2017 DANCE ATTACK FACULTY
TOKYO
MTV Music Video nominated choreographer ,TOKYO, has a very unique induction into dance as he was not introduced to dance till he was a Senior in high school. Tokyo grew up in the martial arts and began training at age 5. By the age of 15 he attained several black belts in various arts in addition to training in Wrestling, Muay Thai, Boxing and MMA (Cage Fighting).
At age 17, after a promising undefeated amateur record, just a few months shy of making a professional career in MMA (mixed martial arts/cage fighting), TOKYO discovered dance and his life changed drastically. Since leaving the “fight” world and entering the dance world, TOKYO has been fortunate enough to have done master classes and choreography in the US, Canada, Australia, Central America, France, Poland, Ukraine, Croatia, Mexico and UK for many TV shows, music videos, musicals, studios, companies, colleges, casinos and Cirque Du Soleil. TOKYO is returning from France where he choreographed the largest musical production in France’s history, Adam et Eve. In addition, during his time in France, TOKYO choreographed and directed several music videos and TV shows. Most recently TOKYO choreographed several pieces for SYTYCD-Ukraine as well as for Paula Abdul in Russia. TOKYO is on faculty at the world renowned professional dance studio Millennium Dance Complex as well as guest faculty with EDGE and Broadway Dance Center.
Due to TOKYO’s background in martial arts his approach to dance movement, philosophy and teaching is very unique and has been received and loved by many. TOKYO has recently teamed up with Alisha Captain to produce MOVEtheWORLD, a charity event giving people around the world financial support for medical surgeries and bills.
He is extremely excited to give back to those that have given so much to him, through the art of dance!
ALISHA CAPTAIN
Alisha has been training and studying dance for over 20 years with very strong background in classical ballet. This technical training has aided her development in other styles, including Graham and Horton Modern Techniques, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip Hop, and Pom. She began studying tap and ballet in Louisiana with Susan Ferrera. She later studied at the New Orleans center for Creative Arts (NOCCA). At NOCCA, she was under the tutelage of Jan Miller, former professional dancer with the American Ballet Theater and Joffery Ballet, as well as Miguel Lopez, former professional modern dancer and director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. Alisha has studied at the prestigious Boston Ballet and trained with or assisted instructors, including TOKYO, Brooke Lipton, Liz Imperio, Robert Battle and Denise Jefferson of Alvin Ailey.
Upon graduation, Alisha attended LSU to study Fashion Merchandising, and while there, served as a 4-year member and co-captain of the LSU Tiger Girls. following graduation she moved into the role of assistant head coach and Choreographer for LSU Tiger Girls. In 2010, Alisha choreographed and coached the Tiger Girls to their first Hip Hop National Championship, beating teams from 26 other Division 1A Colleges around the nation. In 2011, the team reached their highest ranking in the Division 1A Jazz category at fourth place.
Alisha teaches and judges for dance conventions, studios, and high school and college teams nationally as well as internationally, most recently teaching class at the prestigious Broadway Dance Center in New York City. Alisha has worked with Lynn Spears on projects with her upcoming artists and was assistant Choreographer for Paula Abdul.
JORDAN CLARK
Originally from Tottenham, Ontario, Jordan knew she wanted to become a professional dancer when she was eight years old. She started training at the age of 5 in Tap, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Contemporary, Jazz and Acro, and was teaching by the age of 12. Shortly after winning the title of “Canada’s Favourite Dancer” on So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Jordan immersed herself in acting classes. Her studies quickly paid off when she landed a starring role on the hit Television Series The Next Step. Constantly wanting to explore all areas of performance, Jordan has also appeared on stage in the role of “Eris” in Ross Petty’s 2014 Pantomime, The Little Mermaid, which had a successful run at the prestigious Elgin Theatre in Toronto. Ross Petty cast her again as “Alice” in his latest hit production Peter Pan in Wonderland. Jordan has reprised her role of “Giselle” and can currently be seen Family Channel’s newest series Lost & Found Music Studios, a spin-off of The Next Step, which premiered in January of 2016 and is distributed worldwide by Netflix. In February of 2016, Jordan departed on The Next Step Wild Rhythm Tour, a live-on-stage production showcasing the amazing talents of The Next Step dancers. Along with performing in this popular tour, Jordan and co-star Trevor Tordjman have taken on the monumental task of choreographing this exciting production, which, by the end of its run in late 2016 will be seen in Canada, the U.K, Spain, Italy, New Zealand and Australia.
AMANDA CLEGHORN
Amanda Cleghorn is a well-rounded dancer, teacher, choreographer, and, overall, performer. Her credits include movies, Camp Rock 2, Make Your Move 3D, ABC’s Desperately Seeking Santa, and Honey and tv shows, Glee, The Goldbergs, The L.A. Complex, Canada’s Got Talent and Nikita. Most notably, Amanda appeared on SYTYCDC Season 3, finishing as Canada’s favourite female dancer. She performed on Dancing With the Stars for the promo of the movie Rock of Ages choreographed by Mia Michaels, as a dancer on Xfactor Season 2 and she’s toured, assisted and judged on Jump and Nuvo Dance Convention with many well known choreographers. Amanda has performed in Stacey Tookey’s show Moment’s Defined as a dancer in Still Motion Dance Company and performed with the company at Jacobs Pillow in Massachusettes. She was featured as the lead female in Hedley’s Kiss You Inside Out music video and danced in the Oscar promo with Ellen Degeneres choreographed by Allison Holker and Stephen “Twitch” Boss. She also played the female lead, acting and dancing in a new digital special on ABCSpark called Rise and danced in the opening for the TV Land Awards with Terry Crews. Amanda toured the world with Taylor Swift on the Red tour choreographed by Tyce Diorio, she’s performed on the Grammy’s, Billboards, NBC’s Macy’s July 4th Special, the CMT Awards, American Music Awards and the Brit Awards and is seen in Taylor’s 22, Red and Shake It Off music videos. Amanda’s latest projects include working as a main troop dancer on Season 2 and 3 of the hit tv show Lip Sync Battle on SpikeTV, a performer on the newest summer television show “America’s Greatest Hits” dancing in the finale with Kelsi Balllerini, a dancer in The Hobbit: Kingdoms of the Middle Earth Dance Battle promo video for Kabam entertainment choreographed by Christopher Scott and is a dancer in the feature film Popstar: Never stop never stopping produced by Judd Apatow, choreographed by Danielle Flora and featuring the incredible Andy Samberg. Amanda was most recently an actor and dancer in the new Hallmark Channel movie A Nutcracker Christmas playing the role of Suzanne. She looks forward to continuing her career in dance, film and television.
JAY T SCHRAMEK
Jay is a Dora Mavor Moore Award nominated performer, educator and adjudicator. His twenty year teaching career spans Canada’s most prestigious post-secondary arts institutions and dozens of dance studios. A graduate of Ryerson University’s dance program and a former Mr. Dance of Canada, he has been a faculty member at the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts, George Brown College and Saint Lawrence College. Jay has been a guest teacher at: Sheridan College, Etobicoke School of the Arts, Pearson School for the Arts, the Eastern Arkansas Ballet, Duboforce Mexico and the Charlottetown Festival Young Company. He is currently the Tap Director at Dimensions in Dance in Kitchener and on faculty at Toronto’s Metro Movement.
His professional choreographic credits include: Singin In the Rain (Rubarb), The Fan (Odyssey Theatre), The Time of My Life (Soulpepper),The Haunted Hillbilly (Sidemart Theatrical), Little Shop of Horrors (Magnus Theatre) & Dads II (Magnus Theatre). Jay and his wife Kerry Gage own Hoopla Entertainment, providing corporate entertainment for clients such as: Canada Blooms, The Ontario Hospital Association, The Wedding Shows, Perfect Sphere and more.
As a performer, he continues to work in theatres across the continent. He has performed for The Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Mirvish Productions, Capitol Theatre, Charlottetown Festival, Stage West, Drayton Entertainment, Clearchannel Entertainment and dozens more. Some of his favourite roles include: Cosmo in Singin in the Rain, Bobby in Crazy for You, Skimbleshanks in Cats, Nana in Peter Pan, Pepper in Mamma Mia, Jimmy in White Christmas, Ethan in The Full Monty, Jinx in Forever Plaid, Cecil in Anne of Green Gables, Batboy in Batboy the Musical, Action in West Side Story, Barnaby in Hello Dolly.
An accomplished voice-over actor, Jay is the voice of Platy the Platypus on Arthur (PBS Kids), Data Bot, Build Bot & Garbage Bot onSpace Ranger Roger (Family Jr), Mr. Security on Inspector Gadget (Teletoon/Netflix), Felix on Trucktown (Treehouse), Blinky on Willa’s Wild Life (YTV / Discovery), Satoru Kakuta on Slam Dunk and Tad in the animated feature Totally Spies-The Movie. His voice has been used by Royal Bank, Microsoft, Pfizer, Subaru, CBC, Aleve, Cepacol, Air Transat, and Motorola. He’s appeared on Discovery Channel’s Mayday, Showcase’s Lost Girl, CBC’s Getting Along Famously, Showtime’s Queer As Folk and the Gemini nominated film From Time to Time. He also provided the motion capture for the lead character Hadyn in the PS3 game Dark Sector.
Jay is one of North America’s most prolific talent adjudicators and has judged and hosted over 100 talent competitions, pageants and festivals across the globe. He is a member and contributor to the Professional Adjudicator Alliance manual, has written articles for The Agent’s Book and had a column in Dance Canada Quarterly. Jay is a recipient of a Tyrone Guthrie Award and a Maud Whitmore Scholarship.
KYLIE THOMPSON
Originally from Barrie, Ontario, Canada, Kylie has been training in various styles of dance for over twenty-five years. She holds an honours degree in Kinesiology, and her diverse dance background and exposure includes extensive training in ballet, jazz, tap, modern, and musical theatre throughout her childhood, and in more recent years has taken to training in contemporary, improvisation, yoga, hip hop, house, and funk styles. Kylie is a founder of Toronto’s Point of View Dance Project, a contemporary company that she co-directs and co-choreographs with partner Amy Adams. Outside of her own work Kylie has also performed in contemporary works by Gadfly Dance Company (Apolonia Velasquez and Ofilio Portillo), Alias Dance Project (Lauren Cook and Troy Feldman), Keren Rosenberg (Israel) and Marie Lambin. While residing in Toronto she performed in various commercial shows including Toronto Original Choreographer’s Ball, ScotiaBank Nuit Blanche, Toronto PRIDE, Short Dances in Small Spaces, CONTACT, and Dance Matters. She had the privilege of performing alongside pop artist Kiesza at WE Day 2015 in Toronto. Kylie has taught and shared her passion for dance at over 50 different studios and dance companies across Canada; including Toronto’s Underground Dance Centre and Vancouver’s Harbour Dance Centre, both as a faculty member and as a guest teacher. She is also a faculty member with Dance Attack Convention. Kylie aims to inspire and motivate all those who she works with, and is dedicated to a life of making her passion her career.
AMY WRIGHT
Since her professional beginning in 1995 Amy Wright has become one of Canada’s most in demand Choreographers. Her work includes feature films, movies of the week, television series, reality TV, commercials and stage musicals, including Canada’s prestigious SHAW FESTIVAL. Amy is the Casting Director, Choreographer and a Producer for the sensational television series The Next Step watched by millions around the world.
Amy Wright makes her career by choreographing and casting projects viewed by International audiences. Her choreography was featured on So You Think You Can Dance Canada. Recently in movie theatres: Crimson Peak with Tom Hiddleston, directed by Guillermo Del Toro (Feature Film). On television: Saving Hope (CTV), Lost Girl and Copper (Showcase), Defiance and 12 Monkeys (SyFy), Hemlock Grove (Netflix), Amy is proud of her work on Emmy and Golden Globe winner Grey Gardens (HBO) with stars Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange. The IIFA Awards (2011) opening, a “flash mob” with over 200 dancers live onstage, remains Amy’s most watched choreography with over 600 million viewers worldwide.
Over the years, Amy has been fortunate to work with some of the hottest stars in the business: Rachel McAdams, Eric Bana, Hedley, LeAnn Rimes, Will Ferrell, Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox, Colin Farrell, Molly Shannon, Alyssa Milano, Lauren Holly, Colin Mochrie, Hilary Duff and a movie produced by Britney Spears. Amy has choreographed eleven Academy Award Winners/Nominees: Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Sissy Spacek, Richard Dreyfuss, Peter O’Toole, Joan Plowright, Jeremy Irons, Virginia Madsen, Helen Mirren, Ellen Page and Jessica Lange!
With an eye always open to new talent, Amy has cast hundreds of dancers for a variety of projects ranging from television’s The Next Step, to Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (Feature Film) and the American Girl movie-of-the-week Isabelle Dances Into the Spotlight. She loves watching young talent shine while adjudicating across Ontario for competitions such as: Terpsichore, Fever, Starbeat, Battle of the Next Generation, Ultimate Dance Connection, Breakthru Dance Challenge, Just Dance, Candance.
MELISSA WILLIAMS
Melissa Williams is one of the most innovative director/choreographers working in the entertainment industry today. Seasoned in providing professional and expert consultation in areas that include casting, production, dance choreography, musical staging, movement, and creative direction, Melissa is recognized for her sexy, stylized, athletic choreography and her distinct ability to work with all types of talent, including dancers, non-dancers, singers, actors, recording artists, athletes, and models. With credits spanning the globe, Melissa has worked with some of the most established artists, actors and directors in the industry.
Born in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada, Williams had her first taste of the industry at 16 when she competed in the ubiquitous talent show Star Search making it to the semi-finals. Moving to LA at the age of 19, Melissa embarked on a four-year experience with ‘Mr. Purple Rain’ himself, Prince. Hired by award-winning choreographer/creative director Jamie King, Melissa’s first job in LA was dancing in Prince’s late night cabaret Erotic City at his nightclub Glam Slam. This lead to performing with Prince on several awards shows and appearances including his tribute performance on The American Music Awards. Simultaneously Melissa had landed her first feature film, Showgirls. Melissa played the bitter marble-tossing character Julie, in one of the most controversial cult films of all time. Prince hired Melissa to choreograph the three-act dance concert tour featuring the music of Prince and the NPG, Around The World In A Day. After spending months at Paisley Park studios choreographing, rehearsing and helping to develop the New Power Generation Dance Company, Melissa was hired by a European production company to direct and choreograph California Dream Men– the first male revue to perform at Les Folies Bergere in Paris where it premiered and went on to become a huge success in France, Germany and Italy.
After the success of CDM’s tour Melissa was commissioned to choreograph and musically stage Grease-the musical and Hair-the musical, European tours. Back in LA, Melissa was choreographing for the new television/internet show Farmclub.com, a musically based show featuring the hottest bands in the industry, choreographing Michael Caine, Catherine McCormack, and Randy Quaid in the movie The Debtors, and in pre-production meetings with Jamie King, Angelo Medina Entertainment, and Mandalay Bay to choreograph and musically stage an original Latin production for the Las Vegas Strip called Storm.
Shortly after, Melissa began to write, direct and choreograph original shows and industrials for Cruise ships and Casinos including Generations, Bon Voyage, Piano Man and Undercover. In 2000 Melissa also founded Extreme Dance Conventions and Competitions, a dance workshop tour featuring some of the top working choreographers and teachers in the industry.
In 2005 Melissa returned to Canada, settling in the Windsor area. Since her return, Melissa has been a choreographer on seasons 1 & 2 of the new hit series Bomb Girls, an associate choreographer on Britney Spears’ Femme Fatale Tour and was a guest judge and choreographer on seasons 1 through 4 of So You Think You Can Dance Canada.
Melissa has also directed local/regional productions including A Chorus Line, Grease, Jaques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, and Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show. Most recently, Melissa has been choreographing in Toronto for various projects. You can find her choreography in the newly released, 2015 film PIXELS starring Adam Sandler and Josh Gad, as well as on the Pan American main stage for the the opening ceremonies of the 2015 ParaPan Am Games. Keeping her finger on the pulse Melissa continues to push the envelope in every direction of her creativity, and in the future, looks forward to continuing with current projects, as well as further defining her creativity for the Broadway stage, television production, new artists and feature films.
HAYLEY PAONE
Hayley Paone, born and raised in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada has established a place for her passion in her local district, as well as reaching a wider scale in the GTA. Trained under the direction of Miss Tiffany McLaughlin, Hayley has been greatly influenced and inspired by forming her own styles and teaching methods sharing her knowledge with artists of all ages.
Over the years Hayley has gone onto work with many sought after professionals and continues to help them cultivate in the industry. Hayley is owner and Artistic Director of iNhayle Dance Company where she provides young artists with constant exposure to the professional world while encouraging personal growth in a nurturing company tone.
Paone’s work has been showcased at the Toronto Fringe Festival, as she co-directed and co- choreographed “PROJECT DABDA”, a one-hour contemporary dance production alongside Alvin Collantes as well as the Toronto Dance Expo Gala 2015.
Hayley currently received her level one yoga certification and training and continues to broaden her knowledge and practice. She is a sought after choreographer, teacher, and adjudicator. Hayley is a faculty member and Adjudicator for “On The Floor” as well as Faculty member for “Dance Attack”.
Paone is known for her raw movement quality, style and interesting use of musicality. Specializing in contemporary and improvisation as a movement coach she brings a sense of realism and honesty to everything she teaches. Hayley is fuelled to create from life experiences and has been able to recreate many of these moments with the dancers she works with today.
REBECCA ZIZEK
Rebecca has over 20 years experience as an accomplished dancer, teacher, choreographer and adjudicator from Mississauga, Ontario. Growing up in the dance world, she trained extensively in all dance styles with some of the industry’s top teachers and choreographers. In addition, she also holds a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree. Rebecca has choreographed and performed for many professional and commercial shows throughout North America including; Fever After Dark, Raise the Rhythm, Fresh Blood (The Chimera Project), New Blue Festival for Emerging Artists, Toronto Raptors Junior Dance Pak, Block Party featuring Calvin Harris, Monsterball London, Women in Dance, Ray-Dance Gala, Sketch (the Canadian National Exhibition), Toronto Dance Teacher Expo Showcase, Breaking Formality (York University BFA). Rebecca also spent two years dancing as a company member with contemporary dance company POV Dance Project. Rebecca was selected as a featured choreographer at the Young Choreographer’s Festival in 2015 (New York City), as well as at Peridance Capezio Center’s, APAP showcases (New York City). She was a five-time recipient of the Award for Young Choreography and was the recipient of the George Lon Choreography Award from DMA in addition to many other accolades that her artistic and innovative work has received. Rebecca is also in the process of choreographing her first full-length show.
Not only does she present professional work at various shows and festivals, Rebecca has extensive teaching and choreographic experience with students of all ages. She loves working as a guest teacher and choreographer and is constantly working at studios, intensives and workshops across Canada, with her work receiving much acclaim. Many of her students have gone on to pursue professional dance careers as well as students training at Joffrey Ballet School (New York City), Toronto Dance Theatre and performance dance programs at Ryerson University, York University and George Brown College. Rebecca loves to share her versatile knowledge and experience with the next generation of dancers as an adjudicator as well. Rebecca’s enthusiasm and passion as an artist is undeniable and it is her honor to be able to share this with the dance community.
EMILY EINSMANN
Emily Einsmann is a freelance dancer, choreographer, and teacher based in Toronto. (Emily’s versatility forges the bonds between technique and artistry, and her co-existing levels of success in both the commercial industry and the contemporary dance world set her apart.)
After years of training under ballet mistresses from The Goh Ballet and The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Emily went on to receive her B.F.A in Performance Dance from Ryerson University. Upon graduation, she was immediately launched into the commercial world, and has worked and performed with Hedley, The Weeknd, Drake, Kardinal Offishall, Naughty by Nature, Young MC, Sugarhill Gang, Rob Base, Karl Wolf, MuchMusic and YTV, to name a few.
Her dance adventures have taken Emily all over the world, including to China, Dubai, Qatar, and all throughout the USA. Emily recently cast, choreographed and danced in two full length original contemporary works that toured throughout Dubai. She also choreographed the official City of Toronto’s 2013 Tree Lighting Ceremony, a record production that drew in over 8000 spectators.
Emily’s dedication to dance and art is evident on and off the stage. Her ultimate goal is to transport audiences with her performance, and to pass on her passion and knowledge to up and coming artists!
For inquiries please contact: emily.einsmann@gmail.com
Instagram: @emilyeins
CASSIAH PRYOR
Cassiah is no stranger to the dance community. She has been a very successful performer/ dancer since the age of 2, where she quickly learned that she had a passion for the performing arts.
Cassiah has obtained her BA Honors in Drama & Communications, Media and Film, as well as her Bachelor of Education teaching diploma. Cassiah has graduated with a gold seal from the ADAPT syllabus teachers training program, where she completed an extensive 3 years of training, under the direction of Brian and Faye Foley in the styles of Tap and Jazz. She also has a very extensive Acro background and has been named a Master Instructor/ Examiner for the Acrobatique AcroDance Syllabus.
SARAH DOLAN
Sarah Dolan has served as the Artistic Director of O2 the Dance Company since it’s creation in 2010. Her commitment to the art and its artists provide a critical framework under which the contemporary company and its members thrive.
She has had the privilege of being part of numerous works and diverse dance shows. Sarah has had the honour of assisting Sean Cheesman on CTV’s So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Fox America’s So You Think You Can Dance, BBC’s So You Think You Can Dance UK and CBC’s Over the Rainbow.
She has enjoyed being a part of Art On Ice as Dancer and Assistant Choreographer, working with musical artist such as Nelly Furtado, Tom Odell, HURTS and skating champions such as Tessa and Scott, Kurt Browning and Joannie Rochette. Sarah has had the pleasure of choreographing for musical artists Paul Brandt, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald and Hockey Canada.
EMILY BROOKS
TIA BLAKE
Tia Blake, a St. Catharines veteran, has been dancing since before she could walk. Starting with predance at the age of 2 and continuing throughout high school she enjoyed jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop and lyrical; her favourite being jazz and lyrical. During her competition career Tia had the privilege of travelling with Team Canada to Germany on the tap team and Poland on the jazz, ballet and modern team. Being a Nationals qualifier, taking classes at “Steps” in New York City, winning many first overalls in jazz and contemporary and learning from the expertise of Stacey Tookey, Jay T. Schramek, Nico Archambault and Jeff Dimitriou, Tia learned a lot throughout her competition years.
Once competing had to take a spot on the shelf, Tia now lives vicariously through her students within both recreational and competitive programs. Travelling to L.A with her scholarship-winning students, she prides herself on helping her students grow. Over the years Tia has added hip-hop and acro to her repertoire to allow for more versatility in her capabilities. Her students have won many first overall awards as well Tia herself has received numerous choreography awards.
Tia’s creativity streams from hip-hop choreography for a Niagara’s own music video, dancing, choreographing and acting in Manhattan Film Festival’s “Lost Penny”, choreography work for the Teacher Expo 2015, her workshop classes with “Dance Attack” Workshops, as well as starring in a country music video.
Tia is eager to continue learning and gaining experience among different avenues of the dance world, in hopes to bring a fresh eye to competition. Her passion for dance is evident in all the work that she does from predance classes to advanced classes. Tia continues to choreograph, teach and take classes to keep herself busy and educated in the dance industry that we all love.
2017 DANCE ATTACK ACRO FACULTY
CASSIAH PRYOR
Cassiah is no stranger to the dance community. She has been a very successful performer/ dancer since the age of 2, where she quickly learned that she had a passion for the performing arts.
Cassiah has obtained her BA Honors in Drama & Communications, Media and Film, as well as her Bachelor of Education teaching diploma. Cassiah has graduated with a gold seal from the ADAPT syllabus teachers training program, where she completed an extensive 3 years of training, under the direction of Brian and Faye Foley in the styles of Tap and Jazz. She also has a very extensive Acro background and has been named a Master Instructor/ Examiner for the Acrobatique AcroDance Syllabus.
LEXY COX
Lexy Cox : Founder Full Out Dance
– BFA, CDTA, PAEC, AAC, PAA
Lexy is a diverse performer, choreographer and instructor specializing in a variety of dance styles. She is a graduate of Ryerson University’s BFA program, majoring in Theatre
Performance and Dance. Her additional dance certifications include, the Canadian Dance
Teachers’ Association, the Performing Arts Educators of Canada, and the Acrobatic Arts Canada. Lexy is also a qualified dance adjudicator with the Professional Adjudicators Alliance.
As a choreographer Lexy has worked across Canada and the US on projects such as Mini Pop Kids, Mirvish Travelling Stage Artist Educator (Matilda), Shrek The Musical at Rainbow Stage, Dance Attack, One Night Only Musical (Dora Award Winner- Now Audience Choice), Port Hope Capitol Theatre Company, New York City’s Theatre Arts Centre, City Dance Corps, CNE Rising Star Talent Competition, Illuminite Toronto, Bravo Academy, The Players Company, and Google Learning Mini Series.
Her performance credits include; Bound For Broadway (NYC Theatre Arts Center), A Chorus Line (Rose Theatre), Cory Lee’s Cruel Intentions Music Video, ET Canada, Much Music’s Best Dance Crew Commercial (New Music Live), Madonna Bazaar (Opera House), High School
Musical 2 live on Stage (Jonathan Randall Productions), Peter Pan (Royal City Musical Theatre Vancouver), as Velma Kelly in Chicago (Treehouse Theatre), and as Bombalurina in Cats
(Stanley Theatre Vancouver).
For more information and bookings please visit www.fulloutdance.ca.
ROSEMARIE STEA
Rosemarie is a Toronto-based dance artist, teacher and award-winning Choreographer. Having been taught by leading industry educators and professionals across Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe, Rosemarie holds a Master of Arts Degree in Contemporary Dance and a Postgraduate Diploma in Performance with the Edge Company, both from the London Contemporary Dance School in London, England. She also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ryerson University in Theatre Performance: Dance.
As a dancer, Rosemarie has worked for local and international choreographers such as Debra Brown (Cirque Du Soleil), Patti Wilcox, David Earle, Alexander Whitley (GB), Allen Kaeja, Emmanuelle LePhan, Jorge Crecis (ES), William Yong, Valerie Calam, Philippe Blanchard (FR), Tom Roden (GB) and Joseph Toonga (GB). As a performer, she has worked for and alongside local companies such as: Alias Dance Project, Cadence Ballet, Lady Luck Productions, The Dance Migration, A2D2 – Aerial Dance Cirque Company and international companies: Scottish Dance Theatre (GB), SEAD – Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance (AT), Le Marchepied (CH), Jasmin Vardimon 2nd Company (GB), Regionteatre Väst (SE), Company Chameleon (GB) and 2 Faced Dance Company (GB). Throughout her career Rosemarie has toured across Europe and the United Kingdom as a dancer, teacher and choreographer. She can be seen in numerous television commercials, has performed in touring shows, industrials, independent feature films, music videos, live theatre and performed alongside Madonna in 2014.
Ms. Stea is currently Artistic Manager at The Maple Academy of Dance, where her high acclaim awards her numerous Overall High scoring routines, Teacher Recognition, Choreography and Top Teacher awards year after year. Her involvement in education also includes teaching for educational institutes, private dance studios and pre-professional programs across Canada including the Peel and York District School boards, Ryerson University, The School of Cadence Ballet, the Toronto Dance Teacher Expo and Dance Attack Workshops. As a freelance artist, she has choreographed for musical ensembles, independent dance films, professional photo shoots and is a highly sought after Adjudicator for various regional and National dance competitions throughout Ontario. Key memberships: Dance Masters of America (DMA), Dance Ontario, Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) and Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD).
VICKI FLETCHER
An accomplished teacher and choreographer with years of competitive dancing experience. As a competitive judge and member of Dance Masters of America Chapter 43, Vicki continues to attend and teach at workshops throughout Ontario. Many of Vicki’s dancers have been recipients of scholarships and have won many titles. A number of her students have gone on to pursue their own careers in dance and theatre. Vicki is certified with Acrobatic Arts as well as being on staff as a course conductor and examiner for Acrobatic Arts.
JORDANA COHEN
Jordana Cohen’s dance career began with 15 years of competitive dance training under the instruction at Maxine’s School of Dance. Jordana has experience in many dance disciplines, excelling in acro, contemporary, jazz, lyrical and hip hop. Jordana has taught both competitive and recreational classes in the Greater Toronto Area and across Canada with her speciality in acrobatics and contemporary. During her career she has had a number of performance opportunities, including being a member of the first Canadian Showdance Team that travelled to Germany, representing Canada at the International Dance Organization. Jordana has appeared in the movie “Honey” as an extra in the dance scenes. At 18 she began her career as a teacher and choreographer at various studios across Toronto and Canda. She has won many awards for her unique choreography at various regional and national competitions for her innovative choreography and her strong award-winning acro and lyrical routines season after season. Choreographing for students across Canada in Acro and contemporary Jordana continues to impress the dance world, and her students continue to have strong technique. Jordana has her BATD stage associate level as well as her International Academy of Dance Adjudicators certificate and her N.C.C.P Level 1 Gymnastics. Just recently Jordana had the opportunity to choreography a video promo shoots for a dance competition in Punta Cana, Dominican. Jordana has judged at leading competitions across Canada and the US, while furthering her dance training by attending workshops throughout Canada and the United States.” Demand the stage every time you step onto it!!!”
WENDY LAIDLAW
Wendy Laidlaw is a Director, Choreographer, Instructor and Adjudicator who shares and celebrates her love and knowledge of dance!
She is a graduate of the Sandy Collens Dance Studio in Gravenhurst where her love for dance started and grew with thanks to her mentor Sandy Collens.
Wendy has been a full stage (Jazz, Acro, Tap) and Ballet member of the Canadian Dance Teachers Association (C.D.T.A)for 22 years. She also holds her A.D.A.P.T. certification in Jazz and Tap as well as her Junior and Intermediate certification with Acrobatique, Miss Wendy is also a certified Dance Adjudicator holding memberships with the International Dance Adjudicators (I.A.D.A) as well as P.A.A. (Professional Adjudicators Alliance). She also continues to give workshops at other studios as well as at local schools in the area, and has had the privilege of instructing/directing the credited dance program at Gravenhurst High School.
Many of Wendy’s students have had continued success in the dance industry, such as George Brown College, O.I.P., Conteur Dance Company, Music Videos, Disney Cruise Lines, Toronto Blue Jays- J. Crew, Dance Olympus V.I.P., Toronto Rock, Canadian National Jr. Showdance Team 2010/2011 and Jr./Sr. Tap teams 2010/2011/2012(Germany) and the Canadian National Sr. Ballet, Modern and Jazz teams 2010, 2011, 2013 (Poland).
Wendy continues to educate herself through several workshops and summer classes travelling to New York City (Broadway Dance Center), Orlando, Las Vegas (Dance Olympus), O.I.P. (Toronto) and attends Triple Threat, Move, and The Dance Project Conventions. She is a firm believer of continued education to provide the best dance instruction possible for her students.
TIA BLAKE
Tia Blake, a St. Catharines veteran, has been dancing since before she could walk. Starting with predance at the age of 2 and continuing throughout high school she enjoyed jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop and lyrical; her favourite being jazz and lyrical. During her competition career Tia had the privilege of travelling with Team Canada to Germany on the tap team and Poland on the jazz, ballet and modern team. Being a Nationals qualifier, taking classes at “Steps” in New York City, winning many first overalls in jazz and contemporary and learning from the expertise of Stacey Tookey, Jay T. Schramek, Nico Archambault and Jeff Dimitriou, Tia learned a lot throughout her competition years.
Once competing had to take a spot on the shelf, Tia now lives vicariously through her students within both recreational and competitive programs. Travelling to L.A with her scholarship-winning students, she prides herself on helping her students grow. Over the years Tia has added hip-hop and acro to her repertoire to allow for more versatility in her capabilities. Her students have won many first overall awards as well Tia herself has received numerous choreography awards.
Tia’s creativity streams from hip-hop choreography for a Niagara’s own music video, dancing, choreographing and acting in Manhattan Film Festival’s “Lost Penny”, choreography work for the Teacher Expo 2015, her workshop classes with “Dance Attack” Workshops, as well as starring in a country music video.
Tia is eager to continue learning and gaining experience among different avenues of the dance world, in hopes to bring a fresh eye to competition. Her passion for dance is evident in all the work that she does from predance classes to advanced classes. Tia continues to choreograph, teach and take classes to keep herself busy and educated in the dance industry that we all love.