Our Faculty

Born and raised in Campbell River B.C., Shawna Sloan had a deep dedication and talent for dance that led her to train extensively from an early age, where she received the Banff School of Fine Arts Scholarship and numerous Dupree and Tremaine Dance Center Scholarships. At the age of 18, this former B.C. provincial winner received a dance scholarship at Tremaine Dance Centre in Los Angeles, California. Since then, she has performed with such singing sensations as Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Mya, 702, and Eminem. Her credits include the MTV Video Music Awards, Billboard Awards, national Pepsi commercials with Britney Spears, various music videos, industrials, and commercials. She served as the assistant choreographer with many great projects like Jane’s Addiction National Tour and Britney Spears World Tour. She also served as the dance captain in Europe performing in the musical production of “Grease”. She is currently starting her 19th season as Owner and Artistic Director of CR DanceXtreme Inc. located in Campbell River where she resides. She continues to inspire dancers by teaching, choreographing, & adjudicating in both Canada and the United States.

Buddy Mynatt was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana where he started his dance training at the age of 18. After moving to Los Angeles, California, he received a dance scholarship at Joe Tremaine Dance Center and was able to train with many of the best teachers and choreographers in the entertainment industry. After his scholarship term ended, he was invited to audition and go on tour for “The New Power Generation Dance Co.”, which was created by world famous musical artist, Prince. He also had the opportunity to dance and work for mega recording star Christina Aguilera, where he was able to tour the world and perform on TV shows like “The David Letterman Show”, “The Grammys”, “The Jay Leno Show”, “The David Letterman Show” “Good Morning America”, “The American Music Awards”, “Miss America Pageant”, “The MTV Video Music Awards”, “The Super Bowl XXXII Halftime Show”, “Saturday Night Live”, and “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” to name a few. His movie credit includes dancing in the hit comedy movie, “Guess Who” with Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher. He also served as the assistant choreographer & performed in the Wayne Brady Show in Las Vegas. Today, Buddy continues to pursue his passion for dance by sharing his talents of performing, teaching, and choreographing for dancers in the US, Canada, and abroad.

Born and raised in Saskatchewan, I moved to Kimberley in 1991 and opened the doors to Kimberley Dance Academy. In 2016, we expanded into Cranbrook and became Kootenay Dance Academy. Over the past 34 years, our students have traveled widely, competed in numerous competitions, and earned many awards and recognitions.

In the spring of 2025, I made the decision to step into retirement and close friends, and studio mentors Buddy and Shawna purchased the studio. I am beyond thrilled to see them take the reins and carry our legacy forward. Today, I’m enjoying semi-retirement while remaining part of the Kootenay DanceXtreme family as office manager.

I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the communities of Kimberley and Cranbrook for 34 incredible years of support, love, and encouragement. I can’t wait to see where this next era will take us and our dancers.

Claire began dancing at the age of three and immediately fell in love with expressing herself through the art of dance. Over the past 13 years, Claire has trained in a range of dance genres including ballet, jazz, tap, musical theatre, lyrical, hip hop, contemporary and acro.

Throughout her competitive dance journey Claire has learned that through hard work and dedication anything is possible. She is proud to have been recognized through many awards such as Kootenay dance Academy’s 2023 dancer of the year. Claire is also honoured to have been chosen as the Provincial Representative in 2023 and 2025 for the East Kootenay’s.

Keen to expand her dance experience, Claire has travelled to New York and Vancouver to train at the Broadway Dance Centre, Harbour Dance and Studio North. She is extremely grateful for these opportunities to develop her abilities as a dancer and as an emerging choreographer and teacher.

A dedicated class assistant for several years, Claire has recently earned level 1 dance teacher certification through Success Dance and is excited to inspire the next generation of young dancers to express themselves through the beauty and artistry of dance. Claire believes that with a positive outlook and hard work anything is possible.

Aralynn began dancing in 2008 at the age of 2. During her 16 years as a dancer she has trained in numerous different styles of dance including: Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Musical Theater, Tap, Hip Hop, Street Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary and Acro.

As a dancer, Aralynn has achieved multiple awards including dancer of the year of 2021 at Kootenay Dance Academy, numerous high score awards and scholarships at many different dance competitions. She has won a scholarship to the House Of Jazz in England. Aralynn was the BC provincial representative for the east Kootenays in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Aralynn was chosen to be a part of Team Canada 🇨🇦2024 Hip Hop Adult Group for the IDO Championships in Skopje, Macedonia 🇲🇰, where they placed 5th out of the whole world, team Canada came in top 3 of the overall world championship.  This year she has been chosen again for a second year on team Canadas🇨🇦 adult formations group, who will compete in October 2025 in Ljubljana, Slovenia🇸🇮 at the IDO WORLD championships.

Over the years she has traveled around Canada to perform and compete, she has competed in the USA in Spokane and San Francisco.

She has trained in Vancouver for the past 2 years under the direction of Roberta Bierman, Carlo Atienza and Julia Bose, as a member of Team Canada.

She has been a teacher assistant for 6 years learning different teaching styles from all her mentors, she believes in creating a safe and happy space for kids to feel safe and encouraged to learn and grow, as we teach them the art of dance and help them grow into the amazing talents they are.

She has always had a love for teaching and inspiring future dancers. She will continue to train and learn so she can bring a new love for dance to the future dancers.

Moraya Tompkins is an NCCP certified gymnastics coach with over 10 years of experience working with athletes at every stage of their journey—from little ones just learning to walk to gymnasts training on competitive teams.

After taking time away from the gym to focus on raising her family, Moraya now works at KCA as an educational assistant, supporting children in their school environment.

Her passion for gymnastics recently brought her back to coaching, and she is excited to be teaching at KDX, where she will be teaching Acro.

Moraya believes in creating a positive environment that builds confidence, self-esteem, and a lifelong love for movement. She is thrilled to be part of the KDX team, sharing her enthusiasm for both kids and sport.

Jacqueline is excited to be a part of the new venture being brought to the community by Kootenay DanceXtreme.

Having graduated from one of England's finest vocational institutions, Jacqueline Morrow, has delivered both academic and vocational instruction to students at beginner level both young and old through to pre-professionals in school, studios, and colleges. She has also delivered workshops and professional development opportunities within private and public institutions at both the school and college levels internationally.

Jacqueline's methods of delivering instruction embraces a variety of methods as well as dance appreciation including history, artistry, style and musicality, spatial awareness, improvisation, and choreography. Having been raised and educated globally, living in Singapore, Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, China and Egypt.

As an educator, Jacqueline delivers instruction with absolute consideration to growing bodies and minds. Developing and promoting dance programmes for children and adults from beginner to pre-professional, she has prepared students for examinations in ballet, jazz, tap and acrobatic arts, hosted vocationally graded examinations for both the Royal Academy of Dance, and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance, the Canadian Dance Teachers Association and Acrobatic Arts. She has also prepared students for local and provincial competitions, year-end concerts, and musical choreography in numerous shows, both amateur and professional.

Kristen Sharpe is a dedicated acro instructor, teacher, and coach with deep roots in gymnastics and education. She spent ten years competing in gymnastics and is a certified level 2 gymnastics coach. She coached gymnastics for many years, bringing to her acro instruction a strong foundation in technique and strength. She also holds degrees in Education and Kinesiology.

Kristen combines her gymnastics expertise with acro dance techniques to help students build strength, flexibility, body awareness, and confidence. She teaches at Marysville Elementary School and is a mother of three. For the past 14 years she has been part of the acro program at Kootenay Dance, where she thrives on helping dancers safely learn acrobatic elements and smoothly integrate them into dance performance.

Stephanie was born in New Market Ontario, grew up in Regina Saskatchewan and now resides in beautiful Kimberley BC.

Stephanie started dancing at a young age in ballet, contemporary and hip hop. And at the age of 19 she auditioned in New York City for the Hip Hop Dance Conservatory/BLADE Dance Academy. She was accepted and for 5 years she danced and trained with the company starting out as a Dancer In Training and moved her way up to Principle Dancer. With the company she had the chance to dance with some incredible studios in New York including The Alvin Ailey Studios and Broadway Dance Center. In that time she also had the opportunity to dance with artists like Ne-Yo and for the popular show at the time….So You Think You Can Dance (the dance promo tv commercials). Stephanie also worked with many up and coming local New York artists who would perform at popular clubs such as Escuelita.

After she graduated from the conservatory and her time in the States came to end…she moved back to Regina where she continued to dance and teach at the Dance Plus Emerald Park & Regina Studios. From there, she then moved to the East Kootenays and has been teaching and dancing at the Kootenay Dance Academy for the past 6 years.

Stephanie is beyond excited to continue teaching and dancing with the KDX community.

Emma began dancing at the age of three and has since trained extensively in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Musical Theatre, Acrobatics, Hip Hop, Lyrical, and Contemporary. As a competitive dancer, she has earned multiple high-score awards, was named Dancer of the Year at Kootenay Dance Academy in 2018, and represented the East Kootenays as a Provincial Representative from 2019–2021.

Her career highlights include performing in Honolulu and Disneyland, training at Broadway Dance Center in New York City, and being selected for the Shine Dance Festival Top 10 Dancer Intensive. Emma has also been recognized with several choreography awards and is a certified Acrobatic Arts instructor, ensuring safe and progressive training in her classes.

As a teacher, Emma is passionate about fostering confidence, motivation, and joy, creating an environment where dancers feel supported, inspired, and proud of their growth.

Zoe began her dance training at the age of six and has since cultivated a deep passion for both the art of dance and the strong community it builds. She is trained in a wide range of styles, including Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Ballet, and Musical Theatre.

Her dedication and talent have been recognized through multiple achievements. Zoe was named Dancer of the Month in 2019 at Kootenay Dance Studio and was selected as a Regional Representative for Provincials in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, she received the Highest Scoring Solo for Dancers own choreography solo at Kimberley Dance Works.

Zoe’s dance experience extends beyond the studio. She has performed internationally in Honolulu and has attended numerous Nuvo conventions, where she trained with industry professionals and explored diverse approaches to dance and performance.

As an instructor, Zoe is passionate about inspiring the next generation of dancers. She is committed to fostering creativity, discipline, and a love for movement, helping each student develop both as an artist and as an individual.

Maddie began her dance training at the age of three and has studied a wide range of styles including ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, contemporary, lyrical, modern, acro, musical theatre, and hip hop. Her dedication and versatility as a dancer has earned her recognition throughout her training, including numerous high-score awards at competitions.

In 2024, Maddie was awarded a scholarship to Harbour Dance Centre, where she took classes to continue to refine her technique and artistry. She has also expanded her training internationally, traveling to New York City to take classes at the renowned Broadway Dance Centre.

Maddie is passionate about inspiring her students by sharing both her technical knowledge and her love of performance, encouraging them to grow as dancers while fostering confidence, discipline, and creativity in the studio!

Stacey Weber is an accomplished Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Lyrical, Hip Hop and Musical Theatre Dancer.

She was born and raised in Campbell River on Vancouver Island and here is where her passion for dance bloomed. Stacey started dancing at the age of 3 and continued to take classes in Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Tap, Jazz, Musical Theatre and Hip-Hop. Stacey has competed and won numerous awards in competitions and shows in canada & the US. After graduation

Stacey started teaching at her local studio and has been teaching ever since. Stacey competed her teacher certification with ISTD and Acrobatic Arts and continues to further her education. with workshops and classes.

Stacey's fun and energetic personality make it fun for people of all ages to enjoy the art of dance.

Stacey knew at a young age teaching was her passion and spends a large majority of her time working with the Showteam and specializes in delivering age-appropriate programs to all ages.

Katie started dancing at the age of three training in ballet, jazz, modern, musical theatre and hip hop at Kirkwood Academy of Performing Arts. Her foundation began in ballet through completion of the Royal Academy of Dance graded examinations. She has had the pleasure of performing in multiple studio productions and has had great success as a competitive performer winning many awards, bursaries and scholarships in festivals across BC.

Katie furthered her training by attending dance intensives such as Groove Street Productions for many consecutive years, having the opportunity to meet and work with choreographers from all over North America. Katie began as a student teacher and that love for working with young dancers lead her to teaching for studios all over Vancouver Island. She has become a sought after choreographer teaching masterclasses and workshops, working with soloists and groups as well as coaching a high school dance team.  Many of her soloists have gone on to compete at the BC Provincials and the Youth American Grand Prix.

Katie has a true love and passion for teaching dancers of all ages. Her high energy and positive spirit inspires youth to push themselves in and out of the classroom. It has always been a dream of hers to start her own venture in the dance industry and is so excited to be doing this alongside Samantha.

Emma Voltera was raised in Campbell River, British Columbia. At age 5, Emma joined CrDancextreme’s Competitive team. Throughout her 14 years of being a competitive dancer she trained in various styles such as jazz, lyrical, hip hop, ballet, and tap. Through her years at CRX her passion and love for dance continued to grow.
After graduation, Emma wanted to continue dancing and was accepted into Treamaine Performance Company; a pre-professional dance assist program through Tremaine Dance Convention. Her year as a Pre-Professional assistant, allowed her the ability to travel to different cities across the USA and continue to grow her dance and leadership skills.
In 2024 Emma wanted to refine her skills even more as she attended The Launch program at The Space in Brea, California. She moved to California in late 2024 to continue her training under Krista and Cory Miller. Throughout the 6 months, Emma was able to learn from high level professional choreographers and teachers as she began to navigate the dance world.
Since then, Emma has taken the exposure and teachings from her mentors and influences, to begin creating her own style of teaching and choreography. She is grateful for the experience and learning opportunities given to her through her training and can’t wait to share and create.

Keiran Bohay is a Vancouver, British Columbia based dance artist and choreographer. He has had the opportunity to train, collaborate, and perform with Shay Keublers Radical System Art for over 6 years.
Growing up learning multiple styles of dance and theatre performance gave him the opportunity to work across the Vancouver dance scape. From stage to film, on screen to behind the camera, this versatility has granted him a style of movement and understanding unique to him.

Keiran has gone on to choreograph for local Vancouver training programs(Harbour Dance Centres ITP, Source Dance Co.), Perform and
choreograph musical theatre with Ottawas’ N.A.C., Arts Club, Citadel Theatre, and Drayton Entertainment (Prison Dancer, Newsies, Mary
Poppins, Etc.), and has gone on to dance and choreograph in many hit tv series and movies (HBO’s The Last of Us, Paramounts Sonic 2 and Rise of the Pink Ladies, NBC’s Zoeys Extraordinary Playlist, CW’s the Flash, Disney’s Descendants 2, ABC’s Once Upon A Time, Etc.)

Samantha began her training at the age of three and throughout her years trained in the styles of: ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, tap and musical theatre. Sam had the pleasure of performing in many productions with her childhood studio and has had much success as a  performer. Some of these successes include;  dancing lead roles, receiving  awards and scholarships and being chosen to compete at the Performing Arts BC Provincials on both the ballet and stage side.

Throughout the years, Sam has found ways to further her dance training such as her time spent at The National Ballet School of Canada in their Pre-Professional Training Program and at numerous other summer dance intensives. These include:The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, American Ballet Theatre and Ballet Austin. Sam has always been passionate about being a versatile and professional dancer. In her late teens Sam set to New York City twice to train in Joffrey Ballet School’s jazz and contemporary summer intensive.

In 2013 Sam obtained her Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies as well as her A.R.A.D. teaching status from The Royal Academy of Dance. In 2017 Sam completed her teacher training through Acrobatic Arts and is now a certified Module 1 acrobatics teacher. Sam also holds a Bachelor of Management degree from Vancouver Island University.

Now,  Sam has the pleasure of teaching her own students and choreographing in numerous genres for her training company, Prism Dance Connections located in Nanaimo. Through this, she has been able to find continued passion in many different avenues of dance as a weekly instructor and grow her skill set behind the scenes as a director. Watching her students love of dance and success has always been a pleasure and motivator for Sam as an instructor. Some noted student successes include: acceptance into several pre- professional and post graduate training schools, choreography featured in gala showcases and her choreography being chosen to compete at the provincial level.

Ade began dancing when he was young, excelling not only at training and competition, but also as an accomplished gymnast, earning Arizona’s State Champion title at just ten years old. While attending Chapman University, Ade auditioned for Season 5 of So You Think You Can Dance and became one of the top 3 boy finalists. His dance credits include working and performing in a nationwide tour with SYTYCD, a Grammys performance with Beyonce, appearance in Rihanna’s “Hard” music video, and touring with Alicia Keys as part of the Element of Freedom World Tour. He has also worked with numerous other well-known artists, such as Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, JLo, Kelly Rowland, and the cast of American Idol. Ade also became a SYTYCD All Star and completed a 40-city national tour. Ade is excited to bring his high-energy style to Velocity’s tour.

Bri Zubick began her performance career at a small competitive studio in British Columbia. Her passion for dance has taken her to Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and most recently, London, UK. Bri has worked with renowned choreographers such as Mackenzie Martin (Geometry Dance Company), Samm Price, and Chelsee Collins, performing in various events across Los Angeles. In Toronto, she has performed in works by Ashley Schoffield (Opus Dance Collective), Hayley Paone (Prerogative Dance Collective), Kahvontay Slaughter (Unapologetic Dance Collective), and Kathryn Miles.

Some of Bri’s career highlights include performing at the Rotary International Opening Ceremonies, being part of the inaugural cast of Candy Cane Kids: The Holiday Musical, and appearing in the short film Her/Self. She has trained at esteemed institutions such as Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, IDA Hollywood, Joffrey Ballet School, and House of Jazz, as well as taken classes at Broadway Dance Center, Steps on Broadway, Harbour Dance Centre, and other notable studios. Most recently, Bri participated in the Professional Training Program with The Verdon Fosse Legacy, deepening her expertise in Fosse Jazz technique as she continues to develop in this style.

As a choreographer, Bri’s work has received numerous awards at events across Alberta and British Columbia. Her Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Acro routines have been recognized for their artistry, earning high placements and standout overalls. Her choreography has been showcased in productions such as The Letters We Do Not Want to Send (TD Arts Incubator), WISE International Women’s Day (University of Toronto), and NextGen Film Festival (Dance YYC).

As an educator, Bri is deeply passionate about fostering an encouraging environment where dancers can grow as both artists and individuals. She believes dance should be a space for exploration, allowing dancers to make mistakes and discover what truly moves them. She continues to expand her knowledge through ongoing education and regularly adjudicates events across Canada.

Bri holds multiple certifications, including Acrobatic Arts M1 & M2, ADAPT Jazz and Tap, Alixa Flexibility M1, The Dance Leadership Institute Adjudicator M1 & M2, and Professional Adjudicators Alliance Certified. She is also the founder of The SHiFT, a performance-based company in Calgary dedicated to providing professional training and performance opportunities to local dancers.

Cole Hatten is a dancer and choreographer hailing from Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. He started training under the GRV influence with a hip hop team that he now co-choreographs and coaches for, Sockeye.

Cole is a faculty member of Studio North; one of Canada’s leading hip hop studios, as well as a faculty member of Harbour Dance Centre in Vancouver. He has represented Canada in various international competitions, including the IDO Hip Hop Dance Championships, as well as being a champion of  Danchella Australia.

Cole has worked as a dancer in music videos, commercials, live performances and film. Dancing in HBO’s The Last Of Us and two Disney movies coming out soon. His training and work ethic have earned him various scholarships, MVP scholarship at Velocity Dance Convention, Kaos Cast, Monsters Cast Nominee 2024, Nuvo Dance Convention scholarships, Disney Lightning Elite Performance scholarship, as well as invitations to elite training programs internationally.

Cole aims to leave a legacy in the industry inspiring dancers to pursue and fulfill their passions, while contributing to create more opportunities for all dancers.