The RSO Gala Couples
Geoffrey Morris and Amy Coyle will dance Broadway jazz
Amy Coyle, artistic director and founder of Art of Dance, LLC, has spent her lifetime dancing. Training includes Ohio and Cleveland Ballet company schools, Chautauqua Institute and the School of American Ballet.
Geoffrey Morris & Amy Coyle A dance major at the University of Utah; she holds a BA with Honors in Communications with a Minor in Dance. She has taught for and trained with Yvonne Mounsey, former Principle with NYCB, who has been rated as one of the top ballet teachers in the U.S. Amy continues to study in NYC to keep up with the latest developments in dance and to enhance her teaching abilities. She is excited to share her passion and love of dance with her students and bring the magic of movement into their world!
Geoffrey James Morris is editor-in-chief of Morris Media Group, which publishes Ridgefield Magazine and townvibe.com, plus Bedford Magazine, Wilton Magazine, Litchfield Magazine, and Fairfield Magazine. Mr. Morris is a veteran of the magazine business—he was executive editor at National Review, a senior editor at Reader’s Digest, and an editor at MBA Jungle. He has written and edited hundreds of articles, book reviews, and editorials and his work has been nominated for two National Magazine Awards. He holds a BA (philosophy) from Hobart College and an MBA from NYU. He lives in Ridgefield with his wife, Martha, and two daughters.
Morton Schnedler-Jensen and Sarah Bouissou will dance the rumba
Morten Schnedler-Jensen - Born in Denmark, Morten began ballroom dance instruction at the age of five. He danced in amateur competitions before he was ten years old, and was a finalist in all the major Danish Dance Sport Championships in the children, junior, youth and adult levels. 
Morton Schnedler-Jensen & Sarah Bouissou
Sarah Bouissou, co-owner of Bernard’s Restaurant, arrived in Ridgefield 11 years ago with her husband Bernard and their four daughters. Sarah grew up in New Jersey where she discovered a passion for food and began her culinary career cooking at Claude's Hohokus Inn in New Jersey. She soon moved to Vichy, France to continue her studies, and then landed a job as a chef at Le Cirque, where she and Bernard met. She later worked at Rakel's in New York under Chef Thomas Keller.
Over 20 years ago, Sarah opened a high-end catering business in New York, which is now flourishing in the metropolitan tri-state area. When Sarah isn’t out catering events, she manages the front of the house and greets guests both at Bernard’s and Sarah’s Wine Bar while Bernard spends his time cooking the best four star cuisine that Ridgefield has ever tasted. Bernard’s gets top marks and rave reviews for both food and wine, with a 2010 Zagat rating of 27-25-26 and the 2010 Best of Award from the Wine Spectator for the outstanding wine list.
Despite her busy schedule, Sarah still finds time to offer her support to the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra, the Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra, as well as the Ridgefield Playhouse. She hosts monthly fundraisers at Sarah’s Wine Bar for many local charities including the VNA, the Boys & Girls Club and Founder’s Hall.
Sarah is really looking forward to winning this year’s Ridgefield’s Dancing with the Stars Competition with her stunning version of the Rumba! Watch out competitors…Sarah’s got some shoes that are made for dancing!
Reed Whipple and Nancy Baldwin will dance the salsa
Nancy Baldwin Andrews, Director of the Ridgefield School of Dance, teaches all levels of Classical Ballet and Pointe from PreBallet through Ballet 7. As Artistic Director, she choreographs the majority of the ballet presentations for The Nutcracker and Spring Productions 
Reed Whipple & Nancy Baldwin AndrewsMs. Andrews holds a B.A. in Dance from Bennington College and an M.A. in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University where her graduate thesis explored the use of dance and arts for special needs children and adults.
Growing up in Norwalk, CT, Ms. Andrews studied ballet from the age of 4 with Claire Deefield and Russell Fratto and spent summers from ages 12 to 18 on Scholarship studying in the professional class at The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo School in NYC.
Her teachers included Maria Swoboda, Leon Danielion, Anatole Vilzak and Casimir Kokitch.
Instead of pursuing a performance career opportunity with a ballet company in Sweden, she chose to attend Bennington College, where she focused on Modern Dance Performance and Composition. The College awarded her scholarships to study at The Martha Graham School in NYC and The American Dance Festival, where she performed with the Doris Humphrey Repertory Group. Nancy has been Chair of three college dance programs.
Reed Whipple is president of Heritage Home Construction, as well as Managing Partner of TotalCare of CT, LLC. Raised in Ridgefield for most of his life, Reed has maintained strong ties and a true commitment to the Ridgefield community. He has served on several building committees and Boards in town, including the Economic Development Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals, Tiger Hollow, the Board of Directors of the Redding Country Club, and Silver Spring Country Club. Heritage Home and TotalCare of CT actively support and contribute to several local charitable organizations. Reed was recently honored by the Ridgefield Old Timers Association, an organization with which he is very involved, and is looking forward to building up the organization’s scholarship endowment for scholar athletes. An avid hockey fan and former player, he was the past Assistant Ice Hockey Coach at Ridgefield High School, and has been keeping in shape in anticipation of his new dancing venture. Reed and his wife Jennifer have two daughters, Katie and Kelly.
Allison Stockel and Karen Casagrande will dance hip-hop
Karen Casagrande, owner of Hot Shoes Dance, holds a B.F.A in dance from Stephens College in Columbia, MO., where she studied Jazz, Modern, Tap, Ballet, Spanish, East Indian, and Hawaiian dance, and was a student of the noted Modern dancer and choreographer Harriet Ann Gray. She was soloist with the Stephen's College Dance Company and toured throughout the Midwest. In New York, she studied with Lee Theodore at The American Dance Machine and with Charles Kelley and
Allison Stockel & Karen Casagrande Frank Hatchett at the Broadway Dance Center.
She has been lead dancer and choreographer for over 25 musicals, with her credits including "Guys and Dolls", "Brigadoon", "Anything Goes", "Fiddler On The Roof", "West Side Story", "Kiss Me Kate", "Man of LaMancha" and "My Fair Lady". Karen also, for many years, volunteered her services as the choreographer of the Veterans Park musicals and continues to choreograph the East Ridge Middle School musicals. She also choreographed the short film "La Toiletta", seen on Nickelodeon. Karen has been a dance teacher for 30 years, owner of Hot Shoes for 25, and is the director, choreographer and lead dancer of the Hot Shoes Dance Company.
Allison Stockel is the Executive Director of the Ridgefield Playhouse. From 1985-2000 she worked in television as a producer. Starting at CNN as a producer of all of the music segments that came out of the NY bureau, she was hired in 1989 by Viacom to create programming for their new network VH1. She has worked for MTV Networks, Time Warner, The Food Channel, Lifetime, and ABC Sports producing entertainment and music-related shows, segments and specials.
In 2000 Allison moved to Ridgefield. She created the Ridgefield Kitchen Tour, was on the boards of the Women's Committee of the Community Center, the RSO, Maimonides Academy, Temple Shearith Israel and The Ridgefield Playhouse. In 2002 she started booking acts for the Playhouse and became the Executive Director in 2004.
Allison and her husband, Jon, have a 10 year old son and a 12 year old daughter. Allison enjoys working out and participating in Triathlons.
Dr. James and Isabelle Gollwitzer will dance the swing
Vote for Dr. James and Isabelle
Isabelle Gollwitzer – Born in Germany, Isabelle started ballroom dancing at the age of 14. She took part in many regional and national competitions and competed very successfully at the amateur level, 
Isabelle Gollwitzer & Dr. Edward Jamesspecializing in Latin dances. Besides her passion for ballroom dancing she also loves Hip-Hop dancing and became South German Hip-Hop Champion. Isabelle joined the Fred Astaire family in May 2010. Together with her partner Andreas Dabbert, Isabelle is current finalist in the Fred Astaire New England Championships in American Smooth.
Dr. Edward James is the Chief of Neonatology at Danbury Hospital. He has been on the staff at Danbury Hospital since 1995. A graduate of Cornell University Medical College and the University of Pennsylvania, he began his practice in 1985. Dr. James is Board certified in Pediatrics and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, and is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at New York Medical College. In addition to Danbury Hospital, he has taught at Penn State University and Yale-New Haven Medical School. A published author, Dr. James has received teaching awards from the Reading Hospital, where he practiced earlier in his career. He is active in community service in Danbury and Fairfield County, and is an award-winning track and field athlete. Dr. James and his wife, Michelle, who is president of the United Way in Stamford, CT, have two children.
Jean Cobelli and Mike Settanni will dance the tango
Ms.Cobelli has taught dance for the past twenty years. She received her BFA in Dance from Rutgers University and MS in Dance Therapy from Hunter College. She studied Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Modern, and performed for the Boston Ballet and the New Jersey Ballet. As a certified Dance Therapist, she worked with children for several years at Bronx Lebanon Hospital 
Michael Settanni & Jean Cobelliand Westchester Medical Center. Her own education and performance background has informed her teaching philosophy and method. "As a young dancer," she writes,"I was captivated with my dance teachers." Ms. Cobelli has designed her program to create memorable experiences for each and every dancer. She and her carefully selected staff expect their students not only to learn to dance, but to feel that the teacher is a partner in the learning experience. "There is no greater reward in life for a teacher," she says, "than to inspire a child." Ms. Cobelli, affectionately known as "Ms. Jean," continues to innovate ways to get dancers to "feel at home" in the studio and to take pleasure in stage performance. "Dance," she says, "has been a lifelong journey for me, and teaching has been the most magical part of it."
Michael Settanni A native of Brooklyn NY, Mike worked on Wall St in NY from 1974-1987. He moved to San Diego and attended SDSU and graduated Summa Cum Laude with distinction in History in 1993. He earned his Masters of Education from National University in 2001. In 1998, Mike won Educator of Year honors in California, and was named Ridgefield's teacher of the year in 2008. He teaches history at East Ridge Middle School and at Founders’ Hall.
Jerry Steichen and Carrie Pin will dance tap
Carrie Pin is the Director of the Mac Donald – Pin Dancers, a family oriented studio that has been serving the Ridgefield community in partnership with Ridgefield Parks and Recreation for over thirty years. Mrs. Pin holds a B. F. A. in Dance Education from Virginia Intermont College. Her lifetime of dance training began, 
Jerry Steichen & Carrie Pinlike many of her students, at the age of 3. Her mastery of all dance disciplines and love for the art shape her teaching philosophy creating a company of dedicated and supportive dancers. In addition to managing the studio and teaching classes, Carrie Pin directs and choreographs an annual performance in June. Carrie enjoys sharing the resources of her skilled dancers with the Ridgefield area through volunteer performances in support of various community groups. Mrs. Pin also teaches Creative Movement classes for the Ridgefield Community Kindergarten. Along with raising four children, Carrie is pursuing Certification and a Masters Degree in Education.
Jerry Steichen -- With a career that ranges from symphony to opera, Broadway to chamber music, Maestro Gerald Steichen has established himself as one of America's most versatile young conductors. He currently holds the position of Music Director of the Ridgefield Symphony (Connecticut) and the Principal Pops Conductor of the Utah Symphony. He is also the Associate Conductor of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, conducting their Classics concerts, the Pops series, Young People's Concerts, and summer Parks Concert series.
Steichen is a frequent guest conductor for the Boston Pops Orchestra and the New Jersey Symphony, and has appeared with the symphonies of Columbus, Oklahoma City, Eastern Connecticut, Purchase (New York) , Hartford, Wheeling, Memphis, and the New York Pops. International appearances include the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo City Symphony, the NDR Philharmonie Hannover at the Braunschweig Festival, and the Norwegian Radio Symphony.
A gifted pianist, Steichen performed on stage for the New York City Opera's acclaimed productions of Porgy and Bess and Carmina Burana. He has also appeared on Broadway, portraying Manny, the Accompanist in the Tony Award-winning Master Class. Moving from Broadway performer to conductor, he toured nationally as the associate conductor with The Phantom of the Opera, The Secret Garden, and Peter Pan and was the principal conductor of CATS in New York for two years.
Steichen's conducting skills and love for opera eventually led him to a staff position with the New York City Opera. He made his Lincoln Center debut at the State Theatre, conducting performances of La bohème. Pursuing his passion for education, Steichen has also spent eighteen years with the "Meet the Artist" series at Lincoln Center as conductor, clinician and pianist. In 2007, he led the New York City Opera Orchestra and soloists in a live WQXR broadcast of Wall to Wall Opera from New York's Symphony Space. He has also conducted the Utah Symphony & Opera, Anchorage Opera, New Jersey Opera Theater, Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, NY, and Opera East Texas.
Originally from Tonkawa, Oklahoma, Maestro Steichen holds degrees from Northern Oklahoma College, Oklahoma City University and the University of Southern California. He currently resides in New York City.