MEET OUR PROFESSIONAL FACULTY! 


 Stacey-Lea Marhue - Owner /Artistic Director (Musical Theatre, Dance & Vocals)

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Stacey-Lea was born & raised in Toronto, where she studied dance & theatre at Claude Watson School for the Arts and at the Toronto Metropoltian University(formerly Ryerson University)Dance/Theatre Dept. Her career as a singer,dancer, actor has taken her to Japan, Germany, South America, the Caribbean and throughout Canada and the US including Hawaii and Alaska. Stacey-Lea is a proud member of ACTRA, CAEA & AEA(the professional actor's unions for stage, theatre and film). Select stage credits include, MISS SAIGON(Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto), "THE WHO'S TOMMY"(Elgin Theatre in Toronto, Germany Production  & Canadian Tour), "RENT"(Mirvish Theatre in Toronto, US & Japan Tour), "THE LION KING"(Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto), "LA CAGE"(Toronto & Canadian Tour)... among others. Not only is she comfortable on stage, but in front of the camera as well... Stacey-Lea has worked with Patti LaBelle in "SING"(Movie), Joe Mantegna in "SMALL VICES"(Movie), "Earth Final Conflict"(TV Series), "Global Domination"(Sony CD Rom) etc. You may have even seen Stacey-Lea in one of her various TV commercials selling products for Winners, KFC, Foodland Ontario, The Bay, Heinz Ketchup and more! Most recently Stacey-Lea can be heard as the vocalist portraying the character Madam Wang on the Canadian debut album of "GOLDEN LOTUS the Musical".  Throughout Stacey-Lea's career she has never lost her love of teaching. She has taught dance & fitness classes for the Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, as well as many dance studios. She also enjoys choreographing for stage & TV! You may have seen her choreographic work at the Toronto International Jazz Fest, the Toronto Beaches Jazz Fest, ESA production of "RENT", Malvern CI production of "West Side Story", or most recently Unionville Theatre Company’s production of “Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”. Stacey-Lea hopes that all of her students walk away with a love, and deeper understanding of The Arts!


Valentina Polanco (Ballet/Dance/IDTS/IBBFA)

Valentina grew up in Colombia, where she began her dance training with a focus on ballet. This Toronto-based artist has performed various roles in neoclassical works & classical ballets, including The Nutcracker, Gisselle, Don Quixote, and Romeo & Juliet. She has trained under recognized artists such as Andrea Wolff, Geta Constantinescu, Laetitia Clement, Nicola Pantin, & Derek Sangster. Valentina was a finalist in both, World Ballet Competition (USA) and Addicted 2 Dance Competition (Colombia). She is a graduate of Dance Performance from George Brown College, and has trained at Andrea Wolff Ballet in Colombia and under scholarship at Miami City Ballet, Ballet Austin, Joffrey Ballet School and Ballet Hispanico in the United States. She was also part of the Mentorship program with the recognized company Canada’s Ballet Jorgen during the 2021-2022 season. Valentina has completed the Dance Teaching Certification with IDTS & the Barre Instructor Certification with IBBFA. In her home country, Valentina taught ballet, pointe, classical variations and creative movement to dancers of all ages at IJR Ballet School and MIA Dance Academy. She is presently pursuing a career in dance performance & arts education. After moving to Canada, Valentina continued teaching at Canada’s Ballet Jörgen and Creative Children’s Dance Centre. She enjoys teaching young dancers to adults, at all levels!

 


 Reece Rowat(Dance/Musical Theatre/DAC)

Originally from Port Moody, BC, Reece has had the opportunity to work as a performer all across the country, and the world! He is now based in Toronto and works regularly as an actor, dancer, and dance educator. Selected performance credits include Kinky Boots, Beauty and the Beast, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Singin’ in the Rain. (Drayton Ent.), Elf: The Musical (Theatre Aqurarius/Drayton Ent.), The Little Mermaid (Capitol), Kyle O’ Boyle in Legally Blonde (Stage West Calgary), Ross Petty’s A Christmas Carol (Elgin Theatre), Snowboy in West Side Story (Rainbow Stage), Les Feux Follets, Soul of the Island (Charlottetown Festival), Godspell, Hello Dolly!, Brantwood 1920-2020 (Theatre Sheridan), The Middle Eastern tour of Pinnochio (Creativiva), and several productions for Carnival Cruise Lines. Film credits include Tiny Pretty Things (Netflix), Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (CBS), The Silence (Netflix) A Christmas Carol (Family Channel/YTV) A Nutcracker Christmas (Hallmark). As a dance educator, Reece has taught at dozens of studios throughout the GTA as part of the Quick Ball Change Inc. roster specializing in jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary, choreography, and musical theatre. He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Musical Theatre from Sheridan Institute.


Shannon Ezer (Dance/Musical Theatre/Kinder Music)

Shannon Ezer proudly hails from Toronto and is a recent graduate from the St. Lawrence College Musical Theatre Performance Program. Upon graduation, she received the Rising Star award. Throughout the program and since graduation she has trained closely with, Janet Venn-Jackson, Chad McNamara, Kalie Hunter and Pill Nero. Shannon has been dancing since the age of three both recreationally and competitively.  Since graduation she has performed at Dundas Square’s Christmas show, as well as performing in a promotional video for Carnival Cruise lines.  Shannon has been working at the Dunblaine school for the past five years, directing and choreographing the schools musicals. She Is currently the school’s music teacher and loves working with students of all ages.  In addition to her pre-training Toronto credits, she has been cast in a range of roles and ages, from Chip in Beauty and the Beast, to a featured singer in an all-female pop revue, Donatella in the Wedding Singer and Audrey in Little Shop Of Horrors.  Shannon approaches her work with a positive, bubbly attitude and enjoys attacking growth opportunities with excitement. 


Bayley Wyatt (Dance/Acro/Acrobatic Arts)

Bayley Wyatt is a dancer, choreographer and teacher with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a specialized honours in dance degree from York University. Her focus is in performance and choreography. During her time at York she trained with Syreeta Hector, Patrick Parsons, Nicole Rose Bond, and Tracey Norman. Bayley is certified in Acrobatic Arts (contortion and tumbling), and Dance Educators of America (first year). Bayley has spent two years performing with the York Dance Ensemble, learning from Susan Lee, Yui Ugai and Deanne Kearney. In summer 2021, Bayley trained and performed under ProArteDanza’s summer training program where she had the opportunity to learn under Roberto Campanella, Robert Glumbek, Irina Lerman, and Sasha Ludavicius. From 2016-2017 Bayley has trained in circus arts, at Ecole Nationale De Cirque in Montreal where she majored in contortion and dance. She was previously hired as a performer for the 2015 PanAmerican Games opening ceremonies for Cirque Du Soleil. In 2018 one of her contemporary pieces was performed on stage in Walt Disney World, Florida. Bayley is looking forward to bringing forth her extensive experience and teaching at Beaches Dance & Music Studio.


 Morgan Gardner (Instrumental Music)

Morgan is a multi instrumentalist , producer, sound designer and educator with over a decade of experience as a professional musician. He has performed and recorded with artists including Peter Elkas, Luna Li, Gold Complex, The Hunnyrunners, Callan Furlong, Steve Gleason, as well as composing and designing sound for organizations such as Soulpepper Theatre, The National Theatre Centre, Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture(CCVT). As an educator, Morgan believes in customizing his teaching approach to the interests of his students, the importance of creativity and improvisation to student learning, and in having fun!


Myles Mowbray (Kinder & Junior Instrumental Music)

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Myles started taking piano lessons at the early age of 4 years. By the time he was 10 years old he was proficient in both piano and drums, and shortly there after added acustic and electric guitar. Over the years Myles has studied music with Iain Stewart(piano), Lennox Campbell-Berzins(piano, drums, guitar) and Andrew Dawson(drums, electric guitar). He was also part of the Neil McNeil school band and music department for 4 years, playing percusion and keyboard. Myles was hired as an assistant to Andrew Dawson in the Kinder Drumbeats class in 2018, and started teaching beginner drums, guitar and piano fulltime at BDM Studio in 2020. He is presently the drummer for a new up and coming Toronto band, KINNAIRD. In addition to teaching music lessons, Myles is a certified tennis coach with Tennis Canada(TPA) and has been coaching children of all ages at Kew Tennis club and Variety Village. He also has his black belt in karate through JKA(Japan Karate Association) and has assisted the children’s classes in the Dojo Toronto location. Myles looks forward to working with his students every week, and sharing his love of music at the Beaches Dance & Music Studio.


Kinder & Junior Dance Faculty
Lily-Fay                             Claudia Sadie


Kinder & Junior Dance Assistants
Vivienne Danica Jordyn