FACULTY

At the Center for Learning and Engagement, we have an excellent assortment of faculty members from all fields and all walks of life. Our teachers consist of dancers, actors, singers, comedians, craftspeople, and artists of all sorts. To learn a little more about our CLE faculty, you can find your teacher and their background here. 

Eloise McFarlane

A West Coast native, Eloise McFarlane has been dancing since the age of two. She began her training at Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, WA, where she gained a classical foundation, and continued studying ballet at the Eugene Ballet Academy, Oregon Ballet Academy, and Flex Studios, all based in Eugene, Oregon. 

Eventually, she began to shift her focus to modern, contemporary, and hip-hop styles, and was a member of Flex Studios’ competitive team for three years, participating in competitions throughout Oregon and Washington. 

Lindsay Pontius

Lindsay Pontius has been working professionally as an actor, director, and teaching artist both regionally and internationally for over 30 years. 

She has taught in public and private schools throughout New England, including Mt. Greylock Regional High School, Westover School and Simon's Rock. She has served on the faculty of undergraduate and graduate education at the University of Vermont. She was a founder and developer of several school-based programs for the nationally acclaimed and Kennedy Center award-winning Shakespeare & Company Education Program.

Since 2012, Pontius has developed The Town Hall Theater Education Department in Middlebury, Vermont which now annually serves more than 20 schools and over a thousand children in Vermont. 

Keziah Wilde

Keziah Wilde grew up in the Boston area and has loved writing her whole life. In high school she wrote and performed spoken word poetry, including at Louder Than a Bomb poetry competitions. She attended Middlebury College, graduating in 2024, where she double majored in Film and Media Culture and Neuroscience. For her film thesis, Keziah wrote a feature length screenplay and has continued to work on screenwriting in her free time since graduating.  

While at Middlebury, Keziah began writing and performing comedy with the sketch comedy troupe Middlebury Discount Comedy. You can also catch her performing standup at the Vermont Comedy Club and around Burlington.  

Jeremy Holm

Jeremy Holm is a television, film, theater and voice actor based in New York City. He gained recognition for his roles as Agent Nathan Green on Netflix's House of Cards and Mr. Sutherland on USA Network's Mr. Robot. Holm also appeared in ABC's What Would You Do? His films include The Ranger,  and Brooklyn 45 both of which premiered at SXSW, Herd, The Block Island Sound, Silo, and Unintended, to name a few. 

A proud member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA, Holm combines a strong academic foundation—holding an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee—with his passion for storytelling across mediums.

Vanessa Dunleavy

Vanessa Dunleavy is a 500-hour certified yoga teacher, movement and meditation instructor, dancer, and singer. A native Vermonter, she moved to New York City to attend Circle in the Square Theatre Conservatory and spent 15 years working professionally in the performing arts, where she discovered yoga as a grounding and sustaining practice alongside a demanding performance career.

In 2020, Vanessa returned to her hometown of Middlebury to raise her family and is grateful to be teaching in the community that raised her. Her classes range from seated meditation to high-energy yoga and dance fusion, with an emphasis on accessibility, curiosity, and honoring individual bodies.

Vanessa also teaches Music Together in early childhood centers and runs Vanessa Dunleavy Vocal Studio from her home, where she works with singers of all ages. She is a certified Thai Massage practitioner and the co-author of two original musicals, Showing Up and My Post Traumatic Cruise Ship Cabaret.

Evelyne Germain

Evelyne Germain trained at Boston Conservatory of Music, the Graham School, Les Ballets-Jazz de Montreal and with Shelley Ismail among others. She has taught dance at St. Michael's College, UVM, CD&FS, VBT School, Spotlight Vermont and at Ottawa Dance Center. She has worked as a dancer and/or actor with Ottawa Dance Theater, Axis (Mime) Theatre, Théâtre La 16ième, Champlain Shakespeare Festival, and Shakespeare in the Barn. 

She has been in Middlebury for 9 years now, during which time she has taught dance to youth from all around Addison county.

Rachel Edwards

Rachel Edwards has been practicing and teaching Yang Style Taiji Quan in Vermont for over 20 years.  Her Taiji training is rooted in the Tung family lineage curriculum which also includes sword and knife forms, push hands and partner exercises that train practitioners to listen with both mind and body in order to be responsive and responsible within all relationships.  

Rachel completed a Masters of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York City in 2001, and has been practicing acupuncture and herbal medicine in Addison County ever since.   In 2022 Rachel became ordained into the Quan Zhen Long Men (Complete Reality Dragon Gate) Dantai Bidong sect as a 23rd generation Daoist priest of the Parting Clouds Daoist Temple Community.   Rachel lives in Lincoln, Vermont. 

David Rose

David Rose learned to dance in San Francisco during the swing dance craze some 20 years ago.  He was taught and studied under many world class dancers and teachers. He specializes in swing, East Coast, Lindy Hop, Balboa and Collegiate Shag and has traveled throughout the US and Europe teaching and dancing.  

Since arriving in Vt. 12 years ago, he has taught dance at Middlebury College, St Michael's College, the Waldorf schools and  many of our Town Halls from North Nero to Brandon.  He loves to dance and wants to share this art form with as many students as possible. 

Kellie Thomas

Master Kellie Thomas began training in Taekwondo at age twelve and got her first degree black belt in 1992 while she attended UVM. She has been teaching since shortly after, first at a school in Colchester, and then all over Vermont. In 2008, she launched her own Tae Kwon Do school, TKD K.I.C.K.S, in Middlebury and soon after opened a second location in Vergennes. She is now a 6th degree black belt and has been training and teaching Tae Kwon Do for over 40 years. 

Tae Kwon Do literally translated means “foot, hand, the Way.” Foot refers to kicking, hand refers to punching, and the Way refers to the 5 tenets: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self control, and indomitable spirit. Through her teaching, Master Thomas imparts her students with these tenets, encouraging them to take the teachings of Tae Kwon Do with them outside of the classroom.

Barbara Wilch-Doyle

Barbara Doyle-Wilch has been a dedicated ballet instructor at Middlebury College since 2003. Her early training took place in Chicago at the Stone-Camryn Ballet School, followed by her studies as a dance major at the Jordan College of Music, Butler University, where she earned both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in dance.

She performed with Dance Kaleidoscope, the Colorado Ballet and Colorado Dance Theater until she retired from performing at age 30 and focused on teaching and librarianship.

With over 50 years of experience, Barbara finds immense joy in the dual pursuits of teaching ballet and developing libraries. She specializes in classical ballet technique, employing a traditional class structure, and is passionate about sharing her love of ballet with her students.

Krystal Young

Krystal Young completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training in Arcata, CA. In Humboldt State University's dance program, she studied Jazz, Bellydance, West African Dance, Creative Dance, and Choreography. She taught yoga and HIIT classes in Northern California before moving to Vermont in 2022. Krystal now leads movement/dance classes at Town Hall Theater, where she also serves as bar manager.