Faculty

A dancer her whole life, Tania enters and successfully coaches students in their Cecchetti exams each year and runs our Competitive Program.

Tania earned her joint Honours B.A. in Dance from the University of Waterloo and National Ballet School and her Teacher Training Diploma from the National Ballet School. She holds AISTD (Cecchetti Associate Diploma and the Advanced Syllabus Certificate and has been a long-standing audition panelist for the Etobicoke School of the Arts as well as a guest teacher at Cawthra Park Secondary School of the Arts.

Completing numerous Teacher Summer Seminars at Canada’s National Ballet School with Irene Dowd as well as Master Classes with Frank Augustine, Tatiana Tchernova, Robert McCollum, Peggy Baker, Pat Miner, Susan Cash, Daryl Tracy, Silvie Bouchard, Menaka Thakkar, and Glen Gilmour, Tania believes in focusing on each child to inspire the love of dance, respect for others and the environment, a love of community, a sense of belonging. With many awards for Ballet choreography/concepts in dance competitions throughout Ontario, Tania brings students a variety of teachers and styles to learn from, to not only train dancers, but to help children to grow into caring human beings.

Having begun her training in classical Ballet at the Niagara Academy for the Performing Arts and then the Oakville School of Dance, Tess continued her career in dance at York University, completing a joint program with the National Ballet School.

Having graduated from the National Ballet School’s Teacher Training Program, she earned her Cecchetti Intermediate and Advanced One as well as her National Dance Intermediate and Advanced One exams. Relentless in her pursuit of ongoing learning, Tess has been awarded Registered Teacher Status with the Royal Academy of Dance and upon completion of her National Ballet School studies, returned to York University to graduate with a B.F.A. Honours in Dance.

A graduate of Burlington Dance Academy herself, Deanna attended the University of Western Ontario and earned her Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences. During her course of study, she choreographed and danced in Infusioni and the UWO Dance Company while teaching hip hop, lyrical, and jazz. Her ongoing love of dance is fuelled by her involvement in our dance program, while she pursues a career as a Medical Research Analyst.

Karin illuminates our Summer Dance Intensive with her wealth of performance and teaching experience. A graduate of the National Ballet School, Karin was a soloist with the National Ballet of Canada for many years with feature roles in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and Romeo and Juliet, among others. A devotee of the Cecchetti Method, Karen teaches Dance Intensive and coaches our Competitive Ballet Solos.

A Winnipeg native, Dani trained at the Shelley Shearer School of Dance and continued to train in Ontario with Clark Academy of Performing Arts with renowned choreographer Matthew Clark, Broadway Dance Centre, Metro Movement, OIP Dance Centre, The Edge in Los Angeles, and with numerous freelancers. At 15, Dani began her career in professional dance, with Disney Canada’s production of Winnie the Pooh, going on to dance with Celebrity Cruise Lines as a featured dancer as well as in productions for Sears Canada, Bell Mobility Celebrity Gala,  Rogers Galas, REMAX, the Children’s Aid Foundation, Crystal Ball Charity, and the CIM Awards among others. Her film and television credits include The Adventures of Shirley Holmes, Without a Word featuring Patrick Swayze, and Kidz for It…Live.

Dani has also wowed in the Toronto dance company Je Danse, directed and choreographed by Siona Jackson as well as with Helix Dance Project, directed by Linda Garneau. You may have also seen her in commercials and promos for So you Think You Can Dance Canada or within fashion circles working with Redken and Toronto’s Fashion Week.

While completing her degree in Business Management at the University of Western Ontario, Dani founded and launched the dance team, UWO Dance Force, dedicated to introducing artistry and style to dancers attending Western and since her graduation, she has founded an entertainment management company, MOI Artist Management in Toronto.  Her clients include Danny Davalos, owner of OIP Dance Centre, Helix Dance Project, and singer/songwriter/music producer Chad Pollett. Her work has garnered her the opportunity to head the Producers’ Division at the Management Trust, managing a roster of internationally renowned producers. View the list at www.mgmtrust.ca.

Credentials: A.I.S.T.D. Classical Ballet Associate; Quinte Ballet School of Canada T.T.P.; Advanced Cecchetti Syllabus Certificate

Carly has actively been a part of the dance community for over 18 years beginning her training in her home town of Milton Ontario. Her love for dancing and inspirational teachers enabled Carly to pursue her dream of a professional career in the industry.

Graduating with honours from both the Professional Ballet Program followed by The Teacher Training Program at the prestigious Quinte Ballet School of Canada training under Brian and David Scott, Joanne Nisbit, Owen Montague, and Kate McCabe to name a few. At the age of 18 Carly began her professional career getting the opportunity to dance under the direction of Alicia Alonso in principal, soloist, and corps de ballet roles including La Bayadere, La Fille Mal Gardee, Don Quiote, and Giselle.

Now as a teacher for Burlington Dance Academy Carly holds her AISTD Advanced Syllabus Certificate and Cecchetti Associate Certificate and successfully enters students into Cecchetti ballet exams yearly. Carly also lends her award winning choreography to the ballet division of the BDA competitive company and hopes that she can help to inspire her students in dance and life the way her teachers have done for her.

Ashleigh is an accomplished dancer, teacher and choreographer. She specializes in jazz, ballet, tap, acrobatics and lyrical dance.

As a teacher Ashleigh works with dancers of all ages and skill levels. She has certifications in jazz and ballet with Dance Masters Of America, Royal Academy of Dance and with the International Academy of Dance Adjudicators.

As a dancer and choreographer, Ashleigh is dedicated to her art, observing new choreographic trends and attending workshops to upgrade her skills. Ashleigh has received several awards for her choreography, including most recent 1^st overall group at Candance Competitions 2010, 1^st overall 10 yrs soloist at Bedazzled competitions 2010, 1^st overall 13yrs soloist at Love to Dance Competition 2010, 3rd and 2nd runners up in Dance Masters of America Chapter 43 2007, 1st runner up for Miss Dancefest 2007 and numerous overall awards for her choreography. She has been very involved in the Miss Dancefest and Dance Masters of America choreographing opening numbers for their respective events. Ashleigh continues to audition for various trade and international shows.

Ashleigh hopes her commitment and passion to dance will help to send her dancers forward with grace and poise and to be successful in whatever their future holds.

Rachel Parnaby began her competitive training in Burlington, Ontario. With extensive training in many disciplines, she furthered her studies by attending, with scholarship, the prestigious Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in New York City.

Rachel is a founding company member of Toronto’s acclaimed professional jazz and contemporary company, Helix Dance Project, under the artistic direction of esteemed choreographer Linda Garneau.  Some of her professional credits include Helix Dance Projects Integration (2003), West Side Stories (2004), Hotel (2005), Every Now and Then (2006), Rain (2009) and Verb.atim (2010), performances in Toronto Bazaar, Choreographers Ball and Siona Jacksons ‘Je Danse’.  In addition to her extensive training with Linda Garneau, Rachel has had the opportunity to work with other renowned choreographers such as Vlad Novitski, Tiffany McLean, Ryan Foley and Derrick Yanford.

Balancing her dance training, teaching and performing with academic studies, in 2006 Rachel graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in European History from the University of Toronto and is also a fully certified Stott Pilates Instructor.

Rachel is thrilled to share her knowledge of dance and passion for teaching with the students of BDA.