Ria Aikat
OCT, BComm, MT
Styles: Bollywood, Bhangra, Bharatanatyam
Co-founder of Dance ’N’ Culture, Ria is a passionate dancer and educator. With a Master of Teaching degree, Ria has dedicated her life to fusing teaching and dance. She has over 20 years of dance training in styles including Bollywood, Bharatanatyam, Bhangra, Hip Hop and House, and 10 years in arts education. Ria has taught thousands of students of all ages across the GTA and is known for her high energy and accessible teaching style. Most recently, Ria has returned to her alma mater as a lecturer of Drama and Dance at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE).
Jennalee Desjardins
CSC Instructor Mentorship, Hip Hop Has History (H4) with Arnel Calvario, VIBE Anti-Oppression Training
Styles: Hip Hop, Waacking/Whacking
Co-founder of Dance ‘N’ Culture, Jennalee is a professional dancer, instructor and choreographer with a diverse background of dance training including Hip Hop, Waacking, Jazz, and Musical Theatre. She has spent ten years teaching in vulnerable communities in Ottawa and the GTA for companies such as Culture Shock Canada and VIBE. She is currently a part-time faculty member at Seneca College and a long-standing Hip Hop instructor at City Dance Corps. In 2020, she was voted #1 dance instructor by Toronto Star’s Readers’ Choice Awards.
Jimmy “Chico” Vásquez
Style: Hip Hop
Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Jimmy Vásquez González started his dance career at the age of 7. Surrounded by the Latin culture of his native land, Jimmy A.K.A "Chico" started his journey with the dance styles of Salsa, Bachata and Merengue. At the age of 13, Jimmy moved to Canada, where he was introduced to the style of native Toronto Hip-Hop, also referred to as "Flavour". Today, Jimmy continues to pursue his undeniable love for dance, through teaching, performing and sharing his own creativity in hopes of inspiring others.
Zahra Badua
Styles: Soca, Afrobeats, West African, Dancehall
Zahra is from Ghana but grew up in Montreal, Quebec. Her passion for dance started at a very young age as a means to understand and learn about her African heritage. She has trained in traditional West African and Afro-Caribbean folklore dances styles as well as Dancehall and Soca. Recently has been a member of the Coco Collective, Alpha Rhythm and Roots, Unrulygyal Performing Team, and the BlackStars Collective. Zahra also teaches across the GTA promoting and educating students about the culture and beauty of the Diaspora.
Candace Kumar
Style: Philippine Folk Dance
Candace Kumar is a Filipino folk dance teacher from Mississauga, Ontario. At 10 years old, she started Filipino dance, performing in local festivals like the Taste of Manila, Kultura, and Philippine Festival Mississauga. She has also performed internationally at festivals in the Czech Republic, Alaska, Mexico, and Poland. Candace has studied with Folklorico Filipino Canada, Hataw, Parangal Dance Company, and the Tao Foundation for Culture and Arts. She is excited to be a part of the Dance 'N' Culture team and share her Filipino culture with students. Fun fact: Candace's favourite dance is Pandanggo sa ilaw, the dance of lights!
Shivani Joshi
Styles: Bharatanatyam, Garba, Indian Folk
Shivani has been trained as a Bharatnatyam dancer for over 20 years. She completed her Arangetram with Avni Vyas at Shivanjali Dance Academy and recently graduated with a Master's in Performance Studies from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her dissertation focussed on communities of women creating cultural spaces, colonialism in India, and how it affected Bharatnatyam as a whole. Shivani also advocates for the importance of folk arts, such as garba, and teaches various folk dances and prop work that is prominent in Indian culture.
Harry Zhang
Styles: Locking, Breaking, Hip Hop
Harry came to Canada in 2013 when he was 17. Being alone in a foreign country had many challenges but he soon found passion in street dance. He learnt the dance in a community centre in Hamilton and continued training and studying. Years later, he is now a versatile street dancer, specializing in Locking and Breaking, and has trained under many pioneers of the Canadian street dance pioneers such as Caroline “Lady C” Fraser, Glizzi DeMariano, Andrew “Pyro” Chung, to name a few. He loves to share his passion for street dance and the culture with children across the GTA, and has been teaching for many years with the hope of inspiring the next generation of street dancers
Agnes Chow
Style: Chinese Dance
Agnes found her passion in dance at the age of 4, training in Classical Chinese Dance, Chinese Ethnic Dance, and Ballet. She has taught kids of all ages and is always finding different ways to teach each learner best. Agnes has performed many events for large organizations during Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn festival, Canada day, etc. She hopes to spread the beautiful culture and history of Chinese dance to the younger generations. Agnes has completed the entire student examination syllabus for Chinese dance by the Beijing Dance Academy and is a Certified Beijing Dance Academy syllabus teacher.
Anita Pandey
Style: Kathak
Anita Pandey is a Montreal-based Kathak performer and teacher. She is also an Indian classical vocalist with training in classical piano and opera. Anita has advanced training in Kathak performance under her Guru Urmila Sharma in Allahabad, India. She is currently expanding her repertoire and acquiring a new movement vocabulary by pursuing a mentorship under Toronto-based Kathak dancer, Tanveer Alam. Along with her vast performance experience both at the national and international level, Anita also runs her own dance and music school from her home studio. She strives to increase representation of Indian classical dance in the mainstream dance sector.
Melissa Marie
Styles: Bollywood, Soca
Melissa grew up in an Indo-Caribbean household, with both of her parents being from Trinidad & Tobago. Her grandfather was an Indian Classical dancer in T&T, and she carried on his legacy at an early age in Bollywood dance. She has been dancing for more than 20 years and has trained in Soca, Dancehall, Hip-Hop and more. She has been teaching kids ages 3 & up for the past 8 years including under her own dance company “Melissa Marie Dance” in hopes of sharing her passion for her culture as well as fusion dance. She strives to create more representation for Indo-Caribbean dancers in the mainstream dance world.
Manpreet Singh
Styles: Bollywood, Bhangra
Manpreet Singh Virdi is a creative and expressive Indian based dancer, choreographer and teacher. Manpreet started his dance training at a very young age in India, gaining experience in various dance styles. Pursuing his dream of training internationally, Manpreet moved to Toronto, Canada in 2021 and graduated from the Centennial College Dance Program in 2022. Currently, Manpreet dances for the Toronto Raptors as a member of the North Side Crew.
He aims to revolutionize the idea of dance fusions by infusing his Indian culture into western dance genres. He envisions spreading the joy and love of dance among the dance community in Toronto.
Erika Suarez
Style: Latin Fusion
Erika, a professional dancer and anthropologist from Javerina University in Bogotá, Colombia, specializes in the intersection of corporeal expressions, dance, and culture. She received the "Artistas Jovenes Talentos" award in 2015, leading to an artistic residency in Madrid, Spain. Since her move to Canada in 2017, Erika has been an integral part of the dance community. She performed for Ballet Creole for two consecutive seasons and has also taken on the role of instructing various dance styles at different academies. Currently, Erika teaches Pilates at various Toronto studios, combining her diverse background and passion for movement, enriching the arts and wellness community.
Alexandra Beltran Montoya
Styles: Salsa, Bachata, Latin Fusion
Alexandra was born and raised in Peru. She moved to Canada 6 years ago where she found a part of her culture and the feeling of home in Latin dance. She trained most of her childhood in Peruvian folklore. Her passion for dance lead her to train in Salsa, Bachata, Reggaeton and Latin dance. She recently won first place in the team competition at the International Canada Salsa Congress and is currently training in other styles in the Centennial Dance Performance program. Her first language is Spanish, but she also speaks some Portuguese and French.
Jasmine Huang
Style: Chinese Dance
Jasmine Huang is a graduate from Earl Haig Secondary School's Dance Program and Ivey Business School. She has studied Chinese Folk dance, ballet, jazz, contemporary, and hip hop since the age of 4 and is currently pursuing a career in professional dance, acting, dance teaching, and choreography. She completed all grade levels from the Beijing Academy of Dance's Chinese Folk dance curriculum and received the highest grade in Ontario on the final examination. She has been teaching Chinese Folk dance for the past 10 years to children of all ages and levels of dance.
AJ Harper
Style: Popping
Raised in Scarborough, A.J. Harper has been dancing since the age of 10. He began competing in street dance battles such as Golden Groove in 2017, placing top 4 with his main style of dance called popping. After joining the dance collective Blvckout fam, A.J. has won 2 consecutive 2 v 2 Allstyles battles called the Jamdemic, placed 1st in an online American based dance contest, and won the Cypher on the Block popping competition in 2022. A.J. is also an experienced youth worker, using Popping to encourage movement for Teens and Adults with disabilities through programs with BAMD, Jake’s House and Shadow Lake Centre.
Chloe Rondeau
Style: Philippine Folk Dance
Chloe Rondeau is a Filipino folk dance teacher from Mississauga, Ontario who has been dancing since 2006. She studied Philippine folk dance through Culture Philippines of Ontario, performing at local events and festivals like Taste of Manila and Carassauga, and at international cultural festivals in countries like Spain, Belgium, Poland, and the U.S. She completed her Master’s Degree in Dance at York University specializing in Philippine folk dance in relation to Filipinx identities, participating in a number of performances hosted by the university and CRAM.
Nikisha Reid
Style: Step
Nikisha is a Canadian native, with roots in the Caribbean islands of Jamaica & St. Vincent. She has always loved rhythm and movement. Being introduced to the genre of Step in high school, she felt at home. Being able to dance to a beat of your own made it that much more rewarding. Most are taught to dance to music, but with Step you create the music with your body. Nikisha has taught and led Step teams in high school, university and recently elementary schools. She enjoys showcasing her skills to allow others to find a home in dance the same way she did.
Kwasi Obeng Adjei
Style: Afrobeats
Kwasi Obeng-Adjei is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist, emerging choreographer, and dance educator based in Brampton Ontario. Acceptance into the regional arts program at St Roch Catholic Secondary School is where he began his journey and developed his foundation. He has trained with leading artistic directors and choreographers including Esie Mensah and Lua Shayenne which have led to performance opportunities with the Pan-American Games, Kira, The Path | La Voie, The Raptors half-time show, Zayo and more. Kwasi believes dance is a spiritual experience that involves connections with all that are among us.
Marvel Itemuagbor
Style: Afrobeats
Marvel is a dancer who specializes in Afrobeats. He has been dancing since the age of 5, and his passion for dance allows him to keep growing and sharing his love for dance. He has choreographed for multiple artists in both Afrobeats and Dancehall. From 2021-2022, Marvel has taught at many studios and schools across the GTA. He plans to continue to learn, share, and showcase his love for Afrobeats to all.
Rajvi Dedhia
Style: Bollywood
Rajvi Dedhia is a dancer, teacher, choreographer, singer, and social media influencer. Originally from India, she moved to Toronto in 2021 to pursue a career in the performing arts. She has performed on numerous stage and TV shows and has over four years of teaching experience. Rajvi is trained in various styles, including Bollywood, Ballet, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Salsa, and more. She has also achieved excellence in RAD ballet and ISTD modern and jazz examinations. As a social media influencer, she shares her passion for dance online, offers Bollywood dance workshops, and manages social media for a dance company.