Meet the Team!

Jimmy “Chico” Vásquez

Style: Hip Hop

Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Jimmy Vásquez González started his dance career at the age of 7. Surrounded by the Latin culture of his native land, Jimmy A.K.A "Chico" started his journey with the dance styles of Salsa, Bachata and Merengue. At the age of 13, Jimmy moved to Canada, where he was introduced to the style of native Toronto Hip-Hop, also referred to as "Flavour". Today, Jimmy continues to pursue his undeniable love for dance, through teaching, performing and sharing his own creativity in hopes of inspiring others.

Zahra Badua 

Styles: Soca, Afrobeats, West African, Dancehall 

Zahra Badua is a multidisciplinary artist and devoted educator whose creative practice is deeply intertwined with the rhythms, stories, and spirit of the African continent and the Caribbean islands. With extensive training in various West African and Caribbean dance forms, Zahra has performed, taught, and choreographed for numerous dance companies, schools, and events across Canada and the United States. Her work is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the vibrant traditions and histories of African diasporic dances.

In addition to teaching and performing, Zahra applies her skills behind the scenes as a rehearsal director, stage and production manager, and currently serves as Production and Engagement Coordinator for dance Immersion—a Black-led non-profit dedicated to producing, promoting, and supporting dancers and dance forms of the African diaspora. 

Candace Kumar

Style: Philippine Folk Dance

Candace Kumar is a Filipino cultural dance educator from Mississauga, Ontario. She has researched and trained in dance styles from across the Philippines for over 20 years, performing in local festivals such as the Taste of Manila, Mabuhay Festival TO, and Philippine Festival Mississauga. By sharing cultural dance, Candace believes we can cultivate a deep understanding and compassion for the diverse communities that make up Canada. Candace was recently awarded the Mississauga Arts Council 2023 Established Artist Award and the City of Mississauga Civic Recognition Award for her achievements in Filipino arts. In her future work, Candace hopes to continue celebrating and sharing Filipino dance across Canada.

Shivani Joshi

Styles: Bharatanatyam, Garba, Indian Folk

Shivani has been trained as a Bharatnatyam dancer for over 20 years. She completed her Arangetram with Avni Vyas at Shivanjali Dance Academy and recently graduated with a Master's in Performance Studies from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her dissertation focussed on communities of women creating cultural spaces, colonialism in India, and how it affected Bharatnatyam as a whole. Shivani also advocates for the importance of folk arts, such as garba, and teaches various folk dances and prop work that is prominent in Indian culture.

Harry Zhang

Styles: Locking, Breaking, Hip Hop

Harry came to Canada in 2013 when he was 17. Being alone in a foreign country had many challenges but he soon found passion in street dance. He learnt the dance in a community centre in Hamilton and continued training and studying. Years later, he is now a versatile street dancer, specializing in Locking and Breaking, and has trained under many pioneers of the Canadian street dance pioneers such as Caroline “Lady C” Fraser, Glizzi DeMariano, Andrew “Pyro” Chung, to name a few. He loves to share his passion for street dance and the culture with children across the GTA, and has been teaching for many years with the hope of inspiring the next generation of street dancers

Agnes Chow

Style: Chinese Dance

Agnes found her passion in dance at the age of 4, training in Classical Chinese Dance, Chinese Ethnic Dance, and Ballet. She has taught kids of all ages and is always finding different ways to teach each learner best. Agnes has performed many events for large organizations during Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn festival, Canada day, etc. She hopes to spread the beautiful culture and history of Chinese dance to the younger generations. Agnes has completed the entire student examination syllabus for Chinese dance by the Beijing Dance Academy and is a Certified Beijing Dance Academy syllabus teacher. 

Anita Pandey

Style: Kathak

Anita Pandey is a Montreal-based Kathak performer and teacher.  She is also an Indian classical vocalist with training in classical piano and opera. Anita has advanced training in Kathak performance under her Guru Urmila Sharma in Allahabad, India.  She is currently expanding her repertoire and acquiring a new movement vocabulary by pursuing a mentorship under Toronto-based Kathak dancer, Tanveer Alam. Along with her vast performance experience both at the national and international level, Anita also runs her own dance and music school from her home studio. She strives to increase representation of Indian classical dance in the mainstream dance sector. 

Melissa Marie

Styles: Bollywood, Soca

Alongside her work as an HR Professional, Melissa has built a thriving career as an Indo-Caribbean artist and choreographer, blending cultural traditions with modern movement. Balancing two worlds, she brings discipline, creativity, and passion into every performance. With over 20 years of experience, Melissa is trained in various dance styles but specializes in Bollywood, Soca, and Fusion. Her work has graced the stages of numerous festivals and events, including Summer of Soca, Unveiled, Bollywood Monster MashUp, Youth Day, and MOVMNT Collective. Additionally, she is the founder and leader of an Indo-Caribbean dance team composed of talented individuals celebrating West Indian Heritage through the art of dance. Melissa is committed to creating opportunities for cultural dance styles to thrive on both local and global stages.

Manpreet Singh

Styles: Bollywood, Bhangra

Manpreet Singh Virdi is a creative and expressive Indian based dancer, choreographer and teacher. Manpreet started his dance training at a very young age in India, gaining experience in various dance styles. Pursuing his dream of training internationally, Manpreet moved to Toronto, Canada in 2021 and graduated from the Centennial College Dance Program in 2022. Currently, Manpreet dances for the Toronto Raptors as a member of the North Side Crew.
He aims to revolutionize the idea of dance fusions by infusing his Indian culture into western dance genres. He envisions spreading the joy and love of dance among the dance community in Toronto. 

Sanjana Tekaram

Style: Hip Hop

Sanjana Tekaram is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher who strives to impact the dance community positively. Her training in hip-hop, commercial, dancehall, ballet, jazz, funk styles, and contemporary contribute to her versatility. Her creativity and artistry transcend as she continues to innovate through the process of creating new works. She is a recent graduate of Centennial College's Dance Performance Program and current students of Ontario Tech University’s Educational Studies Program. With a passion for both dance and education, Sanjana strives to create a positive learning environment where students of diverse backgrounds can be positively challenged.

Alexandra Beltran Montoya

Styles: Salsa, Bachata, Latin Fusion

Alexandra was born and raised in Peru. She moved to Canada 6 years ago where she found a part of her culture and the feeling of home in Latin dance. She trained most of her childhood in Peruvian folklore. Her passion for dance lead her to train in Salsa, Bachata, Reggaeton and Latin dance. She recently won first place in the team competition at the International Canada Salsa Congress and is currently training in other styles in the Centennial Dance Performance program. Her first language is Spanish, but she also speaks some Portuguese and French.

Jasmine Huang

Style: Chinese Dance

Jasmine is a performer and choreographer, born and raised in Vaughan, Ontario. She was most recently a swing in the Toronto production of The Lion King. Jasmine graduated from the Earl Haig Secondary School's Dance Program and Broadway Dance Center's Professional Semester Program in New York City. She received the highest score in Canada for the Beijing Dance Academy's Chinese dance examinations in 2008 and 2009, and she proudly continues to practise and teach Chinese dance. Her artistic mission is to inspire the younger generation, especially those that look like her, to dream big. 

AJ Harper

Style: Popping

Raised in Scarborough, A.J. Harper has been dancing since the age of 10. He began competing in street dance battles such as Golden Groove in  2017, placing top 4 with his main style of dance called popping. After joining the dance collective Blvckout fam, A.J. has won 2 consecutive 2 v 2 Allstyles battles called the Jamdemic, placed 1st in an online American based dance contest, and won the Cypher on the Block popping competition in 2022. A.J. is also an experienced youth worker, using Popping to encourage movement for Teens and Adults with disabilities through programs with BAMD, Jake’s House and Shadow Lake Centre.

Omari “MarZ” Anderson

Styles: Hip Hop, Afrobeats, Dancehall, Soca

Omari Anderson more popularly known as ‘MarZ ZeroGravity’ started is career in 2011. He joined the commercial dance company ElleNYTT. MarZ swiftly made his presencfe known in the entertainment scene with his daring, fearless high flying acrobatics fused with his style of urban dance and classical training. He aims to imoortalize himself in the art of dance by creating/curating his own form of urban dance technique and creating and preserving the repertoire of movement of his country’s culture and people.

Nikisha Reid

Style: Step

Nikisha is a Canadian native, with roots in the Caribbean islands of Jamaica & St. Vincent. She has always loved rhythm and movement. Being introduced to the genre of Step in high school, she felt at home. Being able to dance to a beat of your own made it that much more rewarding. Most are taught to dance to music, but with Step you create the music with your body.  Nikisha has taught and led Step teams in high school, university and recently elementary schools. She enjoys showcasing her skills to allow others to find a home in dance the same way she did.

Kwasi Obeng Adjei

Style: Afrobeats

Kwasi Obeng-Adjei is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist, emerging choreographer, and dance educator based in Brampton Ontario. Acceptance into the regional arts program at St Roch Catholic Secondary School is where he began his journey and developed his foundation. He has trained with leading artistic directors and choreographers including Esie Mensah and Lua Shayenne which have led to performance opportunities with the Pan-American Games, Kira, The Path | La Voie, The Raptors half-time show, Zayo and more. Kwasi believes dance is a spiritual experience that involves connections with all that are among us.

Shriana Mangru

Style: Bollywood, Chutney, Soca

Shriana is pursuing her Master of Teaching in French and is a bilingual project coordinator, dancer, and emerging choreographer. She began dancing at the age of eight, inspired by her Indo-Caribbean heritage, and quickly developed a strong love for movement and cultural expression. She started as a self-taught dancer in Bollywood, Chutney, and Soca before joining a dance school at seventeen to advance her skills and techniques.

Since then, Shriana has led and performed at cultural and community events including the Diabetes Prevention and Wellness Fair, Unveiled, Bollywood Monster Mashup, the United Muslim Association’s Charity Events, and Caribana weekend celebrations. Her goal is to represent Indo-Caribbean culture while creating meaningful connections through dance.

Rajvi Dedhia

Style: Bollywood

Rajvi Dedhia is a dancer, teacher, choreographer, singer, and social media influencer. Originally from India, she moved to Toronto in 2021 to pursue a career in the performing arts. She has performed on numerous stage and TV shows and has over six years of teaching experience. Rajvi is trained in various styles, including Bollywood, Ballet, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Salsa, and more. She has also achieved excellence in RAD ballet and ISTD modern and jazz examinations. As a social media influencer, she shares her passion for dance online, offers Bollywood dance workshops and social media management services. 

Kofi Webbie

Styles: Afrobeats, Azonto, Amapiano, Dancehall, Ogba

Prince Blessing Kofi Nkrumah (aka Kofie Webbie) is a vibrant dance artist, choreographer, and teacher from Ghana, West Africa. Kofi’s dynamic movements reflect the continent’s rich cultural diversity. His goal is to bridge cultural gaps and promote cross-cultural understanding through the universal language of dance while inspiring a new generation of dance enthusiasts to embrace their African heritage. He serves as the president and instructor of the Afro Dance Club at at Seneca College. Through his leadership and instruction, Kofi continues to share his passion for African dance and culture with the world.

Gedana Mathirajan

Styles: Kuthu, Bollywood, Bharatanatyam

Gedana is a dancer, performer, and choreographer from Mississauga with 11 years of training in Kuthu, Bollywood, Bharatanatyam, and Hip Hop. Dance has always been her way of connecting cultures and building community. At Queen’s University, she choreographed a performance with fellow South Asians for the Vogue Charity Fashion Show, blending tradition with modern creativity. After seeing the crowd’s reaction to one of her Kuthu pieces, she knew this style needed to be shared more widely. The energy, hype, and unpredictability make it one of her favourite ways to move and connect with people.

Tyler Quincy Yan

Styles: Wh/aacking

Tyler Quincy Yan (he/him) is a 26-year-old dancer, choreographer, and educator based in Toronto! His training spans street styles of punking/whacking/waacking, hip-hop, and house, and choreography styles best labelled as commercial and jazz funk. Since moving to Toronto in 2021, Tyler has shared as an educator and organizer in the Whacking/Waacking community through hosting battles and workshops—teaching regularly at kids and all-ages studios in the GTA. He also maintains his craft by battling nationally and internationally, winning “Street Players” and “Fleur It!” waacking battles in Toronto, and placing in Supernature Montréal, Vancouver Street Dance Festival, and Red Bull DYS Canada.