Dana Schlanger (School Director) is an arts administrator and musicologist with extensive international experience in arts management and education. Before becoming Director of the Dena Wosk School of Performing Arts in 1999, she has worked for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tel-Aviv University and several community centers in Tel-Aviv, has published extensively on music and the performing arts and was actively involved in all aspects of the cultural scene. Dana is also the Delegation Head for the JCC Maccabi ArtsFest. She continues to enjoy her work at the school and attempts to constantly create new and exciting courses for our talented students!

Nathalie Marrable - JAZZ - Nathalie is classically trained at Boston Ballet School and Joffrey Ballet School, and her training in Musical Theatre and Jazz comes from the Broadway Dance Centre in New York. She is a certified teacher in all forms of dance from the International Students & Teachers in Dance (ISTD) organization. Nathalie feels blessed to have danced professionally with Boston and Joffrey Ballet companies, Alberta Ballet, Synergy Dance Theatre in London, UK, and Tokyo Disney. She has been in the cast of many musicals such as Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Dirty Dancing the Tour; her latest joy is her status as one of Madonna's performers. She has taught in South Africa, Europe, USA and Canada, and is looking forward to a fantastic year with us!

Meagan Ekelund - TAP, JAZZ, MUSICAL THEATRE - Meagan is originally from Calgary and has been dancing since she was five years old. She moved to Vancouver three years ago to perform in Crazy For You with Theatre Under The Stars. She recently graduated from the Musical Theatre Program at Capilano College where she trained with Shelley Hunt, Sylvia Zaradic and Kevin Michael Kripps. Some of her stage credits include the upcoming Oklahoma! (TUTS), 42nd Street (Royal City Musical Theatre), and A Chorus Line (Stage West Dinner Theatre). She is very excited to be teaching again and looks forward to the year ahead.

Jana Berengel - JAZZ, HIP-HOP - Jana's dance career boasts an impressive list of credits including Tokyo Disneyland, Princess Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruises, two Canadian concert show tours throughout Israel, Dubai, Egypt and the Middle East. She was the choreographer for famed Miami club BASH. She has been featured in videos, short films, and television commercials including principal spots for Telus Mobility, Energizer Batteries, Reactine and Citroen Cars. Jana was also one of two dancers performing with Carmen Electra in the MTV movie Monster Island.

Nicol Spinola started dancing when she was learning her ABC's and hasn't stopped yet! She has extensive training in many forms of dance which include; Jazz, Tap Ballet, Lyrical, Stage, Polynesian and Musical Theatre. She has been fortunate to perform in many places around Canada and the USA. Aside from dancing, Nicol teaches in various studios around the Lower Mainland. Her teaching philosophy is to provide a safe and structured environment where students can express and explore their creativity and have a great time! When Nicol isn't teaching, she can be found on stage in musical productions around Vancouver. Most recently, she was seen in 42nd Street and Peter Pan (Royal City Musical Theatre), Cabaret (Uncle Randy Productions), Franklin the Turtle (Paquin Entertainment) as well as Bird and the Waterfall (Show n' Tale Productions). Nicol is currently working towards her B.Ed. at the SFU.

Tara Hutchison - JAZZ, TAP - Tara began dancing at age 4. Born and raised in Hinton, Alberta, she danced and taught in her home town for many years, before leaving to pursue a professional dance career. Tara now dances with the Source Dance Company, trains at Harbour Dance Centre, and teaches. Tara has quite extensive experience in a wide range of dance disciplines including RAD ballet, jazz, lyrical, tap, hip hop, modern, street jazz and musical theatre. She is also an accomplished Irish dancer having competed at the national level.
Alex Schween - HIP-HOP - Alex moved to Vancouver from Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 2006 to dance with the "Source" dance company. She has performed in many productions including the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's The Nutcracker, The Pan American Games Closing Ceremonies, and The Queen's Royal Jubilee. She has won many awards at various competitions for her own dancing ability and has been teaching and choreographing since she was 13 years old. Alex loves to share her passion for dance and is excited to do so in Vancouver.

Annie Au - BALLET - Annie started dancing at the age of 4. Her training includes ballet, jazz, modern and hip-hop. Over the course of her training, she had the opportunity to work with choreographers and teachers from Hong Kong, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. She is a member of the Source Dance Company and was on the University of Alberta Dance Team. She has performed and competed in cities such as Las Vegas and Portland. In 2005, she was honored to assume the role of Chinese dance soloist in the Alberta Centennial Celebration. At present, she is absolutely enjoying her training and working opportunities in Vancouver.

Jennifer Polsky - HIP-HOP - started her dance training in her early teens with the Lisa Stevens Dance Company and went on to dance with the BC Lions Dance Team for four years. She has been teaching Hip Hop at the JCC for a few years, taking a year off last year to have her first child. She loves working with children since she has ECE training and works in the ECE department as well.

Tamara Cohen - JAZZ, MODERN - Tamara has been dancing professionally for the past six years and has performed in both film and stage productions. She has trained with the best local instructors and renowned international choreographers (Eddie Garcia, Chris Dupree, Steven Stanton). In 2006 she was a part of MOVE: the company, Vancouver's most recent professional contemporary company, as well as discovered her love for teaching dance and sharing her passion with her students.

Carmen Rivas - FLAMENCO - started studying with Rosario Ancer at the Centro Flamenco in 1989 and then joined the professional company in 1995. She has performed in the Annual Vancouver Flamenco Festival and has toured throughout BC with the Flamenco Rosario Company. In addition she has performed with the Vancouver Opera's production of Carmen. Our own Carmen is a familiar figure at the JCC and we welcome her back to teaching Flamenco!

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