Our non-profit dance school was established in 1982. We’ve won many awards, and we offer dance examinations in ballet (Royal Academy of Dance syllabus) and flamenco (Spanish Dance Society syllabus). We have trained many acclaimed dancers and are known for our excellence in ballet training; we’re the only dance studio in Winnipeg that offers ballet training at such a high level.
Our board of directors includes Bernadette Shum, Linda Yap and Heather Cardona. On this page, read about our teaching faculty.
Bernadette teaches ballet through the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) method and she has entered thousands of students in ballet examinations since 1980. With both her passion for ballet and her extensive experience, she is the primary ballet teacher at the Institute of Dance.
Linda started her ballet training in Malaysia and went on to England to the Bush Davis School and formally completed her training at the Royal Ballet School. Upon graduation, she went on to enjoy a rewarding professional dance career with the Singapore Ballet for several years. Mrs. Yap's passion for teaching ballet has spanned across several countries, where she has taught multiple levels of Royal Academy of Dance ballet. She is a choreographer who has established ballet schools, including the Institute of Dance. Her past teaching experience includes the privilege of working with the famous Ms. Mara McBerney for 6 years. Mrs. Yap is an Associate and Life Member of the Royal Academy of Dance and also a Fellow of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. For the past 10 years, she has mentored and assisted many local dance teachers attaining their certification for RAD, and she recently accepted a supervisor position.
Frank has been teaching at the Institute of Dance since 2006. His choreography is fun and challenging and engages his students in Latin and ballroom styles. He teaches the cha-cha, salsa, samba, rumba, pasodoble, waltz, foxtrot, tango and the quick step.
Brynne has received training in lyrical, ballet, modern and jazz for many years.
Megan LaTouche studied at York University and contemporary dancers. She has taught modern dance in Winnipeg for over thirty years. Her students have won numerous scholarships and awards. Megan has worked with bolero dance theatre for many years and enjoys fusing different genres of dance in to her choreographies. This marks the eighth year that Megan has been at Institute of Dance.
Sydney has received training in ballet at the Institute of Dance during her intensive training program in gymnastics. She teaches acro to help dancers become more flexible and have a stronger core.
We are happy to have Jason instruct our breakdance classes! Jason has been dancing for over 10 years, primarily in break dance battles. He is a member of Boss Dance Team and has performed for the Artists within Dance Production.
Christabel has had 15 years of extensive training in RAD ballet, flamenco, jazz, lyrical, Latin ballroom, modern, hip-hop and contemporary. She has completed all RAD ballet examinations from Pre-Primary to Advanced 2. In 2013, Christabel was awarded the coveted Solo Seal from RAD. In the same year, she won the title of the National Dancer of the Year from 5678 Showtime in Montreal, QC. In 2015, she was the highest scoring soloist in the Dance World Cup in Whistler, BC.
Geneviève LaTouche has been a member of the Sol de España Spanish folk dancers of Winnipeg for 18 years. She has also performed with Bolero Dance Theatre since she was 16, and she was the lead in their 2014 production of Cinderella. She trained in flamenco with Claire Marchand from the age of 10 and has also studied with Maritel Centurion in flamenco and Spanish classical dance. She has spent the past two years in Madrid studying Danza Española at Centro de Danza María Rosa with teachers who have been part of prestigious companies in Spain.
Lauren Mironuk is a lyrical and jazz instructor. She studied jazz, ballet and lyrical with the Winnipeg Royal Ballet and with the Institute of Dance of Manitoba. We are very proud to have her choreography invited to compete in the Dance World Cup 2017.
Jedi Baker teaches Barre/Zumba. He also has experience in Latin ball room salsa and bachata.
These experienced instructors are teaching lessons at the Institute of Dance this season, so be sure to see our schedule to find a lesson time that works for you. To register yourself or your child for classes, contact us today.