2021/ 2022 Registration Now Open

Owner & Director

Miss Ruth-Ann Gray

DMA, IADA

Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap, Musical Theater, Contemp Instructor

Ruth-Ann has been the proud Owner and Artistic Director of The Dance Shoppe since 1994. Prior to opening the studio at the age of 19, Ruth-Ann had trained in various forms of dance including Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Lyrical and Modern. Ruth-Ann received certifications with the British Association of Teachers of Dance, Canadian Dance Teachers Association, Dance Masters of America and the International Association of Dance Adjudicators. Ruth-Ann is proud of all of her students and enjoys seeing them follow their passion through performance and teaching opportunities.

Ruth-Ann loves to give back to the community where she grew up and is constantly looking for ways to do this through performance opportunities for her students in Milton. She cherishes every moment and is happy to have a job that truly is her passion!

Director & Instructor

Miss Rachelle Seguin

BFA Honors in Dance, BATD, DMA, IADA, HDC

Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap, Musical Theater, Contemp Instructor

Rachelle has been actively involved in the dance community for over 25 years. She is a well known and accomplished performer, instructor, choreographer and adjudicator. Rachelle is a graduate of York University, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts with Specialized Honors in Dance. This allowed her to become familiar in the areas of dance pedagogy, dance injury prevention and treatment and dance history alongside her technical dance training. She has extensive training in tap, jazz, ballet, modern, lyrical, musical theatre and hip hop. Rachelle’s students have won countless overall awards, pageant titles and have been accepted into such prestigious dance programs as The National Ballet School of Canada, Quinte Ballet School, George Brown College and York University. Several students are now performing for various companies across Canada and the United States, on cruise lines and with the Toronto Raptors. Over the last couple years Miss. Seguin has been involved in some notable projects including being a founding member of an organization called Healthy Dancer Canada who’s mission is to be the Canadian Leader in facilitating communication and collaboration between the dance community and health professionals to enhance the health and well being of all dancers. Miss. Seguin is a registered member of the British Association of Teachers of Dance in the Stage Division and also a member of Maple Leaf Dance Masters of America Chapter #43. She is also a certified member of the International Association of Dance Adjudicators. Rachelle prides herself on providing a fun and challenging environment for students of all levels in her classroom and loves seeing the passion grow within them!

Director & Instructor

Miss Lindsey Feltoe

BFA Honours in Dance, DMA

Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap, Musical Theater, Contemp Instructor

Lindsey starting dancing at the tender age of three and has continued to pursue her passion ever since. She trained in multiple styles including jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, acro, hip hop and musical theatre at the competitive level and began teaching as a senior student. Lindsey graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honors in Dance. Lindsey is also an active member of Maple Leaf Dance Masters of America Chapter #43. Throughout her career Lindsey has had the opportunity to share the stage with well known names such as Everett Smith, David Cox just to name a few. She is currently a member of a tap performance group called “What’s On Tap” with whom she performs regularly. Lindsey enjoys applying her education to teaching children of all ages. Her passion for dance allows her to provide her students with the love and appreciation she has for this art form. Lindsey hopes to continue to inspire dancers and help guide them to success. Lindsey became a part of The Dance Shoppe in Milton in 2008 and is proud to be part of such a wonderful team.

Director & Instructor

Miss Meaghan Boland

BFA, BATD

Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap, Musical Theater, Contemp Instructor

Meg Boland began dancing here at the Dance Shoppe at the age of 8. She quickly found a passion for dance, and began training in various dance styles including jazz, tap, ballet, acro-jazz, modern, lyrical, and many others. Over the years she has competed internationally and won numerous awards and scholarships. She has completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and Psychology at York University, as well as obtaining her Associates certification in Acro with the B.A.T.D. As a performer, Meg has enjoyed learning and performing a variety of styles, notably including Bollywood and circus arts. Having taught students from age 2 through adult, Meg loves working with dancers of all ages, and looks forward to each day that she can step into a studio and inspire another person to move with confidence. She is so excited to be back at the Dance Shoppe!

Ballet Director

Miss Amanda Sciberras

Teaching Diploma RAD, CDTA, RMT, PBT

Amanda began her dance training at the age of 4 with competitive Irish dancing in Edmonton, Alberta. At the age of 7 Amanda added jazz to her repertoire and was given a scholarship for entrance into the ballet program. From there Amanda trained professionally at the Edmonton School of Ballet studying ballet in both RAD and Cecchetti methods, jazz, lyrical, modern, musical theatre, dance pedagogy, and voice while performing with the Edmonton Festival Company. Early in her career, Amanda discovered a passion for teaching and began teaching at the Edmonton School of Ballet within the professional program earning her the prestigious student teacher award as well as grants for the Government of Alberta and Young Dancers Society of Alberta. Amanda came to Ontario to train and mentor under RAD vocational grade examiner Elizabeth Paterson (now retired), as well as Anuschka Roes, Amanda Bayliss and Lee Tovey. Here, Amanda received her credentials with the Royal Academy of Dance as well as the CDTA stage division. After further academic studies of music, child psychology, anatomy, and dance history she earned her Teaching Diploma with the RAD. Amanda continues to upgrade her skills with courses at the National Ballet School, mentoring under ballet examiners, workshops with physiotherapist and is also a registered massage therapist. Amanda has been teaching in the GTA for the past 18 years with her students successfully completing both graded and vocational exams and experiencing success at a variety of competitions.

Amanda is looking forward to watching the young dancers discover and appreciate the balance between art, athleticism, creativity, and perfection within dance.

Birthday Party Instructor

Miss Emily Lamouche

Birthday Party Instructor

Emily Lamouche has been training at The Dance Shoppe for many years. Emily started in the recreational program but quickly discovered her passion for dance and moved into the competitive program. Emily has trained in all styles of dance and has become an accomplished dancer but developed a special love for tap. This love for tap has earned her many awards at competitions over the years. Emily has brought her love of dance back into the studio, becoming an assistant for many years. During this time, she learned how much she enjoys working with children as well as the many essential skills that are needed when working with young children. Further putting these skills to good use, Emily became our birthday party host for the past few years. Emily wants to continue to pass down her passion for dance to many other kids.

Instructor

Miss Chelsey Banyai

Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap, Musical Theater, Contemp Instructor

Chelsey has been dancing since the young age of 2 years old. She has trained in various styles of dance including, ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop, musical theatre and modern. She started competing at 5 years old and continued to be apart of a competitive dance team for 13 years. She has competed at both the regional and national levels winning several awards and special awards. Chelsey graduated from Cawthra Park Secondary School from the Regional Arts Program, majoring in Dance. She was able to train with various choreographers and teachers as well as expand her knowledge on dance history, kinesiology and different styles of dance.

Chelsey has graduated with her Bachelor of Arts from Wilfrid Laurier University and Bachelor of Education from Nipissing University. Throughout her university career she continued her love for dance on the Laurier University dance team where she competed in the styles of jazz, lyrical, tap, contemporary and hip hop. She was also the dance team captain for the team organizing practices and competitions, as well as choreographing the jazz, lyrical and hip-hop dances. During her time on the dance team she has organized and lead workshops at different studios around the community. Chelsey is excited and looking forward to sharing her love and passion for dance with her students.

She is thrilled to be a member of The Dance Shoppe Team!

Instructor

Mr Jamie Townbridge

Jazz, Lyrical Instructor

Mr. Trowbridge is a Toronto based teacher, choreographer, and dancer who began his training in Acton, Ontario under the artistic direction of Ms. Lynda Yurkin.  Jamie was greatly involved with his competitive team until the age of 19 where he was given the opportunity to compete throughout Canada and the United States.

Mr. Trowbridge was then accepted to the Ryerson University Performance Dance Program under the direction of Vicky St. Denys.  During this time, he worked closely under mentors including Nadia Potts (National Ballet of Canada), Karen Duplisea (TDT, Martha Graham Company), Kenny Pearl (Alvin Ailey Dance Theater), Tanya Evidente (Ballet Nacional de Cuba), Robert Glumbeck (ProArte Danza), Arsenio Andrade, and John Ottmann (National Ballet of Canada). He was also fortunate enough to work with highly acclaimed choreographers including Vicky St. Denys and Marie-Josee Chartier (Chartier Danse). A couple of his many accomplishments include travelling to Dubai in a production of PINOCCHIO as a featured dancer and acrobat. He was also awarded the KENNY PEARL AWARD while enrolled at Ryerson University. This award is granted to a student who showed significant improvement throughout the four years enrolled in the Ryerson University Performance Dance Program. He was also proud to speak on behalf of his class as valedictorian of the Ryerson University Dance Program 2015.

After graduating from Ryerson, Jamie was hired by Royal Caribbean International Cruise Lines where he performed as a dancer, aerialist, acrobat and aerial captain.

He is currently certified as a C5 aerialist, as well as a member of the Professional Adjudicators Alliance under the direction of Mr. Robert Jensen and Mr. Scott Kufske. He is also a proud member of Acrobatic Arts. He has performed with other companies including Dublin Worldwide/Spirit Productions in the inaugural cast of Carnival Extravaganza, choreographed by Tiger Martina (VEGAS! The Show). He has also performed with corporate companies such as Smart Car, Mercedes-Benz, TD Canada Bank, Prism and Toronto Pride. His most recent accomplishment is with Royal Caribbean International where he performed in Genvieve Copal & Moment Factory’s Starwater as a featured dancer and aerialist, as well as working as aerial captain.

Throughout his entire competitive and professional career Jamie has always had a passion for teaching and working with students of all ages. He has had the opportunity to teach and choreograph on students of all levels ranging from recreational to professional as well as teaching and choreographing at various studios throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

Mr. Trowbridge is very excited to share his passion and dedication to the world of dance, to continue his education and also continue to grow as a professional choreographer, teacher, mentor and adjudicator!

Instructor

Miss Nicole Dymianiw

Jazz, Tap, Contemporary

Nicole Dymianiw, originally from Burlington, Ontario, has been performing for over 30 years where
her love of dance began at the young age of 3. Her training has included many styles; jazz, tap, ballet,
hip hop and lyrical. She has competed across North America being honored with many overall
awards and scholarships along the way.

She is sought after for her unique and innovative approach to dance, which she currently instills in
the workshops and classes she instructs. She has been recognized for her excellence in choreography
in regional and national competitions with her students being recipients of many overall awards and
scholarships; many of her students have gone off to pursue dance at a University level.

Nicole is an alumni member of What’s On? Tap!, under the direction of Kim Chalovich. She has also
had the privilege of being a member of Bringing Tap Back, under the direction of Everett Smith, and
GeoMetriX Dance, under the direction of Dustin Pym and Natalie Brucker. Other credits include: No
Secrets “Kids in America” music video, “Welcome to Class”, “A Day Through Rhythm and Sound”,
“Tap Rocks”, “Tap, Love, Connection”, “Tap Water”, Eastern Canadian Tap Conference, Dance
Ontario’s Dance Weekend, Amnesty International’s Dance For Justice, So Danca’s 10th Anniversary
Celebration, Dancewear Association of Canada Convention, The World League Volleyball
Championships, along with the Toronto Rock Lacrosse Dance Team. Nicole has also had the
opportunity to perform alongside Big Bad Voodoo Daddy; a contemporary swing revival band from
South Carolina and worked as a Foley artist in Guillermo del Toro’s film, The Shape of Water, which
won the Golden Globe for Best Director. You can hear her tapping feet in a few opening scenes.
In addition, Nicole is a member of the Canadian Dance Teacher’s Association Stage Division (Tap),
as well as a member of the Professional Adjudicators Alliance having adjudicated many competitions
across Canada; this is now her chance to give back on the other side of the stage! Nicole is also the
proud owner of Social Media for Dance, a business that focuses on social media management and
marketing for dance related businesses in Canada, the United States and abroad. Her clients have
referred to her as the Fairy Godmother of social media, helping them to grow their presence across
multiple platforms. Social Media for Dance helps to take your dance brand from Silver to Diamond,
one rhinestone at a time!

Through her passion and love for dance, Nicole continues to motivate and inspire her students to
become the best that they can be. It is her goal to instill positive and healthy attitudes in young,
aspiring dancers for many years to come. @nicoledymianiw & @socialmediafordance

Instructor

Mr George Absi

Hip Hop, Jazz, Musical Theater, Contemp Instructor

Pursuant to his long time love for the arts, George has been a professional dancer and choreographer for over 15 years. He has been training in all genres of dance – Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Tap and Contemporary. He was born and raised in Ottawa, ON where he did most of his training which includes A.D.A.P.T and R.A.D. He first landed a job working for Carnival Cruise Lines. shortly after that he danced for International Artist PSY, Deborah Cox, Kreesha Turner, Fefe Dobson, Aleesia and Classified, to name a few.

George performed and appeared on several television shows and commercials; he appeared on Once Upon A Time, Handmaid’s Tale, Shitt’s Creek, Breakfast Television, “Threads” a short film as a news anchor, and just recently appeared on PBS Kids, Let’s Go Luna as “Hakim” a principal role. He appeared on Cineplex commercials and Tim Horton’s Web Commercials. He also performed in a world wide TV broadcast for The 2015 Pan Am Opening Ceremonies with Cirque Du Soleil and The 2015 Pan Am Closing Ceremonies both for 50,000 plus audience.

George is currently the Artistic Director and Choreographer of T.D.C Entertainment catering to main event functions and corporate events such as Illuminute, The Luminato Festival, The Teddy Bear and The Bell Celebrity Gala.

In late 2016 George made his debut in the theatre with the musical Beauty And The Beast, in Halifax, NS. Soon after, George traveled to Kamloops, BC and Aquarius Theatre in Hamilton, ON to perform a role in Mamma Mia, where he also acted as Dance Captain and Assistant Choreographer. He also played the role of Jimmy and ensemble with the musical Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, Sleeping Beauty The Panto, the role of Buttons in the musical Newsies. This year he will play the role of one of the angels and dance captain for the regional premiere of the musical Kinky Boots with Drayton Entertainment.

You can catch George teaching drop in classes at various dance studios in the downtown Toronto area. George believes that with hard work and determination you can conquer anything in life.

Instructor

Mrs O’Heany

MFA (Dance History), LRAD, RAD RTS, Affiliate Teacher ABT NTC

Ballet Instructor

Mrs. O’Heany started her ballet training in Toronto, with renowned Canadian teacher, Gladys Forrester.  She continued her dance and teacher training at the College of the Royal Academy of Dance, London, England, where she gained various dance certifications.

After having taught at various studios in Canada, the USA and England, Mrs. O’Heany started her own ballet school in Toronto, dancespace, and a junior ballet company, The Toronto Ballet Ensemble.  There are many dancers and teachers working today from those highly successful institutions.

As well, Mrs. O’Heany pursued her MFA in Dance History, studying ballet technique from the nineteenth century to the present; wrote articles and definitions for the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Dance and researched training and teaching methodologies while at the Vaganova Choreographic Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Most recently, Mrs. O’Heany gained her Affiliate Teacher status in the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum. She continues to teach, Mentor and support young dancers and teachers in their pursuit of the art of ballet.

Instructor

Miss Michelle Galati

Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap, Musical Theater, Contemp Instructor

Michelle is no stranger to the competitive world of dance. She started competeing at the age of 5 and won numerouse awards,titles and scholarships across Canada and the United States. Michelle started working as a professional Dancer/Actor and singer some of her Theatre credits are dancing along side Karen Cain in “Robin Hood”, “The Lion King”, “Cats”, “Jesus Christ Superstar”,”Grease”,”Oliver” and was principal dancer at the Statford fesival in “Daun Jaun”. Some of her film and T.V credits include Confessiions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Honey, and the Oscar award winning movie ‘Chicago’. Michelle Has also danced/toured with the Spice Girls, katie Lang, Lionel Richie,Tweet and Li’l Bow Wow to name a few. Michelle has been Teaching Dance for over 15 years and loves watching the growth in all the kids she has come across. Michelle is thrilled to be returning to The Dance Shoppe and is looking forward to an amazing year!

Instructor

Miss Julia Carnevale

Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap, Musical Theater, Contemp Instructor

Julia Carnevale has been a part of the dance community for over 30 years.  She has trained in jazz, tap, ballet, acrobatics, lyrical, contemporary, hip-hop, break-dance, Latin, ballroom and many more.  As a professional dancer, instructor and choreographer, she places extreme value on versatility and believes dancers should embrace as many styles of dance possible.

Julia’s passion and excellence of dance can be seen both on and off screen. Some of her many dance credits include the films “Honey”, featuring Jessica Alba, “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen” featuring Lindsay Lohan, along with other independent film productions.  She also carries an impressive list of video and live performances for Aaron Carter, Jully Black, Jamie Fox, Flo Rida, Lady Gaga, and several other Canadian artists. Julia most recently travelled around the world dancing for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.  That amazing journey allowed her the opportunity to work with some of the best dancers and choreographers worldwide. The culmination of all her experiences has contributed to her well rounded curriculum of dance and made her the positive, outgoing and enthusiastic teacher she is with an ability to inspire her classroom.

Instructor

Miss Olivia Afonso

Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap, Musical Theater, Contemp Instructor

Olivia Afonso grew up dancing at The Dance Shoppe. She trained in all genres but always had a passion for tap. She has been attending The Toronto Rhythm Initiative every summer, joined the Tap Dance Centre and is a part of the pre professional division of the Rhythm Ensemble directed by Julliana Kelly. She has been on the Canadian national tap dance team four times for dancing and choreographing, and has been on the World Performers dance team once for tap. She has had the opportunity to do many performances which include, “ Everything Is Copacetic ”( Allison Toffan, and Julliana Kelly) , “ The Night Shift” ( Dianne Montgomery ) , “ECTC” (Kim Chalovich), “ Rhythm And Sound Cinqopation ” (Cori Giannotta and Johnny Morin) and the TRI Shows (Julliana Kelly, and Allison Toffan). From TRI, The Tap Dance Centre, and The Rhythm Ensemble she has been able to work with many professional tap dancers from all around North America. She has had the opportunity to work with Mackenzie Greenwall, Sarah Savelli, Ryan Foley, Johnny Morin, Joseph Wiggan, Matthew Clarke, and Travis Knights.

Instructor

Miss Lesley Cabrie

Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Acro

Lesley began her dance journey at the age of 3 as a competitive highland dancer in Scotland. At the age of 9 Lesley started ballet at a small local RAD dance studio.  Shortly after starting at this studio, she was asked to audition for the Scottish Ballet Junior Associate Programme.  Lesley ended up successfully gaining a place and was also later a Senior Associate with Scottish Ballet and The Royal Ballet.  At the same time, she was a competitive gymnast for many years and was chosen to represent her country.  While gymnastics had been a huge part of Lesley’s life, as time went on dance was what she wanted to pursue exclusively.

At the age of 16 Lesley began her full-time training at The Dance School of Scotland which then led her into her 3 year Diploma course at The Northern Ballet School in Manchester, England.  Upon graduating she went onto performing professionally for 10 years.  Lesley worked as a dancer/aerialist for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Tokyo Disney, laterally becoming Dance Captain of the production casts onboard.

Teaching was always something Lesley had wanted to do.  To be able to give back to children the same experience she had growing up.  After she finished with her professional performing career she went back home to Scotland and gained her Membership Diploma in Ballet with BATD.  Lesley made the big move to Canada at the end of 2019 and has since been lucky enough to teach at a few schools in the area but she always knew she wanted to get back to her RAD roots.  She is currently studying to gain her teachers qualification with the RAD.

Lesley is extremely excited to be joining The Dance Shoppe family.