Faculty

With unmatched experience and expertise, our faculty empowers dancers to reach their goals, refine their technique, expand their artistry, and thrive in a warm, supportive environment.

  • Founder · Owner · Director

    Michelle Chwastiak is a choreographer and instructor with 17 years of teaching experience. She began her dance training under Charlotte Klein in Worcester, MA, and went on to earn her BA in Dance from Dean College, graduating Summa Cum Laude, as a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and as the recipient of the Joan Phelps Paladino Award for outstanding talent in dance and promise in dance education.

    During her studies, Michelle trained internationally at the Laban School in London and Dock 11 in Berlin. After graduating, she moved to New York City, where she continued her professional development at the Ailey School, Broadway Dance Center, and Steps on Broadway. She performed with several contemporary dance companies and later launched her own company, presenting work throughout NYC.

    After more than a decade in New York, Michelle found her home on Cape Cod in Yarmouthport. She continues to travel to NYC monthly to choreograph and teach for the elite competition team at Nadia’s Performing Arts Centre in Queens. Her choreography has earned consistent recognition at both regional and national competitions, reflecting her unique artistic voice and commitment to excellence.

    Michelle currently teaches modern dance at Cape Cod Community College and, after founding and directing the Cape Symphony Dance Company for the past four years, she is proud to step forward with her own vision: Danceport, a brand-new dance studio and training center opened in November 2025.

    With deep passion for both teaching and choreography, Michelle is dedicated to developing the next generation of dancers—helping them reach their highest artistic and technical potential. She also welcomes adults of all backgrounds, inviting movers with or without prior training to discover, rediscover, and deepen their love of dance.

  • Born in Italy, Francesca Ruini trained under Donatella Sturam of the Aterballetto Dance Company in Reggio Emilia. She continued her studies at the prestigious École Supérieure de Danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower in France. Her training includes Ballet, Pointe, Pas de Deux, Floor Barre, Variations, Jazz, Contemporary Dance, and Mime, under the guidance of internationally renowned masters such as Daniel Frank of the Paris Opera, Jose Ferran, Monica Saez, Rosella Hightower, Claude Winzer, and Miss Claire of the Joffrey Ballet.

    Miss Francesca brings over 25 years of teaching and choreography experience across Europe and the United States. She has taught Ballet, Pointe, Variations, Choreography, Floor Barre, and Stretching, and has held faculty positions at Salve Regina University and the Portsmouth Abbey School. Her students have gone on to attend elite programs, including the Youth America Grand Prix Finals, summer intensives at the School of American Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet, and year-round training at the American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, The Rock School for Dance Education, Master Ballet Academy, and the Annarella Sanchez Conservatory of Ballet in Portugal.

    Francesca nurtures the joy of dance in students of all ages, emphasizing discipline, teamwork, curiosity, and a deep love for the art form. Her teaching is rooted in French, Vaganova, and Cecchetti techniques, offering a rich, well-rounded classical foundation for every dancer she guides.