Meet Our Staff 

Larisa Dahabi is the owner and ballet instructor of Mt. Pleasant School of Performing Arts and the director of Mt.Pleasant Performing Arts Company. 

In addition to teaching all levels of Ballet she trains her dancers to perform on stage. She is also the founder, artistic director and choreographer for the schools resident non profit dance company Mt. Pleasant Performing Arts Company where she has produced and directed many wonderful performances over the past 12 years.  She continues to bring the art of dance to the low country with her teaching and performance skills. 

She resides in Mt. Pleasant, SC with her husband and three adult children.  She devotes her time and energy to enhancing young lives with the art of dance and performing on stage thru her love of dance.    

Rachel Engel grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has been dancing for 17 years.  She studied several different genres of dance with a strong focus on classical ballet and contemporary.  She had the amazing opportunity to train with American Ballet Theatre and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.  She has danced in  Balanchine's Snowflakes, "Who Cares", Midsummers Night Dream, Walpurgisnacht, Waltz of the Hours, Coppelia, Sleeping  Beauty, Swan Lake and the Nutcracker;  Sugar Plum being one of her favorite roles.  She is excited to teach Contemporary dance to the next generation of aspiring dancers at MPSPA

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Anne Vesery has been with Mt. Pleasant School of  Performing Arts and its resident dance company since its inception in 2000.  Prior to retiring to Mt. Pleasant with her husband Rene’ (scenary designer and creator for MPPAC), she worked as a Registered Nurse with a OB/Gyn doc for 8 years and before that as a Labor and Delivery Room nurse at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ.  That is definitely a far cry from what she is doing now as Business Manager and Production Coordinator.  She is the glue that holds the business end of MPSPA and MPPAC together.  Can’t live without her.