Talia Kuhn - Artistic
Director
Sonja Jensen - Artistic Director
Miss Sonja and Miss Talia grew up as great friends through dance. They both have an extensive background in RAD and Vaganova Ballet. Their love of dance brought them both to careers in performing and instructing. Miss Sonja took the classical ballet route enrolling in the teacher’s training program at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and furthering her studies with the Royal Academy of Dancing curriculum. Miss Sonja’s innovative choreography was recognized with many awards and scholarships throughout the years, giving her the opportunity to study with the renowned Judith Marcusse and David Earl.
Miss Talia decided to focus on jazz and entered into the Association of International Dance Teachers instructor qualification program through South Africa. Having successfully completing the first 4 of many teacher exams to come, Miss Talia was able to enter her own students into syllabus examinations, all of who were successful with many receiving top marks. Miss Talia has had the pleasure of watching several of her accomplished students successfully compete at provincial and national levels. Highlights of Miss Talia’s dance education have been studying with Ellen Andrews of Canadian Dance World and the late Al Gilbert.
Having both studied and instructed at Victoria’s Ballet School it was only natural for them to purchase the studio when the opportunity presented itself. They were not new to working together, having collaborated on past productions and events. However their biggest accomplishment came in January 2005. After seeing the devastation in Southeast Asia after the Boxing Day earthquake and subsequent tsunami, they decided to rally the dance community for support and put together a dance concert to benefit those who had lost so much. Bringing together over 25 local dance studios and hundreds of dancers, an incredible display of local talent was presented and over $7500 was raised and donated to the tsunami victims.
Miss Sonja and Miss Talia are excited about the future of Essence of Dance, and bring that enthusiasm with them to the studio everyday. They have created a fun family like atmosphere at the studio where it is common to see interaction between the senior students and beginners. They hope to install a passion and love of dance that will last a lifetime. Miss Talia and Miss Sonja continue to study and upgrade their training in order to give their students the best possible instruction for their advancement in dance.
Christa is a highly trained in jazz, lyrical, ballet, spins and leaps, and pas de duex. She is also proficient in contortion work, acrobatic and gymnastics. Christa originally danced in Ontario, where she won several scholarships and awards as a dancer.
Christa's choreography has been showcased in the Canadian
Nationals and won the Canadian Nationals Dance Competition 2nd in Canada
(group) and 1st in Canada Trio. She has also, created dances that were
showcased at Disney world in Florida, at the sky dome in Toronto and in
many Toronto Dance Companies. Christa Choreography has won several awards
and scholarships in the lower mainland and throughout Canada and the USA.
Christa has many credentials under her belt including her I.S.T.D. Elementary Ballet Certificate and her ECCE
Certificate (Early Childhood Education)
Chelsey began her dance training at the age of nine. Since she has studied various styles of dance including jazz, hip hop, musical theater, tap, modern, ballet, and lyrical. For three years Chelsey was a member of the Source Dance Company, and performed at various venues throughout British Columbia.
As a company member, Chelsey had the opportunity to train and perform with world renowned dancers and choreo-graphers. She was also a member of the B.C. Lions dance team, the “ Felions.” More recently, Chelsey has been working as an assistant at various dance conven-tions across Canada. Aside from per-forming, she has also been teaching at several lower mainland dance studios
Inspired by her older sister Sonja, Julia began dancing at the age of three.
Her training includes Ballet, Modern, Neo Classical, Lyrical Jazz and Flamenco. With the competition of all major R.A.D. examinations Julia continued on to receive her Solo Seal Award. Her summers were spent in Seattle on scholarship, attending The Pacific Northwest Ballet School Summer intensives studying the Balanchine Technique. A strong passion for dance led Julia to Toronto where she graduated from the National Ballet School of Canada's Post Secondary Program. While there she had the pleasure of working with known choreographers James Kedelka, Lindsay Fischer, and Rudi VanDanzig.
Julia's professional career has taken her all over the world including Beijing and Shanghai China, where she performed Esmeralda and Don Quixote grande pas-de-deuxs. In Canada Julia danced with the National Ballet of Canada, The Ottmann Viennese Dance Ensemble, and the Vancouver Goh Ballet Youth Company.
Christina has had a passion for dance since the very young age of three. From her very first dance class at CentreStage, who would have thought Christina would have gone from jumping around as tigger in "Winnie the Pooh" to dancing professionally on a cruise ship sailing around the Caribbean. During her 18 years of dance, Christina has enjoyed learning ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, modern, and hip hop from CentreStage Dance, Harbour Dance Centre, and numerous conventions, such as Mr. Yuval Beck's tap and jazz workshops, Triple Threat, and LA Danceforce, where she won her first scholarship at the age of 12. Christina has shown a wonderful flare for the Performing Arts over the past years at competitions all around the Lower Mainland.
Christina has completed he Advanced AIDT exams in both Jazz, and Tap with high marks. She is now completed her Full Associates in the jazz program and will continue on to obtain her Advanced Associates in the next few years.
Over the past 11 years Christina has successfully attended many auditions, and performed for
numerous choreographers from around the world. Dancing for the Vancouver Ravens was her first
professional job and she stayed with them during their 2002 and 2003 seasons, in which she
performed for a T.V. special on MTV Canada. Christina then went on to dance for the BC Lions Dance
team, and on The Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines where she worked with renounced choreographers
Jeremy Plumber (LA) and Sarah Davies (England). Over the past few years Christina has dedicated her
time to her students all over the lower mainland. Her numbers have done extremely well in
competitions and festivals, receiving "high score" and "choreography" awards.
Christina continues to share her talents with all her students that she enjoys working with so much.
Mary-Anne has been training, studying, and loving dance for over 15 years! Her passion for dance, her genuine love for kids, and her natural teaching abilities have made Mary-Anne such an in-demand teacher! Mary-Anne has been trained in Jazz, Lyrical, Ballet, Tap, Hiphop, Acro, Musical Theatre, Modern, Clogging, Country, and Ballroom.
During Mary-Anne's early years she performed and competed intensively as a dancer all over the Lower Mainland and the United States. However, as Mary-Anne grew so did her resume and her dancing has now given her the opportunity to travel all over!
She has been a member of the Felions dance team for the BC Lions; a dancer/promotions model for Voltage Entertainment; a Lead Dancer in "Shout" and a Show Dancer in "Here's Hollywood", both casted by Simon Griffiths; a Lead Dancer in The Miss Canada Teen Global Pageant '04; a Top 10 finalist in The Miss Canada Teen Global Pageant '05; a Dancer in the BC Summer Games; a promotional, commercial, and runway model for Vancouver Fashion Week; and a part of a bathing suit calendar in the Mayan Riviera. Mary-Anne is currently a Lead Dancer for Domnators World Wide Entertainment.
Also, Mary-Anne recently just finished a dancing contract with Carnival Cruise Lines! While porting in L.A., Mary-Anne had the opportunity of taking classes at " The Edge" and "Millenium" where she was constantly improving herself as a dancer/teacher by picking up the latest and best in training and choreography.
In addition, Mary-Anne was also cast as a lead dancer in the music video for "Lula" by 16 mm which was debuted on Much Music. Along with dancing in the music video, Mary-Anne also had the rare opportunity of assisting the Choreographer, Geneen Georgiev, with the shoot.
Mary-Anne's classes promise to be upbeat, encouraging, very educational, and you will always be in need of a water bottle!
Bio coming soon.
Maderi began her dance training at the age of 5 in South Africa, studying Ballet. After moving to canada at the age of 8, she continued Ballet and started to explore different styles of dance, including Jazz, Lyrical, and Modern, with Susie Green, Victoria's Ballet School and Harbour Dance Studio. Being classically trained in voice for 10 years with the Adlibitum Concert Choir, and Chamber Choir, and as a member of the Impromptu theatre company, Maderi developed a strong passion for Musical Theatre. She performed and competed in song, dance and musical theatre alike. In 2004 she was awarded a gold medal and top Musical Theatre award in the Kiwanis Fraser Valley Music Festival. She has completed the 3 year Diploma in Musical Theatre specializing is voice, acting, ballet, jazz tap and business at the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria.
Maderi has performed in productions of Joseph, Cinderella, As You Like It, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, City of Angels, Annie Get Your Gun. She is establishing herself as a choreographer and has worked on Cinderella, Guys and Dolls, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and three broadway cabaret shows for the impromptu theatre company.
Her love for children brings her back to the community and studio where she was trained and she is excited to share her knowledge, experience and love for musical theatre.
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.