owners
Kristin Iovanni
Teaches acrobatics, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, tap and solos
Miss Kristin has been dancing for 28 years and has 10 years of teaching experience with children and adults of all ages. She spent the majority of her dance career at Dance Center of Malden where she assisted for 5 years and was the acrobatics teacher for 4 years. Upon graduating from Malden High School, she attended Salem State University where she earned her minor in Dance. While at Salem State she choreographed for Repertory Dance Theatre and performed for Salem State Dance Ensemble. Miss Kristin is trained in and teaches many styles of dance but her favorite to teach has always been acrobatics. In 2021, Miss Kristin became a certified acro dance teacher with the Acro Dance Teacher Association.
Meredith Murray
Teaches hip hop and solos
Miss Merry has been dancing for 28 years and teaching for 11 years. Miss Merry spent her dance career at Dance Centre of Malden where she was an assistant for 5 years and the hip hop teacher for 6 years. After graduating from Malden High School, Miss Merry performed and choreographed for Lesley University’s Dance Team followed by Salem State’s Repertory Dance Theatre and performed in SSU’s Dance Ensemble. Miss Merry teaches a variety of dance styles, but her favorites are hip hop and contemporary. Opening a dance studio with her best friends where her dance career began has been a dream come true. Miss Merry sharing her love and passion for dance has always been important and SU8 has continued to make this possible. She is so excited for this dance season to begin and can’t wait to meet all of the new members of our SU8 Family!
Mary Williams
Teaches contemporary, jazz, lyrical, and solos
Miss Mary has been dancing for 28 years. She began teaching dance to younger students upon opening Stand Up 8 Dance Studio and has had plenty of experience choreographing throughout her college career. Miss Mary also completed 100 hours of barre teacher training in 2017. She first began dancing at three years old in Boston. After moving to Malden, she found a new dance family at Dance Centre of Malden. After graduating Malden High School, she attended Salem State University, where she minored in dance. While at SSU, she choreographed for Repertory Dance Theatre and performed for Salem State Dance Ensemble. Miss Mary teaches many styles of dance but her favorite to teach is lyrical. In 2016, she was presented with the once in a lifetime opportunity to open up a dance studio of her own alongside her best friends. Opening a studio in Malden is her way of giving back to the community that helped shape her into the dedicated and passionate individual that she is. Miss Mary loves bonding with her students over their shared love of dance and she can’t wait to dance with you!
Teachers
Brittany McFeeley
Teaches Tiny Tots
Miss Brittany has been dancing for 24 years. Her dance career started when she was three years old when she began taking classes at Dance Centre of Malden. At the studio, she discovered her passion for dance and found lifelong friends. In 2016, she graduated from UMass Amherst with a Bachelors of Science degree in Psychology and minored in Sociology and Education. She was so excited to come home from college to her friends opening their own dance studio. She is enthusiastic and grateful to be part of the Stand Up 8 faculty. This is her 3rd year teaching. She hopes that she can bring the same joy to her students that dancing has always brought to her. Of equal importance, she also hopes that they’ll laugh at her jokes.
Christine Caulfield
Teaches Ballet
Miss Christine (also known as Miss Teeni) has been dancing since she was just 7 years old. She started taking lessons with her best friend Miss Brittany and instantly fell in love with the art of moving to the music. Over the past 22 years, Miss Christine has studied many forms of dance with each of the Stand Up 8 teachers, including ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, modern/contemporary, and pointe. Ballet is her favorite type of dance because it is so graceful and elegant (and she LOVES wearing tutus!). She even dreamed about being a professional ballerina as a little girl! As a teenager, Miss Christine was a teacher’s assistant for ballet classes at her old dance studio for several years where she enjoyed helping other young ballerinas learn their craft. Today, Miss Christine works full time as a registered nurse at Boston Medical Center and is so excited to be joining her friends at Stand Up 8 Dance Studio for her third year as a ballet teacher!
Morgan Ronan
Teaches Minis and Tap
Miss Morgan started dancing at 2.5 years old at Dance Centre of Malden, where her love of movement and music was kindled At DCM Miss Morgan learned various styles of dance such as tap, jazz, acro, contemporary, and hip hop. Miss Morgan danced at DCM for 18 years where she learned precise dance techniques from talented mentors and made great memories with forever friends, including her fellow teachers of Stand Up 8.
After dancing at DCM, Miss Morgan took a few years off to focus on her education; after graduating with her B.S in Psychology at UMass Amherst she began working full time in special education. Miss Morgan loves working with children, so in 2021 when she was asked to teach dance with her friends at Stand Up 8, she was absolutely delighted! Miss Morgan is excited to start her second year teaching and share her passion for dance and music with her students.
Aliya Carter
Office Manager
Miss Aliya’s dance obsession began when she was 4 years old. Her family had just come to Massachusetts from the Caribbean and when she saw her 3 older cousins performing in a recital, she knew she wanted to be up there with them. Her primary focuses were tap and jazz as those were her favorites, but she has since dabbled in contemporary, lyrical and hip hop. In 2017, Miss Aliya graduated from Lasell College with a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Communication & Promotion and a minor in Event Management. On the weekends, Miss Aliya is a Product Development Specialist for the TJX Companies, but come Saturday morning, she puts on her dance hat and hightails it to Malden to spend her day with the Stand Up 8 family. As the aunt to 6 nieces and nephews, she has always loved kids and really enjoys being there to make their day at dance extra special.
Assistants
Natalie Tarantino
Natalie has been dancing for 12 years and this is her 4th year as an assistant. She first began dancing at 5 years old and has been a member of Stand Up 8 Dance Studio since it opened in 2016. Natalie’s favorite style of dance is acrobatics. Outside of dance, Natalie is on the Malden High Gymnastics Team and loves spending time with her family and friends. In 2018, Natalie won the Stand Up 8 Award. In 2021 she was the winner of the Meaghan Noel Scholarship Award. Natalie is always pushing herself to better her technique and skills. She is extremely dedicated and always helping her classmate. Natalie loves helping the younger students and is assisting the Tint Tots, Minis, and PreAcro
Noelle Marulli
Noelle has been dancing for 14 years and this is her 3rd year as an assistant. She first began taking dance classes when she was 2 years old and has been a member of Stand Up 8 Dance Studio since it opened in 2016. Noelle’s favorite style of dance is jazz. When she’s not dancing, Noelle enjoys playing softball and hanging out with her friends and family. In 2017, Noelle won the very first Stand Up 8 Award! In 2022 Noelle won the Meaghan Noel Scholarship Award. Noelle is hardworking and very dedicated to dance. Noelle is enthusiastic and eager for the dance season to begin and will be assisting Tiny Tots, Minis, and PreAcro.
Gwendolyn Vaugh
Gwen is 15 years old and has been dancing for 12 years. Her favorite dance style is tap. She is a sophomore at Malden Catholic High School where she is on the school’s robotics and rugby team. has been a member of Stand Up 8 since it first opened in 2016. This is Gwen’s first year as an assistant and she will be assisting our Juniors class. In 2018 Gwen was the winner of the Stand Up 8 Award.
Isabel Jones
Isabel has been dancing for 7 years and this is her first year being an assistant. She first started dancing when she was 7 years old and has been a member of Stand Up 8 since it first opened in 2016. Her favorite style of dance is hip hop. Isabel is a freshman at Malden High School where is is on the basketball team. Outside of the dance world, Isabel got her black belt in karate and also works for her dojo as well. In 2022 Isabel won the Stand Up 8 Award. Isabel is very excited for the new dance season to begin and will be assisting the Juniors this year.