Jodi McFadden
Spider-Man Turn of the Dark. Broadway debut! North American premiere of Dirty Dancing, four seasons at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Cabaret, The Producers, the Oscar Award-winning movie Chicago, “So You Think You Can Dance” (asst. choreographer), Bollywood/Hollywood.Bojangles dancer at 5yrs.
Kahlil Calder
Kahlil Calder has spanned the spectrum in dance genres in his career as a Professional dancer. From his humble early beginnings as a student of Bojangles dance studio in Waterloo Ontario Canada Kahlil has gone on to work for such prestigious companies as Cirque Du Soleil, and The National Ballet of Canada. Kahlil has an International dance experience spending almost a decade in Europe performing in modern dance troupes as well as in film, television and theatre productions. Kahlil has never stopped being a student of life and continues to train and study as a dancer to further hone his skills in dance education. Kahlil is an active adjudicator for dance festivals in both the U.S and Canada and is currently pursuing a career as a creative director for film.
Krista Leis
Sixth season: Shprintze in Fiddler on the Roof and swing in Tommy. Stratford: Jesus Christ Superstar,Camelot, A Funny Thing… Forum, West Side Story (2009, assistant choreographer), The Music ManBroadway: Jesus Christ Superstar. Film/TV: Hairspray (New Line); Roxana (Bravo); The Music Man,Eloise at the Plaza (Disney); Interstate 60; Missing; On the Line; Get Over It. Bojangles Dancer at 2yrs.
Eric Robertson
After exhausting almost all the theatre companies in southern Ontario, Eric ventured to the USA, where he ended up in the Broadway and First National touring productions of Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp’s “Movin’ Out.” Settling in NYC, he completing the 2-year program at the Barrow Group Acting School, to pursue film and TV. Since then he’s been on the Oprah Network, National Geographic Channel and the Lifetime Movie Network, among others. In May 2013 he made his Off-Broadway debut with the show he wrote and directed, a comedy called “Gym Shorts: The Show.” NYC’s NightLife Exchange called it “uncannily brilliant. Bojangles Dancer at 5yrs.
Cassandra Kranjec
Cassandra began her training at Bojangles Art of Dance in the year of 1995. Since she has graduated, she has begun her professional dance career and training in a variety of dance styles, as well as acting and singing. She has had the privilege of working with choreographers such as: Jeff Dimitriou, Danny Davalos, and David Connolly. Her recent credits include: Back up dancing for Blake Mcgrath and Christian Ty, dancing in music videos for Cascada, Shawn Desman, and Matell Toys, as well as performing in Drayton Entertainments ‘High School Musical’. Most recently she can be seen dancing on the television series ‘Bomb Girls’ Season 2, and is soon to be seen on the season finale of ‘Warehouse 13’ to be aired in 2014. Cassandra is very grateful for the training and life lessons learned during her years at Bojangles Art of Dance.
Amberley Waddell
Amberley Waddell has performed on stage, in film and on television. Bette Midler’s highly acclaimed ‘The Showgirl Must Go On’ live show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Dance Director and Choreographer for the NBA Toronto Raptors Dance Pak – one of the NBA’s leading dance teams. Recently, Amberley performed with Beyonce at the Billboard Awards in Las Vegas, in a special performance for US President Barack Obama and in the lead dance role and assitstant choreographer at both the 2009 and 2010 TV Land Awards. Over the past few years, Amberley has appeared on The View, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, and in Kathy Griffin’s ‘My Life on the D-List and was featured on ET Canada. Bojangles Dancer at age 2yrs.
Libby Avalos (Smith)
Libby Avalos (Smith) spent several years working as a Dance Captain on cruise ships. She also lived, danced, and trained in NYC for more than 5 years previous to her years at sea. Since moving back to Canada, Libby currently works full time as a dance teacher/choreographer in the GTA. She also sits on the adjudication panel for several competitions across the country. Libby is passionate about spreading the love of dance, and works actively in the schools with The Groove EDGEucation. Exposing children who might not normally experience it, to the JOY of dance, and using dance as a tool to teach acceptance, confidence, and build community. The education and training that she received at Bojangles; both as a dancer, and as a teacher, have proven to be priceless as she pursued her dreams. Big love to all the Bojangles family!
Whitney Arthur
Whitney started dancing at Bojangles when she was 8 years old. She danced for three years in total and in her first year she started out taking Jazz classes. It was in her second year that she began Hip-hop and Ballet classes which led to dancing competitively. In June of 2001, Margo notified Whitney about auditions that were being held in Toronto for the role of young Nala in the thebroadway production The Lion King. After many hours of preparation with Margo and Nikki, she attended three auditions and was casted to play young Nala for a nine month contract. Overall it has been one of her greatest experiences and accomplishments to date.
Naomi Snieckus
An actor/writer/improviser/voice-over/director, Naomi is an alumnus of The Second City Toronto where she wrote/performed in five hit shows. She has performed in theatre across Canada including The Arts Club in Vancouver, The Belfry in Victoria, Buddies in Bad Times and Canadian Stage in Toronto. Naomi directed Chelsea Menders in the award winning Naughty Little Children and the Touring Co. at Second City. As a writer, she has written for Trish Stratus for Walk of Fame and Nelly Furtado for The Junos. TV and film credits include Da Kink in My Hair, Degrassi, Train 48, Regenesis, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Ron James Show, Being Erica, Wingin’ It, She’s the Mayor, Reel Love, SAW 3D, Haven, Life with Boys andThe Listener!
Chad McFadden
Chad began dancing at Bojangles a very early age. He has performed on stages all over Canada and abroad as well as on numerous TV shows and at prestigious venues in N.Y.C. Stage credits include: The Stratford Festival of Canada (Oklahoma!, My One and Only, Hello Dolly, Into the Woods, Guys & Dolls, Anything Goes, The King & I), 2008/2009 North American Tour of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Sweet Charity (Stage West Calgary), Drayton Entertainment (Brigadoon, Evita, Me & My Girl, Robin Hood), Guys & Dolls Canadian Tour (Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton tour), Encore! (Tokyo Disneyland), Charlottetown’s Anne of Green Gables, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Ballet Jorgen’s Romeo & Juliet, A Grand Night for Stratford (Choreographer), and The Nutcracker.. Film credits include: Hairspray (New Line Cinema) Bollywood/Hollywood, Charms for the Easy Life, H’sao (Bravo!), The Other Me (Disney), and the television show Earth: Final Conflict
Lori Nuic
With the release of Flaws of Attraction (Fuse Records/Fontana North), Lori Nuic continues to dazzle with her signature brand of alternative soul. Flaws of
This talented Toronto based singer/songwriter has evolved into a vocal powerhouse; she has been honing her chops, gigging at festivals including Canadian Music Week and NXNE, winning The Beat 91.5’s Rhythm of the Future talent search (2004), CMW’s Urban Star Quest (2005) and The Flow 93.5 Hook-Up Prize for song production at Honey Jam (2005), giving her the opportunity to work with accomplished Canadian artist/producer, Saukrates In 2008, Nuic was nominated for two Toronto Independent Music Awards, winning the award for ‘Best Pop’ artist. In 2009, she was hand-picked to sing alongside Jarvis Church on CBC Radio’s 50th anniversary celebration of Motown Records, ‘Canada Raves on Motown’. Red Book Chronicles’ high-energy fusion of funk, R&B and soul also attracted substantial interest from national media outlets such as Entertainment Tonight Canada, Canada AM and The National Post.
Evan McKie
Evan McKie is a Principal Dancer with Stuttgart Ballet, as well as being a photographer, choreographer. MrMcKie is also a guest writer for Dance Magazine, a member of their advisory board and writes frequently for Shinshokan Dance magazine. Mr. McKie was born in Toronto and received his dance training from Bojangles Dance Arts, Canada’s National Ballet School, The Kirov Academy of Ballet and the John Cranko School in Stuttgart. He has received critical acclaim for many roles including Hamlet, Onegin, Siegfried in Swan Lake, the Prince in The Sleeping Beauty and Albrecht in Giselle.
Caitlin Goguen
Born in Toronto and raised in Kitchener-Waterloo, Caitlin’s performing career began when her parents enrolled her in dance classes at Bojangles Dance Arts at the age of 11. She never looked back. After studying Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Lyrical and Hip Hop and competing across North America, Caitlin describes the time spent in Austin, Texas with American Ballet Theater as a turning point in her training. Credit’s include, How To Succeed in Business,West Side Story,Wizard of Oz,High School Musical, A Funny Thing Happened…Forum, The Producers,Gypsy and many others.
David Entwistle
A man of many talents, he has the pleasure of applying his passion for music as a recording engineer, live concert engineer, booking agent, singer/ songwriter, live event producer and founder/director of the annual Hoboken Music Awards. “Entwistle knows what’s he’s talking about. He’s been working in entertainment professionally for 25 years, and has paid some interesting dues and picked up a wide range of skills. He studied dance –classical ballet, tap and jazz –as a very young man at Bojangles Dance Arts and later became a teacher while performing professionally in musical theater. He also worked professionally as an actor on tv and in film before eventually focusing on music. Before moving to Hoboken, he was signed to a record contract in Canada and was distributed by Warner Bros. and later EMI. The label named him David Michael Anthony. To get a hint about what that act might have been like… he did some touring opening for N’Sync in the late 90’s.
Juliann Kuchocki
Jazz to Musical Theatre, Blues to Rock & Roll. 20 years experience in Music TV, Film & Stage has been a training ground for a vast array of musical genres for all audiences big & small private to corporate, bistro to big band. Coming May 5th, watch for Juliann’s Debut all original material album Broken Compass on Itunes& CD. Juliann has made record deals in four countries, won Best New Artist Original Jazz Music in the this years Barrie Music Festival& is opening for the first ever in 30 years, jazz festival in Canadian Music Week!
Her musical voice has been shaped by over 25 years of diverse experience as a vocalist, actress, director, producer, dancer and choreographer. Film & TV credits include: the long-running Canadian drama DaVinci’s Inquest, First Wave, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio with Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore & Laura Dern, Martin & Lewis with Sean Hayes. Juliann is the proud owner/ director/ choreographer of Pro Arts triple-threat events company& school.
Raquel Cadilha
Raquel first walked into Bojangles at the age of 2 and it soon became apparent that her passion for performance would take her beyond the Bojangles stage. Bojangle’s became Raquel’s home for most of her early life having trained in Jazz, Tap and Ballet. At the age of 6 , Raquel filmed her first commercial and would soon find herself immersed in an acting career that would see her work with legendary greats Matthew Broderick and Kristen Chenoweth among others. No matter what TV roles are offered to her, Raquel continues to find her passion singing and dancing on the live stage with dreams of landing a lead on Broadway. Raquel is currently studying Genetics at the University of Waterloo and spends her free time in New York City! She will continue to use everything she learned at Bojangles Art of Dance for every single aspect of her life. Raquel is so grateful to have been given such a positive and motivating atmosphere. Thank-you B.A.D. Company!
Christel Bartelse
Writer, producer, clown, teacher and comedian, I began my career in comedy with my work in the physical comedy duo, The Burnt Marshmallows in which I co-created and performed in over five feature length shows including U-Haulywood( A Canadian Comedy Award Nominee) and STUCK directed by Michael Kennard. I have performed comedy all over Toronto and I am a regular feature at Lunacy Cabaret at Zero Gravity Circus and have participated in The Toronto Festival of Clowns, Clown Chowder, March of Dames, Cheap Queers, Buskerfest, the Hysteria Festival and Chicago Improv Festival.
As a solo performer and writer, I first garnered critical attention for my single hander CHAOTICA. The show premiered at the 2008 London Fringe Festival, winning the Best in Venue, Impresario Award and a nomination for the Brickenden Award for “Outstanding Touring Production”. It played Toronto twice, self produced, and dates followed in Ottawa, Wakefield and Saskatoon, and in Edmonton. In 2010 CHAOTICA was nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award “Best One Person Show”. ONEymoon (A Honeymoon for One) is my second solo show. It has toured to over ten fringe festivals as well as having played New York in February 2010, and was invited to Diva Fest in Indianapolis. In 2011 ONEymoon was nominated for a “Canadian Comedy Award in the category of “Best one person show” . My third solo show “Significant Me’ (the sequel to ONEymoon) recently played London, ON, Edmonton, & Victoria.
I am a graduate of the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts, The Second City Conservatory and have studied clown and physical theatre extensively with Michael Kennard and John Turner (Mump & Smoot) Francine Cote, Philippe Gaulier, Sue Morrison. I was a faculty member of the Toronto Film School for 5 years, have taught for Second City Education Program and currently teach physical comedy at Humber College.
Christopher Wilson
Christopher Wilson is a professional performer and arts educator whose credits include both national and international appearances. Selected performing credits include: Aida (Canadian Opera Company); The Red Queen Effect (Next Stage Theatre Festival); You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown (Beyond Boundaries); Timebomb (Toronto Fringe Festival); The Mikado (Drayton Entertainment); The Man of La Mancha (Waterloo Stage Theatre); Cinderella (Ross Petty Productions); Carmen (Royal Opera Canada); The Mikado (National Arts Centre); The Gondoliers (Stratford Festival); Anne of Green Gables, Puttin’ on the Ritz (Charlottetown Festival) and the movie musical, The Music Man (Disney Entertainment ABC). He has professionally educated throughout Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. He is currently on faculty with the Canadian Opera Company, the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts and the Toronto District School Board. Living With Henry is the culmination of a life well lived. It has been an enormous labour of love to create this piece – and I am so very grateful to all the individuals in my life that have loved, supported and nurtured me through this very important and personal journey! May you all make peace with your very own Henry.
Jake Simons
Jake Simons has been working in the entertainment industry for 20 years. He has 25 theatre credits, 40 film and TV credits and has shot 30 TV commercials. Some personal highlights include; Johnny Castle in the North American Premiere of Dirty Dancing at The Royal Alexandra Theatre (Mirvish), Riff in West Side Story (Stratford Festival), Joe in Song and Dance (Theatre Calgary), The Fonz in the Canadian Premiere of Happy Days the Musical, a Disney produced workshop about The Harlem Globetrotters called HOOPZ (New York), three Pantomimes at the Elgin Theatre, a supporting role in the film ‘Sacrifice’ starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Christian Slater, and a recurring role in the TV series Metropia. Jake has appeared in productions alongside performers such as Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Peter Fonda, Dan Aykroyd, Greg Kinnear, John Goodman, Jason Priestly, Rebecca Romjin, Vivica A. Fox, Ally Sheedy, Eric Idle, Scott Thompson, Peter Gallager, Bruce Campbell, Scott Speedman and Ernie Coombs (Mr. Dress-up).
Scott Kufske
Scott G. Kufske juggles the roles of teacher, choreographer, director, produce, and performer. But most of all he enjoys travelling across the country as a dance competition adjudicator, host, and administrator. He operated and owned his own Dance Studio of “Steps” in Waterloo, Ontario for 14 years that trained dancers to many Over-All National Titles and Scholarships from the most respected dance organizations. Students graduated from Scott’s Studio and currently are enjoying careers in theme parks, cruise lines, television, music videos, Broadway, and the teaching profession. Scott served as President for Chpt. #38 for Dance Masters of America and went on to become National Director for the Jr. Mr. Dance Scholarship Program for another 2 years. He loves to perform when he can and is a member of the Canadian Actors Equity Association with 28 shows to his credit. His choreography has been critically acclaimed and is he is highly respected for his contributions to the musical theatre industry across Ontario.
Scott continues to inspire and educate dancers across North America as a workshop teacher and motivational speaker with his “Vibe”, “Choreo” and “Comp-Connection” seminars. He is a guest choreographer for several dance studios and organizations all over North America.
In 2003 he completed the Artistic Director job for The Dare to Dance Program for Dance Saskatchewan. He has been the Director of many dance competitions over the years including Rhythm Dance, Starmaker Dance Festival, D-Force Productions, American Dance Awards Canadian Tour, and now Terpsichore Dance Celebration. Mr. Kufske is the Assistant Editor of Dance Canada Quarterly, Canada’s Dance Magazine.
Tiffany Tregarthan
Tiffany Tregarthen’s background began with ballet, jazz and tap disciplines. She began her professional career in New York with companies including Mia Michaels’ R.A.W. Four years later she accepted an 8 month residency with POZ Dance Theatre in Seoul, Korea where she trained and performed with the company and began exploring her own choreographic voice with the POZ dancers. She returned to Vancouver where she continued her independent research and creations before holding a 2 year residency with partner David Raymond centred in Antwerp, Belgium and including opportunities in Italy, The Netherlands and The Czech Republic. Tiffany and David have since created the Vancouver based contemporary dance and film company Out Innerspace Dance Theatre as the forum to continue their on-going choreographic collaboration and will be premiering their first full length work in October 2010. Equally passionate about education, the two also head Modus Operandi which trains young emerging professionals in a nine month contemporary dance curriculum. In September 2008 Tiffany created a new work for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal as a winner of theirNational Young Choreographer Competition and most recently performed with Simone Orlando, Move: The Company and is currently performing with Wen Wei Dance.