Our Dance mentors

Sandy has been mentoring dancers for more than 18 years. As an artist, a studio owner and a dance professional for the last 24 years, Sandy knows what it takes to nurture a sustainable career in the arts. She loves to coach dancers in their creative work and has a passion to see each person’s unique voice be conveyed through a well-crafted dance piece. Sandy’s background in Kinesiology, Psychology and Dance at SFU equip her for the many territories of training up healthy dance professionals and running alongside their development body and soul.

Danielle is an established dancer, mentor and award-winning choreographer from Vancouver, BC. She has dedicated the past 20 years to teaching artists of all levels to unleash their creativity through her company West Coast Choreo Lab & Impact Dance Productions. Danielle is best known for her time on the show SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA Season 3 & Team Canada West where she was the head choreographer and Program Director for 6 seasons. Danielle has danced with notable companies such as Motus Operandi, Josh Beamish and Rachel Poirier. With many years of competitive experience under her belt, her truest passion has and will always be connecting on a community level where all feel accepted and have the opportunity to heal through movement. Danielle is a caring and compassionate teacher and mentor.

Joanna is a graduate of the Mirror Dance Program (now Bez Dance Mentorship) in 2016 and has continued to train, create and perform in so-called Vancouver B.C. She was a part of creating and performing in the production “Look. See.” in 2017, and also performed alongside Kim Stevenson, Antonio Somera and Kevin Locsin in the 2019 production, “Accelerate 2.0.” She has choreographed and co-reated movement in music videos for Jon Bryant, Jodi Pederson, Jenny Banai and most recently for Jordan Klassen's music video, “Identivacation.” She has co-created and performed in the film, “Hoover Dance: Nobody Does It Like You,” for the SGPS #9 Digital Edition of Shooting Gallery Performance. She has also performed/co-created for an untitled work in 12 Minutes Max. Her most recent project has been a dance piece titled, “I Relate To That,” created for Pacific Theatre’s 2021 New Roots Festival. She is curious about cultivating awareness and connection around the body and how it is tied to emotional expression and the human psyche. She hopes her continued work in this area creating understanding and empathy regarding what it is to be human—how our experiences are unique yet similar in so many ways.

Amy has been dancing and performing since the age of 2 and her many performance opportunities have taken her around the world. Amy has trained extensively in all dance disciplines and has received marks of Highly Commended  and Honours for her Royal Academy of Dance Ballet Examinations. She has a passion for choreography and has received the poignant Norbert Vesak Scholarship, as well as many other awards for pieces she has created for her own studio and others and has interned with Ballet BC under the tutelage of Crystal Pite. Amy feels that every dancer who comes inter her presence deserves to be trained as a unique and special individual, as each and every person is built with a gift to share. As a instructor, its is her job to allow each dancer the freedom to be true to themselves and to courageously pursue their full potential.

Maria started dancing when she was five. Her training background is diverse and she’s a graduate of the Mirror Dance Program (now Bez Dance Mentorship). Maria also has been teaching  dance for over 15 years and her passion is to help people come alive through movement. Besides dancing, she loves writing, thinking, and exploring with her husband and daughter.