Miss Laurie Director/Owner/Instructor MBATD, ABATD, ADAPT, DMA Voted Best Dance Instructor (Diamond Winner - Oshawa/Whitby) for 2020! Miss Laurie Jamieson was born and raised in Durham region where she started dancing at age 3. She competed around North America where she was awarded many solo and top title awards. At age 14 she started teaching, and now holds her associates level in several BATD dance forms and has her certificate in Dance Masters America (DMA). She recently completed her membership in Jazz through the BATD with a high honours score. She is currently studying as a founding member of the Acro Dance Adjudicators.
At age 11, Laurie was scouted by a talented agency and started working professionally in the film/tv (LOST, Hawaii 5-0. shaggy music video, multiple commercials), modelling (Bodywrappers, California Raisin swimwear, L'oreal, AnG and more) and performance (Tim McGraw backup dancer, Kennedy Centre's Nutcracker, Molson, Toronto Rock cheer, Diamond Head Theatre) industries.
She has studied under some of the finest teachers in the dance industry like Jim Hutchinson and Denise Wall (where she was asked to come on as a teacher at Denise Wall Dance Energy in Virginia). She has taught in Hawaii, Virginia (Virginia Ballet Academy), Rochester, NY and has been awarded with choreography awards all over NA. She has had students who have gone on to compete on SYTYCD (Travis Wall, Jamie Goodwin, Mark Kanemura). Many of her students are now working professionally in the industry all over the world.
Laurie believes in teaching strong, clean and safe technique, and hopes that each and every dancer walks out of her classroom with a smile on their face and a better knowledge for what it is to work and get results.
Miss Sarah Director of Little Shakers, Competitive Instructor/Choreographer CAEA, ABATD, Adv. Dip MT-Performance, PAA, ADAVoted Best Dance Instructor (Diamond Winner - Oshawa/Whitby) for 2020! Sarah Rorabeck has 14 years of experience educating children ages 3-18 in dance. As a teacher who still works with recreational, part-time and full-time competitive students, she is well versed in all genres, and specializes in Tap, Musical Theatre and Jazz. Currently, Sarah works full-time choreographing award-winning competitive pieces and putting students through their BATD examinations in Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Modern and Acro. Sarah Rorabeck is a graduate, with honours, of Sheridan’s prestigious Music Theatre Performance program, where she extensively studied dance, vocal and acting. She holds her Associate level Teacher’s Membership in the BATD in both tap and jazz, and is an accredited adjudicator through Judge Alliance’s PAA program. She is a founding member of the Acro Dance Adjudicators (ADA), where she became a certified Acro and Dance Adjudicator. Currently, she is studying and making her way through modules in the Radar Technique by Rebecca Davies. Sarah is also certified through the Canadian Red Cross with her Standard First-Aid and CPR. Sarah is a member of the CAEA and has performed professionally in musicals like Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins, Anne of Green Gables (& many more), around Canada, with some film and television work thrown in the mix. She’s even been photographed by world-renowned dance-photographer, Jordan Matter (Dancers Among Us). Coming soon, Sarah will be performing in The Rocky Horror Show at Neptune Theatre. Sarah is very passionate about dance education, specifically teaching clean and safe technique and exploring performance styles within different genres to keep class exciting. She has won several ‘Best Choreography’ awards, specifically for her Tap and Musical Theatre work. Currently she teaches 6 days a week at Chrome Dance Centre, voted Oshawa/Whitby’s Best Dance Studio 2020. She strongly believes dance teaches such incredible life lessons, and she is thrilled to be able to pass on her knowledge to today’s brave and passionate dancers.
Miss Maria Ballet Instructor MBATD, PBT, CDTA, PAA, ADTA Maria Cavazzon has over 30 years teaching experience. She is a Life Member of The British Association of Teachers of Dancing (B.A.T.D) in the areas of Ballet, Jazz, Stage, and Modern Jazz and is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) Level 2. In addition, she is certified through Acrobatic Arts (Module 2) and has also obtained Acrobatic certification through the Canadian Dance Teachers Association (C.D.T.A). She is certified with Alixa Flexibility (Module 2) which builds a solid flexibility foundation with a focus on injury prevention and safety. Maria is a proud member of the Professional Adjudicators Alliance and founding member of the Acro Dance Adjudicators by Acro Dance Teachers Association. Originally from Toronto, Maria trained in the areas of Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Acrobatics and Musical Theatre since the age of 4. She began her teaching career over 30 years ago by teaching recreational dance at the local community center. From there she went on to teach at various studios throughout the GTA and Durham region at recreational and competitive levels in all genres. Maria also carefully prepares her students for annual B.A.T.D exams up to and including Professional Examinations. She has inspired many of her students to follow their passion for dance and continue as dance educators, studio owners, theatre and dance performers, and choreographers in Canada and around the world. She continues to expand her knowledge and training by attending workshops, seminars and courses each year to continue to grow as a teacher and pass along her knowledge to her students. Next steps: Maria is currently working towards achieving Level 3 certification in Progressing Ballet Technique. IG @miss_maria_dance