FELICE SANTORELLI
PVPA
Felice Santorelli, 7-12
Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School
Felice received her Ed.M. from Rutgers University and BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Shenandoah Conservatory. Her teaching work ranges from K-12 to higher education and adult professional development. She was introduced to the DEL model in 2009 and soon thereafter completed the DEL Facilitator program. She is a facilitator for DEL 92Y and DEL at Jacob’s Pillow and the current leader of the dance department at Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School in Western Massachusetts. Felice teaches choreography, improvisation, contemporary, ballet, jazz and dance history to students in grades 7-12. She is the Artistic Director of the school’s contemporary student choreography dance company and is the lead teacher for the PVPA DEL Mentorship Program, in which middle and high school students lead dance-making residencies in local elementary schools. As a dance educator, Felice places great value on creative experiences linked to improvisation and choreography and the development of young artists and their unique voices and perspectives. She aims to offer learning opportunities through various creative processes that allow students to see themselves as members of the dance community and to see the value of making art based on their own lived experiences.
Felice Santorelli (Ed.M Dance Education, B.F.A. Dance and Choreography) is a DEL facilitator with DEL 92Y and DEL at Jacob’s Pillow, leading professional development for dancers and dance educators. Felice leads the dance department at Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School (PVPA) in Western Massachusetts. Felice’s teaching experience ranges from K-12 to higher education. Felice is experienced in designing dance curriculum that blends skill-building in technique, creative dance making, improvisation, and dance history, drawing connections between dance and the world and other art forms. Felice is the Artistic Director of Catalyst, a student choreography Dance Company with an emphasis on the development of young dancers and choreographers, whose work has earned recognition at the Regional and National level. Felice leads the DEL dance mentoring program at PVPA, established by Ann Biddle with support from the Arnhold Foundation. Felice’s work and the work of her students is featured in Nel Shelby’s documentary film PS Dance! The Next GENeration which premiered in 2022 on PBS. Additional work includes Pilot Teaching for the National Core Arts Standards for Dance, numerous presentations at the National Dance Education Organization Conference, mentorship for members of the DEL Institute, as well as contributions to curriculum writing projects for the NYC DOE.