TWTB LIVE FACULTY

Meet your SHOWBIZ KIDS
All-Star Faculty!

Thommie Retter is the artistic director of This Way To Broadway, Live! He will bring his experiences from the worlds of Broadway, Music and Dance to This Way To Broadway, Live's Showbiz Kids. With his positive energy and passion for the entertainment business you can expect a memorable experience for everyone involved! Thommie is also a sought after dance coach in the NYC theatre community and has had a remarkable success rate with his showbiz kids landing roles on Broadway, TV and film.

EXTENDED BIO
Thommie Retter has a love for the entertainment business like no other and you will see this shine through in each of his classes at tw2B. While living a 3 ½ year run on Broadway with Billy Elliot The Musical, Thommie had the thrill of performing for more than1.5 million enthusiastic theatregoers. With the curtain closed, Thommie has been able to return to his first love, teaching dance. Recently, Thommie had the honor of preparing the one and only Tony Danza for his Broadway show Honeymoon in Vegas. Also, in his arsenal of tap dance celebrities are Isabela Moner who is currently filming Dora The Explorer, and was featured in Transformers: The Last Knight and The Nut Job 2, and Ashley Argota who has had a string of television series on Disney, Nickelodeon and ABC Family, not to mention Meg Donnelley from American Housewife and Larry Saperstein who will star in the upcoming Disney series High School Musical The Musical. ! Thommie has had students in a variety of Broadway shows including; Anastasia, Beetle Juice, Billy Elliot, Dr, Zhivago, Finding Neverland, Fun Home, Harry Potter, Kinky Boots, Matilda, School of Rock and The Assembled Parties. Thommie also has students involved in the national tours of White Christmas, Pippin, Annie, Beauty And The Beast, Kinky Boots, Billy Elliot, The Sound of Music and The Lion King. With his production company, Retter Entertainment, Thommie has produced 13 The Musical , The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and also has a workshop called This Way to Broadway which gives kids a great Broadway experience while making friends that last a lifetime! Thommie’s latest project was produced in the Spring of 2019. The new original musical event Finding My Spotlight; directed, music supervised and choreographed by talented teen agers! It was a HUGE success!

Anthony Giunta is a director, writer and editor. His credits include:
Feature Films: “CONTEST” (director/writer) premiered on Cartoon Network; winner Audience Choice award for Family Films at Mill Valley Film Festival;
Theater: “SKIN IN THE GAME” (writer/director) NY International Fringe Festival, Fringe Arts (Philadelphia), and inaugural Pittsburgh Fringe Festival;
Teaching: acting (private coaching – NYC & Philadelphia) / filmmaking (Project Twenty1 in Philadelphia & private coaching – NYC & Philadelphia);
Current 2018 Projects: development of a new feature-film, “EXPECTANT BROTHER” (director/writer/editor), two new short films, “COSTUME PARTY” & “DITCH DAY” (director/writer/editor) & developing a new full-length musical, “WOULD I LIE?” (director, book writer, co-lyricist); Beyond 2018: development of two new original feature-length films, “SO CALLED” & “ROMAN NUMERALS” (director, writer, senior editor) and a new full-length play, “JUMPING OFF POINT” (writer/director)

Beth Lewis has been a professional musician for almost 40 years; starting in the adult choir at church when she was just 12.  “Professional” as defined by Beth is “any musician who performs publicly; whether or not they are financially compensated”.  As a child growing up, she participated heavily in school choirs and musical events.  She was a member of the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp Choir for three years and attended Western Michigan University on a vocal scholarship.  She was also a member of the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus for two years, until her own conducting schedule began to expand.
            She has been playing piano and keyboards since she was 4 years old.  At 8 years, she started with guitar.  She also plays bass, ukulele, and is learning oboe, cello, and alto saxophone.
            She is also a composer and arranger, having written and produced original works across a wide range of genres.  Several tracks are available for review on soundcloud.com under “Beth Lewis 7”.
            In 1991, Beth Lewis started her directing career and, in the following nearly three decades, built a solid reputation as a gifted choral and handbell conductor and worship leader.  She has also worked with and led praise bands and other ensembles in the greater Grand Rapids area for over 23 years.  Her unique approach to vocal and instrument coaching, developed over the past 18 years, both traditional and non-traditional curriculum, has inspired many to realize the full potential of their talent.  In addition, as her students and choral members say, her enthusiasm and sense of fun help make singing a true joy for them.
            Beth has shared her love and passion for music generously over the past 40 years and has built a reputation for enthusiasm tempered with results-oriented goals.  Her wide experience with different instruments and genres, as well as her dual approach to learning and teaching music, makes her a rare and valuable resource for anyone who wishes to learn more about how to express music through their chosen instrument.

Ann Colin is the owner and artistic director of DanceWorks. She attended St. Mary's of the Woods College in Terre Haute, Indiana majoring in Marketing. Ann is certified from the Cecchetti Council of America to teach the Cecchetti method of ballet, and has taken from the Louisville Ballet and University of Louisville Dance Academy. She annually attends teacher workshops at Broadway Dance Center, MusicWorks, More Than Just Great Dancing and DanceMakers Inc. Furthermore, she has studied with many renowned figures in the dance world, including Frank Hatchett, Avi Miller, Ben Ofer, Darryl Retter, Sue Samuels and many more.

In 1995 Ann founded DanceWorks to create positive impressions on young lives through dance. She is also a former Director of the Miss Harvest Homecoming Pageant, a preliminary pageant for the Miss Indiana Scholarship Competition. Ann is a former Miss Harvest Homecoming and Miss Indiana Non-finalist Talent Winner. She is the Co-Founder of Ohio Valley Children's Theatre where she has directed and choreographed many musicals including; Sound of Music, Peter Pan, Annie, Cinderella, Honk, School House Rock, just to name a few.
Ann was voted Floyd County Citizen of the month for her community service in Floyd County. She has won Choreographer of the Year at Applause Talent, Talent on Parade, Rainbow Dance and Kids Artistic Revue Competitions, and Teacher of the Year at Rainbow Dance, Kids Artistic Revue and I Love Dance Competition. At DanceMakers she was awarded the Majorie Perry Spirit Award, an honor bestowed upon the teacher who best exemplifies the love, dedication, and enthusiasm that Majorie had for dance. Ann's students have won numerous awards both regionally and nationally, including Top Primary Studio and the Studio Sportsmanship Award at Kid's Artistic Revue.
Ann has judged for many dance competitions as well as local preliminary pageants for the Miss Indiana and Miss Kentucky organizations. She was also hired by Mediak Productions to choreograph personalized children's music videos and instructional DVDs. Ann lives in New Albany, IN with her husband Robert and their four beautiful children, Joseph, Hannah, Emma, and William.