Our Instructors and Staff
Jill Wright
Office Manager and Bookkeeper
Jill grew up in Saskatchewan and moved to the Island in 2012. As a young girl, she loved to dance, play piano and volleyball. Since moving west, she has pursued a few of her passions including Architecture and Interior Design courses, as well as, a degree in Accounting with a minor in Finance at Camosun College. She’s never lost her love of dancing and fit right in when she started working with Adage in January 2017.
Emily McQueen
Office Assistant, Acro, Costume Alterations and Parent & Tot
Born in Victoria BC, raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Emily grew up with a passion for gymnastics and competitive cheerleading. After graduation she moved back to the Island to start a family. In 2018, she became an integral part of the Adage team and in the spring of 2020, successfully completed the Acrobatic Arts teacher certification program. She is now certified to teach Acro levels 1 – 6.
Candace Ammerman
Solos
Candace has had the privilege of studying ballet and modern dance under leading artists in both disciplines: Alan Howard, a principal dancer with the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo; Dimitri Romanoff, regisseur (reconstructing the classic ballets) for American Ballet Theater and Cliff Keuter & Elina Mooney, my mentors in modern dance, who directed companies in NY and on the West coast.
Robyn Anderson
Jazz, Jazz Tech, Contemporary, Lyrical, Street Jazz, Pilates, Acro, and Company
Robyn began dancing at age 3 and since then has trained and competed extensively in various styles of dance including jazz, ballet, tap, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary and musical theatre. Robyn started her training in Winnipeg, Manitoba where she has had the opportunity to perform and train with very talented dancers.
Jeremy Miton
Tap, Jazz, Jazz Tech, Modern Stage and Company
BC born and bred, there has never been a time when Jeremy wasn’t dancing. Studying all forms of dance, his training led him all over the world. On top of competing across Canada, the US and Europe, Jeremy was part of the original touring company, Tap Co. with the Vancouver Tap Society.
Tiffany Miton
Ballet, ACRO, POINTE AND Company
Born and raised in England, Tiffany has been dancing since the age of 2. With a passion to further herself, she was accepted to Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in the UK, training in all genres while taking exams in RAD, Cecchetti and ISTD.
Christine Shaw
BALLET, POINTE, LYRICAL, CONTEMPORARY, JAZZ AND PBT
Christine began taking ballet at Kirkwood Academy in Nanaimo, B.C. at the age of 4. As her love for dance grew, she ventured into Tap, Contemporary, Modern, Jazz, Song and Dance, and Hip Hop. She then sampled Flamenco, Yoga, Salsa and Contact Improv.
Tiernan Schneider
Hip Hop Crew, Hip Hop and Choreography
Tiernan is a Hip Hop dancer and instructor from Victoria, BC. Dance has always been her passion from the time she was able to walk. Tiernan has had the opportunity to dance with crews and companies such as GTX and TwoFourSeven. Some of her biggest accomplishments include being a part of Team Canada in 2015 and representing her country on an international level, as well as fulfilling her dreams of dancing at renowned competitions such as Vibe and World of Dance.
Kelli McLeod
Musical Theatre and Modern Stage
Kelli has been deeply entrenched in the performing arts, on Vancouver Island, her whole life. Professionally, her career as an artist has seen her as a performer, producer, director, choreographer and consultant. An inaugural graduate of The Canadian College of Performing Arts, she’s trained on the Island, Vancouver, LA, New York and London. As a performing arts educator for over 20 years, Kelli has taught and mentored 100s of youth from all over the world. She was also the artistic director and owner of a successful dance studio for 16 years.
Michelle Rhode
Academy Modern, Academy Contemporary and Partnering
Michelle Rhode is a contemporary dancer teacher, Registered Massage Therapist, farmer and mother to three exuberant and physical children. Originally trained in classical ballet, Michelle enjoyed a long career in professional contemporary dance. As an independent dancer, she worked with many of Canada’s renowned choreographers, performing across Canada.
Roslyn Pringle
Latin Ballroom and Latin Line Dance
Roslyn was born in the Caribbean on the island of Trinidad. She moved to Canada when she was six years old and then moved with her family to the Bahamas between the ages of 9 and 13. She started dancing Jazz at age 12 and continued when she moved back to Canada until she was 18 years old.
Owen Hogg
Solos
Owen trained at Adagè Studio in Modern, Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Hip Hop, Contemporary, and Acro and has had great success with all styles. Owen began choreographing while still a student and won awards for his outstanding choreography. Owen takes the time to develop a style that will suit his dancers and puts thought into every step of the process. His love of performing lead him to being selected for roles in multiple musicals including Beauty and the Beast, How to Succeed, Matilda, Aladdin and more. He has been awarded many scholarships and been accepted for dance programs including The Joffery Ballet and The Victoria Ballet Academy. After graduation, Owen accepted a contract with Royal Caribbean Cruises. His training began in Miami Florida and is currently travelling through the Caribbean. He is loving it but also excited to return for summer teaching and choreography.
Trista Knight
Solos
Bio coming soon
Lisa Metz
Jazz Tech & Solos
Creating an environment of freedom so that we can share our voices, Lisa’s diverse passion for Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary and Hip Hop compose the ground work for her career and unique vision. Based in Vancouver BC, Lisa has vast experience ranging from television and music videos to performing on stage in New York and LA.
Timothy Allen
Solos
Timothy has been tap dancing for 9 years now, and is constantly expanding his rhythmical vocabulary. Timothy grew up learning tap dance from his teacher Lynda Allen, who gave him the love for the dance.
Tanya Gillespie
Drums, Songwriting, Guitar, Ukelele and Piano
Accompanist Tanya’s training began with piano in the Suzuki Method and later with the Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music. Here she graduated with First Class Honors in piano, theory and harmony and from that foundation, went on to become a multi-instrumentalist with her focus being teaching others in guitar, drums/percussion, piano and song writing/coaching.
Robyn Fortunat
Piano, Voice, Pop Choir and Musical Theatre
Robyn started her musical learning journey at 1 years old. She has been drawn to the stage since the age of 5, after her very first dance recital. Since then, she has looked for every opportunity to perform and learn as much as she can in numerous disciplines.
Kaiya Boudreau
Jazz and Ballet
Kaiya started dancing at the age of 1 and has been training at Adage Studio for the past 14 years. Kaiya has participated in the Adage Studio teacher training program and has been assisting various classes for the past 5 years. Kaiya has trained in all styles of dance and was selected as the Provincial Alternate in 2018. During the Spring of 2020, Kaiya successfully auditioned for the Joffrey Ballet Summer Intensive. Due to restrictions, the program was delayed to the summer of 2022 where she travelled to participate in the program and finished with a performance in Las Vegas.
Lily Killam
Tap
Lily has been dancing for 12 years, 7 of those have been with Adage. She enjoys Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary, Lyrical, Hip Hop and Modern Stage. In 2019, Lily was chosen to be a BC Provincial representative. She was also accepted into the Joffrey Ballet. Lily’s favorite part of teaching is watching the students progress into a team.
Jasmine Dale
Hip Hop
Jasmine has been dancing with Adage since the age of two and a half. She has transformed from a young ballerina to a passionate Hip Hop and Street Jazz dancer. Over the years, Jasmine explored her interests in Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary, and Lyrical but found Hip Hop and Street Jazz to be her strongest and favorite styles. She looks forward to growing with the studio during her first years of teaching.
Ellysia Jennings
Jazz and Ballet
Elly has been dancing for 15 years and enrolled at Adage in 2016. She has pursued various styles of dance over the years including ballet, jazz, contemporary, street jazz, hip hop, and modern. Since joining Adage, she has had a great deal of experience with assisting and educating young dancers, as well as creating lasting bonds. Elly loves having the opportunity to interact and connect with her students on a personal level, and to teach them what has brought her so much joy.
Allison Isherwood
Tap
Allison started dancing at the age of 3 and has been taking classes with Adage for the past 12 years. At age 7, she became a part of the competitive team and has enjoyed all of the additional opportunities that the program has offered. Being on stage and performing are Allison’s favourite parts about being a dancer. Allison finds the most joy in teaching when her students accomplish something new and show pride in themselves. She looks forward to growing with the studio, and her students, for years to come.
Jorja Hawkins
Jazz
Jorja has been dancing at Adage Studio since the age of 5. Over the years, she has trained in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Modern Stage and Street Jazz. She has been a party of Adage’s competitive team for many many years. Jorja was invited and attended higher training at Joffrey Las Vegas.
Satya Foo
Jazz
Satya trains in Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Contemporary and Hip Hop. She has been dancing since she was 7 years old. Satya was selected to be a representative of Contemporary/Modern at the BC Provincials. Something that motivates her to teach is being able to observe the growth of young dancers. She continues to travel on her own dance journey and is excited for whatever comes her way.