Kiera (she/her) completed her professional dance training at Arts Umbrella with ballet foundations in the Cecchetti method. Kiera’s ballet classes draw from these early teachings and her 10 year career as a professional dancer. Kiera danced with Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, performing internationally across Europe, Asia, South and North Americas. Kiera then joined Ballet BC where she had the privilege of performing the works of William Forsythe, Ohad Naharin and Sharon Eyal among others. Kiera now works as an independent dance artist and teacher. She has recently performed in works by local creators Inverso Productions, Rachel Meyer and Dance//Novella and is pursuing a degree in kinesiology at Simon Fraser University.

Kaylin (she/her) is originally from Plano, Texas, and grew up training at Dance Industry Performing Arts Center and Booker T Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. She achieved her BFA in Dance in 2020 from the USC Kaufman School of Dance in Los Angeles under the leadership of Jodie Gates. In 2016, Kaylin was named a U.S. Presidential Scholar of the Arts and National YoungArts Winner in Modern Dance, where she performed at the Kennedy Center in a multi-faceted arts show directed by Debbie Allen. Kaylin is a certified Pilates instructor through the BASI Comprehensive Program, and she teaches Pilates classes and private lessons during her time off.

Kenzie came to yoga during her career as a professional ballet/contemporary dancer and is a 500hr certified yoga instructor specializing in vinyasa yoga, somatic and restorative practices. Her aim as a teacher is to guide, support and share tools to help people attune their awareness to ultimately find a sense of freedom, bliss and ownership of their bodies and minds. Her classes often take inspiration from the many influences and approaches she’s experienced through her dance training and work in addition to her studies of yoga, somatic practice, anatomy and philosophy.

Michael (he/they) was born in McAllen, Texas. He trained at Dance Industry Performing Arts Center and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Michael then received his BFA from The Juilliard School, under the direction of Alicia Graf Mack. After graduating, Michael performed with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago for their 44th season. He has been recognized as National YoungArts Winner, Alumni of the School at Jacob’s Pillow, and performed at iconic dance spaces such as The Joyce Theater. Michael has received an Outstanding Choreography award from YAGP, travelled across the United States teaching, and appeared in campaigns for Bogner, FortyFiveTen and photographer Mark Mann.

Luca Afflitto (he/him) is originally from Genova, Italy where he started dancing at the age of 11. In 2014, he was admitted to the Academie de Danse Princesse Grace in Monte Carlo under the direction of Luca Masala where he graduated three years later. While in Zurich Luca had the opportunity to dance works by choreographers such as Crystal Pite, William Forsythe and Ohad Naharin among others. In 2019 he was awarded the “Dance Prize of the Friends of Ballet Zurich.” In 2022, Luca joined Ballet BC under the direction of Medhi Walerski, where he has the opportunity to explore, create and perform works of internationally renowned choreographers for Canadian audiences and around the world.

Sarah Rose Mercer is a yoga teacher and dance artist based in Vancouver, BC, on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Sarah has been teaching yoga for the past eight years, continually deepening her studies in yogic philosophy, anatomy, history, and somatic-based practices. In both her teaching and artistic work, Sarah cultivates space for non-judgmental exploration of movement, drawing from Buddhist philosophy. Her approach encourages a deeper connection to the body, mind, and the world around us.

Christoph started his dance training at Arts Umbrella in 2007 and then went on to dance at Ballet BC for 5 years. He also freelanced in Vancouver working with many independent dance creators. In 2018 he moved to Sweden to join Göteborg Operans Danskompani where he danced for 4 years. He moved home to BC in 2023 where he began an anatomical study at Vancouver College of Massage Therapy. He has since graduated and is beginning to work as an RMT in the city and is building a treatment practice alongside many mentors in the field, while also dancing and performing on a project basis.

Christoph will lead All-Levels Contemporary Drop-ins on some Tuesday evenings

Sylvain Senez is the Founding Co-Artistic Director of Belle Spirale Dance Projects and has been active on the professional Canadian dance scene for over 45 years. He danced as a soloist with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Judith Marcuse Dance Company, Coleman Lemieux Company and a principal artist at Ballet BC. From 1991 to 2016 he worked with Ballet British Columbia as a dancer, Ballet Master and Rehearsal Director where he has had the privilege of working and assisting for the remounts and creations of many internationally renowned choreographers.

After studying ballet at the school of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens Marla joined Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal and later danced with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. In 1998 Marla discovered Yoga, and while studying and teaching she completed over 12 yoga certifications in various styles from restorative practices to more vigorous Ashtanga. After recognizing her passion for helping people destress and feel free in their bodies, Marla continued to study so that she could empower her clients with more effective tools to stay healthy. She went on to study the Franklin Method, Pilates, ELDOA™ and most recently became a Buteyko Breath Educator.

A native of Naperville, Illinois, Jacalyn Tatro began her training with Inspire School of
Dance, and in May 2022, graduated from The Juilliard School with a BFA in dance. During her time at Julliard, she worked personally with choreographers such as Bobbi Jene Smith, Ohad Naharin and Azure Barton among others. Following graduation, Jacalyn was honoured to join Ballet BC and has had the privilege of working on repertoire by Medhi Walerski, Crystal Pite and William Forsythe and others. Jacalyn has a strong interest in Pilates and received her pilates mat training through “The Stability Project” run by Ellie Kusner. She's looking forward to continuing her pilates journey as a teacher for the MOVE series where she can share her understanding and enthusiasm of the craft.

Tianne is a certified yoga therapist, a registered yoga teacher, and sound healer, who has been offering classes, workshops and teacher trainings in Vancouver and internationally, since 2002. Tianne came to yoga after a long career as a high performance, national level athlete. She brought her passion and commitment as a dedicated athlete to her yoga practice. As her love of yoga grew, Tianne began teaching. After a serious car accident, Tianne’s yoga practice became her pathway to healing. Tianne specializes in pain care, restorative yoga, anxiety, and insomnia.

Christie has been teaching yoga in Vancouver and abroad since 2008, when she completed her initial 200hr training, following her dance degree at Ryerson University. Her passion for movement has evolved over the years through continued education from the teachings of Schuyler Grant, Shiva Rae and Jill Miller, to name a few. On top of her passion to teach vinyasa, she also believes in yoga therapeutics and loves working with athletes. She has worked with the Vancouver Canucks, the Whitecaps, the UBC varsity teams, and has travelled to Europe and across BC with the BMC team and for BCBR.

Niki’s yoga journey began while pursuing a BFA in Acting at UBC to support her artistic endeavours. She has been a practitioner for over 20 years, and has been teaching for 12 years. Niki’s yoga roots are with Anusara, with further trainings in Restorative, Yin, Vinyasa, Therapeutics, Meditation, & Ayurveda. Her commitment is to create a tranquil, playful, and enriching space for her students, allowing them to experience a sense of spaciousness and unhurried well-being. Niki is grateful and honoured to lead yoga classes at Ballet BC, and on the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) lands of Granville Island.

Clara has been a student of yoga for over 24 years and a teacher for over 20. Her roots are in vinyasa (Jivamukti, Prana Flow and Laughing Lotus), however her curiosity for all things yoga has led her to study many other lineages - Iyengar, Kundalini, Restorative and Forrest yoga to name a few. She is also a lover of philosophy and has had the privilege to study with tantric scholars. Her classes are vinyasa based with a mixture of other styles to create a holistic practice that leaves you feeling grounded and strong. Her intention with each class is to nourish - body, mind and spirit so that we can show up as better beings for the people and places in our lives.

Shana 愛 Wolfe is a Japanese-Canadian freelance dance artist based in Vancouver, on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. She has collaborated with local companies including Company 605, OURO Collective, and Inverso Productions, as well as independent artists such as Cindy Mochizuki, Raven Grenier, Anya Saugstad and Shion Skye Carter. Thanks to these amazing artists, she’s had the privilege to perform at festivals such as Dancing on the Edge, Vines Art Festival, Guelph Dance Festival, Dance Deck, Hold On Let Go, Dance In Vancouver, and Coastal Dance Festival. Internationally, she has performed at Sadler’s Wells (UK), the Autostadt Theatre in Wolfsburg, and the Tanzbiennale in Heidelberg, Germany. Shana has been a part of the What Lab team for 3 years as the Studio Operations Coordinator. She is also currently pursuing Kinesiology at Langara College.