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BONNIE
Bonnie Cuthbertson – LT Dance Studio Owner/Creator & Instructor
Bonnie is the proud owner and creator of LT Dance Studio. Born just outside Toronto Ontario, Bonnie was exposed to the world of dance at a very young age. Her passion for movement and music began at the young age of three. Bonnie has a strong background in Hip Hop and Jazz. She has also trained in Ballet, Contemporary Modern and Lyrical dance and is a registered Acrobatique Acro Dance Syllabus Instructor, “It has always been my goal to be a well-rounded dancer”. Bonnie began instructing dance in 2006 on Vancouver Island. She has since travelled back and forth across Canada continuously expanding her knowledge within the dance industry. Anyone who knows Bonnie knows she has a competitive spirit and motivational drive. Her favourite aspects of dance include teaching, performing and continuously developing new skills. Bonnie is thrilled to open the doors of LTD and offer her students an opportunity to develop their skills in a safe, challenging, enthusiastic, supportive, unpretentious environment. Most importantly she wishes to inspire her students to dream big and “Make it happen!”
MISS NIKKI
Nikki Lock
Nikki is the owner and creator of Wild Roots Dance & Yoga based out of Victoria, BC. Nikki found her passion for dance and performance over 20 years ago. She has studied various disciplines of dance including Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Lyrical, Tap, Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, Strength and Conditioning, Burlesque and Belly Dance. Training at many facilities throughout Canada including The Canadian College of Performing Arts and The Royal Winnipeg School of Ballet, she has developed an extensive repertoire of techniques and styles. Nikki graduated from the Vancouver Island University with a Technical Theatre Diploma, the Canadian College of Performing Arts with a Performance Certificate and Camosun College with an Exercise & Wellness Diploma. Nikki found her passion for teaching at an early age and has been sharing her joy of dance with students since 2004. She has extensive experience coaching students for festivals, competitions and exams. Nikki has studied with RAD(Royal Academy of Dance) and CDTA(Canadian Dance Teachers Association). She is a member of the Canadian Dance Teacher’s Association in Ballet and Jazz and an associate member in Modern. She is a certified Bellyfit® Instructor, Facilitator of THEGROOVE™ and THEGROOVE™ for Kids and has completed the Rainbow Yoga-Kids and Families Instructor Training course. Nikki is currently a founding member of a local performance troupe in Victoria, British Columbia. She is thrilled to be a part of this dynamic group of powerful women who promote self love, positive body image and creative expression. The troupe has shared their performances at many events around Victoria, Vancouver and the USA. “Miss Nikki” is a talented choreographer. She loves to explore the connection of movement and sound and is actively teaching classes and workshops throughout southern Vancouver Island. She has a passionate and contagious love for dance and she enjoys sharing it with others through her performances and classes! She feels that anyone anywhere in their story can dance! It is in our DNA to connect to each other, the beat and our movements. We gather as a community to support each other and dance our hearts out! Nikki is thrilled to be a part of our dance family at LTD!!
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NICOLE
Nicole Davis
Nicole has been a trained dancer since the young age of four. She has grooved her way from Ballet to Jazz, Tap, Modern, Lyrical, Flamenco and Hip Hop. She holds an Associate Degree from the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance (ISTD) and has been instructing dance for over twenty years across Canada. Nicole’s light-hearted style of teaching ensures a fun and memorable class where students overcome fears and physical barriers. Downtime for Nicole is all about camping, ocean walks, snacks and cuddles with her dog! She is also the owner and creator of a popular adult dance and fitness studio in Victoria, Poletrix. Nicole is beyond excited to work with the students of LT Dance Studio and help them achieve their dance goals and meet their potential.
MEGA-MAN
Aj Kambere
Aj “MegaMan” Kambere first started dancing with Fraser Heights High School dance team and was mentored and taught by choreographer Megan Jones. She was MegaMan’s first teacher who taught him how to master picking up choreography as well as freestyle in Hip Hop. Throughout the years, AJ finally met his second dance teacher Jwon who taught him Popping, where he studied and learned many different styles of the dance. Finally after exploring in the many different styles of Popping, MegaMan then met his next dance teacher Bopping Andre where he fell in love with the style called Bopping. MegaMan is now known to be one of the best Hip Hop freestylers on the Canadian west coast and one of the best robot animators in the world.
Continuing on his dance career, MegaMan has traveled around the world to battle, perform and judge in various dance conventions. Such places include: Seattle, Los Angeles, Edmonton, Halifax, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, New York, London, The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Uganda, and the list goes on. MegaMan also teaches on the Vancouver Island at various studios such as Tempo Dance Academy, Vibrant Dance Studios and Carson’s School of Dance. Some of MegaMan’s choreography in hip hop and popping has placed top 3 in many dance competitions such as: Core, Nanaimo festival, Cowichan Festival, North Island festival, Next Level Hip Hop.
In addition MegaMan formed a dance crew called Heavy Hittaz along side crew member Henry “Luxurious” Mah which has become internationally known, and has given back to local communities as well as developing international projects. Such projects include starting a dance battle called Vancouver BattleZone. The purpose of this battle was to raise money to build a cafeteria at Rwentutu Primary School in Kasese Uganda. Finally after doing BattleZone for 4 years, they finally finished their project and hope to move onto other projects to help those in need.
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MR. BOOM
Kienan Martin – Instructor of Hip Hop, Boys Hip Hop and Grooves & Tech
Kienan is originally from Alberta, where he was first introduced to Hip Hop. He has been on Vancouver Island long enough now to call it home. Kienan has taken many different Hip Hop classes from several instructors through his studio training. He has a strong passion for Popping and the technical skills it requires. Kienan was first inspired by Blueprint of Dragon House and used his inspiration as fuel to pursue further training.
Kienan has been a “protégé” of MegaMan, Aj Kambere, for several years and has been focused on advancing his skills. He has competed as a dancer and choreographer at many competitions and battles on Vancouver Island, Vancouver and as far as Seattle, often placing in top three. Kienan has an inspirational teaching style and has found surprise in realizing how much he enjoys working with young kids. He has created and operated instructional camps for all ages and has been teaching under the direction of MegaMan for several years. Kienan looks forward to working with our students at LT Dance Studio and continuing his journey of dance.
STEPHANIE
Stephanie Ruddell
Stephanie Ruddell has an extensive background teaching and performing classical dance across North America. She started dancing at the age of 4 with Suzanne Pomerantzeff at the Academy of Ballet Arts in St. Petersburg FL. She then continued her training at Pacific Dance Centre in Victoria BC with Maureen Eastick and spent her summers dancing at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Stephanie holds a certificate in Dance Teaching, her ECEA, and is a certified Nurturing Pathways® creative dance teacher. She is very passionate about teaching movement to children in their early years of learning and sharing the importance of movement with families. In every class she teaches, she strives to nurture creativity, movement, bonding, and growth for every child. Stephanie is delighted to be a part of the LT Dance Studio family and Shawnigan Lake community.
AYMIE
Aymie Moffatt
Aymie has been dancing in the Cowichan Valley since 1993 and has been instructing dance since 2010. Aymie is passionate about developing well-rounded, healthy dancers. This passion lead Aymie to become a certified holistic nutritionist. It has also inspired her to pursue her Pilates Teacher-Training through the elite PhysicalMind Institute in Vancouver, BC. When guiding students through her Pilates program, Aymie takes particular interest in both functional and natural movement and believes in creating inward stability for outward mobility in students of all ages.
Aymie continues to update her knowledge and skillsets through conferences and seminars globally. Aymie also co-owns a wellness company and is an active voice on social media platforms speaking to encourage health and wellness as a lifestyle. Aymie is an advocate for women discovering self-love and self-worth and finds this to be a particularly important topic to navigate and introduce to teen girls. In her free time, Aymie loves to spend time with her dog, travel the globe and enjoy a balanced diet that she says includes both donuts AND kale smoothies!
ERIKA
Erika Sankey
Erika is our LTD Studio-Assistant. She is the welcoming face that greets our Saturday morning ‘Little Tots’ families and ensures that everything runs smoothly. She assists during birthday parties and celebrations as well as many other important studio tasks. Erika has been a member of our LTD Family since the day we opened and still continues her dance training at LT Dance Studio while working and attending school. Next time you see her in the lobby make sure to say HI ERIKA!!