Our Faculty

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VICTORIA BALDESARRA

Victoria Baldesarra began dancing at the age of 3 years old and began competitive dance at the age of 6. Victoria trained at The Canadian dance unit in Bolton, Ontario for over 11 years.

Victoria has been very involved in the dance workshop circuit training and dancing at Jump, Nuvo, West Coast Dance Explosion, NYCDA, Ash, The Pulse, Coastal Dance Rage, The Dance Awards, VIP Dance Events and has been awarded many scholarships and titles. Victoria currently works for PureDance, RawMotion, On The Floor and VIP Dance Events workshops. She was also a member of Team Canada’s National dance Team who won a Bronze medal in Germany in 2010.

Victoria is best known for her lead role as Michelle in the Family Channel hit series The Next Step where she made her acting debut at the age of 13 years old. Victoria has toured with The Next Step to many different countries around the world performing in The Next Step Live On Stage tour and The Next Step Wild Rhythm International tour. Victoria also stars in Family Channel hit new TV Show, Lost & Found Music Studios, where she sings and acts!

She recently just signed with Primary Wave Entertainment in Los Angeles and is pursuing a professional career in acting and dancing.

JORDAN CLARK

Jordan Clark found her passion in dance at the young age of 5 and has been in love with it ever since. Training most of her childhood at the award-winning studio; Vlad’s Dance Company she has since perfected her craft in styles such as jazz, tap, acro, hip-hop, ballet, contemporary and lyrical.

Before graduating high-school, Jordan was exposed to the professional world of dance and began working as a dancer on films such as Camp Rock 2, Harriet The Spy, and Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure. Shortly thereafter Jordan Won So You Think You Can Dance Canada 2011 and appeared in her first major acting role as Giselle in hit TV-series The Next Step, which has since gone on to produce 7 successful seasons. Her career as an actor continued to grow with roles on shows such as Netflix series Lost & Found Music Studios, CBBC series My Perfect Landing, and guest star roles on shows like Private Eyes starring Jason Preistley.

In addition to her flourishing career as an actor, Jordan has been lucky enough to share her gift of dance through mentorship and choreography around the world. As a result of The Next Step’s international success, Jordan went on to co-creative direct & choreograph 3 world tours hitting several cities in Canada, Europe, U.K, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Portugal, New Zealand, and Australia. She choreographed for Briar Nolet on World Of Dance, as well as worked on several critically acclaimed TV projects as a choreographer.

Jordan continues to share her love of the craft through teaching privately to young dancers around the world.

BRENNAN CLOST

Brennan Clost has been training for 10 years in diverse styles of dance including jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop, contemporary, and acro. He has trained at various dance studios across Southern Ontario, as well as at the National Ballet School of Canada.

Brennan was Mr. Onstage New York in 2006, Mr. Showbiz in 2008, and a Silver Medalist at the World Showdance Championships in Riesa, Germany in 2008. He has performed in the Toronto Children’s Festival, YTV’s film King of the Camp, at the Annual Mary Kay Cosmetics Gala, TSN Sports Celebrity Gala, on Canada’s got Talent, and on Degrassi: The Next Generation. Brennan has recently joined the FRESH Dance Intensive faculty as a teacher and choreographer.

Currently training at Joanne Chapman’s School of Dance, Brennan will be continuing his dance career at The Juilliard School in New York City this fall. He will spend the summer filming a new television show as a series lead. Brennan is inspired to expand and establish a career that will broaden his talents not only in the dance world but also in acting and singing.

NATHAN ESPEJO

Nathan is a professional dancer from Brampton Ontario Canada. First inspired to dance by Michael Jackson, he began training at Joanne Chapman School of Dance at the tender age of 7. Nathan studied in many disciplines of dance such as jazz, tap, acrobatics, ballet, contemporary, lyrical, salsa, and hip-hop. However, his first love and passion is for hip-hop.

Nathan has been privileged with opportunities to work on stage,
television, film, music videos, commercials as well as consumer product goods. He has performed in the opening number choreographed by Misha Gabriel & Nick Bass for the first ever Choreographer’s Emmy Nominee Reception in Los Angeles. Some of his other credits include Canadian based television shows such as YTV’s The Next Star and Family Channel’s The Next Step. You can see Nathan in Spin Master’s
Bella Dancerella – Disney’s High School Musical 1 and 2 dance instructional DVD’s/toys. In addition, he has appeared in the viral YouTube video called #TheGodProject, which has over 1 million views online. More recently, Nathan can be seen in a virtual reality commercial for Samsung.

Nathan is also an accomplished instructor and choreographer. He currently teaches at Independence Dance Company in L.A and is a guest teacher/choreographer for many different dance studios in Canada such as Joanne Chapman School of Dance, Canadian Dance Unit, The Underground Dance Centre plus more. Nathan’s choreography credits include being an assistant choreographer to Amy Wright and guest choreographer on The Next Step Live On Stage Tour/The Next Step Live: The Movie and The Next Step Seasons 4 & 5. He also choreographed for The Next Step Dance Battles game/app for IOS and Android. Moreover, he recently choreographed for an upcoming animated movie titled Ice Dragon produced by Tricord Media. Some of his other choreography credits include a national commercial for Yes TV Canada and pieces for The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards & Gala and the Punjabi International Film Academy Awards, where he collaborated with renowned Bollywood choreographer Divya Kumar for both projects.

JENNIE PAPPAS

Jennie began dancing at the age of two taking a mom and daughter ballet class! She trained intensively in Russian Classical ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, acro, contemporary, lyrical, modern and partnering. As a teen, she worked behind the scenes at “So You Think You Can Dance Canada” (CTV) assisting Stacey Tookey and Mia Michaels. She was thrilled to have travelled to Nashville, Tennessee to choreograph and star in the music video for Taylor Mathews’ hit song “Heart On Fire”. In 2015, Jennie danced in the Pan Am Games Closing Ceremonies and Para Pan Am Games Opening Ceremonies under the direction of Paul Becker and Jeff Dimitriou.

Jennie is most known for her role as “Chloe” on Family Channel’s hit series “The Next Step” which airs worldwide in several countries including the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Australia, and the United States. As part of “The Next Step” cast, Jennie toured across Canada performing in a live, interactive show called “The Next Step Live On Stage” which was then turned into a documentary-style movie and played in theatres across the country. Most recently, Jennie choreographed and starred in an online video collaboration with Warner Music Canada for Bebe Rexha’s new song “I’m A Mess”. Currently working as both an adjudicator and instructor, Jennie loves being able to share her love and passion for dancing. She is actively pursuing her career as a dance teacher, winning several awards for top choreography.

BRITTANY RAYMOND

Brittany has been a competitive dancer since the age of 6, with RAD Advanced 1 Certification and training in all styles including ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical, modern and musical theatre. Currently, she is a member of the Advanced Company Team at Joanne Chapman’s School of Dance and enjoys her co-teaching role at the studio.

Brittany’s love for dance has taken her all across North America to numerous competitions and further nurtures her passion by working with various choreographers, such as Travis Wall, Kenny Wormald, Misha Gabriel, Nick Lazzarini, Nico Archambault, Amy Gardner and Eryn Waltman. A major highlight in her young dance career has been working with Mandy Moore and Stacey Tookey, in both group and solo performances. As well, she has performed in Magic Kingdom at Disney World Florida, and in 2008 was accepted into the Young Apprentice Program at Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre, directed by Deborah Lundmark and Rebecca Mendoza

Brittany is thrilled to be spending her summer playing a lead role in a new television series; The Next Step, and has set her goal of becoming an inspiring dancer and actress.

BREE WASYLENKO

Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Bree started training as a dancer at the age of 3. Years of competitive dancing led her to move to Toronto after high school to pursue a career as a professional dancer. She experienced immense success, performing in a multitude of live shows as well as numerous films and television shows. In 2010, Bree was selected as one of the Top 20 in Season 3 of So You Think You Can Dance Canada.

Eventually Bree transitioned into choreography, working with artists such as Carly Rae Jepsen, Sam Smith, Serena Ryder, Shad, and many more. She has also choreographed for brands such as Calvin Klein, Telus, CIBC, Pepperidge Farms, and the Canadian Country Music Awards, on top of co-creating, co-choreographing and co-directing the short film “Ruin". As well, Bree is the Director of Pure Dance Convention, which travels across Canada hosting dance conventions every fall.

All of Bree's experiences in front of and behind the camera fuelled her passion for this industry, and she began exploring the world of acting. Very quickly after, her two worlds collided and she booked her first acting role as "Kate", a lead in Family Channel's hit TV show "The Next Step". Since then she has had roles on “Star Trek”, "Reign", "Murdoch Mysteries", "The Beaverton", “Alive”, short film “Alone” and feature film "Kin". Bree is looking forward to continued growth and success in this industry, and excited for the next project!