Instructors

Edra Toth

Edra Toth was born in Budapest, Hungary and left with her family at the age of four during the Hungarian uprising in 1956 and came to Boston. She became the protégé of E. Virginia Williams, the founder of Boston Ballet, at the age of 13, dancing in Les Sylphides. She was promoted to Principal Dancer within two short years, and became a national star at the age of 16, dancing the lead in Giselle opposite Ivan Nagy in less than a weeks’ notice. She was the Prima Ballerina and leading star for the Boston Ballet for over 10 years, dancing with some of the world's leading male dancers such as Rudolf Nureyev, Ivan Nagy, Samuel Kurkjian, Edward Villella, and Woytek Lowski.

While at Boston Ballet, she danced every ballerina role including Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Cinderella, Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Carmen, Swanhilda in Coppélia, and Swan Queen in Swan Lake. Her Balanchine repertory includes the Sylph in Scotch Symphony, 2nd Movement in Symphony in C, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Allegro Brilliante, Terpsichore in Apollo, Liberty Bell in Stars and Stripes, Tarantella, Serenade, Concerto Barocco, Pas de Dix in Donizetti Variations, and Vase Fantasia. She has also danced the role of the Cowgirl in Rodeo, Le Corsaire Pas de Deux, Arietta, Sea Alliance, and many original works in Boston Ballet’s annual Choreography Showcase Competitions.

Miss Toth also danced at Boston’s Symphony Hall with the Boston Symphony under the direction of the great maestro Arthur Fielder which was filmed and aired nationally on PBS. As a guest artist, Miss Toth has danced internationally and created the role of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet for the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. She also studied the Bournonville technique in Denmark for four years with Adel Pederson and Fleming Rydberg. Miss Toth has also been Principal dancer with the Boston Repertory Ballet and danced the role of Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker with the North Atlantic Ballet. Miss Toth has appeared with the Boston Dance Company in Ruth St. Denis’ Incense, James Reardon’s Trauermusik and Verdi Variations.

Miss Toth’s own choreography includes Magic Mountain, Seamus’ Quest, Dracula, The Pirate and the Gypsy, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and Snow White. Her dedication to the art of ballet lead her to open her own ballet school in 1973 while at the apex of her career. This school has evolved into that which is now Northeastern Ballet Theatre. Miss Toth was asked by Governor Lynch of New Hampshire to join the Governor’s Council on the Arts, and is a former member. She continues to inspire the young dancers of today through her passion and dedication to passing on the classical traditions of ballet. For more information on Miss Toth's Boston Ballet career, please click here and here.

Karen Ponton

Miss Karen has been teaching ballet and pointe for forty years, drawing on her background as a nurse to focus on correct technique and proper alignment to prevent injury.  She enjoys sharing her passion for ballet with students of all ages and every ability, and hopes every one of her students will continue dancing for a lifetime. Before coming to NBT in 2011, she taught in CT and then the Midwest, most recently in Minnesota where she developed the pointe curriculum for Fourth Street Dance Center in White Bear Lake. Miss Karen was trained primarily in the Vagonova tradition and the (Gus) Giordano Jazz technique, and she still takes class whenever she can. Miss Karen attended the DEA Teacher Training School in NYC and was certified as a dance instructor by NADAA. While in CT, she performed with the Coulon Danse Consortium in its ballet and jazz companies, and she appears in many of NBT's performances, including The Wizard as Professor McGonagall, Dracula as The Lady in the Park, and as Frau Silberhause and Grandmother in The Nutcracker.

Susan Endrizzi

Susan Endrizzi began her training at the Robertson School of Classical Ballet. In 1994, she received her B.F.A. in dance performance from Butler University. Her professional credits include performances with Ballet New England and Ballet Theatre of Pennsylvania. Endrizzi joined Jose Mateo's Ballet Theatre of Boston in 1995 where she danced original choreography for nine years, taught all levels for eight years, and was a rehearsal assistant for two years. Other teaching credits include University of Massachusetts Boston and Portsmouth School of Ballet. Endrizzi teaches Ballet I, Ballet II, and Pointe at the University of New Hampshire. She is also a personal trainer and has taught ballet fitness classes.

Naomi Sawyer

Naomi Sawyer received her early training in ballet, jazz and tap under Kay Welch in

northern Vermont, with summer intensives at Broadway Dance Center, the Joffrey Ballet in NY, and Boston Ballet School. As a student at the Boston Ballet School she performed in Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty, and went on to perform with the Orchesis Dance troupe while attending the University of Vermont. Since then, she has performed liturgical dance primarily under the direction of Cheri Williams and provided classes and consultation on dance injury prevention. Naomi has been a licensed physical therapist for 19 years, working in outpatient neuro rehab with a specialty in Vestibular rehab. She is a member of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science, as well as a principle dancer with NBT. She is devoted to evidence-based practice and instruction, and providing the most up-to-date education and care for her clients. Naomi is

passionate about bringing together her knowledge as a therapist with her

experience as a dancer to help other dancers fulfill their potential and “dance

longer, dance stronger!” She is also a homeschooling mother of two beautiful children. Naomi dances for the sheer joy of it. She has been dancing with NBT since 2013, dancing several lead roles including Wilhemina in Dracula, Anna in The Snow Queen, as well as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker.

Iona Darling

Iona Darling has been dancing with NBT since the age of 5. Born with an innate love of dance, she worked her way up from Clara to Sugar Plum Fairy. She has attended many summer intensive programs including NBT, American Ballet Theatre, and Ellison Ballet.  She has been able to perform in NBT’s Dracula, The Pirate and the Gypsy, Sleeping Beauty, and The SwanLake in Lead Roles. When she’s not dancing Iona runs her own small business, Miss Iona’s Beauty Box. 

BrèAna Hager-King

BrèAna Hager-King has been dancing for eight years. Before joining NBT, she was dancing all styles of dance competitively for six years including ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, modern, lyrical, hip hop, and more. She has trained and competed in the southern region as well as the northeastern region. BrèAna has been training under Edra for three years now and has been teaching Level 1 and Level 2 dancers since 2019. She has also performed in the 90th and 93rd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City. She has taken opportunities to attend classes taught by professional choreographers from all across the country.

Ella Roberts

Ella Roberts danced at New England School of Dance (NESD) for nearly 12 years and is currently a freshman at UNH majoring in chemical engineering and dance. Ella has done summer intensives at NESD, Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory, Bossov Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Ballet Hartford, and Festival Ballet Providence. She has also done various master classes with notable artists like Christina Johnson, Paul Craig, Desmond Richardson, Sascha Radetski, Isabella Boylston, James Whiteside, Francesca Hayward, Caesar Corrales, and more. She has competed in various dance competitions from American Dance Awards to Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) where she placed in the top 24 senior classical division at YAGP in 2021, the top 12 senior contemporary division 2022 at YAGP, and was awarded the highest score for ages 13+ for her self-choreographed solo at ADA 2022. She has also had the opportunity to perform lead roles such as: Clara, Tinkerbell, the Scarecrow, Sugarplum, and most recently Cinderella.