Our Studio
We provide instruction in many dance styles, including Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary Hip Hop and Acro. We offer instruction for young dancers and pre-professional dancers. The studio stages recitals and productions for students, including an annual production of the Nutcracker.
Trio Danceworks is located at 4048 Carling Ave.
Meet the trio
Speciality Teachers
Our Studio Space
Our studio is just over 3000 sq ft, with three dance studio, a lobby, and a change room. Most classes are held in the largest studio (Studio A) or the medium studio (Studio B).
Mission Statement
Trio Danceworks is committed to the development of skilled, successful, and confident young dancers.
Faculty
Ellen Andrews, Director
Ellen Andrews A.R.A.D. A.T.C., Master Teacher and Dual Examiner for the Royal Academy of Dance for 33 years, was granted the Advanced Teacher's Certificate of the R.A.D in 1966. In 1969, she was elected to the Board of Children's Examiners and in 1977 was elected to the board of Major Examiners for the Royal Academy of Dance. Since that time she traveled extensively throughout the world conducting examinations, workshops and courses to both teachers and students alike.
As a dancer, Miss Andrews performed in Ballet and Contemporary Dance productions both as a soloist and as the partner of Norbert Vesak, the world renowned Choreographer. He received a Gold Medal in 1979 at the World Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria, for his most famous ballet Pas de Deux "Belong."
While still performing, Miss Andrews opened a Branch School of the Lynden Studio which later became Canadian Dance World where she taught for forty years. Miss Andrews began studying ballet and tap dancing in her home town of New Westminster, B.C. at the Lynden Studio of Dancing under the direction of Josephine Slater. She was also taught by Mara McBirney, the teacher sent from England to introduce and teach the Royal Academy Syllabus work to teachers in British Columbia. Miss Andrews' studies were enriched with Professional Workshops and Summer Programs with famous guest teachers such as Alexandra Danilova - Ballet, Ted Shawn - Modern Dance, Joy Camden - Character Dance and Shivaram - Kathakali East Indian Dance.
Many of Miss Andrews' students have gone on to dance professionally with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company, National Ballet of Canada, Alberta Ballet Company, Stuttgart Ballet Company, Dusseldorf Ballet Company and the New York City "Rockets". She has coached students who have received the coveted Solo Seal award, the highest level of achievement granted by the Royal Academy of Dance, as well, her students have also been successful at the prestigious International Ballet Competition, the Phyllis Bedells Bursary held in London, England. In North American competitions, her students have won over 500 trophies and awards for their outstanding performances. Her inspiration has led a great number of her students to become teachers of dance throughout Canada.
Miss Andrews was a full time faculty member with the Linda Jamieson School of Dance for over a decade, teaching Pre-Primary to Advanced classes, choreographing dances for competitions, assisting with the school's production of the full- length Ballet "Nutcracker". Miss Andrews has also directed, and choreographed the school's Spring Ballet Productions of "Giselle" and "Copellia".
Miss Andrews opened the Kanata Dance Academy in 2022 following the closure of the Linda Jamieson School of Dance to continue to provide a studio for the students and teachers of that school.
Faculty
Linda JamIESON, Head Teacher
Mrs. Jamieson has earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees: one in Psychology and English, the other in Theological Studies. She has completed Master degree courses in Educational Psychology and in Physical Education. She is a member of the Royal Academy of Dance, London England, and was granted their Teaching Certificate with Distinction. Her ballet training includes the teacher's course at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and R.A.D. Major syllabus work with Miss Ellen Andrews, A.R.A.D., Advanced Teacher and Examiner with the Royal Academy.
Her teacher, Gladys Forrester, a former Ballerina with Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company who later became a CBC Choreographer prepared Linda very well for a career in dance. From age ten to sixteen, Linda danced regularly on such television shows as "Time Of Your Life", "Razzle Dazzle". "The Billy O'Connor Show" and "Juliette". She has also performed in Touring companies across Canada and has danced in various productions at the Royal Alexandra Theatre and the O'Keefe Centre in Toronto.
Linda began dancing at the age of 5 after immigrating from Scotland. She quickly became accomplished in ballet, jazz, tap, musical theatre and of course, Highland Dancing. By age 17 she had won 12 Championships including Ontario 4 times, Canadian 4 times, The U.S. Open, Scottish Championship and The British Open before winning gold at the World Championships in Scotland.
Her extensive Ballet, Jazz, Tap and Musical Theatre training includes 12 years of Professional training with Broadway Choreographers, Karin Baker of "42nd Street", Lisa Gennaro-Evans, "A Little Night Music", Peter Gennaro "West Side Story", and Chris Chadman, "Guys & Dolls". This instruction from her friends and mentors on Broadway led Mrs. Jamieson to choreograph 30 musicals for Earl of March Secondary School in Kanata.
As a dance educator with the Ottawa Carleton District School Board, Linda petitioned the Ministry of Education in Ontario and wrote Curriculum Guidelines every year for 20 years until the Ministry finally recognized dance as a legitimate subject in Ontario schools. She then developed the Dance Curriculum for Kindergarten to Grade 12 and was thrilled to be invited to teach the Summer Course in Dance for Elementary and High School at the Faculty of Education, Queens University in Kingston.
Faculty
Alexa Baird, Director
Alexa is a Royal Academy of Dance certified Ballet Teacher and a French Immersion Elemetary School teacher with the Upper Canada District School Board. A graduate of the University of Ottawa Teacher's College specializing in "French as a Second Language for Elementary School Students", Alexa also completed her undergraduate degree in Honours Psychology at Carleton University specializing in Childhood Development.
Alexa has taught young dancers and Ballet, Jazz, and Tap Dance for over a decade at the Linda Jamieson School of Dance.
Alexa is a former student of the Linda Jamieson School of Dance and began her studies at 6 years of age and graduated in June 2009. She studied Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Musical Theatre and Contemporary; has successfully completed all Royal Academy of Dance Ballet examination Grades from Primary to Advanced 1. She has performed various roles in Linda Jamieson's Annual Productions of the Nutcracker as well as their Full Ballet Productions of Coppelia and Giselle. In addition, Alexa was a valued member of the competition team performing both solos and group numbers winning many Ultimate Gold Awards. Her training in the Linda Jamieson School of Dance Pre-Professional Program also enabled her to perform in 4 Broadway Musicals at the Earl of March Secondary School.
Faculty
Caleigh Garbutt, Director
Caleigh began dance at the age of 3 and fell in love with the art of dance. She took classes in a variety of styles including Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary and Musical theatre. She completed all R.A.D examinations from Primary and Advanced 2. She also preformed yearly in the winter productions of the Nutcracker where she played roles such as fritz, sugar plum and the snow queen; as-well was a part of many spring ballet productions such as Swan Lake, Giselle and the Bayadere. Caleigh was also privileged to be awarded a Youth of America Grand Prix and travelled to many cities to compete exerts from ballet such as Paquita and Harlequinade. Caleigh competed at a variety of competitions and excelled with awards for solos, duo/trios and groups! She also perform at many events or the years such as the Canada Day in Kanata Celebration, Ottawa based charity performance “Dancers Give Back” and The NHL all star Convention.
Caleigh’s teaching experience began when she was 9 helping the baby classes at her studio. While dancing she assisted many young dancer programs and would often be seen around the studio helping where see could. Her love of children also comes from her home where she grew up surrounded by home daycare. Caleigh has since gone on to Algonquin to pursue Nursing and has work through her R.A.D teacher training to better equip herself in teaching. Caleigh strives to create a classroom that is both enriched with knowledge and a safe space for all dancers to be themselves and develop their love for dance just like she did.
Faculty
Emma Peters, Director
Emma started dancing at the age of two at the Linda Jamieson School of Dance where she successfully completed her ballet examinations from Primary to Advanced 2. She grew up studying all styles, including Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Lyrical and Musical Theatre. Emma participated in many ballet productions through the Linda Jamieson School of Dance such as the Bayadere, Coppelia and the Nutcracker where through the years played the roles of Clara, Sugar Plum and Snow Queen. She was also awarded a scholarship to Youth of America where she performed different variations from various ballets in venues across the United States and Canada. Emma has won many awards for solos, duo/trios, small groups and group numbers. In 2015 and 2016 she won Regional Teen Dancer of the Year at the American Dance Awards for her tap and contemporary numbers.
Since graduating from the Linda Jamieson School of Dance Emma has gone on to join the Ottawa Redblacks cheer and dance team for her fourth season. Emma has also taught in all styles such as Ballet, Jazz, Tap, and Contemporary as well as choreographing solos, duo/trios and groups that won various overall awards. Emma is entering her fourth year of university at the University of Ottawa where will be completing her undergraduate degree in Psychology with a minor in Linguistics. She one day hopes while teaching dance to also become an elementary school teacher.
Faculty
Alicia Iqbal, Hip Hop Teacher
Faculty
Kailey Sanford, Ballet Teacher
Faculty
Kaitlyn Jorssen, Acro Teacher
Kaitlyn’s dance career began at the age of 5 when she started taking recreational jazz
classes in the Ottawa Valley. From there she began training and competing in a variety of dance
styles including Jazz, Lyrical, Musical Theatre, Acrobatics, and Hip Hop. Kaitlyn also studied
Jazz and Ballet with the Canadian Dance Teacher’ Association, where she completed a variety
of graded exams. After many years of assistant teaching, Kaitlyn began teaching recreational
classes at the age of 15. From there she grew to love teaching, choreographing, and working
with children. She went on to graduate from the Early Childhood Education program at
Algonquin College in 2021 and is currently continuing her education in hopes of receiving her
Bachelor of Education. With a passion for acrobatic dance, Kaitlyn prioritizes the health and
safety of her students by ensuring they understand basic anatomy and the importance of proper
alignment and execution. She values meeting each dancer at their unique level and setting
realistic goals to accomplish together. Since 2020, Kaitlyn has been working with Acrobatic Arts
and is a Certified Module 1 teacher. She looks forward to continuing with their program and
certifications in the near future. Kaitlyn is excited to work with Trio Danceworks this upcoming
season! She can’t wait to help the dancers grow as they develop their acrobatic skills in a
positive and welcoming environment.
Mission Statement
Trio Danceworks is committed to the development of skilled, successful, and confident young dancers.
We endeavour:
- To encourage and develop the focus, concentration, self-discipline and work ethic necessary for students to achieve a standard of excellence, while pursuing their goals and fulfilling their dreams.
- To provide a safe and caring environment where happy, well adjusted students can develop their individuality, and healthy relationships with their teachers and peers.
- To support their need for respect and self confidence.
- To provide the highest quality of training by certified and experienced teachers who demonstrate the skills and knowledge necessary to have developed some of the greatest dancers of this generation.
- To promote fitness, health and well being.
