Chantal Almeida: P.A.E.C., Owner and Artistic Director,

Chantal Almeida has been in love with dance for over 25 years. She first performed at Mill Pond at the age of 3, and was on the front page of the Richmond Hill Liberal! This is where the love began. CDA started in Chantal's parents basement in Newmarket, with only 5 local students, and now it has 2 locations with 600 students. Chantal would like to thank all of her staff, students, and parents for their dedication and support over the years! Chantal's Dream has come true, and she and all the staff truly love what they do and this is shown in the success of the growing CDA Dance Studios. Chantal is a full member of the Performing Arts Educators of Canada (P.A.E.C.). Mom of 2 children, and owner of 2 studios she believes you never stop learning in life and in dance! She urges students to take workshops & summer classes, as well as their regular training. Chantal has studied in a wide variety of dancing and her broad outlook on dance enables C.D.A. to be successful in all areas of the Dance, for the 'well rounded dancer'. Like in "So You Think You Can Dance" Chantal believes dancers should not just focus on one form of dance, but venture out of their 'comfort zone' and take classes in many forms of dance and from many specialty instructors! Chantal has studied R.A.D. (Royal Academy of Dance) and Ceccetti Ballet, C.D.T.A. (Canadian Dance Teacher’s Association), B.A.T.D. (British Association Of Teachers Of Dancing), I.D.T.A. (International Dance Teachers Association) and D.M.A.(Dance Masters of America) Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Stage, Cabaret, Modern, Lyrical, Pointe, Musical Theatre, Hip Hop, Acrobatics, and Improvisation. Chantal is a certified yoga teacher and Canadian Fitness Professional (Can Fit Pro). Chantal's enthusiasm in classes gets children, teens, and adults hopping! Chantal's award winning choreography has helped C.D.A. win in competitions across Ontario and the states for many years! Chantal has also volunteers and been hired to choreograph productions and teach many workshops in schools, churches, Girl Guide groups, Community Living and retirement homes. Chantal's knowledge, experience, and love for dance will help dedicated students develop the skills they need in order to pursue their dreams and warm any child’s heart!

Evelyn Bloem: ECE

Evelyn Bloem is our Early Child Educator at CDA. She has a love and passion for educating young children that clear the moment you meet her. She has over 10 years experience in the child care field, and has worked in numerous Junior and Senior Kindergarten classrooms. She graduated with an Early Childhood Education degree from the University of Ryerson, and her experience has taken her from Toronto, Montreal and now Newmarket. At present, on top of teaching here at CDA, she also works and volunteers at Stonehaven Elementary School in Newmarket. Evelyn is excited to teach your little ones here at CDA!

Marjorie Celis: Guest Choreographer

Marjorie has over 17 years of dance training in many genres, with emphasis on Hip Hop, Jazz, Lyrical and Tap. She was heavily involved in Competitive Dance for a number of years earning many overall and national awards as a performer. Along with her training, she has completed her Associate Teachers Diploma with the B.A.T.D. She has trained in Hip Hop & Jazz with several Toronto based teachers at Dance-Teq, City Dance Corps, Metro Movement and Do Dat Dance Agency. After a hiatus from dance to complete her Business Degree at York University, she returned to perform with the York University Dance Team. Her performance and choreography credits include: Hyundai Motors, Schwarzkoph International, Taste of Broadway Show with Michael Burgess, appearance on Flip TV for the OMNI television network where her Hip Hop choreography & students were featured. In 2008, she joined forces with Catalyst Dance Company to bring urban dance education to a new level, and she was honoured to work alongside Hok Konishi (Quest Crew, SYTYCD & ABDC). She continues to teach and choreograph to hundreds of students throughout the Greater Toronto area. Her students continue to excel in the competitive dance circuit and many have gone on to successful professional dance careers. Marjorie's passion and love for dance is a true testament when she teaches her classes. She feels blessed every day that she has been given the gift of dance.

Danielle Chretien: Tap, Musical Theatre, Hip Hop

Danielle is a Performer, Teacher and Choreographer from Newmarket who has been dancing for over 18 years. Her choreography is award winning and she is certified in B.A.T.D Tap division. Although she has trained extensively in many disciplines including Jazz, Ballet and Hip Hop (R.A.D. and B.A.T.D.), she has a special love for Tap and Musical Theatre. She is a graduate of the Huron Heights Arts Program, receiving a Diploma in Drama, Dance, and Vocal. She has been teaching and choreographing for competitive and recreational students of all ages for the last 8 years; as well as working on musicals. Some past shows include Crazy for You, South Pacific, Children of Eden, and Seussical. Danielle continues to train in Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo to expand her own knowledge, helping to further the development and growth of her students.

Patrick Derry: Guest Choreographer

Patrick Derry is a dancer, choreographer and instructor. Beginning his training solely in Break-dance, it was not long after that Patrick swayed his dance education to include all forms of the performing arts. Mr.Derry’s vast knowledge of the performing arts was instilled in him by many different institutions some of which were; Rhythm Dynamics- under the direction of Michelle Mitchell and Robin Cultess, The Extreme- where he was fortunate to have the opportunity to train under Bradley Rapier who is the founder of the Groovaloos- also seen in “So You Think You Can Dance?”, Coastal Dance Rage Workshop- under the tutelage of Mia Michaels, Brian Freidman, Blake McGrath and Benji! Patrick was honoured to be awarded a scholarship to the “Be Discovered” workshop in L.A. where he trained with Shane Sparks for a number of sessions. Patrick has also trained at many prestigious studios such as The Edge, Millennium, and the Debbie Reynolds Studio, all residing in L.A. Patrick joined Step with Style Dance Productions to complete his training under the direction of Amanda Coatham and Sasha Chifman as a part of their triple threat program. Not only does Patrick have the knowledge of many different forms of dance including; Ballet (Vaganova-Russian Syllabus), Tap, Jazz, lyrical, Hip Hop, Krump, Break-dance(Nu School), Caporiera, Acro, Musical Theatre, and Adagio (Partnering), he also has been heavily trained in Drama and Voice as well. With a major in Drama Patrick had the opportunity to choreograph as well as sing and dance the lead role in “Footloose!” for McLaughlin Collegiate Institute. Patrick has been called upon to perform at the Michael Starr Building, Auctions at Trafalgar Castle, as well as been a part of touring Ontario performing “Grease!” Although Patrick’s education has been extremely colourful he has also had the opportunity to gain experience during these years as an instructor and choreographer. Patrick has taught for the Simcoe Hall Settlement House, as well as assisted Break-dance for Robin Cultess. In 2008 he was awarded the Spotlight Choreographers Award at Galaxy of Stars for his routine “It Was All In Your Mind!” Patrick has been a member of the S.W.S. faculty since 2007 teaching students’ ages 6-18yrs. As a competitive dancer/choreographer Patrick has earned scholarships, specialty awards, countless placements and choreography awards. As a performer he is cutting edge and truly is a triple threat! As an instructor Patrick is as well rounded as his education and is an inspiration to all young performers!

Cynthia Collyer-Whelan: R.A.D Ballet, Modern, Jazz

Miss Cynthia comes to us with over 20 years of professional teaching experience! She completed her training with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, graduated from Ryerson’s Royal Academy of Dance, and York with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. She also has had an extensive professional career including performing in; Coca Cola “One of a Kind”, Clearasil “Audition”, and “The Koo Koo Birds” CBC Productions. We welcome her knowledge and are thrilled to have her train & choreograph for our wonderful students.

Natalie Di Michelle: Musical Theatre, Tap, Ballet, Jazz

Miss Natalie has been dancing for more then 15 years, and competed for 10 years, her forte is Jazz & Hip Hop but also enjoys Ballet, Lyrical, Tap, Modern, and Musical Theatre. She has competed across North America, receiving numerous Platinum, 1st overalls, and many awards! Her Lyrical Solo also did extremely well with high scores & Platinum. She competed at the Canadian National Dance Championship FINALS in Guelph! Her experience & love for competitions & dance will show as she teaches here at CDA!

Farrah De Luca: Ballroom (DVIDA)

Farrah began social dancing in 1999, and partner dancing soon became her favourite pastime. She started off taking salsa and went out dancing almost every night. Throughout university and the years following, she continued to social dance regularly until one day she decided she wanted to expand her dancing and begin to learn how to swing dance. Well once she stepped foot into a ballroom dance studio for the first time she knew that there was so much more to dancing then swing and salsa and she began taking lessons to learn all styles of ballroom dance. Ballroom dancing quickly became her number one interest, she took lessons regularly and participated in her first competition in 2007. Farrah quickly realized that this is what she wanted to do not only as a hobby, but always. She quit her career and decided to become a fulltime ballroom dance instructor. She was first certified through the World Professional Dance Teachers Association and worked for Arthur Murray International, a world-renowned franchised Dance association. She later expanded her knowledge and also certified through Dance Vision International Dance Association (DVIDA). Aside from Ballroom Farrah also continues to learn other dances such as ballet, hip hop and tap to keep her a very well rounded dancer and reap the benefits of knowing other styles and incorporating them into her ballroom style.

Pamela Frazer: Ballet, Jazz, Acro, Hip Hop, Modern

Miss Pam has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from York University, and a Bachelor of Education from Lakehead University. Miss Pam has been dancing for 25 years, and she has been trained in Ballet (RAD, Cecchetti, Vaganova), Jazz, Modern (Graham, Limon), Lyrical, Acro, Pointe, Hip Hop and Belly Dancing. She competed for nine years, receiving many High Golds and Platinums across Ontario and New York. During her years at York University, Pam danced under the direction of Donna Krasnow, Karen Bowes – Sewell, and Carol Anderson. She was also privileged to have had Michael Sean Marye, a Principal Dancer for 10 years at the Toronto Dance Theatre, as a Guest Modern Teacher in her fourth year. Miss Pam also choreographed for York Dances, and has assisted backstage with many other shows. Miss Pam’s love of the arts shows in her creative choreography and enthusiasm in the classroom and studio. She has been teaching at CDA for seven years, and she can’t wait to see what the year may bring!

Valerie Freemantle

Miss Valerie's love for dance shows as she instructs the little ones. She was born to instruct, as her mother is a school teacher and has grown up at the dance studio. She has competed with CDA at competitions across Ontario and won numerous awards! Miss Valerie is back from University of Guelph! She will be taking over Saturday dance classes, running birthday parties, leading our successful summer camp program, and assist at this year's annual recitals.

Mark Kay: Acro, Jazz, Lyrical/Contemporary, Hip Hop

Mark Kay started in the world of gymnastics at the age of six. He trained and competed till the age of 19. Within that time, he also showed a great interest in dance and took acro classes. It wasn't till he was an older teen, that he started taking classes in a variety of dance disciplines. From there, he became focused solely on dance and started to teach. He teaches acro, jazz, lyrical/contemporary, and hip hop. He has been well known in the Thornhill community for many years working at City of Vaughan daycamp programs. He was the Director of Dance-To-Da-Beat and the Assistant Director of Gymnastics camp. His professional experience has been dancing back-up for the Neil Young concert in Toronto in 2004. He has also danced at many bar/bat mitzvahs, parties, and local charities. He was seen in the Town Crier's Education Fall Guide in 2009. The article focused on his experience in dance as a male and inspired guys to get more into dance. Mark's work is said to be creative, dynamic, and challenging. He has won many overall awards at competitions including top acro soloist, overall highest acro of the competition, and most outstanding intermediate performer of 2009.

Karissa Lee: Guest Choreographer
Karissa is a former competitive dancer who trained at Markham Dance Workshop and Vlads Dance Company. For years, she has trained in a variety of different dance styles such as ballet, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, modern, and tap. She will be spending the next few months travelling and performing as a dancer on board Norweigan Cruise Lines. Karissa spent the past two years as a member of the Toronto Raptors Dance Pak where she performed at home games and at special events. Prior to this, she spent a year dancing on the Toronto Marlies Dance Team. For 6 years, she has taught at several different dance studios across the GTA. Karissa is a dedicated dancer and dance teacher.

Erika McMillan: Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, Hip Hop, M.T.
Erika McMillan has been dancing for 25 years, and has been a competitive and recreational instructor for the past 12 years. Coming from a diverse training background, Erika excelled as a competitive dancer in jazz, tap, lyrical, hip hop and musical theatre, developing the best techniques to develop dancers, which has shown in her teaching career winning many choreography, overall, judges choice and scholarship awards. Erika continued her dance training, finishing a 4-year intensive program becoming a certified member with Dance Masters of America. Her dance career has taken her to New York City, Los Angeles and Las Vegas to be a part of a variety of performances and workshops as well as Disney World and DisneyLand where she choreographed two 30-min performances. Erika’s love for dance is truly shown when she teaches and she is very excited to be a part of the CDA team!

Andrea Paspalis: Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Lyrical
Ms. Andrea received her associates with the B.A.T.D. (British Association of Teachers Of Dancing). Andrea’s experiences in dance include everything from competing all over North America, to show work (i.e.Kellogg’s commercials, Sick Kids telethon, The Camilla Scott Show, corporate events ) In the past, she has volunteered her time to teach children different styles of dance at Womans shelters in Toronto.She has been dancing for over 28 years starting with Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Lyrical, Musical Theatre and HipHop, then eventually training in Salsa, Merengue and Bachata. With over 10 years teaching experience ranging from pre-school level, to competitive dance senior level, Ms. Andrea brings enthusiasm, discipline and technique focus to all her classes.

Adriene Sankoff-Poste: Ballet

Adrienne began ballet training (R.A.D. method) at the Thornhill School of Ballet under Patricia Upcraft, founder. Later she entered the Pre-Professional Program at the Lois Smith School of Dance in Toronto where she studied Ballet, Pointe, Repertoire, Pas de Deux, Jazz, Modern, Character and Spanish Dance. Here she was fortunate to learn under former dancers from the National Ballet of Canada. Adrienne also co-choreographed her high school’s production of Cabaret at Forest Hill Collegiate and worked as a ‘Dance Specialist’ at Forest Valley Day Camp. After a year in the Dance Program at York University she completed a B.A. in psychology as well as her E.C.E. diploma. Her work experience includes teaching at a Montessori based private school in Newmarket during which time she completed her Montessori training. Currently she is enrolled in the Autism and Behavioural Science Program at Seneca College.

Jesse Weafer: Guest Choreographer
Jesse started dancing at an early age. He has been in numerous competitions, showcases, recitals and won numerous awards. He has experience in all forms of dance, with emphasis on Contemporary, Jazz, Hip Hop, Ballet, and Tap. Using his versatility, Jesse has worked with Wade Robson, Chris Angel, Michael Bublé and Adam Shankman, just to name a few. His professional experience includes “Hairspray”, “We Will Rock You”, Cirque du Soleil/Criss Angel’s “Believe” in Las Vegas and of Course ……….. So You Think You Can Dance Canada Season 3. We are thrilled to have him on board at CDA this year!