Faculty

Perform Art Studios – Dance & Performing Arts School

is proud to introduce North Vancouver’s leading dance faculty.

Perform Art Studios dance faculty comprises only of highly experienced & fully qualified dance instructors.

Registered Instructors

Our Ballet Division instructors are all fully registered Royal Academy of Dance teachers.

Class Sizes

We focus on Small Classes, Personal Attention & Quality Training In Dance. Perform Art Studios has more to offer you than any other dance school in North & West Vancouver!

Click faculty images for bios:

Miranda Widgery-Webber

R.A.D., RTS

Perform Art Studios Director, Head of Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) & Classical Ballet

Melissa Leifer

BFA (Hons)

Jazz, Lyrical, Dancers In Company & Sr. Musical Theatre Company

Gina Fulla

BA, BEd, MEd

Jazz, Tap & Elite Dance Company

Kim Pettie

Half Day Ballet, Repertoire, Jumps & Turns/Conditioning

Laura Kirchner

Jazz & Tap

Sarah Sutherland

B.F.A Fine Arts

Contemporary & Dance Conditioning

Alyssa Virani

R.A.D., RTS

Young Childrens Programs

Yasmine Shemesh

Children’s Dance Programs & Hip Hop

Andrea MacFarlane

Contemporary, Jazz, Dancers In Company

Jennifer MacKenzie

RAD., RTS

Royal Academy of Dance Ballet

Barb Webber

Lead Administrator & Educational Advisor

Alicia Penny

BBA

Tap & Jazz

Miranda Widgery-Webber

R.A.D., RTS
Perform Art Studios Director & Head of Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) & Classical Ballet

Miranda, originally from Bowen Island is the Director of Perform Art Studios.In 8 short years, Miranda has established Perform Art Studios as the North Shore’s favorite dance studio, opening it’s 3rd location in Edgemont Village in 2011. She is a Royal Academy of Dance Registered Teacher and is a Teacher Training Mentor for the RAD Teacher Training Program.

Miranda is a respected member of the Vancouver dance community and is the Director of the post-secondary dance training program, The Industry Dance Training Program of Vancouver.

She was classically trained in ballet and the performing arts at many schools internationally & throughout Canada including the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, the prestigious Hammond School (England) and the Royal Academy of Dance, (England). has taught and choreographed in England, U.S.A. & Hong Kong where she was also the Artistic Director & in-house choreographer for two youth touring dance companies.

Melissa Leifer

BFA (Hons)
Jazz, Lyrical, Dancers In Company & Sr. Musical Theatre Company

Melissa joins us from Toronto, Ontario and has trained her whole life in Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Pointe, Partnering, Acrobatics, Modern and Musical Theatre. After receiving countless awards, scholarships and titles during her training, she attended Ryerson University and graduated with a BFA (Honours) in Theatre Dance. She went on to receive extensive training at Broadway Dance Center in New York City and The Edge in L.A and broke into the Entertainment Industry across Canada.Melissa has danced professionally in Canada, Europe as well as the United States.

She has worked with Drayton Entertainment in several of their musical productions, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line as a featured dancer and adagio partner, assistant choreographer and featured dancer for Walt Disney Canada as well as playing the role of Belle in Euro Disney’s review shows in Paris. Melissa’s other performance credits include “Bell Mobility” Celebrity Gala, Toronto “Phantoms” Arena Football, “C.I.M Awards Show, “Reach for the Rainbow” Crystal Ball Gala and the Remax Award Shows. More recently, Melissa filmed “Hairspray” with New Line Cinemas featuring John Travolta, Queen Latifah and Michelle Pheiffer. Melissa is thrilled to be a part of the Perform Art Studios team!

Gina Fulla

BA, BEd, MEd
Jazz, Tap & Elite Dance Company

Gina joins Perform Art Studios from Kitsilano. Originally from Vancouver Island, Gina has been dancing and extensively trained in classical RAD ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, and contemporary at Kirkwood Academy for the Performing Arts, since the age of four. During her studies at UBC, Gina was the Director of the UBC Dance Program, choreographing and performing for the Thunderbird Dance Team, as well as instructing jazz and hip hop classes for Dance Horizons. She has taught at various dance studios and dance programs throughout the lower mainland since living in Vancouver. Currently, she is the Director of the Dance Program at West Vancouver Secondary School, as well as the instructor for the competitive dance crew “Xplicit”.

Kim Pettie

Half Day Ballet, Repertoire, Jumps & Turns/Conditioning

Kimberley recently moved to Vancouver from London, England. She received her training through winning a scholarship to attend The Royal Ballet School where she performed in various performances at The Royal Opera House and Central School Of Ballet where she was part of the Ballet Central Touring Company Corps De Ballet. Here she gained a diploma in classical ballet and performing arts. Upon graduating Kim has appeared in many TV commercials, music videos, English TV shows, Theatre and most recently performed in a one off performance for the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Kimberley has taught at various Dance Schools in London and she is delighted to be part of the Perform Art Studios team!

Laura Kirchner

Jazz & Tap

Laura began her dance training young, studying Ballet, Tap, Modern, Jazz, Hip Hop, Acro, Contemporary, Street Jazz and Lyrical. At only 15 years of age, she became a member of the Hip Hop Company, MAKE YOUR MARK and was soon immersed in Vancouver’s dance community. Laura was given the opportunity to dance in several music videos for artists, The New Cities, Faber Drive, Theory of a Dead Man, and most recently, Marianas Trench. She also enjoyed the experiences of dancing in a Coke commercial and performing in concert with Brian McKnight. Laura looks forward to sharing her passion for dance with Preform Art Studios.

Sarah Sutherland

B.F.A Fine Arts
Contemporary & Dance Conditioning

Sarah, originally from Vancouver Island, began her dance training at a young age. Sarah continued her training at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where she graduated with a B.F.A. in Fine Arts. At University, Sarah focused her training on Contemporary, Choreography, Performance and Teaching. After dancing for Holland America Cruise Lines, Sarah moved to England where she spent 5 years performing and teaching throughout the UK in various genres including Contemporary, Physical Theatre, Children’s Dance Theatre, Opera and Film. Upon returning to B.C., she co-founded CollabArt Creations, a contemporary dance company focused on collaborating with artists of various disciplines. Sarah is also a certified Hatha Yoga instructor. Sarah is thrilled to be sharing her passion and experience with the students of Perform Art Studios!

Alyssa Virani

R.A.D., RTS
Young Childrens Programs

Alyssa’s passion and commitment in dance has led her to many opportunities including dancing with Moscow Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty and traveling to London, England for training in dance. In 2011 she completed her Certificate in Higher Education in Teaching Dance through the Royal Academy of Dance and the University of Surrey (UK).

Alyssa is furthering her dance qualifications and is currently fulfilling her portfolio requirements for her Registered Teaching Status. Alyssa’s has had extensive dance training in styles including ballet, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, tap and musical theatre. She has always had an interest in enthusiasm in childhood education and dance teaching and is thrilled to be pursuing her aspirations with Perform Art Studios.

Yasmine Shemesh

Children’s Dance Programs & Hip Hop

Yasmine Shemesh joins us from North Vancouver. She began her extensive dance training at age five, with a strong focus upon hip hop, jazz, and street jazz at studios all over the lower mainland. In 2005, she danced for the BC Lions Felions Dance Team for consecutive seasons 2005, 2006, and 2007.

She has just completed her degree in Arts, majoring in English literature, at Simon Fraser University. Yasmine is excited to share her passion for dance with the students and thrilled to be a part of the Perform Art Studios team!

Andrea MacFarlane

Contemporary, Jazz, Dancers In Company

Andrea grew up dancing in Waterloo, Ontario and discovered her love of teaching dance early on. She went on to complete her B.F.A. in Theatre Performance Dance, from Ryerson University in Toronto and has had the opportunity to train, teach and perform in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, LA, Seoul & Vancouver.

Andrea spent two years teaching multiple disciplines at the Bowen Island Dance Academy (now PAS – Bowen Island) before moving to Calgary. Upon her return she has continued to teach Master classes and workshops around the lower mainland. Andrea is excited to join the Perform Art Studios Team and be in the studio sharing her passion of dance!

Jennifer MacKenzie

RAD., RTS
Royal Academy of Dance Ballet

Jennifer has had extensive training in classical ballet, lyrical and Al Gilbert tap and jazz technique. She has performed in many community events and shows throughout the Lower Mainland, and was also a member of the Royal City You Ballet Company. She completed her dance teacher training last year with Perform Art Studios, and is a registered Royal Academy of Dance Ballet teacher. Jennifer is thrilled to be part the Perform Art studios dance faculty team.

Barb Webber

Lead Administrator & Educational Advisor

Barb has been an educator in B.C. for over thirty years being highly involved in Community School development as the first Principle of Bowen Island's Community School and later teaching at Denman and Hornby Island's Community Schools. Barb's dedication to integration of the arts and the development of Community Education make her a leader in the field. Barb is our Educational Consultant at the British Columbia Dance Academic School (BCDAS)

Alicia Penny

BBA
Tap & Jazz

Alicia’s extensive training includes Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Musical Theatre, Stage, and Latin. She has studied AIDT modern and tap exams, as well as RAD ballet exams. Alicia began teaching at the age of 14 and since then has taught many different disciplines throughout the lower mainland. Alicia’s performance experience includes Disneyland, California Adventure Park, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and the 2010 Olympic Opening Ceremonies. She has recently graduated from SFU with a degree in Business Administration. Alicia brings with her a diverse dance background and a great passion for dance.