Our Team
Our Dance Instructors

Celina has over 24 years of experience as a dancer with training in all genres including jazz, ballet, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary, modern, musical theatre and tap. She graduated from Langley Fine Arts School as a dance major, 2011 and completed the Kill The Lights Company Pre-Professional training program. Celina provides a vast knowledge of different techniques and skill sets and is well equipped to provide high quality training to her students in many different genres of dance. You can also catch Celina as a principal dancer in the film Puppystar Christmas that was released on Netflix.

Kara began dancing at age 4 and began teaching at The Arts Connection in 2008. She has trained in ballet, jazz, tap, musical theatre, lyrical, and modern. Kara participated in the transfer program between York University and Canada’s National Ballet School’s Teacher Training Program where she obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree and her NBS TTP Diploma and Royal Academy of Dance Registered Teacher qualifications. Kara has invested over a decade into building the dance program into what it is today and continues to love watching students grow and develop year after year. As a teacher, she is firm, fair, fun. Kara believes that a strong foundation of the basics allows for creativity and freedom in each student’s dance journey. Her goal is to work to connect with each student and help them see their own potential and feel joy in each dance class knowing that working hard can be fun!

Sabra has worked for 13 years as a professional dancer and choreographer with credits including Pacific National Exhibition, Simon Fraser University, Fuze Entertainment, Disney, and many more. She was trained at Lux and follow the Company Pre-Professional Training Program and Professional Company Program. It is important to Sabra to foster a positive learning environment for all types of students and believes that dance can and should be accessible to everyone. Sabra strives for excellence in dance but, more importantly, values training that is safe and is rooted in an understanding of anatomy. She wants to help young artists to cultivate a relationship with dance that is sustainable.

Accolades and awards: 

• • Langley Fine Arts School Dance Department Valedictorian, 
  • Great Canadian Dance Challenge Most Innovative Choreography, 
  • Star Talent Choreography Award, 
  • Peak Invitational Choreography Award

Hello! My name is Miss Shanna. I started dancing when I was 3 years old and grew up competing locally in BC and internationally in many styles including ballet, contemporary, jazz, lyrical and tap, earning multiple awards and scholarships. I am an Alixa Flexibility certified teacher and hold a certification in Progressing Ballet Technique. I gained teaching experience as a student teacher and have now been teaching dance on my own for 3 years. I have had the privilege of training under many incredible teachers and mentors and look forward to sharing my knowledge with the students at The Arts Conservatory!

Hi dance families! My name is Miss Cate and I began dance and piano studies at the school when I was three years old and Miss Kara was my first dance teacher. I have been a teaching assistant for many years and have learned so many things from working with both Miss Kara and Miss Vanessa over the years. Teaching at the Arts Conservatory feels a bit like coming home. I will be teaching on Saturday mornings and plan to help make the coming year a fun and memorable one!

Kendra started her journey with The Arts Conservatory at the age of 3. She has taken classes in all dance genres, while also learning under Miss Kara as a teaching assistant. Kendra has attended various dance conventions as well, such as Triple Threat, 5678 Showtime, and NUVO. She also proudly completed her Royal Academy of Dance Advance 1 Ballet Exam. Kendra holds a Bachelor’s of Music with a Major in Opera from The University of British Columbia. In addition to teaching dance, she also instructs voice lessons at our Music School. Kendra believes in a positive learning environment where her students can benefit and improve their dance techniques.

Nicholas Gede-Lange: A graduate of Canada’s National Ballet School, Nicholas is proud to have performed on stages locally, across Canada and around the world. From Ballet and Musical Theatre, to Disney and beyond, Nicholas is well-versed in multiple styles of the performing arts. With over a decade of teaching experience in the lower mainland, Nicholas loves sharing his expertise and passion for dance with the younger generations.

Rina was born in Kagawa, Japan and began ballet at the age of two, training under Mayo Ikeda at Mayo Ballet School. She became a finalist in both the NBA National Ballet Competition and the Shikoku Ballet Competition, and also pursued rhythmic gymnastics for six years, winning first place in the team category at the Kagawa Prefectural High School Newcomers Competition.

In 2015, she won a prize in the high school division of the NAMUE Classical Ballet Competition in Nagoya and was accepted into the summer program at the Royal Ballet School of Antwerp in Belgium. That same year, she studied at the Ballet Course of Showa University of Music Junior College and at Yamaji Rumiko Ballet Studio, graduating in 2017.
In 2016, she received the Excellence Award in the senior division of the Okayama National Ballet Competition and earned the right to participate in the Munich International Summer Program.

In 2017, she attended the Melbourne City Ballet Winter Intensive in Australia and was offered a position as a Finishing Artist through the company audition.
From 2017 to 2021, Rina taught children and youth at Mayo Ballet School. She also holds a BESJ Mat Pilates Instructor certification and currently teaches ballet and Pilates in Vancouver, Canada.

Zorina began her ballet training under the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus, attaining the Advanced 2 qualification, and has continued to refine her artistry in recent years through the Vaganova method. Her dedication to professional growth has also led her to study progressive ballet techniques, enabling her to provide students with comprehensive technical development.

As a performer, she has appeared in numerous classical productions, including Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Coppélia, Swan Lake, and Giselle. In 2024, she was awarded the Gold Medal at the Dream Cup Solo Competition.

With over a decade of teaching experience, Zorina has prepared students for both examinations and competitions, with many achieving outstanding results. Her students have earned Gold Medals at the Challenge Cup and Korea Grand Prix, and attained top rankings at the Taiwan Grand Prix.

Passionate about choreography, she has received multiple accolades for her creative work, including the Best Choreographer Award at the Hong Kong Asia Dance Solo Competition in 2014 and the Distinctive Teacher Award at the Hong Kong Challenge Cup Dance Competition in 2018.