Instructors

Edra Toth

Edra Toth is a distinguished dance educator whose teaching is grounded in an extraordinary professional career and a deep commitment to classical ballet. Trained under E. Virginia Williams, founder of Boston Ballet, and celebrated early as a Principal Dancer and Prima Ballerina, Miss Toth brings first-hand experience of the highest artistic standards into the studio. Her extensive performance background—spanning the full classical and Balanchine repertory, international guest appearances, and advanced study in Bournonville technique in Denmark—shapes her thoughtful, disciplined, and artistically rich approach to teaching.

In 1973, at the height of her performing career, she founded her own ballet school, now known as Northeastern Ballet Theatre, where she has dedicated herself to developing technically strong, expressive, and professionally prepared dancers. Many of Miss Toth’s students have gone on to train and dance with prestigious institutions, including The Royal Ballet, Ellison Ballet, and Boston Ballet, a testament to her ability to recognize potential, nurture talent, and prepare dancers for the highest levels of the profession. Through her passion and commitment to teaching, Edra Toth continues to shape the future of classical ballet.

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. 

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.

Cristin Chabot

Former professional ballet dancer Cristin Chabot is currently a faculty member at Boston Ballet School. With over 25 years experience teaching classical ballet, Cristin brings a keen eye to support the technical development of her students. Cristin attended the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts for high school. Upon graduation from NCSA, she landed her first job with Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah where she performed in numerous classical ballets such as Giselle, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet,The Dream, and the Nutcracker as well as many repertory pieces. After performing with Ballet West Cristin took a job performing as a principal dancer for Northwest Florida Ballet in Pensacola, Fl. where she eventually became the assistant director and choreographer. She currently teaches all levels of ballet technique and pointe at Boston Ballet School. Cristin is also a certified Pilates instructor and salsa dancer with the Iroko Ladies Boston performance group under the direction of Iroko Dance Academy Director Denisse Cambria.