Faculty
Lindsay Tusche –
Co-owner and Artistic Director
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. Under Lindsay’s direction, the Performing Companies have travelled to attend conventions and master classes and performed in places such as Disneyland, DisneyWorld, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix and Edmonton.
Deborah James R.A.D. – Instructor
Deborah has studied dance for over 35 years and has been teaching Ballet, Tap and Musical Theatre in Victoria for over 30 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.
Jasmyn Evered – A.A.C – Instructor
Jasmyn started dancing at the young age of three at The Coast Academy of Dance in her hometown on the Sunshine Coast. Over her many years of dancing, she has trained in numerous styles including Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Modern, Hip-Hop, Tap, Acro, and Pointe. Jasmyn has completed her ISTD Modern exams from Grade One up to Advanced One and successfully completed her ISTD Modern Theatre Teachers Associate exam in November 2020, earning her ISTD Modern Teaching Diploma. Jasmyn has had many performance opportunities throughout her dance career. She has played numerous roles in the Sunshine Coast’s local production of the Nutcracker, starting with party girl at the age of 9, then progressing to Clara, Mirliton, Snow, Flower, Ballerina Doll, and Arabian Lead. Jasmyn started dancing competitively at the age of 11 when she travelled to Poland to dance for Team Canada. Since then, she has competed in many competitions achieving high awards for her group pieces, duets, solos, and choreography. Once graduated, she moved to Victoria where she started her post-secondary education at the University of Victoria. She is entering her fourth year of the University of Victoria’s BSc Kinesiology program in hopes of becoming a physiotherapist. She took a break from dance during her first year of school to allow herself time to adapt to the new experiences that come with university but missed dance immensely. Jasmyn has been incredibly grateful to be able to bring dance back into her life through teaching. She continues to train attending teacher conventions and is an Acrobatic Arts Module 1 certified teacher. She has had a love for dance ever since she can remember and is excited to continue to share her passion while incorporating her current and future knowledge into her classes as she continues her education at the University of Victoria.
Brooklyn Tusche – A.A.C –
Instructor and Office Admin
Brooklyn was dancing before she could walk and was on stage performing for the first time before she was 2. Throughout her 18 years of dance education, Brooklyn trained in RAD Ballet, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Acro, Lyrical, Musical Theatre, and Tap. In addition, she trained in Aerial Arts, including Lyra and Silks. As part of her studio’s Performing Companies, Brooklyn was invited, and has travelled to perform in Disneyland and Disney World. She most recently was chosen by industry professionals to attend the, by invitation only, Hollywood Summer Tour and was awarded a full scholarship to Harbour Dance. In her many years of competing, she has been recognized by judges for her breathtaking emotion and outstanding performance qualities, earning her multiple first places, numerous awards, and special recognition. Brooklyn began assisting at the at the studio at the age of 9, was one of the first assistants in the Assistant Teacher Training Program at 12, and then 5 years later began training dancers in Jazz, Lyrical and the Performing Companies. Brooklyn has guest taught for the Claremont Dance program and was an Assistant with RNS Soar ’24. During her many years of assistant teaching, she developed a love for the creative process of choreography and quickly discovered her desire to share her love of dance and performing with her students. Recently, she followed another dream of hers – modelling and acting, and is now represented by Coultish Management. She continues to maintain her strong passion for the arts by training at conventions and teacher conferences in Canada and the US. She has trained under the incredible Shannon Mather and Nicole Smith. It was at one of those conventions where she was so inspired after taking class with the creator of Acrobatic Arts, Mandy Yip, that she decided to obtain her certification in Acrobatic Arts Module 1. Brooklyn strives to encourage confidence, respect, and a love of dance in her students.
Makenna Pitre – A.A.C – Instructor
Makenna started dancing at age three and it immediately became her passion. Over the years she has trained in many styles including Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Acro and Musical Theatre. Makenna completed several ADAPT Jazz and Tap syllabus exams, receiving top marks and also received scholarships and bursaries. She started competing at age 10, and was awarded first place overalls, top ten overalls, adjudicator awards, cash prizes, and an invitation from Peak Invitational to attend Nationals. Makenna is certified in Acrobatic Arts Module 1. Makenna has always enjoyed helping and working with her peers in and out of the dance studio and has fallen in love with teaching. She continues to learn and grow as a teacher by attending teaching conventions, taking classes and collaborating with her fellow dance teachers. She has trained with the incredible Shannon Mather and Nicole Smith and many more. Makenna loves to share her passion for dance with her students.
Catthy Nguyen – Instructor
Catthy started her dance journey in Victoria, BC, began assisting studio dance classes at 12 years old, and started assisting convention classes at the age of 13 throughout Canada in Victoria, Vancouver, Jasper, & Whistler . Catthy has had the opportunity to assist the classes of amazing instructors, choreographers, & actors such as Victoria Baldesarra, Bree Wasylenko, Paul Becker, Zak Vran, Jennifer Pappas, Maria Wada, Jonnis Tannis, Darien Kujawai, & more. She’s worked with 5678 Showtime Competition/ Convention, iDance Convention, & Pure Dance Convention with the cast from the TV Show “The Next Step”. In 2018, Catthy qualified and competed in BC Dance Provincials (Jazz & Lyrical) in her hometown. Catthy has a passion for choreographing, she has choreographed her own solos that have placed 1st Overall Senior Solos multiple times, been awarded various Judge’s Choice Awards, Cash prizes, and Top Scoring awards. She is excited for future opportunities to advance her learning and experiences with teaching and choreographing. Throughout her competitive dance years, she has won multiple scholarships giving her opportunities to attend exclusive dance events in Disneyland, DisneyWorld, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Florida, Paris, & Europe! Catthy is an inspiration to all her students and shares her passion with them.
Calista Phillips – Instructor
Calista began dancing at a young age and hasn’t looked back ever since! She quickly fell in love with the musicality of dance and art of choreography which inspired her first piece at age 12. She has competed with solos/duos/ trios and groups at competitions across the Island in: Tap, Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical and Musical Theatre. And is the 4 time winner of the “Tap Award” from the Cowichan Music Festival. She has also completed her Grade 8 and Intermediate RAD Ballet exams with distinction as well her Advanced 1 and 2 ISTD Tap exams with distinction. She is grateful to have worked with choreographers: Elise Sampson, Ricki-Lee Allison, Jamie Johnstone, Bryony Blake, Lorraine Blake. Calista seeks opportunities to attend Tap workshops whenever possible, such as Van Tap, the Rhythm Room and West Coast Tap. Currently, Calista is in her second year studying Music and Journalism at the University of Victoria. Alongside school, she is studying for her ISTD Tap Associate under Lorraine Blake and is travelling to London this summer to take classes for her Associate. Calista is excited to be apart of Dance Unlimited and can’t wait for an amazing season!
Abigail Parchman – Office – Instructor
Abigail’s journey in dance started at the age of 10, and by 13, she was stepping onto the competition floor. Her training has included a variety of styles including Jazz, Hip-Hop, RAD Ballet, Lyrical, Modern Stage, and Acro. Now, Abigail is honored to assist dancers and parents from behind the studio’s front desk. She’s eager to share her experiences and offer assistance wherever needed, grateful to give back to the community that has shaped her own dance journey. Behind the desk, she stands ready to listen, learn, and support those around the studio!
Barb Stokes – Co-owner
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 worked as a Special Student Assistant for the Victoria school district. While Barb is no longer teaching, her amazing ability to work with and care for children was seen through her dedication and respect she gave to the students of Dance Unlimited.
Leticia Pang R.A.D. – Instructor
A Victoria native, Leticia’s training took place at Pacific Dance Centre. She was also fortunate to receive training from the National Ballet School of Canada, the Banff Centre for Performing Arts, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Her professional dance career includes numerous summers at the Banff Festival Ballet and 10 years with Ballet Jörgen Canada. She has performed ballets such as Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Coppélia, and works by Balanchine. She has also been privileged to work with and to perform the new works of great choreographers such as Crystal Pite, Wen Wei Wang, Mark Godden, Roberto Campanella, and many other talented Canadian choreographers. Leticia began her teaching career here in Victoria upon retiring from her professional dance career in 2002 and has taught at many schools both on Vancouver Island and on the mainland.
Chelsea Maskiewich – Instructor
Chelsea has lived and breathed dance since she began training in her hometown of Victoria, BC at the age of three. Her experience has taken her to some of the top studios in the world including the Millennium Dance Complex and the Edge Performing Arts Centre located in Hollywood, California. At the age of 11 she was selected by Rising Moments Talent Agency to be featured on their website and to get the opportunity to train and work one-on-one with top choreographers in California. Throughout her career, she has had the privilege to take classes and train with numerous top choreographers across North America. She received numerous awards and scholarships at festivals and competitions and was chosen to represent Victoria at the BC Provincial dance festival for eight consecutive years where she placed as Runner up in 2011. Chelsea’s commercial experience includes dancing in music videos and movies such as “Brighter At Night” by Ash Koley, “Slave2Love” by Stef Lang, “Sunglasses” by Sophia Mock, and Disney’s “Descendants”. Chelsea has had extensive experience teaching several disciplines of dance since the age of 16 including tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, open and hip-hop at multiple dance studios. She has completed and passed her Advanced 2 Tap and Advanced Modern exams with Honours. In 2018 she received the Tap Dance Professional Scholarship, awarded by West Coast Tap, for her skill and passion for sharing the art of tap dance. Yearly, Chelsea continues to educate herself and continues igniting her passion for dance by attending dance teacher conventions, workshops and classes across Canada and the USA.
Carly Kennedy – A.A.C – Instructor
Carly started dancing at three years old at the Coast Academy of Dance on the Sunshine Coast. Over the past 16 years, she has trained in various styles such as ISTD Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Contemporary, ISTD Modern, ISTD Tap, Broadway, and Acro. She has completed all of her ISTD Modern and Tap exams from Grade 1 through to Advanced 2, along with the ISTD Modern Theatre Teachers Associate completed in May 2022, earning her ISTD Modern Teachers Diploma. Carly has had many performance and choreographing opportunities throughout her dance career. She started competing at the age of 12, attending many competitions in BC, entering solos, duets, trios, groups, and choreography of her own. She was selected to represent Canada in Germany in 2017 for the IDO Dance World Championships. Carly started experimenting with her own choreography at the age of 16, where she choreographed a solo for herself which was entered into competition receiving high achievement. Since then, she has choreographed numerous solos and duets to perform herself, and other dancers. Carly took her first year of post-secondary at the University of Victoria studying Biology when she discovered a passion for Nursing. She has continued teaching since graduating in 2022 teaching numerous summer camps, and working with students one one-on-one at the Coast Academy of Dance. She continues to train attending teacher conventions and is an Acrobatic Arts Module 1 certified teacher.She is absolutely thrilled to continue doing what she loves and share her passion with her students.
Francesca Manson – Instructor
Francesca has been dancing since the age of 2.5 at The Coast Academy of Dance on The Sunshine Coast. She loves doing all styles of dance: ballet, contemporary, ISTD modern, jazz, acro and Broadway. She has completed all her ISTD modern exams from grade 1 to advanced 2, along with a few other ISTD exams in ballet, jazz and tap throughout the years of training. Additionally, she was able to earn her ISTD Modern Teachers Diploma through the ISTD Modern Theatre Teachers Associate which was completed in May 2022. Starting competing at the age of 12 she was entered in many groups, solos, duos and trios in various styles. She also took part in competing with self-choreography solos from grade 9 through the end of high school, where she was recognized highly with achievements and recognition. Throughout the associate program, she was able to have many choreographing opportunities for local shows and competitions for herself and others of varying ages. Aside from competitions, she participated in the audition and performance of the local Nutcracker for 8 years playing various parts from the story. Additionally, she was chosen to represent Canada in the 2017 IDO Showdance World Championships in Germany. She was also selected from the Sunshine Coast Arts Festival to come to Victoria to partake in Provincials in 2018. As for performances, she was a part of the lead role for the production Becoming by Becky Izad, In 2020 she auditioned and got the opportunity to be a part of the Josh Beamish production. Francesca is now entering her 3rd year in Elementary Education at the University of Victoria working towards becoming a teacher. She has always loved working with children and is so grateful she now gets the opportunity to teach both in academic and dance schools, where she can share her passion for learning and dance.
Erica Lalonde –
Instructor and Office Admin
Erica started dancing at the young age of 2, and has trained in Tap, Jazz, RAD Ballet, Musical Theatre, Hip Hop & Lyrical. Her 15-year teaching career includes Studios, School Districts, Guest teaching, and choreographing for musicals such as Grease, NeverNeverland & Little Shop of Horrors. She has attended, and continues to attend conventions to further her training and expand her knowledge to share with her students. She’s attended competitions across Canada and the United States and has performed both locally and internationally, including Disneyland. Erica was selected as a Provincial Representative at the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival and has won many awards and scholarships over the years. Erica oversees our Broadway Babies, Showstoppers, Teeny and Pre-Primary Tappers, sharing her outgoing and fun energy with them. She is also sharing her love of dance and positive energy with our Juniors this year.
Megan Creran – Instructor
Megan began dancing at the age of ten in Courtenay BC. Her passion for dance showed immediately as she trained in various styles such as Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Contemporary, Irish, Musical Theatre, and Salsa. She attended various competitions and workshops where she won multiple awards and scholarships. After graduating from high school Megan moved to Vancouver and was accepted into Simon Fraser University’s Contemporary Dance Program. That summer she also travelled to Toronto where she trained with the Toronto Dance Theatre in various modern and contemporary styles. After returning to Vancouver she was accepted into the Drive Scholarship Dance Program where she trained on a professional level in a wide range of dance styles. Megan was an apprentice for Amber Funk Barton, Heather Laura Gray, and performed with Project CPR based out of the Dance Centre. She was lucky to be a part of various music videos and movies for artists such as Hey Ocean, and Michael Buble. She is Acrobatic Arts Module 1 certified and was instrumentalin building DUPA’s Acrobatic Arts program. Megan has been passionate about teaching dance for the last 9 years and is so excited to be back working with all the dancers again.
Taylor-Lyn Bruce – Instructor
Taylor-Lyn was in the studio before she could walk and was on the stage by the time she was 2. She has trained in Jazz, Hip-Hop, Lyrical, Modern Stage, Tap, Modern, Contemporary and RAD Ballet completing her Grade 8 exam. At the age of 8 Taylor was invited to be part of the studio’s Performing Companies and at age 11 was part of the studio’s Crew. She has travelled and performed in Disney World and Disneyland multiple times. She has competed in many competitions earning multiple awards and adjudicator awards. Taylor started assisting when she was 11 and knew that in the studio teaching is where she belonged. She is excited to share her love of hip-hop with her students and getting them to bring their stage face!
Samantha Madill – Instructor
Samantha thrives when she is performing on stage, or teaching choreography, or learning new performance skills. She has been dancing since she was three years old and has trained in many styles including Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Musical Theatre, R.A.D Ballet and Tap. She has performed in dance festivals and competitions since she was six years old and has won scholarships and multiple awards. Samantha has thoroughly enjoyed choreographing several musical productions for Triple Threat Performing Arts Society and Theatre Al Dente since she was 12 years old and has showcased her choreography for Broadway directors in New York at the Broadway Student Summit. Most recently she enjoyed teaching a musical theatre dance unit at Braefoot Elementary School. She is passionate about dancing, learning, teaching, and community connections. She is excited to share her passion for Musical Theatre with her students.