The Premiere Team

A dancer her entire life, Lisa began teaching at Premiere Dance Academy in September of 1984. In September of 1999, she became the Owner and Artistic Director of the studio.

Lisa keeps very busy with teaching, choreographing, and her two daughters, who are both Competitive dancers. She also spends time adjudicating for various professional dance competitions all across Canada.

Lisa has had a very successful career in the performing arts. She choreographed the opening ceremonies of the World Police and Fire Games in 1997 and the Calgary Hitmen Anniversary Home Opener Opening Ceremonies in 2014. Additionally, she holds the position of co-director for the Hats Off Management Group.

She has been on set for various large-scale productions and has been acknowledged with many prestigious awards for her exceptional talents.

Lisa wrote the Calgary Board of Education Accredited Student Dance Teacher Training Program to create well-trained assistant and student dance teachers. She is thrilled to do what she does best; work with the dancers, create new pieces, and watch Premiere Dance Academy students grow into talented and inspired performers.

Ms. Laura has been dancing since the age of 2, training and dancing competitively for 12 years, including time spent performing with the Young Canadians. Though she is most recognized for her Tap style & technique, she trained all her life in many genres including Ballet, Jazz, Musical Theatre, and Lyrical. Throughout her dancing career, Laura received numerous dance awards, recognition, and scholarships, including the Jamie Hill memorial trophy, and is a proud Alumni of Premiere Dance Academy.

Having been teaching dance for the last 18 years, Ms. Laura values being able to share her love and passion for dance with her students. She cares very much about the success of her students, both within dance as well as in their lives outside of the studio and hopes to inspire young dancers to pursue their dreams. Her students have received many accolades, scholarships, and opportunities, as has her choreography throughout the years. 

Ms. Laura remains focused on the growth and success of her students while working alongside Ms Lisa to uphold the Premiere Dance Academy values and vision at the studio as Assistant Artistic Director and Competition Director. Having found her second family with Premiere Dance Academy, Ms. Laura is happy to return with each passing year to a place that she respects, values, appreciates, and feels most at home.

Todd Svecla found an early love for drama in high school and enjoyed working backstage for various productions. He was happy to step into the role of managing behind-the-scenes activities for Premiere Dance Academy after his marriage to Lisa.

Todd is a natural fit for the role as he has a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Calgary and extensive experience running a business. He is available to answer any financial questions you may have regarding your account and handles general business details of the studio.

Bri Zubick began her performance career at a small competitive studio in British Columbia. Her love of dance took her to Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and most recently London, UK. Bri has worked with Mackenzie Martin (Geometry Dance Company), Samm Price, and Cheese Collins performing in pieces at various events in Los Angeles. While in Toronto Bri performed in pieces and shows choreographed by Ashley Schoffield (Opus Dance Collective), Hayley Paone (Prerogative Dance Collective), Kahvontay Slaughter (Unapologetic Dance Collective), as well as Kathryn Miles. Some highlight performance for Bri have been performing at the Rotary International Opening Ceremonies, being a part of the inaugural cast of Candy Cane Kids the Holiday Musical and performing in the short film Her/Self. Bri has trained at Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, IDA Hollywood, and House of Jazz. These spaces inspired Bri to always continue dancing and discovering new parts of the dance industry.

Choreographically Bris work has won awards at various events across Alberta and British Columbia. Bri has won choreography awards for her Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary and Acro routines. Her work as a choreographer wins high placements and stand out overalls. Her work has been showcased at various shows including “The Letters We Do Not Want to Send”, hosted through the TD Arts Incubator, “WISE International Women’s Day”, University of Toronto and “NextGen Film Festival”, Dance YYC. As an Educator Bri is incredibly passionate about providing encouraging spaces to grow and develop as an Artist and Human. Bri believes that dance should be a space to make mistakes and discover what truly moves us. Bri continues to further her dance education through various educational spaces. Bri continues to educate performers through adjudicating at various events across Canada.

Ms Linda began Irish dancing at a young age and compet­ed throughout Western Canada as well as internationally. She completed her teacher’s exam in 1991 and subsequently received accreditation as an adjudicator, licensed by the Irish Dancing Commission in Ireland. As an instructor, Linda has developed countless championship students and teams who have competed and performed at the highest levels. Linda is delighted to be teaching Irish dancing at Premiere Dance Academy and looks forward to lively classes with amazing new students!

Rae-Lee is a dance instructor who is devoted to aspiring young dance artists. Her goal is to create healthy and enthusiastic dancers who love art and will positively influence the world of dance. Rae-Lee began her ballet and contemporary training in Alberta. She danced for six years in Corps Bara Dance Youth Company, travelling around Alberta, Toronto, and New York City. In 2012, she began her training in contemporary dance at Simon Fraser University, where she furthered her skills in modern dance and choreographic composition. Rae-Lee moved to Toronto in 2014 to learn from renowned faculty at Canada’s National Ballet School’s Teacher Training Program. During her training at NBS, she obtained her teaching qualifications with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing and the Royal Academy of Dance. In 2017, Rae-Lee graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in Contemporary dance from Simon Fraser and her Teacher Training Diploma. Rae-Lee is excited to work and learn with the dancers and faculty at Premiere Dance this year!

Ariana has dedicated 14 years to mastering a variety of dance styles, including ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and acro. Her extensive training has taken her around the world, with notable experiences in Paris and a prestigious invitation to London for advanced dance training.
For the past two years, Ariana has channeled her passion for dance into teaching, specializing in acro and ballet. Her enthusiasm for acro, in particular, shines through in both her teaching and choreography, making it her favorite genre to both perform and instruct.
As Ariana eagerly anticipates the upcoming season, she looks forward to embracing new challenges and opportunities, continuing to inspire and share her love of dance with her students.

Miss Cailyn’s love for dance began at a young age and she now enjoys sharing her passion for dance with the next generation of dancers. She has trained in many dance styles including ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, musical theater and lyrical. Miss Cailyn has completed her ADAPT intermediate 3 tap and jazz exams as well as her Royal Academy of Dance advanced 1 ballet exam. She has also earned her ADAPT dance teacher certification. Miss Cailyn has also danced professionally with Calaway Live during the summer of 2019. Miss Cailyn is so excited to return to Premiere Dance Academy this season as a valued faculty member and she looks forward to sharing her love of dance and witness her students’ success.

Megan Daniels hails from Saskatoon where she started her dance journey at age 4 with Yvonne Jaspar at Jaspar Academy of Dance. She arrived in Calgary 11 years ago to continue her career as a professional contemporary and ballet dancer. After dancing with several companies throughout Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta, she decided to venture into teaching and fell in love with it right away. As a teen she trained professionally at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and went on to dance with the company in the years following. It was during those years that she realized that movement and dance are her life, and she now feels so lucky that she can make her living teaching these things.

Megan is a professionally trained dance artist and is fully certified in teaching ballet, yoga, Pilates, Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT), and Barre group fitness classes. She also holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Saskatchewan in Economics. She is delighted to be a part of the faculty again and can’t wait to continue to share the love of ballet with the talented dancers of Premiere Dance Academy!

Veronica is a born and raised Calgary dancer and choreographer. Veronica started dancing at the age of three and has been dancing ever since. She has an endless passion for dance and has trained in various styles. She has studied and trained in both the RAD and ADAPT syllabus.

Veronica received a Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in Dance at the University of Calgary in 2021. She has performed in both student works as well as work by Tara Wilson, Amanda Bonnell, Kelly Brownlee, Melissa Monteros and Melanie Kloetzel. Veronica has been an active performer choreographer and board member with EnCorps Dance Collective since September 2018. Veronica received her Acrobatic Arts Module One Certification in August 2018. She is also in the process of completing the Healthy Dance Practice Certificate by Safe in Dance International.

Veronica then moved to Manchester, England to complete her MA in Dance Choreography and Professional Practices. She lived abroad for three years teaching dance in primary schools and working for Z-arts, a youth arts charity delivering free dance classes. She trained and collaborated with various professional dance companies such as Coalesce Dance Theatre and Kapow Dance Circus Theatre.

She loves being able to pass on her passion and knowledge for dance to children. Veronica is looking forward to returning back for another season with the Premiere Dance Academy team!

Connor Denison is an award-winning tap dancer, choreographer and teacher and has had the honor to teach and perform at a multitude of studios, workshops, and festivals across Western Canada as faculty, guest artist, and choreographer. Growing up as a company member of Calgary’s Tri-Tone Rhythm Ensemble he has had the opportunity to study the history of Tap Dance, learn repertoire of the masters, as well as participate in the development of new contemporary works under the artistic direction of Tasha Lawson. Connor is also a graduate of the Tri-Tone teacher training program.

Highlighted performance credits include touring BC with the cast of “Love.Be.Best.Free” (Danny Nielsen), dancing as a lead in “Caravan” (Derick Grant and Tasha Lawson) and performing in “The Cholly Project” in Vancouver (Travis Knights). Recently Connor was featured in Danny Nielsen’s full-length production “On Foot,” premiering in the fall of 2019. In the fall of 2020 Connor was an understudy in Lisa Latouche’s piece “Fool’s Gold” presented by Fall For Dance.

In the spring of 2019 Connor began producing his own work entitled “Fourteen”. Audiences were later captivated in the summer of 2020 and 2021 when Connor was given the opportunity to extend the piece into a half hour set, presented by Springboard receiving rave reviews from industry professionals. Connor is currently developing the set into his first full length show.

Ms. Stephanie has been dancing since the age of 5 with extensive training in jazz, ballet, acro, tap, lyrical, musical theatre and modern. She also made time and was fortunate enough to pursue her other passions of gymnastics and swimming throughout a generous portion of her childhood. During her dance education, she was the recipient of countless overall awards and special recognition opportunities, completed her Advanced II RAD ballet examination, and was the recipient of many scholarships enabling her to travel North America to train under highly sought-after choreographers and dance educators.

Entering her third decade of teaching dance split between her birth province of Ontario and her home province of Alberta, she continues to teach most all styles of dance and looks forward to her evenings and weekends where she gets to stop and disconnect from ‘real’ work and share her passion for dance with her students. Having watched many of her students graduate and move on from studio life, many have had and continue to have successful careers in the dance industry performing on Broadway, back-up dancing for top artists, finding their spot on TV or film, dancing for professional sports teams, on cruise ships, employed by professional companies or, like her, in the studio.

Ms. Stephanie is incredibly excited to continue her dance journey with Premiere Dance Academy and is incredibly excited for the season to come.

Jenna began dancing in Calgary at the age of four. Her love of dance grew quickly as she trained in jazz, ballet, pointe, lyrical, contemporary, and musical theatre. She was given the opportunity to perform and compete at numerous competitions, conventions, and showcases where she achieved awards that recognized both her technique and dedication. Spending her childhood and teen years in the studio, Jenna has developed an understanding of the significance of providing a positive environment where dancers can learn and grow their love of dance. This is why Jenna is so excited to join the front desk team at Premiere Dance Academy this year, to share her passion and excitement with students and parents alike!

AJ started developing her love and passion for dance at Premiere Dance Academy when she was only 3 years old. She has trained in various styles including ballet, tap, jazz, musical theatre, street jazz and lyrical. At the age of 7 she joined the competitive team and has won numerous overall awards and scholarships. Throughout the years she has expanded her training through participating in workshops, intensive and dancing at different facilities such as Broadway Dance Center in New York. AJ has a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Operations Management from the University of Calgary.

Dance has taught AJ the importance of hard work dedication and responsibility. AJ is an esteemed member of our faculty and choreography team and has been recognized throughout the years for her creativity, concepts, talent, and inspired choreography. She is excited to continue teaching at Premiere Dance Academy, the very place where she was molded into the dancer she is today and cannot wait to share her love for dance with her students.

Stephanie began her dance journey at Premiere Dance Academy at the age of 3. She has received extensive training in various genres, including ballet, jazz, street jazz, open, tap, acro, and lyrical. Stephanie joined the competitive team at 5 years old, earning numerous awards and scholarships. Her dedication to expanding her expertise is evident through her participation in various dance intensives and camps.

With 6 years of experience teaching and coaching children, Stephanie is passionate about fostering their growth and nurturing their enthusiasm for dance. She looks forward to contributing to the development of the next generation of successful, passionate, and compassionate dancers at Premiere Dance Academy!

Originally from Prince George, BC, Morgan began dancing at the age of 3, she has trained in many genres throughout the years including, jazz, tap, hip hop, ballet, acro, lyrical, modern, and contemporary. Morgan has found a particular enjoyment in contemporary dance, receiving recognition at the local and provincial level in this genre. Morgan is currently studying at the University of Calgary in the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Program and is going into her third year. Outside of her studies, Morgan has recently completed her time in the Corps Bara II contemporary dance training company. Morgan has been teaching dance for 7 years and loves teaching dancers of all ages at the recreational and competitive levels and has found success at the provincial level for her choreography. Morgan teaches ballet, jazz, hip hop, musical theater, tap, lyrical and contemporary and is excited to pass on her love of dance to her students at Premiere Dance Academy!

Originally from Sherwood Park Alberta, Shae developed a love for dance at a young age. Starting her dance training in Sherwood Park, she won numerous awards as well as scholarships in competitions all over Alberta. Shae truly found her passion for ballet as a child when she was given the opportunity to dance with The Alberta Ballet in such productions as The Nutcracker, and A Midsummer Nights Dream. At the age of 12 she decided to pursue her dream in ballet and auditioned for The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School (RWB). By 13 years old, she moved away from home to Winnipeg for her ballet career. As a student in the school, she was given many great opportunities to dance in such productions as In Concert, First Steps (where she had a chance to choreograph for her peers), Concert Hour and Ballet In The Park.

Upon graduation from The RWB Professional Division in 2014, Shae decided to explore contemporary dance by training with The Toronto Dance Theatre. Joining the RWB Aspirant program at the age of 18, she danced with the RWB company in Swan Lake, Giselle, The Nutcracker, and David Suzuki’s Blue Dot Tour to name a few. Some of her favourite highlights of these years were dancing alongside Evelyn Hart, studying at The New Zealand School of dance and touring Canada with The RWB. Since suffering a hip injury, her ballet career took a turn and she decided to pursue teaching. After a year in the Teacher Training Program at The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Shae moved back to Alberta to continue her teaching career as well as working to get a Legal Assistant Diploma. 

Shae has had the esteemed opportunity to teach for numerous studios including the RWB. She is very excited to be back teaching again in her favourite city and sharing her love of dance with her students.

Hailey’s love of dance began when she was two years old and she has been dancing ever since. She has trained in a variety of styles such as jazz, ballet, tap, contemporary, lyrical, acro, and hip hop. She has had the opportunity to perform and dance in Canada and the United States as well as a missed opportunity with Team Canada in Poland due to Covid. She spent four years student teaching before joining Premiere Dance Academy’s front office team. Hailey is excited to continue for another season with Premiere Dance Academy and continue to share her love of dance.

Cody Olafson is a highly skilled and experienced dancer who started at the age of three and has trained and competed in a diverse range of dance genres including jazz, ballet, hip-hop, and contemporary. Since 2011, Cody has been working as a Zumba instructor and is also a licensed Zumba jammer. In this capacity, she takes on the responsibility of teaching other Zumba instructors how to improve their skills holding workshops and training for continuing education licensed by the Zumba home office in Miami. Cody has toured extensively in Canada, the United States, Indonesia, South Korea and the Philippines, performing at large events with up to 400 people in attendance.
Aside from her dance career, Cody is also a full-time human resource manager at a prominent Canadian company. She enjoys traveling to different parts of the world in her free time.
Cody is also an ambassador for Gems for Gems, a national charity that aims to break the cycle of domestic abuse by empowering and educating survivors. Her work with this organization showcases her commitment to social causes and giving back to the community.

Miss Kailey is beyond excited to be teaching at pda this year! She grew up in south Calgary and started dancing when I was 7. From her first dance class she knew she absolutely loved it and dance quickly became the most important part of her life. Miss Kailey really values everything dance has taught her and all the opportunities it brought her as well. She has had opportunities to train with Alberta Ballet for two summer intensives, be an ambassador for the post dance experience, and work with many amazing people along the way. Miss Kailey is grateful for all the dance experiences that she’s had and hopes to share her love of dance with the students at Premiere Dance Academy.

Miss Allison was born and raised on Vancouver island where she trained in contemporary, RAD ballet, ISTD modern, ISTD tap, jazz, and musical theatre. She has been dancing for 15 years and currently is working on her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Dance at the University of Calgary. Successfully passing dance exams, attending competitions, being a part of professional shows like Ballet Bodies and other Calgary performances, she has learned a lot over her dance journey. She has a passion for dance and choreography and she hopes to pass on what she has learned so far to her students at Premiere.

Gemini began dancing at the age of three at Premiere Dance Academy, a place she considers her second home. Over the years, she has trained in a variety of styles, including jazz, lyrical, contemporary, ballet, pointe, street jazz, and hip hop. She joined the academy’s competitive team and expanded her training through numerous workshops and summer intensives. Her dedication has earned her multiple accolades, scholarships, and recognition in the dance community. A highlight of her journey was traveling to Florida to dance for Disney, where she embraced the value of stepping out of her comfort zone and trying new things.Gemini’s love and passion for dance have been nurtured by the positive people around her. She enjoys teaching dancers of all ages and is committed to encouraging each student to be the best dancer and person they can be. She aims to help students succeed while fostering their love for the art of dance. Gemini especially enjoys working with young dancers, helping them build a strong foundation and inspiring them to express themselves through dance.

Miss Vivicah began dancing at Premiere Dance Academy at the age of 10. She has trained in numerous styles, including jazz, ballet, pointe, musical theatre, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop, and street jazz. Her love for ballet encouraged her to audition for prestigious ballet schools such as the Royal Winnipeg School of Ballet, Victoria Academy of Ballet, and the National Ballet School. Miss Vivicah has completed her RAD Intermediate exam and is working towards her Advanced 1 exam. She has received several special awards and scholarships and had the opportunity to attend summer dance intensives with Be Discovered and the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City. This past summer, Miss Vivicah traveled to Prague, Czech Republic, to represent Canada at the Dance World Cup Finals. She is excited to teach and share the knowledge she has gained from all around the world and pass it on to her students!