assistant dance captain for The Rockettes during the 2019-2020 Christmas Spectacular season. Tiffany has appeared on the Tony Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, The Today Show, Christmas in Rockefeller Center, The Chew, The Wendy Williams Show and she has also been featured in Vogue Magazine. Tiffany has extensive background in ballet, jazz, and precision dance and she loves to teach and share her passion of dance with her students all over the country and beyond.

Email: [email protected]

Elizabeth Cox Frabizzio

Ballet, Jazz

Elizabeth Cox began her early training at the School of Performing Arts in New Milford, Connecticut under the direction of Arlene Begelman and Robert Maiorano.  She later continued her studies at Fineline Theatre Arts in New Milford and worked exclusively with Broadway veterans Elizabeth Parkinson, Scott Wise and Mary Ann Lamb. She spent summers dancing at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet.

Professionally, Elizabeth has danced as an ensemble member in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall and for the renowned modern dance company, Momix. She can be seen in Darren Aronofsky’s, The Black Swan, and on the cover of the 2009 ‘Green Issue’ of the New York Times Magazine. As a freelance artist, Elizabeth has assisted Broadway veteran Mary Ann Lamb on projects throughout the tri-state area and has worked with Adam Battlestein’s Catapult Entertainment, which appeared on season eight of America’s Got Talent. In 2015, Elizabeth was named one of Connecticut’s top ’40 under 40’ by Connecticut Magazine for her dance and teaching achievements.

As a teacher, Elizabeth has taught for the past ten years at Fineline Theatre Arts in New Milford and at studios in the greater Fairfield, Westchester and Rockland counties. She is certified to teach beginner/intermediate mat pilates through Power Pilates, NYC. Elizabeth is excited to share her enthusiasm and knowledge to the next generation of dancers.

Email [email protected]

Robin Frome

Acting

Email [email protected]

Ethan Jacques 

Beg/Int Contemporary

Ethan Jacques is a up-and-coming contemporary choreographer and dancer. In 2014, Ethan graduated from extensive training at Fineline Theater Arts and started his study of contemporary dance in New York City at Peridance Capezio Center (Ballet & Contemporary Dance Certificate Program). While studying, Ethan performed work by acclaimed choreographers like Sidra Bell (Sidra Bell Dance New York), Igal Perry (Peridance Contemporary Dance Company), The Oniin Company, Caterina Rago (CR Dance Company LLC), Ronald K. Brown (Evidence), Megumi Eda, and Charlotta Öfverholm (Je de la Vie). After graduating in 2016, Jacques pursued choreography, under the company name JACQUES MOVEMENT LABORATORY. Debuting his first work “What’s A Regular Life?” (Salvatore Capezio Theater 2016), and then continuing: “Within This Room” (Salvatore Capezio Theater 2017), “March of The Sleeping” (Fertile Grounds/Green Space 2017), “Fear Sequence, Detrimental Price” (Salvatore Capezio Theater 2017), “Remember, Forget” (Ballet Arts 2018), “Narcissus In Noir” (Cherry Lane Theater 2020), and “Sexy When I’m Sad” (Cherry Lane Theater 2020). During these years he also performed as a company member for The Next Stage Project, (Jana Hicks & Marjike Eliasberg) as well as PQ Dance (Patrick Quinn), in Several theaters including: Dixon Place, Salvatore Capezio Theater, New York City Ballet Arts, Mark Morris Dance Center, and The Cherry Lane Theater. Jacques continues to create and choreograph, along with celebrating his love for art and dance by teaching at Fineline Theater Arts. 

Mary Ann Lamb

Jazz

MaryAnn Lamb is routinely recognized as the quintessential Broadway dancer. She recently played Young Claire in John Kander and Fred Ebb’s, The Visit, starring Chita Rivera and John Cullum and danced in the film, Rock of Ages, with Tom Cruise. On Broadway she played Mona Page in Curtains starring David Hyde Pierce as well as in the Paper Mill Playhouse production of Curtains, choreographed by JoAnn Hunter. Other Broadway credits include: Contact, Seussical, Fosse, Chicago, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, Song and Dance, Goodbye Girl, Starlight Expres,; and Carrie.  In addition to Broadway, Mary Ann has danced in eight productions at New York’s City Center in the prestigious ‘Encore series. She has played the lead role of Anna in the York Theater’s off-Broadway presentation of New Girl in Town; Lola in Sacramento Music Circus’s production of Damn Yankees; and Cerraine at Boston’s Huntington Theater in Lady From Maxims.  She has danced in a variety of television roles, commercials and films. Among these are the Oscar Award-winning film, Chicago, The In Crowd, Portrait of a Showgirl, As the World Turns, and this fall she was honored to dance with the Muppets in their latest adventure film, Letters to Santa. Mary Ann’s extensive dance career is on display in a PBS documentary titled, Working Dancers II.Her vision of dance is shaped from working with the following choreographers and directors:Jerome Robbins, Graciella Daniel, Gwen Verdon, Ann Reinking, Kathleen Marshal,Susan Stroman, and Rob Marshal.  These luminaries of the theater in addition to many others have inspired Mary Ann to pass on her artistic passion for dance to others. She teaches dance across the nation for Debbie Robert’s Showstopper and she also teaches and choreographs for FineLine Theater Arts with Scott Wise and Elizabeth Parkinson. In the summer, Mary Ann is part of the dance faculty for two prestigious summer theater camps: Destination Broadway in New York City and the Marthas Vineyard Musical Theater Summer Workshop. Mary Ann is married to writer, Don Lowe, and they have three children.

Email [email protected]