dance teachers in oakville - oakville dance instructors

teachers

Laura Dacyshyn

Founder, Artistic Director & Principal Instructor
CDTA, ACTRA, EQUITY Laura discovered her passion for dance at age 7 when she began studying ballet in Ancaster, ON. By 9 years old she was accepted into the prestigious National Ballet School where she trained under the direction of Betty Oliphant and Mavis Staines. Laura continued her professional development with NBS and was invited to spend her summers working with Melissa Adamnova at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow and in New York City, training with a number of reputable teachers including David Howard, Gelsey Kirkland and Vladamir Dokudofsky. After graduating, Laura began dancing with The National Ballet of Canada and performed various roles in Swan Lake, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, La Sylphide, Don Quixote, Manon, Cinderella, The Merry Widow, Romeo & Juliet and The Concert. Eager to pursue her career in classical ballet, Laura then travelled extensively throughout Europe, studying with The Royal Danish Ballet and The Frankfurt Ballet. In 2001, Laura started teaching and immediately realized her passion was in the studio working with children. She founded The Allegro School of Dance in 2002 and is presently the director and principal instructor. Her success as a teacher is proven year after year by the progress of her refined and motivated dancers. Several of her students have been accepted into professional dance schools and intensive Summer programs including The National Ballet School, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and Quinte Ballet. Laura has been instrumental in guiding her students’ success and fostering a deep sense of accomplishment and dedication to the artistry of dance. Indeed she is an award winning choreographer and several of her pieces have been acknowledged by reputable adjudicators and have received overall awards at festivals and competitions. Laura is also a supporter of giving back to our community. She has been very generous of her time and through recital ticket sales, donates yearly to a charitable organization which enhances our environment and provides much needed resources to ensure the precious artistry of dance is always appreciated.

Melissa Moore

PAEC – Comp. Jazz & Lyrical – Tap – Creative Movement Melissa began dancing at age 4 in Burlington, ON, where she studied Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical and Tap. After graduating from high school, Melissa continued her education in dance at Ryerson University and recently graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree majoring in Dance Performance. During her 4 years at Ryerson, Melissa was fortunate to work with many of Canada’s most accomplished artists and choreographers including Christopher House, Nadia Potts, Robert Glumbek, Vicky St Denys, Johanna Bergfelt, Allen Kaeja, D.A. Hoskins and Derek Sangster. Now as a profession dancer, Melissa’s television credits include “Impulse”, “Women in Dance”, “True Review”, “New Voices”, Disney’s “Molly”, Kidomo shows; “Buster and Billy” and “The Clifford Show”, “Tartan Terrors” and “Ceilidh”. When Melissa is not working in front of the camera she continues to be cast in various dinner theatre shows, dance industrials, community celebrations, fundraisers and commercial work. Melissa is also an assistant to “So You Think You Can Dance Canada” choreographer Amy Wright. As an instructor, Melissa strives to challenge her students both technically and artistically. She is always encouraging and positive in her approach to teaching and her dedication to dance is evident in the progress of her students. This will be Miss Melissa’s second year at the Allegro School of Dance where will continue to teach Jazz, Lyrical, Tap and Creative Movement to dancers of all levels.

Rebecca Hewlett

Pre-Acro & Acro – Musical Theater Rebecca began dancing at age 4 in Stouffville, ON, where she studied jazz, tap, ballet, musical theatre, hip hop and acro. At a young age she began competing and travelled extensively throughout Canada and the United States as well as England, Paris and Australia, winning numerous special awards. As a teen Rebecca began to focus on acting as well as dance and she was cast in musicals such as Rent, Bye Bye Birdie, The Wizard of Oz and Oliver. She continued her training abroad, studying with the Alberta Ballet School, New York City Rockettes and Cirque du Soleil. Rebecca also worked as a professional dancer with Carnival Cruise Lines and BC’s Burlesque Beauties. More recently, Rebecca discovered a great passion for teaching dance in the classroom. It has been her main focus for the past few years. She continues to hone her skills and enhance her personal development by training with reputable dancers and choreographers such as Annie Wood, Stacey Tookey, Kendra Hughes, Gillian Clarke, Sonya Malaya, Kelby Brown and Blake McGrath. Allegro School of Dance is happy to have Miss Rebecca back for her third year. She will be launching the studio’s first Musical Theatre class and continuing to teach Acro to students of all levels.