Howe Sound Dance Academy

Alicia Fortin

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As director of Howe Sound Dance Academy, Alicia truly feels that the space herself and her faculty provide is one that facilitates a passion and love for dance that is lifelong. 

As a teacher, Alicia has been an instructor for over 20 years. She has been dancing since the age of three, training intensely in RAD ballet, jazz, musical theatre, AIDT Modern, lyrical and hip hop. At the age of 18, Alicia began training to become a certified instructor with the Association of International Dance Teachers (AIDT) under Susan Ford. She now specializes in instructing the AIDT syllabus work with many of her students receiving top marks and recognitions over the past years. Alicia has participated in many dance physio workshops as well as mental health workshops to provide her students with not only top dance instruction but also tools and tricks to guide them through life safely.

As a dancer, Alicia has competed in many workshops, competitions and festivals around the lower mainland. She is the proud recipient of numerous awards and high scoring medals in groups, duos, and as a soloist. Alicia has also attended many conventions around B.C. to strengthen her dance ability even further and expand her knowledge as a dancer, instructor and as a choreographer. 

Alicia feels that it is important for her students to feel confident, motivated and inspired at all times and that they are in an environment they feel comfortable in. Alicia wants to see her students succeed, be proud of their accomplishments and enjoy all of the hard work and dedication they put into dance.

Shaylee Macdermid

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Shaylee is a professional dancer from Vancouver, B.C. She has trained extensively in many genres, specializing in Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Musical Theatre. Her talent has taken her across Canada, the United States and Europe as a dancer and choreographer.

As a performer, Shaylee was a company member of both House Of Jazz and Uncorked Theatre, most recently performing in the 5-star immersive theatre show, "One Nine Two Seven". She has worked with world-renowned choreographer/director, Kenny Ortega, as a dancer on the Disney channel movie "Descendants" and was an assistant choreographer to Melissa Williams on the hit television show, "So You Think You Can Dance Canada".

Shaylee has been a dance captain and lead dancer in numerous live events for the award winning PRP Productions. Her credits include CFL's 99th and 102nd Grey Cup Halftime show, Vancouver 2010 Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Special Olympics Canada Summer Games Opening Ceremonies, BC Lions Halftime shows, and live stage shows at the Pacific National Exhibition (Boogie Fever, 80's Forever, Let's Go Crazy, KABOOM!, and PopCity). She has performed with such artists as Nickelback, Imagine Dragons, Victoria Duffield, Dallas Smith, Ash Koley, Jordan Setacci, Wes Mack and Carly McKillip (of One More Girl).

On top of working as a professional dancer in film, television and live stage productions, Shaylee has assisted many of the industry's best such as Melissa Williams, Gustavo Vargas, Bradley Rapier, Lindsley Allen (of the Pussycat Dolls), Jillian Meyers and Megan Lawson. She was a choreographer for SGA Productions and Merlin Entertainment – creating "Lego Friends" for LEGOLAND Windsor and the Justin Bieber reveal at Madame Tussaud's.

She has taught for Kingston University and King's College based in London, England as well as Pineapple Dance Studios where she was a Guest Teacher.

Currently teaching back home in Vancouver, Shaylee shares her passion for dance with her many students and has won several awards for her studio choreography.

Shaylee brings an infectious energy to both the stage and classroom, and she's eager to pass that along.

Milaina Chanel

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Milaina Chanel is a Dancer & Actress born and raised in Calgary, AB. She is a versatile dancer, training in the styles Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Jazz Funk, Ballet and many more. She has worked with choreographers such as Heather Laura Gray, Kelly Konno, Paul Becker, Jamal Sims, Kenny Ortega and many more. After high school Milaina moved out to Vancouver to pursue both dance and acting. Her career highlights are: a series lead on Season 5 of The Next Step playing the role of Zara. Disney Descendants 3, Riverdale, DC Legends of Tomorrow and The Twilight Zone.

Along with being in the film and TV world, Milaina is also no stranger to the live performance stages. She has done WE Day as the entertainment opener for 3 events, she has travelled across the world performing in places like Greece, and also joined her Next Step Cast on the Big Ticket Summer Concert Stage.

Milaina also continues to teach, choreograph and adjudicate across Canada. She has been teaching since the age of 15 and has assisted since the age of 9.

Kaitlyn Ziegler

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Miss Kaitlyn is a very versatile dancer, trained in jazz, lyrical, stage, hip hop, ballet, acro and more. Throughout her studio training she focused on ballet, achieving very high marks for her Royal Academy of Dance exams, and competitive ballet solos and variations. She was fortunate to have attended summer schools with Alberta Ballet and the Joffrey in New York City. During her competition years, she achieved many awards and medals from competitions throughout Canada.

Kaitlyn began assisting in classes around the age 14, and by the age of 16, was teaching baby ballet and jazz. Now a full time teacher, she enjoys being able to watch her students grow and learn new techniques, tricks, dances, and more.

Kaitlyn has completed her level 1 teacher’s certification with Acrobatic Arts. She has a keen focus on helping dancers attain their skills while maintaining a safe environment as well as safe training. With a focus on tumbling and flexibility, she loves teaching new variations of tricks and creative sequences.

Lyndsay Westall

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Lyndsay is a senior student at Howe Sound Dance Academy and has been dancing since the age of 7, starting with ballet and quickly moving on to all disciplines of dance.

She has excelled in her dance training receiving top marks in all AIDT Jazz exams and Royal Academy of Dance Graded of Vocational exams and has also received top marks for various ballet solos, contemporary solos, jazz duets and for her own choreography.

Lyndsay has been assisting since the age of 10 under the guidance of the HSDA teachers in Creative Dance, Ballet, Jazz and Acro classes and has a natural, nurturing way with students. We are proud and excited to have Lyndsay teaching in the new season!

Kelsey Visser

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Kelsey Visser fell in love with dance during her first Ballet lesson at the age of 3. Since then, she has also trained in Jazz, Lyrical, Acro, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Tap, Stage, Irish Dance and 13 styles of Ballroom dancing.

Kelsey has 9.5 years teaching experience, preparing students to successfully complete their RAD Ballet examinations. She is also a Certified Acro Dance Adjudicator, a proud member of Youth Protection Advocates in Dance, and Certified with Acrobatic Arts and Alixa Flexibility. Kelsey loves continuing to expand her knowledge and share her love of dance with her students.

With over 24 years in the dance and performing arts industry, Kelsey has performed in many professional productions including on the field for the BC Lions, BC WhiteCaps, Grey Cup Championship Half-Time show and alongside Nickelback. As well as Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

She has trained with talented instructors and choreographers in L.A. and Las Vegas such as Tyce Diorio, tWitch, Blake McGrath, Luther Brown and Nappytabs. Kelsey is very excited to share her knowledge and creativity with the students at Howe Sound Dance Academy.

Elias Siemaczeski

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Elias is a Howe Sound Dance Academy alumni and has trained with us since the age of 12. Elias has had extensive training in Ballet, Contemporary, Lyrical, Jazz, Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, Jazz Funk, and other various styles such as Heels and Line Dancing. He has completed his senior most RAD Ballet exams and has also trained with the vocational syllabus. Elias is no stranger to the competitive dance world, having completed in several competitions winning top scores for the studio as well as a national title his senior year. Competitive dance has given him several opportunities to dance internationally, Elias was able to train and perform in Greece his senior year summer.

Elias is currently pursuing a career as a professional dancer in Vancouver. Elias's passion for dance shows in his teaching, he is an incredibly caring and driven teacher. Elias is very excited to be a part of the HSDA team and to instill a passion for dance in all of his students.