Main Stage Academy Staff & Teachers

Lucille Naar-Saladino
Founder, Executive and Artistic Director, Teacher
Lucille started dancing at the age of 5 and landed her first professional job when she was 15 years old. She was a featured dancer and model in an industrial show called Campus Cut-Ups at the Lambs Theater in NYC. During high school, she taught tap, ballet and jazz at a dance school in Queens, NY. After graduating from the famous High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan, she continued to teach until she was accepted into The Radio City Rockettes. Lucille danced with the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall and on tour.

After Radio City, Lucille danced in various revues in Reno, Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas, Nevada and also in Atlantic City, NJ. Lucille also performed in the National Tour of the Broadway show 42nd Street and played Anytime Annie in 42nd Street at the Claridge Hotel In Atlantic City. Other regional theater credits include: Girl Crazy, Babes in Arms, Guys and Dolls, Funny Girl, etc. Off-Off Broadway straight plays: Del Muenz at the Bishoff Gallery at the Playwrights Horizon Theatre, NYC, Listen to the Lions at the John Houseman Theatre, NYC. TV and movie credits: The Mike Douglas Show (featured dancer), NYPD Blue, Law and Order, The Equalizer, Switch, She-Devil.

Lucille is a proud member of AEA, AGVA, AFTRA and SAG. She is also a member of the Rockette Alumnae Association. She has worked with many celebrities like Lorna Luft, Bill Cosby, Sammy Davis Jr., Dionne Warwick, Frank Sinatra Jr., Kenny Rogers, etc. She has a Bachelor’s degree from SUNY Empire State College with a major in education and a minor in theatre arts. Lucille has taught dance and musical theatre in NYC, Florida and New Jersey and has judged dance competition in Atlantic City. Locally, she choreographed Southold High School’s Thoroughly Modern Millie, Oliver, Gypsy at the North Fork Community Theatre and Peter Pan at Greenport High School.

Karen Catapano
Teacher
Karen has been a resident of the North Fork for 7 years and loves living here.  Although trained as an RN, Karen has studied dance for many years, including ballet, jazz and modern.  She studied at the Joan Sheary School of Dance in Massachusetts with focuses on ballet and lyrical and has taken numerous classes at Broadway Dance Center and Steps Studio in NYC.  She taught ballet and studied at The Conservatory of Danse Arts in Bridgehampton and performed and assistant choreographed yearly productions of the Nutcracker Suite at Long Island University.   Karen  taught at LIU and  performed at the Guild Hall Community Theatre in East Hampton in productions of Oklahoma and Fiorello! and assisted in the choreography.  She is thrilled to be teaching and studying at MainStage Dance Academy.

Dotti-Dawn Stevens
Teacher
Dotti-Dawn has been dancing since the age of 3 and dancing competitively since the age of 7. Her dance styles include acrobatics, hip-hop, jazz, ballet and tap. She has won numerous platinum and high gold awards in various dance competitions. Dotti-Dawn takes classes at Broadway Dance Center and Alvin Ailey in NYC. She has also competed in many beauty pageants and won many Jr. Supreme and Grand Supreme titles. She is a Greenport High School Cheerleader and recently played Tiger Lily in GHS’s production of Peter Pan.

Lia Daniele
Teacher
Lia teaches ballet, jazz and hip-hop. Lia has studied at the Joffrey Ballet, Broadway Dance Center and is a graduate of the prestigious Hartt School at the University of Hartford. She has taught at Broadway Dance Center in NYC, the Ballet-Arts School in Pelham, NY and many competitions and conventions nationally and abroad. She has performed Bye Bye Birdie, West Side Story and Guys and Dolls at regional theaters around the tri-state area. Latin dancing is also one of her specialties. In 2005, Lia was invited to dance with the New York Performers Project at the 19th World Dance Congress in Cypress, Greece.

Vicki Densieski
Studio Manager & Special Needs Teacher
Vicki started dancing at the age of 6 and since then she has studied many forms of dance, including Jazz, Tap, Modern, Lyrical and Ballet. She started studying ballet at the age of 13 under the instruction of Cynthia Sturner, prima ballerina 1979-1982, and has traveled to NYC where she studied with Kat Wildish at the Broadway Dance Center. Vicki has performed many solo variations in the Nutcracker, including Sugar Plum Fairy, Dew Drop and Toy Soldier. Since the age of 13, Vicki has participated in many dance competitions as a soloist as well as part of a group. She has been awarded many high scoring awards; in 2003 she tied for a National Title. Vicki started choreographing at the age of 16 for Riverhead High School Show Choir. After graduating from high school, she taught for the dance studio in Riverhead where she began her studies. Many of Vicki's students have competed in competitions receiving high scores, special awards and first-place rankings, including a choreography award. Vicki is a certified New York State Teaching Assistant working with children with special needs, which she has done for over 10 years. She has been trained in ABA and behavior modification and enjoys bringing the joy of dance to all special needs children and adults.