FOUNDER
FOUNDER
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
LORI CHARBONNEAU
(SHE/HER)
TTP (DIP) CANADA’S NATIONAL BALLET SCHOOL
ISTD NATIONAL DANCE BRANCH
ISTD CLASSICAL BALLET CERTIFIED
PROGRESSING BALLET TECHNIQUE CERTIFIED
AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE® CERTIFIED
Creating a dance studio for children has been a goal of mine for over 30 years. I have always appreciated what an enriched arts education provided for me in life, both as a professional dancer and later as a teacher. I was compelled to build something new in my community, that which reflected some of the best aspects of my professional training and arts education, without the body image toxicity found in the professional dance world. The origin of my inspiration draws directly from a spirit of inclusivity, generosity and that every human has the capacity to tap into their most precious creative selves.
We are thrilled to be celebrating 15 years of warm, intuitive, skilled teaching in the Junction Triangle-Roncesvalles-High Park area. As a resident in the Junction Triangle for over the last 17 years, I was excited to open a dance studio where so many young families were choosing to settle down. What started as a summer camp in 2008 has grown into a vibrant, thriving dance studio.
Lori began ballet and gymnastics at the age of 6 years old. It was clear to her parents that Lori was a happy little girl jumping and twirling her way through recreational, regional and provincial level gymnastics, hoping one day to make it to the Olympics. Lori’s ballet teacher recommended she audition for The National Ballet School and at the tender age of 9, she moved to Toronto from Burlington to train as a professional dancer where she remained until she graduated twice; first as a professional dancer and then as an ISTD certified dance teacher.
As an artist Lori discovered a burgeoning arts culture in Burlington, Vermont, and was determined to find a way to participate and collaborate with other artists. This multi disciplinary dance-art experiment culminated with a Phish concert on the eve of the millennium in 2000, for a crowd of 85,000 Phish fans in the Florida Everglades on the Big Cypress Indigenous Reserve. It would kick start an artistic journey to discover what dance communities around the world were producing in the multi-disciplinary arts worlds.
Lori was curious to find out how dance and other media were integrating on the world stage and this took her to Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Back at home, Lori dove into producing multi-media dance pieces including such talented collaborations with other Toronto artists such as Toronto jazz musician, Don Thompson.
Lori’s love for artistic amalgamation has blossomed over the last decade or so into her own special curriculum for recreational dancers, ranging in age from toddlers to adults