Meet Our Faculty

Owners

Chantel

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF FULL YEAR PROGRAMMING - OWNER

When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It’s to enjoy each step along the way. ~Wayne DyerChantel Sampson has been dancing since the age of three. A lifelong passion for dance has continued to fuel her spirit. Her ... Read More

Jenna

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF SESSIONAL PROGRAMMING-OWNER

Jenna Brenan has been dancing since the age of four. Her background includes Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, and Irish. Jenna not only studied and trained locally here in Edmonton, but has also trained under a variety of professionals fr ... Read More

Staff

Ava

Front Desk Staff

Ava Sutherland is a second year student pursuing her Bachelor of Commerce at the Alberta School of Business. She is a member of a number of business clubs and enjoys competing in case competitions. Ava works at the front desk and absolutely loves get ... Read More

Cecilia

Front Desk Staff

Cecilia is a student working on her BSC in Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental biology at the University of Alberta. She is an executive of the Organization of Botany students and loves everything related to plants. Cecilia works front desk and hel ... Read More

Jenna Zoe

Front Desk Staff

JZ is a university student currently working on her BFA in visual arts. JZ takes candid photos for recital and occasionally during classes throughout the year. She grew up taking contemporary, tap, and hip hop classes at J'Adore Dance. JZ works ... Read More

Rachel

Studio Manager

Rachel graduated from The King’s University with a BA in Social Sciences, and a minor in Kinesiology. She loves running, and being active through a variety of sports. As she has experienced the friendships  and fun that being active has brought, ... Read More

Instructors

Amanda

Instructor

Recently Amanda graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelors of Arts degree double majoring in Psychology and Linguistics. She is currently in her fourth season as an instructor with J’Adore Dance and loves teaching all ages and levels f ... Read More

Avery

Instructor

Avery has been dancing with J'Adore Dance for eleven years. She has trained in the JBallet, JTap, Pointe and Youth Contemporary programs. Avery's teachers have included Ms. Chantel, Ms. Jenna, Ms. Annie, Ms. Bridget and Ms. Jeannie. Outside of dance, ... Read More

Camille

Instructor

Camille Ensminger is a dance artist, choreographer and teacher who has trained and performed for many years in ballet, jazz, tap, flamenco and contemporary dance. She has performed for years at the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival with ... Read More

Chris

Instructor

Chris Hammer has been teaching for 4 years now. He has been trained and stylizes in Popping, Locking, Animation, Party dance, Commercial choreo, R&B, and Freestyling. He has competed and performed and a numerous of different events including bein ... Read More

Daelyn

Instructor

Daelyn has been dancing since the age of three and never stopped. Growing up she danced competitively in ballet, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, and musical theatre. Due to this, she had the opportunity to dance around Canada and the United States inclu ... Read More

Diane

Instructor

Diane has been dancing at J’adore for 12 years. She has trained in the JBallet, JTap, Youth Contemporary and Youth Hip Hop programs. Diane is attending the University of Alberta completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience. Outside of danc ... Read More

Erin H

Instructor

From a young age, Erin found and developed a passion for an active lifestyle. She danced competitively for 16 years, became a swimming instructor/lifeguard, and developed a love of teaching dance and movement. She married her high school sweetheart a ... Read More

Ethan

Instructor

Ethan Sampson is completing his Bachelor of Communications Degree from Grant MacEwan and throughout his education he has had the opportunity to take part in all aspects of the performing arts. For as long as he can remember, Ethan has been up on the ... Read More

Grayson

Instructor

Grayson has been dancing with J’adore Dance for 11 years. She has trained in JBallet, Pre-pointe, Pointe, and Youth contemporary programs with Ms. Jeannie, Ms. Jessica, Ms. Annie, Ms. Jenna, Ms. Chantel, and Ms. Bridget. She’s currently enrolled at V ... Read More

Hailey

Instructor

Hailey has been dancing her whole life. She started in parented classes until she was old enough to dance on her own at age three. She has trained primarily in ballet and contemporary but has also enjoyed experiencing other genres such as tap for a h ... Read More

Jeannie

Instructor

Jeannie Vandekerkhove is a teacher, choreographer and dancer who trained classically in her youth, furthering her studies at Arts Umbrella and Ballet British Columbia’s Mentorship Program.She has taught professionally at Arts Umbrella, MareMac Dance ... Read More

Jewel

Instructor

Jewel Zahr is a tap dancer from Edmonton, Alberta. Jewel started dancing in all disciplines at the age of four and quickly realized the love she had for tap. She graduated in 2016 from Victoria School of the Arts where she pursued her passion for the ... Read More

Jilly

Instructor

Jilly has been dancing for 15 years and is looking forward to continuing to take after her mom, her mentor. Jilly graduated from Culinary Arts at NAIT and is currently studying Professional Meat Cutting and Merchandising and is looking forward to com ... Read More

Joanna

Instructor

Joanna started dancing in Calgary at the Barvinok Ukrainian Dance Society and has had a love for Ukrainian dance her whole life. After moving to Fort McMurray she joined the Avrora Ukrainian Dance Club and Uptown Dance where she started ballet, jazz, ... Read More

Kasha

Instructor

Music, Fitness, and Community have always been a driving force of Kasha's being. Growing up, she trained and played soccer competitively at the college level. Kasha is passionate, a lover of people, and a champion for her daughters. After having ... Read More

Kate

Instructor

Kate has been dancing for 12 years and trained at Riverbend Dance Academy before coming to J’Adore.  She has trained in ballet, pointe, contemporary and jazz under Ms. Annie, Ms. Bridget, Ms. Jenna, Ms. Chantel and Ms. Jeannie. When not dancing, ... Read More

Kate J

Instructor

Kate began her dance training in Edmonton at the age of 10, in a variety of styles such as ballet, jazz, acro, lyrical, and modern at Flexpointe Studios. Throughout her time dancing, she volunteered as a class assistant, which cultivated her passion ... Read More

Katelyn

Instructor

Katelyn started dancing at the age of 3, training in a variety of styles including jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, musical theater, and hip hop. She trained at Edmonton Dance Factory (EDF) where she competed in a variety of dance competitio ... Read More

Lauren

Instructor

Lauren previously trained at Sandra Gray School of Dance for six years before deciding to give other sports a try. While at SGSD, she was involved in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, and musical theatre. Off the dancefloor, you will find Lauren reading, s ... Read More

Liesa

Director of Parented Programming, Recital and Costume Coordinator

Liesa has always had a passion for dance. Her mom likes to say that Liesa danced before she could walk, which makes sense given that her mother owned a dance studio before Liesa was born and was her very first teacher. Over the years, Liesa has train ... Read More

Mana

Instructor

 Mana is in her third year of the Musical Theatre Performance program at MacEwan University, where she gets to dance, sing, and act every day at school! She has years of dance experience at MacEwan University, Edmonton School of Ukrainian Dance, ... Read More

Mari

Instructor

Mari discovered her love for dance at age ten and currently dances at both J’adore and The Stu. She has trained mainly in hiphop but also does contemporary dance and looks forward to continuing her training in both styles. Her teachers at J’adore thu ... Read More

Maria

Instructor

Maria loved to perform from a very young age and never missed an opportunity to take the stage, whether it was to sing at family events or dance in school productions in her home country India. She started formal training at the age of seven in vario ... Read More

Mckenna

Instructor

Mckenna has been dancing at J’adore since a very young age. Throughout her years at J’adore, she has been trained in Hip Hop and has learned various styles including Popping, Locking, Freestyle, and Breakdancing. During her J’adore journey, Mckenna h ... Read More

Melanie

Instructor

Melanie Smith-Doderai holds a B.A, B.Ed and M.Ed.  Melanie has been an instructor at J'Adore Dance since its opening in 2011. Melanie has extensive training in pre/postnatal fitness, aerial arts and her speciality - early childhood movement. At ... Read More

Mikayla

Instructor

Mikayla Pucci has been dancing for 17 years. She stylizes in Jazz, Contemporay, Lyrical, Freestyling and styles within Hip Hop including, commercial choreography, R&B, and party dance. She has trained under many choreographers across Canada but h ... Read More

Nicole

Instructor

Nicole first discovered her love for ballet at J’Adore Dance when she was 5. Since then, she has studied many styles, including ballet, jazz, contemporary, and hip-hop. In addition to dancing at J’Adore Dance and Marr-Mac studio, she has completed ... Read More

Thea

Instructor

Thea started dancing at a young age, and has trained in styles including ballet, tap, jazz, and contemporary. She has danced at both J’adore and at Strathcona High School in the dance program. During her years at J’adore she has trained under Ms. Cha ... Read More

Interns

Eve

Intern

Eve has been dancing with J'Adore Dance for thirteen years. She has loved her time dancing in the JBallet and Contemporary classes. Eve's teachers have included Ms. Chantel, Ms. Bridget, and Ms. Jeannie. Outside of dance class, she has fun ... Read More

Madi

Intern

Madi was born and raised in Vernon, BC and has recently moved to Edmonton to attend the University of Alberta to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Honours Physiology. She started dancing at the age of two, training in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Musical Theatre ... Read More

Junior Assistants

Abbie

Junior Assistant

Abbie has been dancing since before she was born! Abbie started dancing at J'Adore when she was only a few weeks old and her mom ( Ms. Liesa ) brought her to Babies classes. Abbie loves reading fantasy books, writing her own stories, bike riding with ... Read More

Addison

Junior Assistant

Addison has been dancing for eight years. She studied tap for two years in Spruce Grove before moving on to J'adore, where she studied Ballet, Hip Hop, and Musical Theatre before settling on Musical Theatre. When she's not dancing, she enjo ... Read More

Anokhi

Junior Assistant

Anokhi has been dancing since the age of 7. Her true passion has always been Tap Dance and has always trained under Ms. Jenna. Anokhi is excited to learn from Ms. Jewel this year. When not on the dance floor, Anokhi enjoys crocheting, reading, spendi ... Read More

Carly

Junior Assistant

Carly has enjoyed dancing at J’Adore since she was a baby in the parented programs. She is excited to continue in the JBallet program this year. Outside of dancing, some of her favourite hobbies are drawing, exploring the outdoors, reading and figure ... Read More

Eileen

Junior Assistant

Eileen has been dancing at J’adore since she was a baby, starting in parented classes with her mom. Over the years, she has trained exclusively at J’adore but is looking forward to expanding her experience by taking a dance class at Dr. Anne Anderson ... Read More

Elise

Junior Assistant

Elise has been dancing at J'adore since she was about 8 months old, when her mom first brought her to the baby classes. She has trained in Jazz, Ballet, and Contemporary at J'adore with teachers including Ms. Hanna, Ms. Chantel, Ms. Kate, M ... Read More

Harmony

Junior Assistant

Harmony has been dancing since she was a baby when her mom brought her to Babies class at J'Adore Dance. While she loves to dance, Harmony also enjoys singing, baking, circus, playing instruments, and musical theatre, where she recently played t ... Read More

Juliette

Junior Assistant

Juliette has been dancing for nine years. Her hobbies include singing, dancing, acting, and playing soccer. She has trained at J'Adore for dance and sings with Korora Choirs. Juliette has experience in performance hip hop and recently participat ... Read More

Kaylee

Junior Assisstant

Kaylee has been dancing at J'Adore and attending classes there since she was around three years old. Her hobbies include reading, knitting, and baking. She has trained exclusively at J'Adore, focusing on hip hop with Mikayla and Chris, and ... Read More

Madi

Junior Assistant

Madi has been dancing since she was three years old. She has a wide range of hobbies, including creating art—such as drawing, painting, and sculpting with clay—dancing, spending time with friends, playing video games, listening to music, and practici ... Read More

Margaret

Junior Assistant

Margaret has been dancing at J’adore since she was born in the parented classes until she was old enough to start the leveled classes. Since then she has studied tap, ballet, & musical theatre at J’adore and the Foote Theater School at the Citade ... Read More

Meagan

Junior Assistant

Meagan has been dancing at J’Adore since her mom took her to dance classes as a baby. Since then, she has trained in various styles including jazz, ballet, and hip hop under the training of Ms. Chantel, Ms. Hannah, Ms. Bridget, Mr. Chris and Ms. Mika ... Read More

Mira

Junior Assistant

Mira has been dancing since the age of 3 years old. Her hobbies include painting, dancing and sketching. Mira has trained in Ballet and Jazz at J'Adore Dance under the direction of Ms. Hannah, Ms. Robyn, and Ms. Bridget. Mira also Irish dances a ... Read More

Natalie

Junior Assistant

Natalie has been dancing for 8 years. She enjoys drawing, learning and performing K-pop dances, writing, crafting, reading, styling outfits, cooking and baking, and listening to music. She has trained at J'adore Dance in styles such as jazz and ... Read More

Persephone

Junior Assistant

Persephone has been dancing her whole life! She enjoys arts & crafts and physical activities such as running, biking, and dancing. Persephone also loves to create codes for treasure hunts. She has trained under Sally Carline, Jackie Best, Miss Je ... Read More

Reed

Junior Assistant

Reed has been dancing for the past 7 years. She has trained in ballet, jazz, and hip. Reed has danced with Ms. Chantel, Ms. Bridget, Ms. Annie, and Mr. Trung. When she is not dancing, Reed loves to read and swim. Reed is excited to once again be a pa ... Read More

Sloane

Junior Assistant

Sloane has been dancing since she was one years old and has trained at J’adore in ballet, contemporary, jazz, and hip-hop with teachers including Ms. Bridget, Ms. Robyn, Ms. Amanda, Ms. Jewel, Ms. Mikayla, Mr. Jason, Ms. Hannah, Ms. Chantel, and Ms. ... Read More

Sophia

Junior Assistant

Sophia has been dancing for five years. In addition to dancing, she enjoys reading, drawing, and singing. She has received training at both the School of Alberta Ballet and J’Adore Dance, where she has studied various styles including Ballet and Mus ... Read More

Sydney

Junior Assistant

Sydney has been dancing for eight years and has trained in a variety of styles, including ballet, jazz, hip hop, and contemporary. She has developed her skills at J’Adore Dance, where she has been guided and inspired by her teachers: Ms. Tegan, M ... Read More