Senior Manager/Lead Teacher
Joan Meggitt is the Senior Manager of Neurological Programs at Playhouse Square, designing and implementing dance, movement, and arts programming for people living with neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease. Meggitt has taught dance for people of all ages and abilities for more than 30 years, and has engaged in research investigating dance and disability, PD, and Multiple Sclerosis. Meggitt was the inaugural and lead instructor of the Yes, I Can Move! dance program at InMotion (2015-24). She served as Director of Education & Community Engagement with GroundWorks DanceTheater (2022-24), associate professor of dance at Kent State University (2005-19), founding director of Antaeus Dance (2001-17), and director of the Allegheny Summer Dance Intensive (1999-2015). She has taught, choreographed, and performed throughout the United States and abroad. Meggitt’s work in dance, education, and community has been and continues to be inspired and informed by countless other dance artists, educators, scholars, students, and community members.
Meggitt is completing the Dance for PD® Teacher Certification program and, when complete, will be the only certified Dance for PD® Teacher in Ohio and the surrounding region.
Photo: Dale Dong
Demonstrator
Amy Notley is from the Cleveland area and started dancing at a young age. As a child she studied at the School of Cleveland Ballet. She has a BA in Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Akron. After college Notley had a scholarship from STEPS on Broadway in NYC. She was then a member of Do Jump Movement Theatre in Portland, Oregon. Notley has also danced professionally in Cleveland with SAFMOD Performance Ensemble, Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre, and Antaeus Dance. She was a teaching artist for Arts Impact for more than 10 years and has also instructed dance in the Cleveland Public Schools. Notley continues to love dance and especially likes dancing at Viva Dance in Asia town.
Trainee/Demonstrator
Ally began her dance journey at the Beck Center in 2007 and has come full circle, now teaching ballet at the same studio where her passion first took shape and all over Northeastern Ohio. Over the years, she has performed in dozens of children’s, teen, and professional productions and showcases, gaining a wealth of experience on stage. Currently, Ally is pursuing a degree in dance at Cleveland State University, where she is an active member of the CSU Dance Company. In addition to her academic and dance commitments, she works part-time at the Cleveland Children’s Museum, where she brings her creativity and energy to young visitors.
Musician/Dance Accompanist
Karin Tooley has a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has accompanied ballet and modern dance at Mather Dance Center at Case, the Cecchetti Council of America Summer Dance Intensive, Cleveland City Dance, Cleveland School of Dance, Cleveland School of the Arts, Cleveland San Jose Ballet, Verb Ballets, Dancing Wheels, Cleveland Inner City Ballet, CSU Dance, and Fairmount Fine Arts Center. She also serves as pianist at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland and has accompanied Windsong, Cleveland's Feminist Chorus for 20 years. In 2012, Karin performed with CityMusic Cleveland in the children’s opera Brundibar. That same year she joined the Chagrin Falls Studio Orchestra and began branching out into musical theater, pops, film music, and American classics. Karin has served as rehearsal pianist and played in the pit for South Pacific, Company, Titanic, Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma!, Beauty and the Beast, and Footloose. She plays keyboard with the Don Disantis Orchestra on many weekends.
Heather Young holds a Master of Fine Arts in Contemporary Dance from Case Western Reserve University and a Bachelor of Arts from Hamilton College. In July 2022, she was promoted to Executive Director of City Ballet of Cleveland. Young is also a dance instructor at Cleveland City Dance and a yoga instructor at Yoga Roots. She has worked as an adjunct faculty at Lake Erie College, Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland State University. Young was a Teaching Artist with Groundworks Dance Theater, an instructor for the Read to Learn…Dance to Move program with DANCECleveland, and teaches Yes!..I Can Move classes for people with Parkinson’s disease at InMotion.
Young has danced professionally with Antaeus Dance, Verlezza Dance Company, Marquez Dance Project, and Tikvah Company of Artists. She has performed in works by notable choreographers including Martha Graham, Pascal Rioult, Carolyn Dorfman, May O’Donnell, Amy Miller, and Elisa Monte. She recently returned to performing with Ajayi Dance, Sarah Holmes Villanueva and Marquez Dance Project.
Young is also a seasoned choreographer whose works have been performed at the Northeast Ohio Dance Festival, Case Western Reserve University, Allegheny College, and Hamilton College. Her work, Let My Hero In, premiered at Cleveland Public Theatre’s DanceWorks’14. She was also a choreographer for Cleveland Dance Exchange’s Top Ten during Cleveland Public Theatre’s DanceWorks’15. She has also choreographed for several school musicals, most recently the Disney's Lion King Kids at Lomond Elementary School, part of the Disney Musicals in Schools program with Playhouse Square.
Young and her husband live in Shaker Heights with their two boys and two dogs.
Tori Zegarelli is a mover, creator, and educator based in Cleveland.
She has performed professionally with Aerial Dance Chicago, Dance in the Parks, Hedwig Dances, and most recently, GroundWorks DanceTheater. During her time with GroundWorks, Tori had the privilege of performing works by renowned choreographers including Antonio Brown, David Shimotakahara, FLOCK (Alice Klock & Florian Lochner), Olivier Wevers, Peter Chu, Rena Butler, Sidra Bell, and Spenser Theberge. In her final seasons with the company, she also served as Artistic Associate and Web Designer, contributing both artistically and administratively.
As an educator, Tori has worked with dancers of all ages, teaching at Cleveland State University and in various pre-professional programs throughout the Chicago and Cleveland areas. She has also facilitated and assisted with numerous community outreach programs in Cleveland Public Schools and adult education settings.
Tori holds a BFA in Dance from Point Park University. She is a certified yoga instructor and integrates somatic practices into both her teaching and personal movement research. Her work is rooted in sharing the joy of dance, fostering connection, and encouraging a continual pursuit of excellence.
Have questions about Dance for Parkinson’s classes? Please contact Joan Meggitt at 216-640-8725 or joan.meggitt@playhousesquare.org.