Our Faculty

Barb Stokes

Barb started her teaching career in 1978 through the Victoria school district. She continued to volunteer at a number of schools throughout the years where her students won top awards and were selected to perform in the Honors Performances. She has directed several productions including “Fievel, Lost In America”, “The Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast”. She has choreographed for musicals such as “Oliver” and “The Wizard Of Oz”. Over the years, Barb studied Jazz, Tap and Ballet. As well as director and an instructor at Dance Unlimited, Barb works as a Special Student Assistant for the Victoria school district. Her amazing ability to work with and care for children can be seen through her dedication and respect she gives to the students of Dance Unlimited. As director, Barb oversees the development of Dance Unlimited’s pre-school and primary dancers.

Lindsay Tusche

Lindsay along with Barb Stokes opened Dance Unlimited in 1993 with the intent to offer a studio where students could build a passion for dance by learning in a positive and enjoyable environment. Starting at the age of 3, Lindsay trained with those such as Bebe Eversfield, Maureen Eastick, Sherry Black and Sylvia Hosie. She studied Musical Theatre, Tap, Jazz, Voice and R.A.D. Ballet, completing several exams with outstanding results. In addition to her dance training, Lindsay figure skated and completed her B.C.R.P.A. Fitness course. She continues to train by attending conventions here in Canada and in the US. She has performed with the UVIC Air Canada Cheerleaders, at the David Foster Celebrity Baseball game, Expo ’86 World Fair and with the children’s singer Bob Schneider. She performed in the productions of “Grease’” and “Something in the Air” and choreographed for  “Fievel, Lost in America”, “The Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast”. She has been teaching and inspiring dancers in Victoria since 1989 for those such as the Greater Victoria School District, Island Catholic Schools, Saanich and Juan de Fuca Parks & Recreation and the Jazzercise Fitness Centre. Lindsay directs the studios 7 Performing Companies and has travelled with them to attend conventions and master classes and to perform in places such as Disneyland, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix and Edmonton.

Deborah James R.A.D.

Deborah is a locally trained dancer who has studied dance for over 35 years and has been teaching Ballet, Tap and Musical Theatre in Victoria for over 25 years. She has trained in Ballet, Jazz and Tap and has completed her Royal Academy of Dance examinations with high success.  Deborah went on to achieve her R.A.D. Teacher status and presently her students have achieved outstanding marks in their examinations and assessments. Deborah is a passionate teacher who continues to encourage, motivate and inspire her students to achieve their personal best. She applies this philosophy for herself as well, consisitently attending R.A.D. seminars and courses to keep herself updated and in the know. Deborah is also an accredited Montessori School educator (IAPM) and applies this training into her dance classes. Dance Unlimited is excited to have Deborah partnering in the Ballet program and sharing her passion with her students.

Erica Beveridge

Erica started dancing at the young age of 2, receiving her training in Victoria and Parksville and she has been sharing her love for dance with her students for over 10 years. She began her training in Tap and Jazz and quickly added Ballet, Musical Theatre, Hip Hop & Lyrical to her repertoire. Her teaching experience includes dance studios, Seaparc, Elementary and Secondary schools and recreation centres. She has choreographed, and performed in Grease, NeverNeverland & Little Shop Of Horrors. She has attended conventions and competitions across Canada and the United States and has performed both locally and internationally. Erica was selected as a Provincial Representative at the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival and she has won many awards and scholarships. She continues to update her training by attending in and out of town conventions and classes in Vancouver. Erica’s classes are fun, challenging and technical and her students embrace her positive energy.

Candace Belisle

Candace began dancing at the age of 4 and quickly realized that dance was her passion. Over the years, she has trained in Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Tap and R.A.D. Ballet, completing several R.A.D. exams with outstanding marks. Her training and performing has taken her across Canada and the United States to places including Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, California and Mexico and she continues to expand her training by attending workshops and conventions. Candace’s approach to learning through teaching is both professional and refreshing. She displays her wonderful and unique qualities in her high level of patience while teaching both beginner and advanced students. She enters every class with the utmost respect for every child and with the positive approach that she will bring out the best that each child has to offer. By sharing her magic with children at an early age, she encourages them to get involved in a social environment that teaches them teamwork, responsibility and most importantly, self respect.

Rachel Dewey

Rachel Dewey was born and raised in Victoria, BC. She began honing her dance skills at age three, and was performing in dance and stage productions by age four. She has performed and competed at many national and international festivals, recitals, and benefits, where she received numerous awards and bursaries. She was chosen to perform onstage with TAP DOGS in an evening of dance to benefit AIDS Vancouver Island. She also performed with Pacific Opera Victoria for two seasons. On four separate occasions she was selected to represent Victoria in the stage category at the provincial level. Her passion, talent, and drive also earned her scholarships to world-renowned dance schools. Both as a teacher and dancer she has worked with such notable dancers/ choreographers as Rex Harrington, Paul Becker, Mark Goodman, Crystal Pite, Tasha Lawson, Jeff Hyslop, Karen Kain, and Gregory Hines. Miss Dewey has over twenty years experience in dance and performing arts. While currently working as an award-winning choreographer, instructor, and competitive judge, she is still highly regarded as a performer. Her extensive body of work includes television, film, and live stage. In addition to performing, choreographing, and adjudicating, Rachel teaches tap, jazz, and ballet on Vancouver Island. Through teaching and creating dynamic choreography, she is able to keep her love of dance alive.

Kelly Hobson

At the young age of three, Kelly started her training in Vancouver B.C.. While completing her R.A.D. exams through to Advanced, she was also privileged to receive training from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada and the Banff Centre for Performing Arts. Her post-graduation training took place at Main Dance Projects Society where she fell in love with the art of modern dance. There she studied many forms of modern dance such as Graham, Labon Notation, Contact Improvisation and Bhuto. She was honoured to be able to work with many artists such as Helen Walkley, Margie Gillis, Barbara Bourget and Sylvain Brochu while performing around the City of Vancouver. During this time she also sought training at Toronto Dance Theatre where she had the opportunity to work with great artists such as David Earl and Christopher House. Since then Kelly has had the priviledge of teaching, dancing and choreographing throughout Vancouver and Vancouver Island.

Jess Robson

 At 2 ½ , Jess’s passion for dance began in Calgary, AB. She trained with the Dance Factory for 18 years, and in that time conquered styles such as Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Musical Theatre, and eventually Hip Hop, which quickly became her forte and true love. Throughout her years with the Dance Factory, Jess participated in the competitive program, attending many festivals in and around Calgary and all over southern Alberta. She also enrolled in many conventions and workshops to continually learn and grow in all disciplines. Jess was also a member of the Dance Factory Student Teacher Education Program, which ignited a interest for teaching and running the classroom. Professionally, Jess was in a Hip Hop show, "Takin’ Over", at the Calgary Stampede in 2007, and has also been employed by studios in Calgary for hip hop choreography for their competitive programs. Since moving to Victoria, Jess managed to stay involved in the dance community through dancing with and choreographing for the UVic Dance Company, and now with Dance Unlimited. Jess is so happy to have the opportunity to share her love of dance with Dance Unlimited.

 Rea Narciso

Rea has lived in Victoria, B.C. all her life and has been singing and performing since she was 4 years old in a youth Pop and R&B singing and performing group called “The Voice Club.” She attended and graduated from St. Andrew’s Regional High School where she took part in her school choir for several years and traveled to Edmonton to participate in choral festivals. She also lent her talents in musical numbers that included both dancing and singing in her school’s variety show, “Diamonds in the Rough.”
Rea started dancing at a fairly young age and dance, shortly after, became a passion of hers. She began training in Jazz and RAD Open Ballet, then added Hip Hop, Lyrical, Modern, and R.A.D. Ballet. Throughout her years of dancing, her passion and love for dance grew rapidly. Rea then began choreographing for school shows, such as the variety show, “Diamonds in the Rough” and also for several dance recitals. She has performed at Folkfest, music festivals, for the Victoria School tours where she promotes arts through the schools and on the Mainstage in Disneyland.  Her teaching experience stems from assisting to teach younger children in Jazz and Hip Hop. Rea is so happy and excited that she has been given the privilege to share her passion of dance and music with the students of Dance Unlimited.

Ryan Narciso

Ryan has been surrounded by music all his life. He learned to sing at a very young age and has never stopped honing his craft ever since. Ryan attended St. Andrew’s Regional High School where he was in the cast of several musical productions, such as “Damn Yankees” and “The Sound of Music”. He was also involved with the musical numbers in the school’s variety show, “Diamonds in the Rough”. He received awards for music performance and achieved top student honours in choir for multiple years at SARHS. Ryan is currently promoting his music by building an online following and performing and various venues in and out of Victoria. He is enrolled in the Victoria Conservatory of Music and is working towards getting his Diploma of Music. Ryan is privileged to contribute to the students' performance growth at Dance Unlimited.

 

 

 

"When I came to Dance Unlimited I felt very welcome and at home. I have been dancing for many years and by far this is the friendliest group of people. They create such an upbeat and positive atmosphere. Dancing is tons of fun and I love to perform. Dance Unlimited gives many opportunities to perform and improve. The teachers are awesome." - Nisa J.