Owner & Artistic Director, BA, AAM1

Kelsey has been dancing for over 25 years and her teaching career has been thriving for almost a decade. She is the proud Owner & Artistic Director of Connections Dance Collective and also works as a freelance teacher and choreographer in Guelph and the surrounding area.

Kelsey has a broad background in a variety of disciplines, including hip hop, jazz funk, jazz, acro, musical theatre, modern, lyrical, and contemporary. In her youth, she competed across Ontario, winning many awards and scholarships for her charisma and performance quality, specifically in urban styles. While attending university in Hamilton, Kelsey was a member of the McMaster University Dance Club as well as the Director of the McMaster Dance Company.

In her professional career, she has been the proud recipient of many choreography and special awards for her uniquely themed routines and dedication to teaching true hip hop movement and culture in her classes.

She is a certified Zumba and and Acrobatic Arts instructor and is known for her lightheartedness, humour, and warm nature.

Competitive Instructor

Alanna’s love for dance began when she was three years old. She danced competitively at age 8, competing in ballet, jazz, and acro, and later explored other styles such as lyrical, tap, hip hop, and modern.

From 2016-2018, Alanna trained at Canada’s National Ballet School where she performed with the National Ballet of Canada in the Nutcracker, and in James Kudelka’s debut ballet School. Throughout her time at NBS, she focused primarily on ballet and developed a strong understanding of its foundational techniques and its history.

Returning to a studio closer to home for her high-school years, Alanna continued her training in vocational ballet, jazz, lyrical, and contemporary dance, achieving Distinction on both her Intermediate and Advanced I Royal Academy of Dance exams.

In 2019, Alanna was offered both an RBC scholarship and a position at the Goh Ballet Academy, and in 2020 was accepted to the Alberta Ballet School Professional Program summer intensive. During her last season, Alanna returned to competitive dance earning high distinction and performance awards.

Recreational & Competitive Instructor

Emily began her dance training at 7 years old with the O’Neill Academy of Dance, in London Ontario under the direction of Kim O’Neill. As part of the competitive team, Emily has trained and competed in many different genres, including ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary and hip hop. At 14 years old, she began her journey as an assistant teacher, assisting in the previous mentioned styles as well as tap and acro.

She has taken many workshops in different cities and has been able to train and learn from so many inspiring professionals.

In 2021, Emily entered and won the first Breaking Boundaries Movement choreography competition for her age division, as well as the winner of the first improv competition. She has also won many different scholarships and awards during her competitive journey.

Emily is looking forward to being a part of the CDC family, and sharing her love and passion for dance!

Recreational & Competitive Instructor

Jess Davy started dancing at the young age of 4. After years of dancing competitively, she began teaching at 17 within her home studio, which also referred her to other competitive studios in and out of the region.

Jess’ degree in theatre led her into the stunt and film world, and that is also when she began teaching dance classes catered to adults, specializing in urban dance styles. 

Jess has worked extensively with local artists over the last few years, choreographing for projects and music videos, as well as performing professionally.

Jess is thrilled to joining the CDC Faculty in the new dance season doing what she loves most, sharing her passion of dance. She is looking forward to getting to meet all her new dancers and dance families!

Recreational & Competitive Instructor

Olivia started her dance career at age 7 where she fell in love with ballet. She then joined Micki's Dance Connection in Brantford, On to continue her training in tap. She joined their competitive team in 2008 where she trained further in tap, jazz, lyrical, and musical theatre. She began her teaching career when she started assistant teaching both recreational and competitive teams back in 2012, helping with hip-hop, acro, and kidz combo classes, making her a very versatile individual. She also helped choreograph and danced in both her high school musicals back in 2015 and 2017.

Olivia adores all things fun and sparkly and she truly lights up any room she walks into. She is beyond patient, a great listener, and a very confident individual. There are no bad vibes in her classroom and will work incredibly hard to ensure that stays in place! Olivia is a recent graduate from the University of Guelph where she received a Bachelor of Science in Animal Biology. Additionally, she is a proud cat mom to her pride and joy Bagel who she never gets tired of talking about!

Studio Manager + Instructor

We’re also thrilled to welcome Bronte Towler as our Studio Manager! Bronte brings a wealth of experience and a contagious passion for dance. A former prima ballerina from ages 3 to 16, she passed her Royal Academy of Dance Ballet exams from Primary through Grade 7 with Distinction and auditioned for the National Ballet School of Canada’s Summer Program.

With over 10 years of marketing and administration experience, along with her background in running her own daycare, Bronte has extensive knowledge in organization, management, and administration. In addition to her managerial role, she will be teaching ballet and is excited to enhance your experience at the studio. Bronte will be your go-to for all things studio-related!

Junior Instructor

With nearly a decade of training under Miss Kelsey and a track record of numerous awards across Ontario, Ainsley Reinhart has consistently brought her top-notch performance skills to our studio. Specializing in hip hop and musical theatre, she has wowed audiences as Anna in Frozen Jr., Mel in Descendants, and Moana in Moana Jr. Her dynamic presence is further highlighted by her achievements in field hockey, volleyball, and soccer.

Ainsley teaches Junior and Intermediate Hip Hop on Thursdays, some competitive hip hop on Thursdays, and all Saturday preschool classes. Her vibrant personality and dedication continue to inspire all who work with her!

Junior Instructor

Ella has been a beloved member of our competitive dance team for the past three years.

Her passion for dance shines through in every performance, earning her special awards for her moving stage presence at competitions.

This year, she’s excited to bring her love for dance to the next generation as she joins Miss Jess in leading our Tot Hop and Mini Hip Hop classes on Tuesday evenings.

Junior Instructor

Hailey is a talented member of CDC's Company Collective, earning numerous awards each season, including the prestigious top lyrical mark and the title of highest scoring novice dancer of the competition. Beyond her accomplishments with us, Hailey was also selected to be part of the travelling cast of Ballet Jorgen's production ofThe Nutcracker last year, where she showcased her beautiful ballet technique.

This season, Hailey will be sharing her expertise and love for dance as a Junior Dance Instructor, teaching jazz and musical theatre on Tuesday nights, acro and ballet on Wednesdays, and competitive jazz and ballet on Fridays. We're thrilled to have her inspiring the next generation of dancers!

Competitive Instructor

Megan has been the mastermind behind our competitive musical theatre choreography since day one. Her witty and authentic musical theatre choreography consistently earns high praise at competitions, and we often find ourselves saying “Miss Megan is a genius!”

A bit about Megan: She has a rich background in dance, having been a competitive dancer for over 18 years. She has performed in numerous theatre productions, TV commercials, and live performances across Ontario. After graduation, Megan received intensive training in ballet and modern with faculty at York University. She then pursued musical theatre choreography under the mentorship of Janet Kubik and is now a highly sought after musical theatre choreographer in our community.

Megan brings a wealth of expertise to our studio. Not only has her choreographic work garnered multiple choreography and entertainment awards, but beyond dance, Megan holds a Masters of Applied Disability Studies with a specialization in Behaviour Analysis. She has experience teaching students of all abilities and her passion for nurturing proper technique and performance quality shines through in every class, inspiring a love for dance in all her students.

Miss Megan has been a valued member of the CDC family since day one and we are beyond excited to see her in the studio on a regular basis this summer and next season.

Receptionist + Facility Caretaker