Meet our instructors
Our instructors come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences to diversify classes and teaching styles for our dancers. We are proud to have many studio alumni return to teach the next generation of Starship dancers!
Studio Manager & Teacher
Faith Anderson
Faith Anderson has been a dance educator for eight years. She recently graduated from Skidmore College, with a B.A. in dance and economics. Whilst at Skidmore she danced for Hettie Barnhill, Chia-Ying Kao, and Brian Lawson, Jason Ohlberg, Erika Pujič, and learned choreography from A.I.M by Kyle Abraham. Faith began her teaching career and training at Starship Dance Theater and is very excited to return. She has received multiple grants from Skidmore College for educational and choreographic projects at Starship. Faith is also an avid researcher, observing the cultural importance of dance in different societies as well as explaining trends in dance through an economic lens. As part of her degree in economics, Faith has been researching any gender wage differences in collegiate dance departments and hopes to continue researching dance funding with sport economics
Advanced Ballet teacher
Marissa Behuniak
Marissa Behuniak trained Pre-Professionally with New Haven Ballet, Nashville Ballet, and BalletMet. She then went on to train in NYC with Ajkun Ballet Theater as a trainee. Following her departure from the company she decided to continue her education at Branford Hall Career Institute and became licensed in Massage Therapy. Later, upon her acceptance to Broadway Dance center’s Professional Semester she trained with world class teachers, concentrating in Hip Hop and Musical Theatre. While in NYC she was selected to perform in Jacqulyn Buglisi’s ‘Table of Silence’ tribute to 9/11. Marissa has had the privilege of teaching and choreographing for STARSHIP DANCE STUDIO and THEATRE as well as other studio’s and theater groups around CT including Kidz Konnection, New Haven Ballet, Vista Life innovations and others. Marissa is currently a full time ‘Homeschool Mom of Three’ and is absolutely thrilled to resume her teaching role at Starship Dance Theatre!
Dance teacher
Lucia Crete
Lucia Crete has always found herself loving movement and passing that love on to younger dancers. She is trained in contemporary, ballet, pointe, and modern. At the age of three, Lucia started dancing at Christian Academy of Dance which is now known as Ekklesia School of Ballet and she remained there until her high school graduation. In 2017 she joined the youth company at Ekklesia and was given amazing opportunities to travel to New York City, dance in Times Square, along with working with talented choreographers, such as Steve Rooks and Kevin Jenkins. She attended summer dance intensives from a young age, joining the professional company at Ekklesia when she was 16. In July 2020, she was given the opportunity to be part of Ekklesia’s professional company along with teaching ballet classes at the school. Lucia took a year off of dance to pursue her private pilot’s license at Goodspeed Flight Academy and obtained her pilot’s license in May of 2023. She looks forward to being back in the studio and passing on her love of dance to other student dancers.
Ballet teacher
Haley Mazzucco
A proud Starship alumni Haley Mazzucco is excited to return to the studio as a part of the teaching staff. After beginning her training at Starship, Haley went on to graduate from the Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory, where she trained in Classical Ballet, Pointe, Modern, Russian Character, and Musical Theater. Some of Haley’s performance highlights include Sugarplum Variations and Pas de Deux (The Nutcracker), Snow Queen (The Nutcracker), Gamzatti Adagio Pas de Duex (La Bayadare), and Swanhilda Variations (Coppelia), along with contemporary works by Thel Moore III (Charlotte Ballet) and Brian Reeder(NYCB). Having taught Pre-Ballet for many years and substituted across all levels, Haley brings a deep love of dance and teaching to each class.
