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Our
Staff Section
Our
staff are the true backbone behind the Academy.
It is through their dedication and talent that the
Port Perry Dance Academy has become the
benchmark of a performing arts education in our region.
Below
you will learn a little about the invaluable people
that make your learning experience at the
academy so memorable and enjoyable. |
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Lynn Ahmad |
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Lynn
Ahmad is an Examiner for the Royal
Academy of Dance. Her career in
Dance began at the age of three.
Since that time, she has been
fortunate enough to study with some
of Canada's most renowned
professional teachers and
performers. Marcia Caple, ARAD and
Audrey Looker, ARAD & Examiner for
the Royal Academy of Dancing, both
playing instrumental roles in Lynn's
development as a performer and
professional teacher. The late
Gladys Forrester, RAD President
Award Winner, coached Lynn when she
studied for the RAD Advanced Exam.
While pursuing her Diploma in Dance,
Lynn studied under former National
Ballet of Canada's Nadia Potts and
was coached by Canada's foremost
lead male soloist, Frank Augustyn.
Lynn
started her performing career
with Les Grands Ballet Canadiens in
The Nutcracker in Ottawa. She has
continued her professional career
teaching/coaching in Toronto and
surrounding areas. Her
students who take the annual
RAD examinations (from Pre-Primary
to and including Advanced 2) achieve
a 100% pass rate with many attaining
top results. In addition, Lynn has
prepared students for major dance
competitions both locally and
abroad. Her record includes both
choreographic and overall awards. As
an adjudicator, Lynn most recently
sat as Adjudicator (in the
disciplines of Ballet, Pointe and
Demi-Character) at Dance Manitoba's
Annual Provincial Dance Festival.
Many
of Lynn's students have garnered
scholarships and awards moving on to
further education at universities
like York, Ryerson and Ottawa. Other
students have gained acceptance to
the National Ballet School, The
Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Quinte
Ballet School. Still other students
have become professional
entertainers whose careers have
taken them all over the world.
Lynn
is a Registered Teacher and member
of both the Royal Academy of Dancing
and the Canadian Dance Teachers'
Association. She has her Diploma in
Theatre (Dance) from the Ryerson
Polytechnical University; Advanced 1
Ballet (RAD); Advanced National
(ISTD) and Advanced Modern (ISTD).
Lynn is also a member of the
International Adjudicators' Alliance
(IADA). Lynn is very excited about
her tenth year in Port Perry as the
Artistic Director of the Port Perry
Dance Academy. |
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Gaetane Hughes |
Gaetane has been
a dancer, teacher and
choreographer for the past 38
years. She is a respected member
of the Canadian Dance Teachers
Association, The British
Association Teachers of Dance,
ADAPT and Dance Masters of
America.
Gaetane is also an examiner for
both the ballet and stage
division of the Canadian Dance
Teachers Association, examining
students in ballet, tap, jazz,
and acrobatics. She is also an
accomplished adjudicator of
dance and is a musical theatre
Choreographer. When not
teaching her regular schedule at
the Academy, Gaetane is in great
demand to teach dance workshops
across Canada. Throughout the
years her students have won
numerous awards at both Canadian
and American Competitions.
Former students have been
accepted to both the National
and Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Schools, the Limon Dance company
in NYC and several are
themselves recognized dance
teachers.
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Andrew Oxenham |
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Andrew
Oxenham became the first male to
graduate from the world-renowned
National Ballet School and
turned his attention to the
performance stage. As a soloist with
the National Ballet of Canada for
almost ten years, Andrew danced with
such notables as Rudolph Nureyev,
Veronica Tennant, and Karen Kain.
His achievements at “the National”
caught the attention of the renowned
Stuttgart Ballet who engaged Andrew
as a soloist for several years.
After returning from Germany, Andrew
retired from the performance circuit
and turned his attention to teaching
and photography. Andrew has two
books to his credit, Dance Today in
Canada and Puppetry Today in Canada
and is now a highly sought after
photographer who specializes in
portraiture and dance/theatre
photography. Andrew is the
Academy's Pas de Deux instructor and
Boys' coach. |
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Julia Ridgway |
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Julia is an
accredited teacher through the Durham
District School Board where she delivers the
Dance Curriculum at Uxbridge Secondary
School. A graduate of the University
of Waterloo, Miss Julia has a strong
background in Ballet (RAD) and Jazz and
currently focuses on our Creative Dance
program. Julia has over 27 years of
experience as a dancer with sixteen of those
as a dance instructor. She has worked
with David Earl and Arun Paul and attended
the National Ballet School's Summer School
Program. Julia holds the RAD Advanced
1 and ISTD Intermediate Jazz
cetificates and has studied the Limon
technique (Modern), Jazz, Tap and Hip Hop.
Julia's choreo-graphy credits include the
Uxbridge Youth Theatre teen productions of
Fame and High School Musical. |
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Wendy Holt |
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Wendy
trained at the Royal Ballet School
in London, England. She holds the
Royal Ballet School Teaching
Diploma, Registered Teacher and
Associate status of the Royal
Academy of Dance and also Advanced 2
Ballet in R.A.D., I.S.T.D. and
Cecchetti Syllabi. In addition she
also attained Associates in
Cecchetti Ballet and National Dance,
Advanced 2 I.S.T.D Modern and
National and the Benesh Notation
Teaching Diploma. She is the former
Artistic Director of the Ontario
School of Ballet and currently a
Grades Examiner of the Royal Academy
of Dance. Former students of Wendy
have been accepted to the National
Ballet School, Royal Winnipeg Ballet
School and Quinte Ballet School. She
is excited to share her knowledge
and passion for ballet at Port Perry
Dance Academy. |
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Lynn McDonald |
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Lynn
McDonald is a on the Faculty of
Music at York University where she
is a Professor of Jazz vocals.
A lifelong teacher and performer,
Lynn can be heard on close to ten CD
titles. Widely considered as
one of the best female jazz
vocalists in the country, Lynn has
drawn accolades from the likes of
the CBC, Don Thompson and the Prague
Post. Lynn works with soloists
at the Academy and is the voice
coach for the popular Glee Club
program. |
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Courtney Ogle |
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Courtney, who
is well-known to all the families who
participated in the recreational programs at
the YMCA here in Port Perry over the last
several years, has been a dancer for over 20
years. Courtney is an instructor under the
ADAPT system and is a graduate of the Randolph Academy
for the Performing Arts’ Triple Threat
program. Courtney has had the incredible
opportunity to perform in many larger-scale
productions like Thoroughly Modern Millie:
Toronto, ON; Miss Canada Globe
Pageant: Toronto, ON; The Heidi
Chronicles: Toronto, ON; Grease Ball
50’s Concert: Niagara Falls, ON;
Steve Nash Charity Basketball Game:
Toronto, ON and many more. Courtney has
studied dance under both the R.A.D. and
C.D.T.A. Her extremely successful
competitive career culminated in her winning
5,6,7,8 Showtime’s Dancer of the Year title
at fifteen years of age! Her dance titles
and scholarships have taken her all over
Canada and the United States. Courtney is an
ADAPT teacher who is
thoroughly enjoying our new facilities. and
is looking forward to passing along her
personal knowledge of, and passion for, the
dance world to the students at the Port
Perry Dance Academy! |
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Ian Marnoch |
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Ian is the
Academy's music instructor. Ian has
extensive experience as a music teacher and
performer in our community. He is
Director of Music at St. Andrew’s United
Church in Sunderland, is a relief pianist
for Pontypool United Church, Bethany United
Church, Ballyduff Presbyterian Church, and
the Kawartha Park Chapel. Ian is also
an avid violin player who specializes in
traditional Irish, Scottish, and Cape Breton
fiddle styles. As a teacher, Ian is
renowned for his patience and good humour.
A graduate in Physics from Dalhousie
University, Ian is now completing his ARCT
(Associate of the Royal Conservatory)
certificate in piano pedagogy. Ian is also
a keen Trombone, Baritone Horn and Organ
player. |
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Tiffany Ratz |
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Tiffany is a Level Two gymnastics
coach and dance instructor who focuses on the Academy's Acro
and boys'
programs. Her career includes
over fifteen years of dance training
in Tap, Jazz and Acro. As a
teacher, Tiffany has been the
mainstay of the Acro program of a
major gymnastics academy and dance
academy in the Durham region. |
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Jessica Bartlett |
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Jessica is currently in her second
year in the Dance program at George
Brown College where she is one of
the few dancers selected to perform
with the company in her freshman
year. Jessica holds CDTA
Advanced Level Certificates in Jazz,
Tap and Acro and is an ADAPT
teacher. |
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Lesley Scott |
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Lesley is a native of Toronto,
and has been dancing since the
age of three. She has studied
various forms of dance and has
been trained by many well known
choreographers throughout Canada
and the United States. Lesley
started her professional career
dancing with the Toronto
Raptors Dance Pak, followed
by Toronto's professional
Lacrosse team, The Toronto
Rock. She then went on to
perform two contracts aboard
Celebrity Cruiselines. Lesley
has won numerious awards over
the years such as top mark
soloist, Runner-Up at American
Dance Awards and C.D.M.A dance
pageants. Lesley is also a
two-time finalist at the C.N.E's
Rising Star Competition. Lesley
is a fully qualified teacher in
the A.D.A.P.T. syllabus
whose specialties include Tap,
Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop and
Musical Theatre. Her
recent work has won many
accolades including a Top
Choreography Award at
American Dance Awards. Now
back in Toronto, Lesley is
thrilled to pursue her teaching
career.
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Sharon Walsh |
Sharon is
a full Member of the British
Association of Teachers of
Dancing (BATD) and has been
highland dancing since the age
of five. She has her Associate
Teaching Certificate in Ballet (BATD)
and taught ballet for the City
of Toronto for several years.
Sharon began her career in
Scarborough under the direction
of Margo Coutts and continued
with the late Gladys Forrester
in Toronto. As a dancer, Sharon
has competed across Canada the
United States and Scotland,
winning the Mid Canada
Championship and placing fourth
in the Canadian Championships in
Ottawa. Sharon teaches students
in the recreation, examination
and competitive streams.
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Our Sponsors
Steve Snider Construction
Abbey Custom Cabinets
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A special thank you to our
sponsors who help us through their donations to our Scholarship and
Student Assistance programs. |
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Welcome To The Port Perry
Dance Academy Website...
Here you will find
information about the Academy, including classes,
events, camps, important dates and more. Registration fills up quickly so be sure to register soon. |
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