Meet The Staff

Paola Rarick was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was exposed to art at an early age from her father who was a writer and renowned director in Argentina. She began her dance training at the age of 6. She has extensive training in Ballet, Tap, Musical Theater and Lyrical dance. Paola danced competitively for 9 years throughout the country. She was a member of nationally recognized and award winning dance companies. She continued her dance training at Broadway Dance Center in NYC. Besides running her dance studio, Paola is also choreographer for Shoreline Theater Company, Artful Living Productions and Branford High School Performing Arts. She loves to bring the joy of dance into theater production. Some of Paola’s theater production choreography credits include: Hairspray, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, The Addams Family, The Producers, Little Shop of Horrors and most recently, Anything Goes. Paola has a bachelor’s degree in corporate communications. She resides in Branford with her husband, Bill and daughter, Bella. 

Miss. Linnea is a four-year teacher at Studio One Dance Company. Even though she has been teaching for two years, Miss. Linnea has been a part of the Studio One family for the last 18 years, beginning at the age of 2, since the studio opened. 

She has received extensive training in many genres including ballet, tap, lyrical, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, musical theater, modern, and pointe, etc. From 2018 to 2022, she was a student at Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School, majoring in dance, and learning from members of the Alvin Ailey American Theater, specifically Earl Mosley. Earl personally selected Miss. Linnea, as well as a limited number of dancers from the entire dance department at her school, is one of only three freshmen, to get selected for a special piece. She is also a member of the National Honor Society for the Dance Arts and was inducted in 2021. She has traveled to perform in other states, such as St. Louis, Missouri, where she performed two self-choreographed pieces in 2021.

Miss Alexa's love for movement began at just 3 years old when she started dancing. After dancing until aqe 9, she discovered tumbling which quickly grew into a passion for competitive cheerleading. She cheered from ages 10-22, competing at the Cheerleading World Championships in 2009 and 2012 before going on to compete at the NCA College Nationals  while earning her degree in Speech and Language  Disabilities at Elmira college.

Alexa began teaching gymnastics and tumbling classes at just 15 year old and continued teaching gymnastics and tumbling while coaching competitive all-star cheer teams throughout her career. She coached at Platinum Athletics on Long Island, where she also had the privilege of leading the gym's special needs team —an experience she considers one of the most rewarding of her career.

Originally from Long Island, Alexa moved to Connecticut in 2016, where she spent three years teaching acro. After taking time away from coaching to raise her three children, she's thrilled to be back doing what she loves at the same studio where her daughter dances.

Alexa loves that acro combines the artistry of dance with tumbling, strength, flexibility, and partner work. Her goal is to create a positive, encouraging environment where every dancer feels supported, builds confidence, and has fun while learning new skills. She believes every child deserves to feel successful and celebrated, and she's so excited to be part of the Studio ONE family this season!