Angela Stickland – Director (Performance Teams, Hip Hop, Modern, Jazz, Lyrical, Stage)
This former Miss “USA Dance” champion and 2-time U.S. national dance finalist for both the L.A. Danceforce National Championships and the Dance Magic National Championships knew that she was destined for a career in the business before graduating high school. Penticton School of Dance director, Angela Stickland, was also a scholarship recipient to the Edge Performing Arts Centre in Hollywood, CA and has actively worked in the film industry for the past 12 years.  With recent dance training in New York City with “The Pulse” faculty at Summer Dancefest & the Broadway Dance Center Angela (along with many of her students) received training from Mia Michaels, Wade Robson, Brian Friedman, Tyce Diorio, Dave Scott, Shane Sparks, Mandy Moore, Cris Judd, Gil Duldulao and so many more world-famous choreographers!  Angela has been a dance judge for Dance Magic and Street Vibe dance competitions and she couldn’t be happier to be back home sharing her love of dance with her own students in Penticton! Angela’s dancers have received scholarships & awards from all over the world and her team of choreographers & instructors have seen many of their own students pursue professional careers in dance all around the globe (see our “Professionals” page). Angela is very proud to see her home studio grow into one of the province’s largest dance schools!

Eve Noonan - (Jazz, Lyrical)
Originally from Edmonton, AB Eve is now entering her 34th year of teaching dance and her 14th year here at Penticton School of Dance. Eve is an award-winning choreographer who has performed, taught and adjudicated dance competitions & festivals all around the world throughout her extensive dance career. As the former director of Penticton School of Dance Eve is honored to have seen so many of her students grow up at our dance studio before her eyes and she is so proud of everyone who has touched her life through the art of dance. She enjoys every aspect that the world of dance has offered her and she looks forward to another fabulous year of teaching at our studio!

Yvonne Mottishaw – (Preschool, Primary Ballet)
Penticton School of Dance is delighted to have Mrs. M return for her 15th year of teaching preschool & primary ballet to our students. Yvonne’s love of teaching dance to your children is evident in her classes, and her students’ admiration for her is apparent through their smiles. Yvonne provides fun-filled classes to her young ones and loves the innocence & spontaneity of her preschool students. We thank Yvonne for her dedication over the years to our studio and we look forward to another unforgettable season with her again this year!

Sarah Kennedy R.A.D RTS, ARAD – (Preschool, Ballet, Pointe, Variations, Pas de Deux)
Penticton School of Dance is thrilled to welcome the talent & expertise of Miss Sarah Kennedy to our faculty this season. As the former president & director of the Classical Ballet Conservatory of Vancouver Sarah plans to bring her immense classical training abilities to her students this fall and for many years to come. Sarah has trained winners in the Surrey Dance & PacWest festivals and her students have achieved distinction in Adv. Level 2 ballet exams. Sarah is a former BC Festival of the Performing Arts provincial ballet champion and has danced with the University of Oklahoma & the Milwaukee Ballet before receiving her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of British Columbia. Sarah develops junior to pre-professional ballet programs and will be looking to start a half-day program at our studio for dancers who may be looking to pursue a professional dance career. Penticton School of Dance is happy to welcome you to our team Sarah!

Lawrence Gervais – (Boys Ballet, Modern, Lyrical, Jazz, Pas de Deux)
Penticton School of Dance is honored to have Lawrence Gervais on our faculty for the upcoming dance season. A member of the National Ballet of Canada and the Vancouver Goh Ballet Lawrence is also a guest artist with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and a former apprentice with the Alberta Ballet. This former 1994 National Aboriginal Achievement Award recipient is also an off-ice trainer for Skate Canada’s National Junior & Senior teams.  Lawrence will be introducing a ‘boys only’ ballet program to our studio this season and he looks forward to bringing many exciting new opportunities to our school over the coming years. Lawrence will be training our dancers in ballet, modern, lyrical, jazz and choreographic works as well as developing proper partnering skills involved with pas de deux work. Lawrence has achieved level 5 Vaganova from the Vaganova Choreographic Institute (Kirov Ballet School) and he has his Advanced Certificate in Performing Arts Management from Capilano College. Welcome to our studio Lawrence!

Jennifer Ostafew R.A.D RTS – (Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, Adult Jazz)
Penticton School of Dance is very happy to have Jennifer Ostafew back for her 2nd season with us in Penticton! After receiving her training from the Okanagan School of Ballet in Vernon Jennifer went on to train with the Boston City Ballet and the Broadway Dance Centre in New York City. She has been dancing for well over 20 years and teaching for the past 9 years. She has completed her certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies from the Royal Academy of Dance while continuing to teach jazz, lyrical, hip hop and musical theatre. Welcome back Miss Jennifer!

Lori Grant – (Song & Dance / Musical Theatre)
Lori Grant is a highly recognized & well-established vocalist, instructor & director in the local musical theatre world. Lori has produced & directed countless theatre & musical productions, including the recent production of Disney’s “High School Musical” with Princess Margaret Secondary School, and Lori takes great pride in seeing her students take on the challenge of live musical theatre performances. Penticton School of Dance is very proud to bring Lori’s expertise & professionalism to our program for another great season and we look forward to having Lori back for her 2nd year!

Jake Evans – (Hip Hop, Pop & Lock, Breakdance, Adult & Boys Only Hip Hop)
Back for a second season at Penticton School of Dance Jake Evans is looking forward to offering classes in hip hop, breakdance, popping & locking & adult dance once again to our students. Jake comes to us from Halifax, Nova Scotia where he has built an extensive instructing, competition and performance resume. He has trained in Los Angeles, Florida, Boston and all across Canada with the world’s best Original Generation street dancers and instructors. Jake has also judged, hosted and emceed such breakdance competitions as Breakbattle, Floorwars and the Atlantic Streetdance Championships. Welcome back Jake and we look forward to many more years of working together!

Wendy Williams – (Jazz, Teen Lyrical)
Wendy has extensive training in dance, gymnastics, yoga, bellydance and cheerleading and she is also the head coach and founder of the Penticton Pinnacles Cheerleading Team. She has been on the faculty at Penticton School of Dance for the past 6 years teaching classes from preschool to adult levels and she always looks forward to providing new challenges to her students every year. We are thrilled to have Wendy back for another dance season with us!

Lori Moffat – (Tap)
Lori is back teaching tap for her 5th season at Penticton School of Dance and she is very excited about starting another exciting year with her tappers. Lori is an award winning tap choreographer who is originally from Vancouver, BC. She has studied tap dance since the age of 3 years at the Martiniuk School of Performing Arts where she also completed all of her tap & teaching exams. We welcome Lori back for another great year of tappin’ feet!

Tara Farrell – (Jazz, Hip Hop, Tap, Adult classes)
Tara is back for her third season at Penticton School of Dance coming to us from Cambridge, ON where she studied ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical & acro. at Sue Bottrill Dance Studio. Tara has traveled across Canada and the U.S. competing in various dance competitions and she has taken workshops with world-renowned dancers & choreographers such as Savion Glover and SNL’s The Fly Girls. We look forward to seeing more of Tara’s work on stage this year and we welcome her back for another exciting season!

Lindsay Sterk – (Tap)
The tap master himself, Lindsay Sterk is very excited to be working with Penticton School of Dance throughout our 2007/08 season providing challenging tap choreography to our students on a monthly basis. Lindsay comes to us from Vancouver Island and he is a dance adjudicator, choreographer & instructor who has an extensive background in musical theatre as well as tap & stage dance. After already coming to guest teach towards the end of our 2006/07 season Lindsay’s tappers should be prepared for a great challenge as well as a lot of fun throughout next season. Welcome Lindsay!

Kirsten Fiorentino A.D.A.P.T – (Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap)
New to our faculty this season is very talented Kirsten Fiorentino who comes to us from Alberta. After having already been a guest teacher at Penticton School of Dance towards the end of our 2006/07 season, Kirsten has already made her impression amongst our hip hop students and her classes are already starting to fill up quickly! With training in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, modern, musical theatre and hip hop Kirsten is a great asset to our faculty as she is also certified in the ADAPT syllabus in Jazz & Tap. We welcome Kirsten to our studio and we look forward to a great year ahead!

Emily McDonald S.D.T.A – (Highland)
Coming to Penticton School of Dance from Merritt, BC Emily McDonald will be teaching highland dance at our studio this season.  Emily has trained in hip-hop, tap, jazz, & ballet and has been teaching highland dance at the Merritt School of Dance for the past 2 years.  After completing 9 years of highland dance training from the Lorena Harrison's School of Highland Dance (in Kamloops, BC) Emily has also recently received her SDTA Highland Associate Teachers certification. Emily plans to continue her studies at Okanagan College here in Penticton while providing quality instruction to our fast-growing highland dance program.  Welcome Emily!

Jacquie Prowse C.F.E.S. – (Jazz)
Jacquie was one of the first students to dance at Penticton School of Dance when it opened its doors in 1978. Jacquie has extensive dance & fitness training and is a former instructor of the Coquitlam School of Ballet. She has trained with Tremaine Dance Conventions and Los Angeles Danceforce and she is also C.F.E.S. certified in fitness instructing. Jacquie is very excited to be a part of our faculty again this season and we look forward to another exciting year with her!

Karly Drabot – (Hip Hop)
Karly has been dancing for as long as she can remember and she has received her dance training from Penticton School of Dance and in New York City from “The Pulse” Summer Dancefest faculty including Mia Michaels, Wade Robson, Shane Sparks, Tyce Diorio, Mandy Moore, Gil Duldulao, Cris Judd and more! Karly has been teaching dance for the past 2 years, both at the Community Center and at our studio, and she is involved in teaching our summer camps at Penticton School of Dance as well. Karly’s dedication & love for dance is very apparent in class and her students’ admiration for her is overwhelming. Welcome back for another season Karly!

Kyra Wittkopf – (Tap)
Kyra is one of our senior dancers who has devoted herself to intensive dance training at Penticton School of Dance with classes in tap, jazz, hip hop, ballet & lyrical jazz.  After a successful season of teaching summer tap classes Kyra has gladly taken on a faculty position at Penticton School of Dance for the 2007/08 season where she can now share her passion for dance with her students on a regular basis.   After returning from an inspiring dance trip to New York City with Penticton School of Dance in July of 2007, Kyra received unforgettable dance instruction from world-renowned choreographers such as Mia Michaels, Wade Robson, Shane Sparks, Tyce Diorio, Mandy Moore, Gil Duldulao, Cris Judd and many more!  We welcome you to our faculty Kyra!

Jenny Thomson – (Hip Hop)
Penticton School of Dance is so happy to be welcoming back talented hip hop instructor & choreographer Jenny Thomson to our faculty for the remainder of the 2007/08 dance season.  Jenny received her dance training from Victoria, BC before moving to the Okanagan and we are so fortunate to have her back at our studio providing fun & challenging classes to our hip hoppers on a weekly basis.  Jenny brings a great deal of dance experience to her performance pieces and we all look forward to seeing more great work from Miss Jenny in the years to come!

Peter & Louise Quandt – (Teen Ballroom)
After a very successful first season of teen ballroom classes at Penticton School of Dance, Peter & Louise are ready to start a 2nd season at our studio offering classes for teens interested in the social aspect of partner dancing and for those interested in competing & performing in ballroom dance. Peter and Louise are a husband & wife dance team who have been ballroom dancing for 26 years and teaching for the past 7 years. Learn the waltz, samba, mambo, tango, foxtrot, cha cha, rumba, Westcoast swing & more and progress at your own pace throughout the dance year.

* Adult Ballroom classes also available *

Pianists: Debbie Frye, Janet Dick, Sandy Andres

And our friendly front desk staff:
Linda Berry, Joanne Vloedbeld, Holly Gannon, Louisa Robinson & Traci Johnson.