Michelle Cipolla Michelle began dancing at the age of 7 and has had a passion for the arts ever since. She is trained in multiple disciplines including jazz, tap, ballet, acro, modern, contemporary, musical theatre and hip-hop. She has danced at a competitive level throughout her career winning various awards and scholarships as a soloist and group dancer. She attended and graduated from Unionville High School’s Arts York program where she furthered her knowledge of ballet and modern dance. While completing her degree at the University of Western Ontario, Michelle was a member of the HEAT dance team performing contemporary, jazz and hip-hop routines in various shows and competing at university wide competitions. She has been teaching dance for the past 8 years and has completed her Canadian Dance Teachers Association exams with honors. Currently, Michelle is studying Interior Design at the International Academy of Design further pursuing her creative talents. She is an energetic and enthusiastic teacher who has a passion for the arts and strives to pass on this love of dance to each and every student. Johanna Fiorini Johanna is “energized” and thrilled to be apart of another amazing season at Energy Dance Arts. She began dancing at the young age of three and has been apart of the dance community for over 20 years. She studied at Cardinal Carter Academy of the Arts and continued her dance education throughout university where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts at York University. She is now a certified teacher with the York Catholic District School Board where her focus is on dance and physical education. Johanna has worked in dance choreography and performance in Australia and has performed with several companies in Toronto. She has appeared on numerous television and movie productions, and was a Toronto Rock Lacrosse dance team member for four consecutive seasons. Currently, Johanna is the director of Bravo Broadway, where she directs many theatre productions such as ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘Annie’ at the Living Art Centre in Mississauga. Johanna is overjoyed to be a part of the EDA team once again and is looking forward to the year ahead! Danielle Francolla Found her love of dance at the age of three and has been dancing ever since. You could barely get her off the stage at competition with her many solo’s, duet’s, trio’s and group performances. She explored many dance styles and is trained in ballet, jazz, tap, modern, lyrical, and hip hop. Danielle enjoys sharing her love of dance with others as much as she loves dancing. She has been teaching children of all ages and abilities helping them to find the passion in dance just like Danielle has found. Danielle is currently pursuing her major in dance at York University, and is also still performing with a local entertainment company called the “Dance Company”. Courtney Gayne Courtney is a graduate of Unionville High School’s Arts York Dance Program, where she majored in Classical Ballet and Modern. She was a recipient of both the Arts York Dance Scholarship, and the Unionville Dance Award in her graduating year. She has trained in both Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) and Russian Vaganova ballet. She has completed vocational examinations in both – including Elementary RAD and Pre-Professional in Vaganova. She also received the Annual Dance Bursary Scholarship from DUCA Financial Services. Courtney has trained competitively in Ballet, Acro, Tap, Pointe, Hip Hop, Modern, Lyrical, Jazz and Contemporary. She has attended various workshops, conventions and dance intensives including Dance Masters of America Chapter #38. She has performed and taught for various elementary schools across Toronto and York Region, and has danced in performances for CHIN Radio, and The Toronto Hair and Makeup Awards at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Courtney has taught and choreographed both for dance studios and for the town of Markham, Ontario. Courtney is currently pursuing an Honours degree in Kinesiology. Beginning at York University, she finished in the top 15% of her class. She continues her studies at the University of Western Ontario, and will remain teaching for Energy Dance Arts. She had an incredible year teaching at the studio, and is excited to remain a faculty member across any distance. Stephanie Iaconetti Stephanie Iaconetti began dancing at the age of the age of 5, and after two years of dancing recreationally, she joined the competitive team at her studio. Travelling across Ontario, Stephanie was entered in many competitions with solos, duets, and group numbers, leading her to attain many special awards and overalls. In 2004, she was honoured to be the first recipient to receive the DUCA Financial Dance Bursary from her studio, and in 2006 won the Strive Dance Challenge Scholarship Award for her Jazz solo. Stephanie has trained in many styles of dance including Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Acro, Pointe, Lyrical, Hip Hop and Modern. She is a graduate of the St. Elizabeth Regional Arts Dance Progam. She has also successfully completed her Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) exams from Grades 2 through 8, as well as her Intermediate and Elementary Foundations. Stephanie’s love for dance and strong commitment are evident to all, and she is excited to share her passion of dance with students of all ages. She is thrilled to join everyone at Energy Dance Arts, and is looking forward to a fun and successful year with the studio! Danielle Shephard Danielle started dancing at the age of four, beginning with one ballet class a week. From that, Danielle's repertoire grew to include many other disciplines including acro, tap, jazz, musical theatre, contemporary and modern. She attended Unionville High School for the Arts York Dance program where she took modern and ballet classes everyday, in addition to dancing every evening and on weekends. From the age of seven, Danielle participated in dance competitions across Ontario. After graduating high school, Danielle went on to The University of Western Ontario to complete an Honors Bachelor of Health Science, majoring in Health Science and Psychology. Danielle is excited to be a part of the Energy Dance Arts Inc.family!