Faculty and Administration
Elizabeth Gaynor, Founder and President
Elizabeth M. Gaynor has been a dancer, teacher, arts advocate and pivotal figure in the performing arts in Connecticut for more than 40 years. In 1970, she founded the Elizabeth Gaynor Studio with a single class for 5 year olds in a small studio in her home. She served as principal teacher and director as the school grew and evolved first into the Southport Ballet School, then the Connecticut Ballet Theatre School and finally, in 1994, the Connecticut Dance School, widely known for its excellent standard of dance technique for its students. She has retired as director, but continues to serve as president of the not-for-profit organization.
Beside teaching students, the school she founded offers scholarships to area children and provides outstanding performances in and for the public schools in the greater Bridgeport area. As a result, thousands of local children have the opportunity to experience the joy of a live dance performance.
Elizabeth Gaynor’s formal dance studies began as a child with Duncan style dance training and continued with studies in ballet and modern dance. Her dance teacher training was with The Royal Academy of Dance in London, where she is a registered teacher. She also studied with teachers and at workshops throughout the United States. She performed professionally with Dancers of Faith, Folk Art Trio, Encore Dancers and Opera New England.
Moira Murphy Wright, Artistic Director
Moira Murphy Wright, who teaches upper level ballet students, received her initial training at the Ballet Center of Buffalo in Buffalo, NY where she studied with Kathleen Crofton. As a scholarship student, Moira studied during her summers at the Chautauqua Institute Dance Department and the New York State Summer Ballet in Saratoga, NY. She danced with several civic ballet companies as well as Buffalo Ballet in Buffalo, New York, Richmond Ballet in Richmond, Virginia and Frankfurt Ballet in Frankfurt, Germany. She joined the CDS faculty in 1992, was named Assistant Artistic Director in 2013, and became Artistic Director in 2018. In 2014 Moira completed her three-year American Ballet Theater Certification. She is now ABT certified to teach pre-ballet through ballet 7 and partnering, a goal achieved by only a few of the world’s finest teachers.
Patrice Pudvah Logan, Head of Lower School
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Patrice Pudvah Logan holds a Teacher’s Certificate from the Hartford Ballet School. She has taught, danced and choreographed throughout the state and is well known for her creative work with young children. She joined the CDS faculty in 1987. Patrice has set a standard of excellence in dance training for pre-ballet, beginning ballet and young jazz students. She is highly regarded as a master teacher and has conducted many successful teacher training workshops.
Patricia Robson, Wardrobe Mistress
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Patricia Robson received her early dance training with Dorothy Alexander in Atlanta, Georgia, later at the School of American Ballet and with William Dollar in New York City. She has taught for the Atlanta Ballet School, Russel Fratto's Ballet Etudes in Norwalk, Connecticut and the New England Dance Theater in New Canaan, Connecticut. She joined the CDS faculty in 1995 and is wardrobe mistress for all CDS productions.
Emily Frangipane, Teacher - Modern and Jazz Workshops
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Emily Frangipane studied dance and theater arts at Emerson College, where she earned a BFA and, for the past 15 years, has been teaching dance to students from 18 months through the teen years. During that time, she has also performed in and choreographed productions of “Godspell,” “Grease,” “Evita,” and “Pippin,” and was a member of the cast in National Tour of “Jesus Christ Superstar.” In that show, she was a swing performer and the assistant dance captain. She joined the CDS faculty in 2012.
Dona Wiley Kim, Teacher - Lower Level, Intermediate, & Adult Ballet
Dona Wiley Kim received her pre-professional dance training at the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance in Connecticut under the direction of James Robey, and studied ballet at many professional level summer intensives including the American Ballet Theater summer program in New York City. Dona Wiley Kim is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. As a dance instructor, she has taught ballet and pointe, choreographed new works, and set classical repertoire in studios throughout New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. As a freelance dancer, she currently works with the New York based dance company Lydia Johnson Dance and as the rehearsal director and co-founder of CelloPointe. Her past company credits also include Connecticut Ballet, Staten Island Ballet, Felice Lesser Dance Theatre, Neville Dance Theater, IKADA Dance, Ballet Inc, and the Taormina Teatro Group where she enjoyed a principal dance role in the off-broadway play Tchaikovsky. Notable career highlights include performing the title role in Staten Island Ballet’s production of Carmen, as well as dancing the choreography of George Balanchine, Emery LeCrone, and Gabrielle Lamb.
Chihwan Kim, Teacher - Advanced Levels & Boys Ballet
Chihwan Kim holds an MA in Dance Theater from Kookmin University in South Korea. Kim has been a ballet educator for the past 11 years and has taught the Vaganova technique throughout the United States and South Korea, including Betsy Daily School of Performing Arts (PA), Dance Strong Dance Academy (NJ), School of the GwangJu City Ballet (South Korea), GwangJu Art High School (South Korea), and many other local studios. Chihwan Kim is an ABT certified teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT Teacher Training Intensive in levels pre-primary through level 3 of the ABT National Training Curriculum. As a professional ballet dancer, Kim has performed with many companies, including the GwangJu City Ballet Company as a principal, where he performed leading roles in the entire classical repertoire. He also performed as a guest artist with the Korean National Ballet on several occasions, and in the United States with Roxey Ballet (NJ) and CelloPointe (NYC). Kim received his training at the GITIS Russian University of Theater Arts in Moscow with Ilia Anatolivitch Migachev. Upon completing his training, he went on to win a gold medal in the International Ballet Competition in Korea.
Debra MacDonald, Teacher - Pre-Ballet & Introductory Ballet
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Debra MacDonald joined the CDS faculty in September 2010. She teaches creative 1, creative 2, pre-primary 1 and outreach teen ballet, and has an extensive background working with children. She holds a degree in Early Childhood Education. She also teaches at the Westport Dance Collective and was the lower school coordinator for The Ballet School of Stamford. She has trained and performed with several regional ballet companies.
Annick Moreau, Teacher - Intermediate & Advanced Ballet
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Annick Moreau started dancing at the age of six. At 16, she went to Strasbourg, France, to perfect her technique and learn the famous Russian method Vaganova. Three years later she went to the Academie de Danse Classique, also in Strasbourg, to learn more about the French technique and later taught ballet there to children ages 5 to 10 years old. While teaching she also danced professionally with the local company ODE. In 1993 Annick moved to Montreal, Canada, where she danced for the singer Celine Dion. After auditioning for Cirque du Soleil in 1997, she moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, to perform in the resident Show Mystère. She retired from dance in 2004, and became a certified Pilates instructor. Annick joined the CDS faculty in 2016.
Julianne Warfield, Teacher - Intermediate Ballet
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Julianne Warfield studied at Connecticut Dance School for nine years. While at the school, she performed leading roles in the Nutcracker including Arabian, Flower Soloist and Sugarplum Fairy. She spent her summers dancing at the Joffrey Ballet School in NYC, American Ballet Theatre master classes, The American Academy of Ballet at Vassar College and Connecticut Dance School. She became a trainee with the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City during her college years. Upon college graduation she joined Connecticut Dance School as a faculty member in September 2008.
Jeanne Wingate, Teacher - Pre-Ballet
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Jeanne Wingate studied at Broadway Dance and Steps in NYC and performed with Kim McIver in Zebra, a Greenwich, Connecticut-based dance company. Miss Wingate also studied and performed with D’Valda & Sirico Dance Center in Fairfield and trained in the Dance Masters Certification Program for teachers. She joined the CDS faculty in 2004.
Dyan DeCastro, General Manager
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Originally from Ohio, Dyan is a graduate of Kent State University with a bachelor's degree in Business Communication. After college Dyan moved to New York and worked as a Trade & International Sales Director for a children’s publishing company. She has also worked in advertising and has been a PTA President. Dyan and her family moved to Fairfield in 2004. Her passions include music, marketing and Essentrics - a stretching, strengthening and re-balancing fitness program. For the past five years she has been teaching Essentrics at CDS and that is how she developed a love for the school and its mission.
Jean Gaynor, Administrative Assistant
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Jean Gaynor studied and performed classic hula in Hawaii. Jean has many years of experience in public relations and has been administrative assistant at CDS since 2000.
Wendy Probert, Dancewear Depot Manager and Buyer
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Wendy Probert has studied ballet and jazz since childhood. As an adult, she pursued a second career in the fashion industry with Fenn Wright and Manson, Jenne Maag and Nannette Lepore. She has also managed retail shops including Henry Lehr and Letarte Swimwear. However, she always found time to continue taking dance class at many well-known studios in NYC and at CDS in the school’s adult classes. As manager/buyer for Dancewear Depot, the in-house dance boutique at CDS, Wendy marries her two loves, dance and fashion. You will find her expertly fitting pointe shoes, dressing students in the latest dance wear, educating dancers about fit and studio fashion.
Alan Woodard, Director Emeritus​
Alan Woodard trained in London, England and danced with English National Ballet for six years. He was leading dancer and ballet master with Ballet Santiago, Chile, after two seasons as soloist with the National Chilean Ballet. He holds the Advanced Teacher’s Certificate (with honors) from the Royal Academy of Dance and has studied pedagogical courses for teachers (6-year syllabus), Kirov method, in St. Petersburg. As teacher, director and choreographer, he was formerly at Arts Educational Trust, Ltd in England, the University of Chile in Santiago and the Metropolitan Ballet Company in Bethesda, Maryland. In Jackson, Mississippi, he was Artistic Director of the Company, as well as choreographer and Director of Ballet Mississippi School. He became Artistic Director of CDS in June 1993.