Our Instructors and Staff
Jill Wright
Office Manager & 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, Fitness, Parent and Tot & Costume Alterations
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
Ballet, Pointe, Modern, Contemporary, Pilates & 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.
Christine Shaw
Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Contemporary, Jazz, PBT, Musical Movement & Solos
An island girl through and through, Christine fell in love with dance at Kirkwood Academy in Nanaimo. There she enrolled in RAD ballet and ISTD tap exams, performed lead roles in The Nutcracker and Coppelia, and regularly represented her region at local and provincial festivals. As a teen, Christine expanded her training by moving to Parksville Ballet School and became a company member of Vancouver Island’s Youth Dance Company, Dancestreams. With Dancestreams, she worked with some of Canada’s top choreographers and toured Montreal, Los Angeles and western Canada.
Jeremy Miton
Tap, Jazz, Jazz Tech, Modern Stage, Musical Theatre & Solos
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, Pointe, Acro & Solos
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.
Michelle Rhode
Contemporary, Yoga, Stretch, Academy Dance & Wellness
Michelle Rhode is a contemporary dance 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.
Kaiya Boudreau
Solos
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.
Owen Hogg
Solos
Owen began choreographing while still a student at Adage Studio and won awards for his outstanding choreography including highest scoring self-choreography at Summit Dance Challenge 2021 & 2022 as well as Emerging Choreography at Synergy 2021. Owen takes the time to develop a style that will suit his dancers and puts thought into every step of the process.
Jorja Hawkins
Solos
Jorja has been dancing since 5 years old. She joined Adage’s competitive program in 2017. She furthered her dance training by attending the summer intensive at Joffrey in Las Vegas. She helped choreograph for Cowichan Musical Society’s Shrek and Matilda musicals. In 2024, Jorja was selected as a provincial rep and traveled to Fort St. John to perform. Jorja spent a year in Vancouver and is now back to teach in her home studio.
Brenna Bazinet
Academy Musical Theatre
Brenna Bazinet is a dedicated vocalist, performer, teacher, and director born and raised in the Cowichan Valley. Her love for the arts started as a young child on the stage, participating in musicals, solo performances, and Irish dance. The arts have always felt like a second home where Brenna could grow, shine, and find belonging and loves that she can instil this joy in the students at Adage and the Academy.
Robyn Fortunat
Piano, Voice, Pop Choir & 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.
Grai Gillespie
Drums, Songwriting, Guitar & Piano
Accompanist Grai’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.
Roslyn Pringle
Latin 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.
Lisa Metz
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.
Abby Selva
Solos
Abby Selva is a Vancouver-based dancer originally from Qualicum Beach, BC, with over 20 years of training in both technical and commercial styles. A former Dance Captain with The Source Dance Company, she has performed in music videos, short films, and touring stage shows. Abby has been teaching across Vancouver Island and the Greater Vancouver area, and is passionate about mentoring the next generation of dancers. She also works as a dance photographer and videographer.