Board Member Bios

Marty Sprague, President / Financial Officer

Marty Sprague with over 45 years of experience in dance education, holds an MA in Dance Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and a BFA in Dance from Boston Conservatory. She has taught early childhood through higher education and is recently retired from the Providence School District in RI. She has been involved in program, curriculum, professional, and policy development. She has written and reviewed standards at the district, state and national levels. Marty is co-author, with Helene Scheff and Susan McGreevy-Nichols, of six dance text and resource books. Marty has served on the editorial board for Arts Education Policy Review and JODE. She was honored to serve on the Dance Writing Team for the NCAS Dance Standards. Currently, Marty is an instructor for NDEO’s OPDI course based on the trio’s book “Dance About Anything” and a course on Modern Dance.

Terrie Legein, Secretary

Terrie holds a certification from Dance Masters of America and the Dance Teachers Club of Boston. She has held positions on the Board of Directors for DMA and DTCB in many positions both locally and nationally, including: President, 1st and 2nd Vice President, Northeast Region Area Vice-President, Membership Chair, Title Director, Scholarship Chair, Certified Examiner, Teacher Training School Advisor and Faculty member. She frequently travels as a competition judge / adjudicator and Master Tap Teacher throughout the US and Canada. Terrie is a recipient of the prestigious Bachna Scholarship for Leadership and Dedication to Dance Education from DMA and is a strong advocate of dance education.

Celebrating 40+ years of dance education in her own studio in Coventry, RI, many of Terrie’s students have gone on to the professional world of dance as performers and dance educators.

Karen Mellor, Member at Large

Karen Mellor is Chief of Library Services at Rhode Island’s Office of Library and Information Services, the administrative agency that provides funding and services for the state’s libraries.  She is active at both the state and national levels, developing programs and setting policy for libraries, and is a board member of the RI Library Association and chief executive officer of the Governor’s Library Board of Rhode Island.  Karen is also a professional musician and educator: she performs with and manages Avenue A, the original Chance to Dance band, teaches percussion at Brown University, and is percussionist and sound designer for the Bay View Cabaret at St. Mary Academy.  She is proud to have been part of the original creative team for Chance to Dance and was program administrator from 1987 to 2001.  A nearly native Rhode Islander with degrees from Brown University and Simmons University, Karen has worked in over 35 schools in 10 districts for CTD, and visited libraries in 37 of the state’s 39 cities and towns.

Helene Scheff, Member at Large

Helene Scheff RDE is a charter member of Dance Alliance of RI, having served on the board and as treasurer. Helene teaches ballet, tap, character, musical comedy and Flamenco. She taught in studios, k-12, college level. Though retired from a regular active teaching schedule, she is pleased to teach special classes in various settings. Helene served as meeting planner for NDEO for many years where she enjoyed putting people together and introducing new topics and different ways of teaching at any level. With Marty Sprague she began Chance to Dance in 1986.