Maria Brychuk (Artistic Director, Owner) Dancers and students love the enthusiasm of “Miss Maria” as she instructs her classes. Maria teaches pre-ballet, advanced ballet, musical theater, jazz dance and character dance for Dance Stars Academy and is a fully accomplished professional dancer in each of these styles. Maria trained in ballet (Vaganova technique), jazz, and character dance at the Cheropovets Ballet School in her native Russia. She received her B.A. with honors, in Fine Arts for the Ballet Artist at the Vereshaginkiy College of Arts. Miss Maria worked for several years for Russian National Theater. She has toured all over the world including France, Italy, Germany, USA and Russia. Then she performed for several seasons in Yakov Smirnoff show in Branson, Missouri. Miss Maria's professional career includes over 1,200 on-stage performances. In addition to her many years of experience as a dance teacher, Miss Maria has taught and choreographed variety of compositions for concerts, recitals and school productions.
Miss Maria continuously stays on top of her professional development. Some of the recent workshop and training opportunities she took include world famous dance artists: - Advanced Ballet training with Dmitri Roudnev, former soloist Bolshoi Ballet - Jazz master classes at “Broadway Dance Center” with Frank Hatchett - “Steps on Broadway” workshops with Tony Stevens, New York - Advanced Ballet Summer Session – Ballet Memphis - Jazz workshops at “Luigi's Jazz Center”, New York - Advanced Ballet and Advanced Jazz, Missouri State University - Riverdance workshop with Padraic Moyles, Principal Dancer Johanna Rosa Agustsdottir (Rosa) Rosa started her training in gymnastics at the age of 6 in her homeland - Iceland. By the age of 14 she was an Assistant Gymnastics Coach, and was many times national champion in group gymnastics and in sports aerobics. During next several years, Rosa served as Head Coach and Judge on national and international levels. She produced choreography for Icelandic national gymnasts, and prepared athletes for the World Championship. Through these activities, Rosa has developed passion for dance aerobics. Her experience includes 11 years as a fitness and aerobics consultant. In 2002, Rosa ranked among the 10 best individual women in the world in Sports-aerobics. At that time, Rosa traveled extensively and competed in World Championships and World Series all over Europe. Some of Rosa’s recent professional qualifications and experiences include: - Teaching Hip Hop and Funky Jazz classes for children and adults. - Advanced level Instructor (can prepare instructors and give Master Classes) in Body Jam (Hip Hop, Funk, Jazz and Afro), as well as Body Balance (Thai Chi, Yoga and Pilates). - Les Mills program Instructor. - Personal Trainer qualification from Can Fit Pro program. In addition to her sport and fitness career, Rosa works as a Substitute Teacher for the Eastern School District. Rosa made her home on PEI in 2006 and enjoys the island with her husband and two children. Olga Karpovich Olga graduated from Kaliningrad School of Arts (Russia), 8 years (specialty - piano, dance, musical literature). She performed with Modus Dance company, and was a member of Modus VivendiS model agency crew. In addition, Olga has a university degree in Linguistics and Intercultural Communication. She has several years of language teaching experience and worked with children of different ages. Mystaya Idt Mystaya trained in dance since she was a child at Divine Dance Academy Olds, AB. She is well rounded dancer with excellent achievements in a variety of dance styles. Mystaya has competitive performance experience through numerous dance competitions/festivals/workshops including: Danceworks, Spirit of Dance, Santana, Stettler Music Festival, Central Alberta Dance Festival and more. She was a recipient of Dare to Dream Scholarship for her solo competition performance. Mystaya worked as a Teacher Assistant at Divine Dance Academy Olds, AB. In addition to completion of Dance Instructor training at Dance Stars Academy, her professional qualifications include: - Ballet: Royal Academy of Dance (R.A.D. Grade 5 Syllabus, Grade 4 Exam) - Tap: Associated Dance Arts for Professional Teachers (A.D.A.P.T Pre-Int 2) - Jazz: Associated Dance Arts for Professional Teachers (A.D.A.P.T Pre-Int 2)Maria Larter Maria has extensively practised dance at several dance schools on PEI from the age of three to seventeen. She has training in Ballet, Pointe, Modern and Jazz dance styles. Maria had been teaching Sunday school for a while. She is getting ready to graduate this year with Arts degree in Psychology from the UPEI, and plans to continue her studies in Education going forward. In addition, she had completed DSA Dance Instructor training and is teaching Pre Ballet and Jazz classes. |      |
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