About | Mississauga School of Dance

Meet the Team

Our mission… “Inspire, Enrich and Educate”
Teaching dance to the Mississauga community since 1991.

Founder & Artistic Director

Nancy Voce

Nancy began her dance training at the age of 3 with the Audrey Meredith School of Dance in ballet, jazz, tap and acrobatics. At the age of 7, she began performing at local community events and on local television. She has trained extensively throughout North America with such well- known choreographers such Mandy Moore, Mia Michaels, Ray Leeper, Gus Giordano, Nan Giordano, Joe Tremaine, Keri LaGrand, Doug Caldwell, Bob Rizzo and Frank Hatchett. At the age of 18, Nancy became of member of the Canadian Dance Teachers Association (C.D.T.A.); Dance Masters of America (D.M.A.), completed all her examinations with the Royal Academy of Dance (R.A.D.) and began her teaching career. Nancy attended Ryerson University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1989, Food Science and Nutrition being her major area of study. In 1991 she became Director of the Mississauga School of Dance. In recent years, Nancy has adjudicated various competitive dance events sharing her knowledge and expertise with others. Her students have won many awards over the past 25 years under her guidance. Nancy Voce has devoted her life to dance and contiunes to share her love and passion with her students. In April 2008, Nancy received the ‘Fever Dance Award’ for her contributions to the dance community. In October 2010, Nancy became a member of the Professional Adjudicators Alliance. Nancy has recently joined and is an active member with the Dance Safe Ontario Association advocating safe practices for dance studios.

Teacher/Choreographer

Ashley Voce-Gibson

Ashley began dancing at the age of 4 with the Mississauga School of Dance. She is trained in ballet (R.A.D), jazz, tap, lyrical, musical theatre, acro and hip hop. She has competed throughout Canada and the United States with the MSD Competitive Team where she has been awarded with many overall awards. Now as a teacher, Ashley is very committed to what she does. Having fun with her students, while bringing proper technique and creativity into the classroom, being very important to her. She will forever be a student, continuing to learn and grow as a dancer and choreographer. Ashley has recently begun her training with Acrobatic Arts (a professional certification program for Acrobatics) and has successfully completed Module One of the certification program. In addition, she has attended numerous Intensive teachers training courses in both New York City and California. She has been fortunate enough to train with Mandy Moore, Mia Michaels, Ray Leeper, Paula Morgan, Denise Wall, Mandy Yip and Frank Hatchett among many others. She has also taken many classes and workshops with different artists and choreographers such as; Joe Tremaine, the Giodano Company, Doug Caldwell, Bobby Newberry, Teddy Forance, and Travis Wall just to name a few. This year Ashley has become a member of the Professional Adjudicators Alliance, a professional company to bring knowledge and unite talent competition adjudicators. In 2016 Ashley graduated from McMaster University with an Honours Degree in both Sociology and Political Science. Ashley is very excited to begin her eighth year of teaching at the Mississauga School of Dance.

Teacher/Choreographer

Heather Purdie

Heather started out at the age of 5 as a figure skater and gymnast. She then began dancing at the age of 8 to improve her competitive skating when she realized dance was her true passion. She danced at Lorri’s Dance Place Unlimited as a competitive dancer taking Jazz, Tap, Acro and Ballet. Heather attended the Etobicoke School of the Arts from grades 9 to 11 where she was then accepted to Silverthorn Collegiate Institute. She was a graduate of the High Performer Program for gifted athletes. Heather is also a graduate of the Computer Sales and marketing Program and the General Arts & Sciences Program at Humber College. Heather has completed her examinations through the Dance Master of America (Acro, Jazz); British Association Teachers of Dance (B.A.T.D) in Jazz, Tap and Stage; and her Royal Academy of Dance (R.A.D.) in Ballet. Heather has been teaching for many years and is well-known in the dance world. She has taught and choreographed routines for competitive and recreational students at numerous studios all over Ontario. She has been teaching at the Mississauga School of Dance for 15 years now. Heather joined the teaching faculty at the Mississauga School of Dance in 2001 and commits her true passion to her students. She truly believes that dance is an expression of the soul that is hidden within us and through her guidance she teaches her students to let it all out.

Ballet Teacher/Choreographer

Kathleen Duffy

Ms. Kathleen Duffy is an independent dance artist specializing in teaching, choreography and performance training for children aged 7 – 19 years. She received her professional dance and teacher training at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and was a soloist with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company from 1970 to 1981. Her 15-year performing career as an independent principal artist and Royal Winnipeg Ballet soloist spans four continents and has allowed her to work with many of the dance world’s most acclaimed choreographers, artists and teachers. She has performed leading roles for choreographers such as John Neumier, Rudy van Dantzig, Eliot Field and Agnes de Mille, while her extensive list of teachers and coaches includes such names as Dame Alicia Markova and Madame Vera Volkva. Ms. Duffy’s teaching and adjudicating credits include the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, Alberta Ballet School, York University, Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre, as well as Art schools, private schools and professional programs throughout Canada and the U.S. She operated her own school in Mississauga from 1987 – 2003 and served three years as Chairperson, Dance for the Mississauga Arts Awards.

Ballet Teacher/Choreographer

Mary Swierczynski

RAD RTS, CCD Dip

Mary began her dance training at the age of 5 with the Alarie School of Dance in Oakville, Ontario. She continued her training at the Fleming School of Dance for 7 years taking classes in Ballet, Modern, Jazz, and Musical Theatre. While there, she completed dance examinations in Ballet through the Royal Academy of Dance (R.A.D.) and Ballet and Modern with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (I.S.T.D.). During this time Mary performed in local productions with the Oakville Players, Burloak Theatre Group, and the Brampton Musical Society. Mary began her professional teacher training at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University) in Toronto. She graduated in 1987 and holds the Canadian College of Dance Teaching Diploma (C.C.D. Teaching Diploma), the Royal Academy of Dance Teaching Diploma (RAD – RTS – Registered Teacher Status) and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing Associate in Modern Theatre Dance (AISTD). For 33 consecutive years, she has held teaching positions in Yellowknife, NT, Toronto, Grimsby, Oakville, and Mississauga, Ontario. Many of her students have gone on to have careers in the dance industry as professional dancers, teachers, and studio directors. Mary taught at the Mississauga School of Dance from 1994 to 2016. She is happy and honoured to rejoin her esteemed colleagues in this momentous and memorable 30th Anniversary year!

Teacher/Choreographer

Julia Celebre

Julia began dance training with the City of Mississauga at the age of three and her love of dance flourished. By the age of seven, her passion for dance had grown tremendously and she began competitive dancing and continues to participate in competitions to date. She is a valuable and integral member of her Senior Dance Team at the Mississauga School of Dance. She trained in various styles including, jazz, tap, ballet (Vaganova), lyrical, hip hop, and contemporary. She has been awarded numerous overalls, dance scholarships and special awards. She has always been able to creatively express herself through dance. Julia teaches at the Mississauga School of Dance and for the City of Mississauga Culture Division. Julia finds teaching exciting and rewarding. She encourages, inspires and demonstrates her strong technique to the dancers. Julia believes that dance should be fun and allow the students to express themselves. Julia is excited and proud to be part of the MSD faculty.

Hip Hop Teacher/Choreographer

Mariano Abarca

Mariano is one of Toronto’s premier b-boys, and, unquestionably, an audience favourite. He is famous for his incredible footwork, and innovative style of intertwining popping, b-boying, and hip-hop. As an established Toronto b-boy, Mariano led his crew, “Bag of Trix” to international acclaim at “The Battle of the Year 1999” in Leipzig, Germany. Mariano’s crews have, furthermore, earned championship titles in the UK, Korea, and here in Canada. Mariano’s extraordinary style has allowed him to dance in several music videos, commercials, and television programs. Thus, he has worked with artists such as Vivica Fox, Tom Green, Mya, K-OS, Wyclef, Arrested Development, Grand Master Flash, De La Soul, Rob Base and DJ Easy Rock – to name a few. Remarkably, he was provided with the exceptional honour of performing for the Prince of Wales. Mariano also performed in the 2012 DORA MAVOR MOORE award-winning show KLOROFYL. Currently, Mariano hosts and produces THE BAZAAR, several dance competitions across Canada, is Co-director for an all-female urban dance company FEDS and is developing his ideas and style into a full-length stage production. Mariano Abarca is a role model, an innovator, and a true urban artist. We are excited to have Mariano on staff to share his expertise with the students.

Teacher/Choreographer

Samantha Bubnich

Samantha fell in love with dance at the age of 3, when her mother enrolled her in a ballet class at the Mississauga School of Dance. She then began her training in ballet (R.A.D), jazz, tap, musical theatre, lyrical, contemporary, pointe, musical theatre and acrobatics. Recently, she began to expand her training in various styles of urban dance including hip hop, house and waacking. Sam has competed in various competitions across Canada and the United States, winning numerous scholarships and overall solo titles. She has had the opportunity to take classes with many artists including; Stephanie Rutherford, Alvin Collantes, Mandy Moore, and Mia Micheals, as well as various up and coming artists from the Toronto industry. This year Sam had the pleasure of being a team member of the McMaster Dance Company where she was able to expand both her dancing and choreography. As a dance teacher for the City of Mississauga, she has the opportunity to pass on her passion and training outside the studio. Sam is ecstatic to be part of the MSD faculty as she hopes to continue to inspire her students and share her love for dance.

Teacher/Choreographer

Christina Gucciardi

Christina’s passion for dance began at the age of 3 at the Mississauga School of Dance. Throughout her 15 years of training in ballet (R.A.D & Vaganova), tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and hip hop (including various urban dance styles), Christina received several awards & scholarships throughout Canada and the United States. In 2016, she was awarded a full scholarship to the Performing Arts Educators of Canada Teacher Workshop. Most impressively, she earned a perfect score for her solo “Disintegration of Matter” at the 2015 National Tremaine Dance Competition in Orlando. Professionally, Christina has had the pleasure of performing in the Reezy ft. Sean Kingston's music video “Girl”, as well as the 2018 London Fringe Festival for Brooke Gilmour’s Show “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden”. Christina recently earned her BMSc with an honours specialization in Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences from Western University. While pursuing her degree, Christina became a varsity dancer, choreographer, and co-captain of the HEAT Dance Team. During her time on the team, they were awarded the national title of Top University Dance Team on 4 occasions. Since graduating, Christina aims to keep her love of dance alive through teaching. After 3 years as a Fine Arts Instructor with the Town of Oakville, Christina has become exceptionally experienced in creating and conducting specialized dance programs for children, which build self-esteem and foster personal growth. Certified in both the HIGH FIVE Principles of Healthy Child Development and Healthy Minds for Healthy Children, Christina consistently creates a caring and safe environment for her students to feel both comfortable and motivated to learn in. This year, Christina is most excited to be back at MSD—supporting and guiding the newest generation of young dancers as they achieve new goals and find their artistic voice.

Teacher/Choreographer

Lila Kerwin

Lila has been training in ballet (R.A.D.), pointe, acrobatics, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, hip-hop, and musical theatre at the Mississauga School of Dance since the age of three. By the age of six, her passion for dance led her to start competitive dancing and continues to participate in competitions to date. Through her 13 years of training at Mississauga School of Dance, Lila has competed and performed in Canada and the United States, winning numerous titles and overall awards, alongside her team. She has been a valuable member of the Senior Competitive Team at MSD. After volunteering and assisting at the studio for five years, she became passionate about teaching and continues to share her love for dance. Lila is excited and proud to be a part of the MSD faculty.

Office Reception & Administration Assistant

Samantha Wall

Samantha has been a part of the MSD family for over 10 years. She began dancing in our recreational program and developed an instant love for dance. She then joined our Competitive Program and has been a valuable and respected team member since. You will find Samantha at reception on Saturdays and some Wednesday evenings to help answer your questions as well as assist in the MSD Boutique for dance wear purchases.

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