Northern Explosion Dance Studio

​Mrs. Monique Cairns, Owner/Director

My dance career began at the age of  2 years old in Manchester, NH. I trained with Beverly Baroody at the Beverly Baroody School of Dance (the second dance studio in the city). While with Ms. Bev, I learned the foundations of ballet, tap, and jazz. I began clogging at the age of 5 with the Granite State Cloggers. My mother, Pauline Martineau, was the director of the group and my aunt, Monique Provencher, was the instructor. I truly fell in love with clogging in those early years. 

Throughout school, I also spent my time cheerleading. My first coaching job was when I was 14 years old and I coached a local middle school team. I started doing competition choreography that year. I was a competitive cheerleader throughout middle and high school. 

After high school, I attended Providence College where I majored in Social Studies Secondary Education. While at Providence, I was a member of the dance club and helped with the hip hop choreography for our annual performance. I was also blessed with my first opportunity to teach at the Northeast Clogging Competition and Convention (NECC) when I was 20. 

After graduation, I moved to Fort Worth, TX. While in Fort Worth, I took clogging lessons at Bruce Lea Dance Factory under Elaine Bender. While in Texas, I got the opportunity to teach at the Texas Clogging Rally and the Double Toe Jam and I judged the NECC competition for two years. My second year in Texas, I was hired by Bruce to teach three of the clogging classes. 

Upon my return to New England, I started teaching clogging at local studios in the area. I also expanded by workshop teaching resume. I taught at the World of Clogging, Nickel City Convention, Fontana Workshop, and Salt City Workshop and judged the competition. I started teaching for Northern Explosion Dance Studio in 2010. 

In 2017, I officially became the Owner/Director of the studio. Since taking over, I have been blessed with working with truly some of the best staff I could ask for. We have seen the clogging and hip hop program grow. We have added competition hip hop and musical theatre programs. We have also taken our first team to the National Clogging Competition where they took home three first place trophies. In the six years, we have performed twice in New York City and have been invited to perform at fairs/festivals all over New England.

Dance is more than just a job, it is a passion. I truly love the opportunity to work with all the dancers at the studio. Watching them grow as dancers, and as people, is such a blessing. There is no other studio that I would choose to be a part of or put my own children. I am so thankful for the staff, dancers, and families. I look forward to the years to come!