Exceptional students taught by exceptional dancers and teachers. Evolution Dance Studio is more than a dance studio. We are a strong community of passionate educators, dancers, and choreographers. Watching our students grow and evolve in their passion inspires us to be the best role models we can be.
Faculty
Nicole has held the position of Artistic Director, teacher, and choreographer at Evolution Dance Studio for over a decade. Her life-long love for dance began at age three when she took her first ballet class. She later became a competitive gymnast and dancer, and trained extensively in a wide variety of dance genres. Today, she educates dancers of all ages and levels, specializing in ballet, tap, jazz, acro, lyrical, contemporary, and hip hop.
Nicole has been recognized for her exceptional choreography, and prides herself on her creativity and artistic vision. Her dancers have won numerous awards, titles, and scholarships, such as Highest Mark of the Competition and Adjudicator’s Choice Most Outstanding, and become skilled members of the dance industry. Her pedagogy is built upon a belief in the innate ability and potential of every dancer, and she works hard to help her students achieve their personal goals.
Nicole holds an Honours BSc (Mathematics) with a minor in Fine Arts (Visual Arts) and a BEd from York University, and currently works as an Occasional Teacher with the York Region District School Board. She is also a member of the Professional Adjudicators Alliance. She has trained and choreographed for dancers at several studios in the Greater Toronto Area and continues to expand her horizons through workshops, conventions, and master classes across the continent. Nicole cherishes the rewarding experience of watching her students develop into strong, confident, and proficient dancers. She is excited to see what’s to come for her students at Evolution Dance Studio.
Natalie Cultraro is from Toronto and began dancing at the age of 3. She has been teaching and choreographing for over 15 years, and has been trained in all dance genres. Her ballet training includes advanced level certification through the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) syllabus, as well as Russian Vaganova. Natalie is also a member of the Professional Adjudicator’s Alliance. She has adjudicated at various dance competitions throughout North America. As an ACTRA apprentice, she has worked on set in several films and television shows including Mean Girls, Take the Lead, Step Up, Royal Canadian Air Farce, and the TV pilot for Save the Last Dance. She was a member of the Toronto Raptor’s Dance Pak for two years and has danced in many industrial shows in Toronto. She was awarded National Senior Miss Candance, which provided her with the opportunity to dance on a cruise ship that travelled around the Greek Islands with Euro International Performance Tours.
Natalie graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Education and is currently working as a High School teacher in York Region. She also has a Bachelor of Arts degree from York University in Kinesiology and Health Science, and a minor in Dance. Working with teachers across Canada and the United States has provided her with the opportunity to guest teach at several studios. She continues her dance education through classes, seminars and workshops.
Liana has been a part of the EDS Faculty since 2010 and continues to use her skill and knowledge to teach and inspire students of all ages and ability. She is fully trained in Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Acro, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Contemporary, and Modern. She attended Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts secondary school to further her dance education and has been trained by well established dance teachers and choreographers from Canada and the United States. Throughout her dance career, Liana has received intense technique training by some of LA’s top teachers such as Paula Morgan and Marty Kudelka. She has completed many dance exams including the A.D.A.P.T syllabus and numerous R.A.D Ballet exams.
After finishing College, Liana decided to pursue her dream as a Professional Dancer. This included landing lead roles in a number of performances and these credits include: Sandy in a production of “Grease”, Roxie in “Chicago”, and she was part of the ensemble cast of “Sweet Charity” and “The Nutcracker”. Liana has also performed in numerous Industrial Trade Shows within Ontario, to name a few; Mark Kay Cosmetics, The Bell Celebrity Gala, and the Bank of Montreal Annual Awards Gala. Liana’s professional dance career has also given her the opportunity to travel the world and perform in several Countries such as Bahamas, Spain, France and Italy. She has worked for ClubMed Resorts and most recently, Royal Caribbean Cruises International. She was cast as ‘Linda’ and in the musical “Saturday Night Fever” working on-board the Liberty of the Seas and also had the advantage to train with ‘C5 Create with No Limits’ to become a certified Aerialist. While dancing on-board the Explorer of the Seas, Liana had the opportunity to train with an Award-winning Ballroom couple, learning styles such as Rumba, Salsa, Foxtrot and Jive.
To further her career as a Dance Instructor/ Choreographer, Liana has really enjoyed her role as an Adjudicator, judging for the numerous Competitions she has traveled with for the past 7+ years. She has also been part of the Northern Movement Acro Convention faculty since 2014 when the company was first created and continues to flourish and grow with every opportunity she is given within the Dance industry.
As a Toronto-born dance artist, Allexa has been dedicating her time to honing her craft since her early teen years. She is a hard working dancer with a captivating facility. After graduating from Conteur Academy, where she trained under the direction of Eryn Waltman, Allexa performed in the Conteur Academy’s presentation of “FRAMES.” Allexa was an Argos cheerleader/dancer and has performed in events such as “Fever After Dark” and Caroline Torti’s piece at Hit the Floor. She also performed in Blake Mcgrath’s show “I am Blake Mcgrath”, and Brooke Gilmour’s show “I Never Promised You A Rose Garden” in London, Ontario. Allexa was also featured in BBOSS’s music video “Russian Girls, Skeletons” with W. Darling and “Done Da Da” with Massari. She has also been a part of the Sick Kids charity event for On The Floor with choreographers Derek Piquette and Mitchell Jackson. With her energetic and positive attitude Allexa is a versatile dance artist that captures the attention of many audiences.
Delia has had a passion for dancing since the young age of 3. She has trained and competed in various styles of dance such as Ballet, Jazz, Acro, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip Hop, and Modern. Delia has assisted with and participated in a variety of dance workshops and conventions and has been successful in a number of dance competitions across North America. Delia was a part of the Regional Arts Program at St. Elizabeth Catholic High School to further her dance training outside of the studio. She has been involved in numerous community outreach dance programs, and over the past two years, Delia has had the opportunity to visit Attawapiskat First Nation reserve in Northern Ontario, to facilitate dance workshops for elementary school students, promote dance as a mental health tool and to connect with Indigenous youth.
Delia is currently completing her Bachelor of Arts degree in Indigenous studies with a minor in dance at York University. Delia is a certified acrobatics teacher through Acrobatic Arts, and is dedicated to bringing new ideas and methods of training to each dance class.
Hannah has been dancing at EDS since 2006 and was on the competitive team from 2007 to 2019. She is trained in all styles such as Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Acro, Ballet, Lyrical, Modern and Contemporary. She joined the EDS faculty in 2019 and continues to share her love and passion for dance with children. Being on the EDS competitive team taught her many things. She found her love of working with children and inspiring them to jump out of their shell and try new things. She was taught by the amazing EDS faculty as well as many outside choreographers who made her dance experience so enjoyable. Hannah graduated from Alexander Mackenzie High School where she was a part of the dance program and president of the dance council. She is now continuing her education at Guelph Humber University where she is studying Kinesiology and fitness and health promotion. Hannah finds the best thing about dance is seeing her students develop discipline, confidence and a passion for dance and she is very excited to see her students grow.
Alessandra has had a passion for dance from a very young age. She started dance at the age of three, and joined competitive dance at the age of five. Alessandra has been trained in various styles of dance including ballet, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, acrobatics, and tap. At the age of 12, she found her passion for ballet and trained extensively in ballet and contemporary. Most recently, Alessandra has trained primarily in the Vaganova syllabus. She attended Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts Secondary School to further her training and knowledge in dance, and is currently attending York University and completing her BFA in dance.
Alessandra has attended multiple ballet programs and summer intensives across North America including The National Ballet of Canada, The Alberta Ballet School, Boston Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. She has also competed at many competitions, including the world’s largest student ballet competition, Youth America Grand Prix, where she placed top 12 in her contemporary ballet solo. She has performed in “The Nutcracker” at the Sony Centre, for the last five years, alongside world renowned principal dancers from the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. Alessandra also teaches ballet to competitive gymnasts to further help them with their technique and artistry. Alessandra’s career is only just beginning, and she looks forward to her future in the dance industry.