Faculty

Alana Moorehead

Lyrical

Alana has been dancing since the age of three in several different genres. She has studied and completed many dance examinations in Ballet (RAD), Tap, and Jazz (Al Gilbert). Throughout the years she has found her main passion to be in contemporary and lyrical dance. Along with the exam experience she has also competed in various different competitions in many dance styles. She brings many years of personal experience in dance and choreography and always looks forward to connecting, growing and learning something new about dance from each student.

Alida Tromp

Head of Ballet

Alida’s dance journey began in South Africa at age 3. She is trained in 6 dance genres, including Ballet, Modern, and Contemporary. Alida began competing at international competitions and European Summer Schools at age 9. She was awarded the Alan Hooper RAD Bursary to study at Elmhurst Ballet School in the UK at age 15. In 1987, Alida graduated from the University of Cape Town, majoring in Ballet, Contemporary, Anatomy & Physiology, and Ballet Teaching Methodology. Here, she was awarded her Solo Seal – RAD Ballet’s highest level. Her professional career as a soloist and first artist included performances in many classics, such as Swan Lake and Nutcracker, as well as several Balanchine works, training under NYC Ballet principals Melissa Hayden and Bart Cook. She also starred in 11 musical theatre productions, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. In Alida’s 27 years of teaching, many of her students have subsequently pursued professional dancing or teaching careers.

Amanda Vidito

Belly Dance 

Amanda has always had a love of dance! Having danced in one form or another for most of her life she found her true passion as a young adult. After stumbling on Middle Eastern Belly Dance as a means of exercise she was hooked! Amanda has been studying Middle Eastern dance for 5 years and has had many wonderful instructors, most notably Wendy Schabrel, Cassandra Shore, and Ildiko Gyarmati. Amanda has been teaching for three years and looks forward to the new and wonderful journey this year in dance will take us on!

Amelia Hebert

Tots/Acro

Amelia has been dancing and training in several styles of dance since she was four years old.  She has completed several exams in Ballet, Tap and Jazz and has attended many conventions and competitions.  She continues to expand her knowledge of dance and looks forward to sharing her passion and love for dance with her students.

Ashley Giesbrecht

Tots, Ballet

Ashley is a grade 12 student at Crocus Plains who started dance when she was 5 and has never looked back! She enjoys sharing her passion of dance with younger dancers and plans to attend Brandon University next year going into the education program, focusing on younger years. Ashley teaches ballet, lyrical, and tap for young aspiring dancers and thoroughly enjoys it! 

Charlene Hiscock

Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Acro, Combo, Zumba

Charlene started dancing at the age of 5 and hasn’t stopped dancing since! She has taken classes in a wide range of disciplines, competed in countless festivals and participated both onstage and behind the scenes in all of the DI Productions shows. In 1996 Charlene was fortunate enough to be among the first dancers in Canada to complete her Grade 9 Tap Exam with Al Gilbert. In addition to being certified in Al Gilbert Tap, Jazz and Ballet Charlene has received certification in ADAPT, Acrobatic Arts, Alixa Flexibility and Zumba. She continues to take courses and attend workshops to continue to bring new and exciting ideas to her classes. Charlene has over 25 years of experience teaching and choreographing for dancers of all ages and levels of ability.

Christine Penner

Flamenco

Christine Penner has been dancing flamenco for many years and has travelled to Spain for further study over several summers. She has studied online with dancers and singers of Spain. Through travel and online work she developed a deeper understanding of the dance form and the culture. Her connection to music as a music teacher for over 30 years has allowed her an understanding of the intricate rhythms that are performed in the hands, feet and through the body. Christine understands the complexity of the dance can be overwhelming to students and approaches teaching dance in a sequential way that leads her students to success. She recently gathered live musicians and has developed a performing group called Flamenco on the Prairies.

Claire Bell

Adult Exercise 

Ms. Bell is an avid skater, skiier, hiker and swimmer. Ms. Bell is the senior instructor for the “Learn to Skate” program at the Brandon Sportsplex. Ms. Bell has severed on the Board of Directors for the Brandon Festival of the Arts for many years.

Lillianne Hiller

Combo, Creative Movement

Lillianne started teaching pre-primary ballet classes in Shilo in 2018. After teaching there for years she has been teaching classes at our studio here in Brandon. She has been trained in multiple disciplines including ballet, tap and jazz. In 2021 she became certified to teach Al Gilbert jazz after completing her final exam. She has taken many exams in both tap and ballet and attended many workshops with professionals that have helped give her experience in other disciplines including lyrical, contemporary and interpretative dance. Lillianne says “Teaching students has been the most rewarding part of my career in dance and I am thankful every day I get to spend working with your children.”

Linda Kearns

bio coming soon

Olga Melnyk

Olga started dancing at the age of 7 at a children’s art school in Ukraine. After graduating from high school she entered the College of Culture and then the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, department of folk choreography.  While studying in Kyiv she worked as a dancer in a Spanish dance team. After graduation she taught 7 years classical dance and folk dance in a children’s art school.  In 2017, Olga opened her modern dance studio and in June 2022 Olga and her family moved to Brandon.

Olga Wins

Olga has been teaching Hip Hop for over 15 years and brings an extensive background in the Hip Hop dance genre.  She taught Hip Hop in Germany for two years before moving to Manitoba. She led various summer courses in the community and became a Hip Hop instructor at the Brandon School of Dance in 2016. Her style includes a mixture of dancehall, afrobeats, house, old school and modern Hip Hop. Classes are choreography based but freestyle sessions are also a part of the routine.

Tori Wright

Parent and Me, Acro, Ballet, Jazz, Office administration

I have been dancing since I was 3. Dance is something that I have loved since I was little and one of my biggest passions in life. Competition season is one of my favourite parts of the dance year. I have taken almost every style of dance at some point in my life but some of my favourites are Lyrical, Contemporary and Acro. I have been assisting with classes for as long as I can remember and I have been teaching my own classes for about 3-4 years now. I love working with kids and watching them develop a love for dance. Making connections with kids is also a really nice feeling and I hope to continue teaching for many years to come.

Tara Birtwhistle

Former Principle Dancer,  present Ballet Mistress with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet

Jorden Morris

Royal Winnipeg Ballet Choreographer

Jennifer Metelski

Choreographer and teacher at Westwood Collegiate and former Brandon Dance Ensemble member

Brian Toms

Choreographer and teacher at Westwood Collegiate and Director of Code Blue Dance Squad