Nina M. Scattaregia, Somatic Movement Education and
Director of The Dance Factory & Augusta Youth Ballet Company
            A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Nina received her dance training at a small local studio in her community.   She attended Point Park College and received a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and minor in psychology in 1977.   She continued her dance training at the School of Pittsburgh Ballet Theater while teaching dance in the Pittsburgh area.  She has trained at Steps on Broadway and Broadway Dance Center in New York City.     
            Nina is the Director of The Dance Factory which opened in 1994 and founded the Augusta Youth Ballet Company, a non-profit performance ensemble in 1998.  She has choreographed for the Buckhannon Community Theatre and has been an adjunct faculty member at West Virginia Wesleyan College since 1993 in the Physical Education Department in the Musical Theatre and Dance program since 2003.
            Nina has been a guest teacher in the 2004 and 2005 Dance West Virginia Mini Festival held each fall at Jackson’s Mill.  She has also been a guest teacher at James Madison University in Virginia and taught at the American College Dance Festival in 2005 and also at the West Virginia Wesleyan College Modern Dance Consortium for the last five years.
            She is a member of Dance West Virginia, a state-wide organization committed to providing educational and scholarship opportunities to young dancers.   She is a member of the National Dance Association.   Through The Dance Factory, she has been a member of the Buckhannon-Upshur Chamber of Commerce for 4 years.  She was the recipient of the Athena Award given by the Chamber of Commerce in 2003 and was awarded a Dream Maker Award in September 2005 by the West Virginia Women’s Commission.
            Nina began her studies in Somatic Movement therapy five years ago in Northampton, Massachusetts at the School for Body-Mind Centering.  In August, 2006, Nina received her certification as a Somatic Movement Educator.   She is a member of ISMETA, the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association.   She will continue her training to become of Practitioner of Somatic Movement Therapy over the next three years and will also begin training in Cranio-sacral therapy through the Upledger Institute in March, 2007.  Nina is the first Somatic Movement Educator in the state of West Virginia.

About Somatic Movement Education:
“As a certified and registered Somatic Movement Educator, I will offer classes and individual sessions in movement education and movement repatterning.   I work through various systems of the body; including skeletal, muscles, ligaments, nervous system, developmental patterns, natural reflexes and equilibrium responses to facilitate and support movement.  Movement, repatterning and a strong focus on the mind-body connection are used to encourage wholeness and well-being.”      
                                                Nina M. Scattaregia/RSME

Kipp Colvin, Instructor of Jazz, Tap and Gymnastics

Kipp is a graduate from Glenville State College. He has been teaching master classes for the past 10 years throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Kipp is a member of Dance Masters of the Bluegrass where he is currently serving as the 2nd Vice President and Chairman of the Scholarship Pageant. He has also been a national adjudicator for Dance Masters of America and various competitions throughout Ohio and Kentucky. His students have won many local, state, and national scholarship awards in ballet, tap, and jazz. His competition groups have also won many overall awards. Kipp loves working with students and he believes in positive dance training and exposing students to many different styles and types of dance. Student Programming Coordinator for Glenville State College

Donna Carpenter/ Office Manager

Donna is a native of Bluefield, WV and a 1973 graduate of BUHS. She has been active in early BCT productions and also church choir. Donna was a Music Education Major at WVU. Donna has had the opportunity to be the office manager at The Dance Factory for the last five years. Having a background in music, arts, and crafts, she wears many different hats at the studio including, but not limited to, costume design, construction and repair, set construction, shoe wrangler, hallway monitor, listener and advice giver, and the role of being “that mean lady in the office.” However, even with all she has to do, you can always find a smile upon her face.

Sasha Harvey/Gymnastics Instructor

Sasha trained in ballet at The Dance Factory and was a member of the Augusta Youth Ballet. She has been an instructer in gymnastics the last three years at the studio. Sasha was a Level 7 competitive gymnast at the WV Training Center in Morgantown, WV and specialized in floor exhibition and balance beam.

Bridgett Lewis/Gymnastics Coordinator

Bridgett is a 1994 graduate of Buckhannon Upshur High School. For the past three years, she has been a volunteer cheer coach for the Buckhannon Youth Football League, a homeroom mother and PTO President at her daughter’s, Kendra’s school, and has also worked at Front Porch Collections. Bridgett joined the staff of The Dance Factory in 2004 and is enjoying working with the students in the gymnastic and cheer programs.