Our Faculty

Mrs. Kim has been dancing, performing and teaching for a combined  30 years. She has trained extensively in classical ballet, jazz, modern/contemporary and musical theatre. Over the years, Mrs Kim has attained many of her major Royal Academy of Dancing (RAD) and Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) ballet and modern qualifications. Other professional certifications include ISTD and BATD ballet teaching certificates, Progressing Ballet Technique, Acrobatic Arts Module 1, Alixa Flexibility certification. 

To further her studies in dance, Mrs. Kim studied at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, a top performing arts college in London, England for three years where she gained a Level 4 National Diploma of Arts with Honours degree in Professional Dance/Musical Theatre.  She studied all forms of dance, musical theatre, singing and acting. She performed in many musicals, pantomimes and dance shows, gaining valuable experience and excellent intensive training.   

Mrs. Kim continues to attend workshops and conventions to further her dance education every year.

Some professional credits include; dancer, QDOS pantomime “Dick Whittington” (Cardiff, Whales), soloist/dancer for Carnival Cruise Lines, and dancer on Toronto Rock Lacrosse Dance Team.

Mrs.Kim has been teaching and choreographing for more than 20 years for many schools in Canada and the UK, both competitive and recreational. 

Miss Kim has upwards of almost 30 years of dance training and teaching experience in the GTA.  She has a broad background in various disciplines including ballet, tap, jazz, acro, and lyrical. Miss Kim gained her qualifications through B.A.T.D where she received her Stage Membership with honours. She certified with Acrobatic Arts in Module 1 & 2  and Alixa Flexibility certified in both Module 1 ,2, and 3.

Miss Kim has an honours degree in Kinesiology from the University of Western Ontario and has completed her Bachelor of Education (Primary/Junior division) at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.

While attending university in London, she was a member of the University of Western Ontario cheerleading team and was also the Core Team Captain of UWO Dance Force.

Miss Kim continues to attend workshops and conventions to further her dance education every year.

The past 20 years she has taught in the GTA and Southwestern Ontario, winning many overall awards for her choreography while motivating her students to find their full potential and passion for dance. 

Miss. Lauren started her training at the age of three in Toronto, Ontario. She trained in ballet and pointe, jazz, tap, contemporary, and hip hop. Miss Lauren is excited to teach and inspire dancers to share the same passion that she has in the studio. Dance has been such a big part of Miss Lauren’s life, she can’t wait to continue her work at the studio as her career.

Miss Lauren understands the importance of continued education in the dance field and has attended many workshops and certification courses to support the dancers’ development. Some of her professional certifications include Acrobatic Arts Module 1, Acrobatic Arts AcroDance Pre-School, Progressing Ballet Technique, DiscoverDance Early Childhood Dance Education, and MuvMethod.

Miss Lauren graduated from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Child, Youth, and Family Studies, as well as Wilfred Laurier with a Bachelor of Education. 

Miss Lauren is passionate about what she does and can’t wait to support her students as they develop and reach new goals. 

Miss Emma began her dance training at the age of seven at The Dance Connection in Tottenham, Ontario. She trained in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, hip-hop and acro. Dance has always been a very important part of Miss Emma’s life and she is so thankful that it has become her career.

Miss Emma loves to expand her knowledge and takes advantage of as many training opportunities as possible. Some of her professional certificates include, Acrobatic Arts Module 1 & 2 and Alixa Flexibility Module 1. 

Miss Emma is also a graduate of the University of Guelph where she completed a 4-year Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and Public Policy. After completing this degree Miss Emma went on to pursue a Bachelor of Social Work at Dalhousie. It was here when Miss Emma combined her love of dance and social work to create 100% You Athletics, a mindset program for athletes! 

Miss Emma is very passionate about what she does today and her favourite part of being a dance teacher is watching her students achieve their goals! 

Miss Maegan has over 20 years of dance training and experience in various disciplines including jazz, tap ballet, lyrical, and musical theatre. Maegan is also a former dancer and member of the Performance Dance Academy Competitive Company.

Miss Maegan pursued her post-secondary education at Brock University studying Child and Youth Studies. During her studies at Brock, she was an active member and teacher for the school’s recreational dance club as well as a recreational and competitive instructor for a local studio. 

Miss Maegan has always had a passion for the arts and for working with children and is extremely happy to be able to work in an environment which allows her to combine the two. 

Maegan is also a certified member of the Ontario College of Teachers and is currently employed by the Halton District School Board teaching Grade 5 in Milton.

Maegan is thrilled to be at Performance Dance Academy of Arts for what she knows will an amazing year! She looks forward to sharing her love and passion for dance with all who she teaches as well as watching all of her dancers grow and learn over the next season!

Miss Teresa started her dance career at 4 years of age. She began with taking Irish soft shoe classes and quickly transitioned into taking tap, jazz, and ballet. She began competing at the young age of 5 starting with her first tap solo! Her love and passion for dance grew from there. She competed for 13 years in many different styles including tap, jazz, ballet, and lyrical. 

She has accumulated over 8 years of teaching experience in both recreational and competitive level classes, and currently teaches tap, acro, ballet, and jazz. Miss. Terrie holds certifications with Acrobatic Arts, Alixa Flexibility, Tap Dance Centre, and is attending a Progressing Ballet Technique certification course this August. Over the years she has attended many workshops with industry leaders and is always looking to further her learning and become a better teacher. 

Miss Teresa is a University of Guelph graduate with a Bachelor of Applied Science in child, youth, and family studies with a focus in developmental psychology. She is also currently awaiting acceptance into the College of Early Childhood Educators.

Miss. Teresa is excited to be teaching at Performance Dance Academy of Arts for their first season under new ownership and is honoured to be able to continue teaching all the amazing, talented, and inspiring students coming through the doors! #pdaproud! 

 Miss Valentina started dancing at the age of 3 and has dedicated herself through the years to growing and developing as an artist and teacher. Miss Valentina trained extensively in contemporary, jazz, ballet, tap, acro, pointe, and lyrical at Performance Dance Academy and is now very fortunate to be part of such an esteemed faculty.

Having danced competitively since the age of 5, Miss Valentina has competed across Ontario receiving much recognition and many overall awards. 

Miss Valentina graduated from the University of Guelph where she received a Bachelor of Science with a major in Biomedical Science. During her time at the University, Valentina was fortunate enough to be a member of the Guelph Gryphons Dance Pak, in which she was able to choreograph various numbers and compete against other prestigious university teams in varsity dance competitions. Miss Valentina also worked with Curtain Call Productions in which she co-choreographed their production of "Legally Blonde the Musical". Currently, Miss Valentina is completing her Bachelor of Education at Western University for Intermediate/Senior level biology and sciences.

Miss Valentina is Acrobatic Arts Module 1 Certified and continues to expand her knowledge and training as a dancer by attending various classes and workshops throughout the dance community. Over the past 5 years, Miss Valentina has taught in all dance forms and has choreographed many competitive pieces for various teams and studios. 

Miss Valentina is passionate about performing, choreographing, and inspiring the next young generation of artists! She cannot wait to share her love of the art with all her students and is so excited to continue being a part of the amazing PDA family!

Miss Chiara has been a dancer for as long as she can remember and fell in love with all types of movement at a very young age. She grew up dancing at Performance Dance Academy in Guelph where she was very fortunate to work with and alongside various talented teachers, choreographers and dancers in various genres. She became passionate about choreography and improvisation work alongside her training in and out of the studio. 

Throughout her years of competitive dancing, Miss Chiara was awarded various top overalls, scholarships and recognitions for her dancing and self-choreography. Miss Chiara started teaching classes and choreographing in and around Guelph after graduating high school in 2017 and was one of the Captains of the Gryphon’s DancePak at the University of Guelph from 2018 to 2021 after joining the team in 2017. She was awarded top choreography awards at university dance competitions against other university teams throughout Ontario and helped lead the team to various top overall team victories. Working with and alongside many talented dancers and choreographers on the Guelph DancePak are some of her most valuable and cherished moments throughout her university experience while studying Biomedical sciences. 

Miss Chiara’s choreography was recognized and awarded at the Young Creator’s Challenge in June 2019 when co-choreographing with her older sister with the opportunity to create and perform in their piece “Let Me Out!” at the winter Choreo Ball in 2020. In April 2020 she won 1st place at the Young Creators Challenge with her own solo choreography. In the summer of 2021, she taught amongst other talented choreographers at the Young Creator’s Next Gen workshop. She is currently teaching, choreographing and continuing to take classes in the community. 

Miss Chiara is currently in her first year of Teacher’s College at Western University completing her Bachelor of Education. Miss Chiara is continuously inspired by movement through various art forms, people and life experiences. She is so excited to be on staff at PDA!

Miss Danielle has been dancing since the age of three and was classically trained in the Vaganova method of ballet from a young age. She has since gone on to train in jazz, modern, and contemporary dance. She is excited to be returning for another season at PDA where she has had experience assisting and teaching pre-dance, acro, ballet, jazz, and tap over the past 6 years.

Miss Danielle is a graduate of The University of Guelph where she completed a 4-year Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology. She then went on to study at Humber College where she received an Advanced Diploma in Child and Youth Care. She is now a certified member of the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care and works as an occasional supply educational assistant for the Upper Grand District School Board. 

Miss Danielle is passionate about utilizing her skills as a Child and Youth Care Practitioner to integrate dancers with all levels of social and developmental ability into the studio, so that dance can be accessible to all. She is excited to share her passion for dance with all of her students and to watch all of them grow and master new dance skills over the next season!

Miss Maddi began dancing at the age of three and is thrilled to now have the chance to work with younger dancers. She has trained in styles including jazz, ballet, contemporary, lyrical and hip hop and is currently a part of PDA’s competitive company.

Miss Maddi began assistant teaching at the age of ten when she discovered a love for sharing her passion for dance with other dancers. She has had the opportunity to learn from all the amazing teachers at PDA and she hopes to add value to each of her student’s journeys.

Miss Maddi is very excited for her third season of teaching at PDA!