Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, Sunny has been dancing since the young age of 5, going through several genres such as ballet, jazz, and finally finding her place in hip-hop and K-pop. Since coming to UBC, Sunny has been heavily involved in audition-based dance teams, including DHCollective and the K-Wave Dance Team. Sunny is excited to share her passion for dance and start her teaching career!
Programs Taught - Winter 2024 K-Pop Dance Wednesdays (co-teach) 4-4:55PM
Programs Taught - Winter 2024 Lyrical Contemporary Mondays 5:00-6:25PM
Programs Taught - Winter 2024 K-pop Dance 2 Wednesdays 4:00PM-4:55PM
Joey began his dance journey at 16 and now trains extensively in the local Vancouver dance scene. He has extensive Hip Hop competion experience at internationally-acclaimed stages such as Canada’s Got Talent, World of Dance (finals competitor), and Hip Hop International Worlds (finals competitor). He is captain of a renowed local elite mega crew and a member of the Infamous Dance Crew created by Erik Pereña.
Joey is known for high-energy classes that help you feel the music rather than simply learning steps. He loves the dance community and being a part of the growth and discovery of his participants .
Programs Taught - Winter 2024 Hip Hop Wednesdays 6:30-7:25 PM
Heather Kirkland has been teaching dance in the Vancouver and Burnaby districts since 2003. Her early training included the Royal Acadaemy of Dance ballet technique and examinations and later Cecchetti technique and modern dance at Arts Umbrella. She graduated from the Performance Intensive program at Maindance and then moved to Toronto where she completed the training program at the school of Toronto Dance theatre. Later she studied as a dance/ theatre apprentice with Jumpstart Performance Company. Before discovering teaching Heather could be found on stage in Toronto and Vancouver in productions such as 12 min max, Dancing on the edge and The Kiss Project. Now she is thoroughly enjoying sharing her love of dance through teaching and choreography in both ballet and modern dance forms. In her classes Heather encourages artistic expression and musicality while working with students on good healthy alignment and technique. She aims to cultivate a supportive environment where creativity can flourish regardless of your level of experience.
Programs Taught - Winter 2024 Contemporary - Open Level Sundays 11AM-12:25PM Ballet 01 Sundays 12:30PM-1:55PM Ballet 02 Sundays 2:30PM-3:55PM Ballet 03 Sundays 4PM-5:25PM
Professional Dance Coach, Choreographer, Motivator, Entertainer, Actor, stage Producer and Director, with 25 years of extensive experienced in Dance, Musical Theatre and TV & Film. His dance styles include: Jazz, Hip-Hop, Funk, Swing, Ballroom and Latin.
Gustavo’s training began in San Francisco California at the City College arts program and then to Calgary, Alberta with the Young Canadians school of Performing arts. He is the creator of Latin Funk Dance®, a popular fun, high energy dance program he brought to Vancouver in 96, becoming the first and the most popular Latin Fusion dance program in the city. Recently Gustavo has created a new exciting dance program called” Groovazon” a Funky groove Jazzy dance style.
Gustavo was one the Dancers featured in the 2010 Olympic opening ceremonies and has appeared in numerous television and radio shows as well as newspaper and magazine articles. Gustavo created and appeared in his own morning TV dance fitness show on Vancouver’s Channel 8 televised all over Canada, USA and Europe. Gustavo also created an instructional Latin Funk Dance DVD sold in North America and Europe. He is the Director and Choreographer of his own dance company called The Corazon Dancers.
Gustavo has appeared in numerous TV commercials for “Boost”, “Coke zero” and “Corona” as a principal dancer and TV shows like “Beyond” and “Legion” as an Actor.
Cora began her dance training at the Coast Academy of Dance at the age of three. She has trained extensively in ballet, tap, modern, jazz, contemporary, and hip-hop. She has completed numerous examinations in the Imperial Society of Teacher’s of Dance (ISTD) syllabi in Tap and Ballet. Cora has also completed all the ISTD Modern Theatre exams from Grade 1 to Advanced 2, receiving a mark of distinction at each level.
Not only have Cora’s performance qualities and technical skills been recognized in numerous awards, but also her kindness and generosity of character. She has been the recipient of multiple dance awards and scholarships including the Sunshine Coast Dance Society’s Lois Smith Ballet Award, the Baris Foundation’s Award for Modern Dance, and the Baris Foundation’s Dance Discipline Scholarship.
At 17, Cora graduated from the Coast Academy of Dance’s three-year Pre-Professional Program, culminating in the receival of her ISTD Associate in Modern Theatre. She was hired for the 2017/2018 season as the studio’s youngest instructor, enabling her to share her love for dance with preschoolers, teens, and adults.
Cora’s foundational ballet technique quickly led her to fall in love with barre fitness. Only a year after trying her first class, Cora received the International Ballet Barre Fitness Association’s (IBBFA) Barre Certification – Fundamentals of Barre Technique and is now a qualified instructor.
Cora’s classes are energetic and light-hearted, with a focus on performance, encouraging her students to develop their individual style in an inclusive, supportive, and fun-loving environment.
Programs Taught – Winter 2024
Hot Street Jazz
Tuesdays 8:30PM-9:25PM
Originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, Christy came to Vancouver to pursue her academic goals and enjoy the diverse dance scene. She started her dance training at an early age, accumulating over 14 years of Ballet and Contemporary Dance training. She began practicing Hip-hop and K-pop when she reached university and is now heavily involved in the UBC dance scene, acting as a member in multiple audition-based dance teams at UBC and holding various executive positions on these teams. Christy started her career as a dance instructor with children’s dance classes in Hawaii, where she developed a passion for sharing her love of dance with her students. She is excited to teach with UBC Recreation this year and can’t wait to get started!
Programs Taught - Winter 2024
K-Pop Dance
Tuesdays 5:30PM-6:25PM
Carina Ziemann has been dancing since she was 4 years old, training in ballet, jazz, tap,musical theatre, and Hip Hop. Her Hip Hop training started in 2017, and she has since gone on to participate in many workshops, intensives, classes and competitions to further her skills. Most recently, Carina competed with Trek of Arts in their second season (2022-2023) at the Represent Street Dance Competition in Edmonton. She has also been a Dance Captain and Choreographer for a few musicals including UBC’s very own production of ‘Into The Woods’ produced by the Musical Theatre Troupe (MTT) in 2023. In her class, Carina hopes to build a welcoming environment to all new and returning dancers, and uses a variety of moves and music to practice flow, grooving, coordination, and expression.
Programs Taught – Winter 2024
Hip Hop Party Grooves
Mondays 6:30PM-7:25PM
R&B Choreography
Thursdays 8PM-8:55PM
Andrew has been dancing since he was 19, primarily focusing on K-pop. At UBC, Andrew has danced with UBC Dance Horizons and UBC K-Wave for as long as he can remember! Andrew hopes to give a safe space for his students to learn movements and Kpop choreography, and share a few laughs along the way.
With a lot of his experience in performance arts being behind the camera, Andrew likes to share his experience in teaching others how to bring out their feelings to an audience.
Programs Taught - Winter 2024 K-Pop Dance Wednesdays 5:30PM-6:25PM