Meet the Instructors

• Samantha Puleo is a proud native of the Mt. Washington Valley. Her dance training began in North Conway at the age of five. Jeanne Limmer was the first to teach Samantha about the beauty and simplicity of body, space, force, and time. Over the course of 13 years Samantha danced, trained, apprenticed and taught at the Jeanne Limmer Dance Center, as well as spending the latter years as an active member of Axis Dance Company. Upon graduating from Kennett High School in 1998, Samantha attended Keene State College. Under the direction of Marcia Murdock and William Seigh, she spent four years training, performing, and choreographing in the tri-state area. In 2002 Samantha received the Alta Lu Townes Memorial Dance Scholarship, a prestigious award granted to a senior pursuing a career in the performing arts. Throughout her stay at KSC Samantha was fortunate to study with present day dance greats such as David Dorfman, Peter Pucci, Pearson/Widrig, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and Rennie Harris. With a BA in Theatre and Dance as well as a BS in Elementary Education, Samantha set out to experience dance training in New York City! For the next four years she trained at Peridance Center, Dance New Amsterdam, and the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio. While expanding and improving her dance technique, Samantha was introduced to Pilates training and educated as to its direct link to the dance world. In 2005 she received her certification as a Pilates instructor from Sal Anthony’s School for Developmental Dexterity. She then went on to establish her own Pilates business, Personal Pilates Plus. She privately trained fellow dancers and movers alike in the New York and New Jersey area. Upon her relocation to the valley, Samantha helped to co-found the White Mountain Dance Ensemble, performing throughout Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire areas. In 2007 Samantha found the space of her dreams above a small laundromat in Conway Village. With much renovating and many finishing touches, this space became Creative Sole Studio! Samantha feels honored to live her passion each day with dancers young and old!

• Gretchen Brown began her early dance raining in Center Harbor, NH with Paula Vinzi. At age 15, she decided to further her ballet training in Portsmouth, NH with Ballet New England. At age 16, Gretchen became an apprentice with the professional performing company, dancing corps de ballet in ballets such as “The Nutcracker” and “Les Sylphides”. She then went on to further her training and teaching in Maine at Maine State Ballet. Her ten year stay with Maine State Ballet consisted of full-time teaching in Balanchine technique under the direction of Linda Miele. Gretchen’s resume consists of dancing many prestigious rolls from MSB’s repertoire in ballets like “Sleeping Beauty”, to a featured dancer in George Balanchine’s “Serenade”, staged by director Linda Miele at MSB, Don Quixote and Cinderella to name just a few. Over the years she moved from corps de ballet, to soloist, to principal soloist where she danced her two favorite rolls as “Dew Drop Fairy” in The Nutcracker and “Alice” in Alice in Wonderland. After gracing Merrill Auditorium in Portland Maine, and many other stages throughout New England for more than a decade, Gretchen retired from her professional performing career to start her family and honor her other favorite passion of teaching Balanchine technique to children of all ages. In the fall of 2009 Gretchen was hired on as head of the ballet curriculum at Creative Sole Studio. With her arrival, the studio gained added experience, love, dedication and support. Her knowledge and drive are key factors in making Creative Sole the nurturing/professional space that it is. In December of 2009 Gretchen decided to expand her love of movement even further by completing her Pilates Mat Certification from Creative Sole. Gretchen currently teaches Ballet III, Ballet IV, Ballet V, Company Ballet and Pointe.

•   Julia King is a new teacher to Creative Sole and is beyond excited to once again find herself surrounded by the love of dance! Julia grew up in Massachusetts and began dancing at the early age of 3 and has never looked back! Julia has trained in numerous styles of dance and has had the privilege of taking classes from an array of famous and influential choreographers.  Julia is one of the lucky few who grow up in their hometown dance studio, beginning as a student, maturing into an assistant and upon graduation, hired as a teacher! Not only does Mrs. King have years of dance instruction experience, but she also holds a BS in early childhood education and is a local elementary school teacher here in The Valley. The love, passion and appreciation Julia has for dance has only grown and strengthened as she herself gets older. Dance has the power to shape someone into the best version of themselves all while teaching them lessons they will carry with them for a lifetime. Julia cannot wait to dance and work with the amazing dancers and staff at Creative Sole! She is honored to join the family!

• Cookie Harrist is a professional dancer and dance teacher based in Denmark, Maine. After receiving her Bachelors in Dance from Marlboro College in 2012, she spent much of her professional performance career performing with contemporary dance companies in the San Francisco Bay Area, such as Joe Goode Performance Group, LEVY Dance, NAKA Dance Theater and renowned choreographer Sara Shelton Mann. Since returning to Maine, she has joined Maine Dance Company as a company member and performed with Ballet Bloom Project. In addition to performing, Cookie finds teaching dance brings her so much joy. She has taught dance classes for beginners to professionals for over 15 years. For many years, she was a faculty member at two of largest dance centers in the Bay Area, ODC School and Shawl Anderson Dance Center, as well as at ASI Dance Elite, a national title winning competition dance studio. Cookie is thrilled and grateful to join the teaching staff at Creative Sole Studio.

• Desiree Fenderson is a local to the Mount Washington Valley, having grown up in Freedom, NH. Her love of dance started at age six, with 11 years of instruction from Jeanne Limmer and Tina Titzer. Upon graduating she was able to continue performing as a new journey brought her to the stage of pageantry. Using that platform, she was not only able to empower young girls to flourish as individuals but was able to begin teaching tap and ballet for an after-school program, mentoring children to learn the love of movement. 

Desiree works locally as a hairstylist, but her greatest accomplishment is working along side her husband to raise and homeschool their four children. Desiree is proud to be a part of the Creative Sole family with her three daughters. She’s excited to continue her passion of helping children build confidence and creativity in who they are.he most frequently asked questions, so everybody benefits.

Karen Richardson grew up in East Wakefield, NH and brings her small town values, love of children, and her management experience to Creative Sole. Her first job was babysitting, followed by over 15 years of retail management, and she now runs her own Thirty-one business. She loves interacting with the public, especially as ‘Studio Mama’ to all of the Creative Sole dancers. Karen has two Creative Sole dancers of her own, while her husband has been in the military since 2014. Not only does she keep the Creative Sole family going, she’s also the foundation for her own loving family.