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.

Recreational 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 Instructor

Headshot and Bio coming soon!

Recreational 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!

Competitive Ballet 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.