Calgary Fall Workshop Faculty

Gianna Martello is a dancer, teacher and choreographer from Pittsburgh, PA. Her raw talent and intensive training under the direction of Abby Lee Miller and the faculty at the Abby Lee Dance Company earned her regional and national accolades growing up as a "competition kid." At 16, Gianna began choreographing routines alongside Ms. Miller as well as on her own which led her to discover her passion for teaching and choreography. She is currently on faculty at Artistic Dance Exchange, Wild Dance Intensive for the Star Dance Alliance, Crew Studio, Broadway Dance Center, Millennium Dance Complex, and serves as a guest instructor and competition judge around the world.

Gianna was able to balance her academic and dance opportunities with great success. She graduated from Point Park University in 2011 with a B.A. in Advertising and Public Relations.

Gianna's choreography can be seen in the movie "Dance-Off," Go90's 'Crashed' series, Kid's Choice Awards and Dance Class Live promos, Australia's "ASTRA Awards," Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition, and music videos for Rachael Sage, Allegra Miles, Alexx Calise, Todrick Hall, The Pretty Wild, Emily Rowed and many more. You may know her from the fan favorite, Dance Moms! You can catch her choreography on all 8 seasons of the hit reality TV show.

Gianna's true passion lies in teaching and making you feel confident when you step out on stage, or into the real world. She believes that you can learn so much more from a dance teacher than just the steps. Her teacher instilled life long lessons throughout her entire childhood and Gianna wishes to do the same.

Mary is a distinguished choreographer, artistic director, adjudicator, and devoted mentor whose work embodies both depth and daring. With a unique voice rooted in contemporary movement, improvisational exploration, and bold compositional craft, her artistry bridges precision and poetry.

Her choreography has been recognized across North America, earning awards and accolades from The Dance Awards, New York City Dance Alliance, Radix Nationals, and Youth America Grand Prix. Professionally, Mary has created and premiered original works with The Alberta Ballet Company, including The Shape of Water and Glance Through My Eyes, which were featured in both their choreographic presentations and summer series performances.

Beyond the stage, Mary has dedicated herself to mentorship and artistic development. Through her customized programs, film collaborations, and work as an adjudicator, she cultivates a space where dancers are encouraged to listen deeply, take risks, and uncover their own artistic identities. Many of the dancers she has mentored have gone on to prestigious institutions such as Juilliard, CLI Conservatory, Arts Umbrella, USC Kaufman, and Rambert, but her truest pride lies within the process: the unfolding of each dancer's voice.

As the co-founder of The Archive Collective and Artistic Director of The Archive Conservatory, Mary leads with vision and care, shaping a space that honours the vulnerability and power of the artistic process. Her work within the post-graduate conservatory program celebrates curiosity, transformation, and the kind of shared artistry that ripples far beyond its walls.

Joey was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta and has been dancing and performing since the age of 7. After competing as a child, his passion led him to audition and make it to the top sixteen on the first season of 'So You Think You Can Dance Canada.' He has since been a part of assisting both the Canadian and American 'So You Think You Can Dance' television series. When moving to Vancouver, BC he joined a dance company titled 'Modus Operandi' to further explore the technique and foundations of modern and contemporary dance. While living there he also worked as a dancer/actor on the CW series 'Hellcats' and NBC's 'Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist.' Joey has performed in Industrial Trade shows and Galas such as Bell Mobility, Telus, CN Railway, and Toyota. Other credits include performing alongside Sarah McLachlan, K'naan, Carly Rae Jepsen, Marianas Trench, Ciara, Tyga, and Nelly. In 2015 Joey toured Switzerland with a show called 'Art on Ice' where he backup danced for Nelly Furtado, Tom Odell, Jessie J, and the Jacksons. He has had the recent pleasure of appearing on HBO's 'The Last of Us' and is currently a member of 'Joe Ink' and 'O2 The Dance Company' whilst guest teaching across Canada.

Katherine is a multidisciplinary dance artist residing in the Calgary (Moh-kins-tsis) community, and has been a well-known performer, instructor and choreographer in the Alberta arts community for the past two decades. She has trained across the world in locations like Vancouver, Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, London UK, Florence Italy and Tokyo, Japan. She has trained in many genres of dance such as Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Ballet, Tap, Musical Theatre, West African, Swing, and Latin but has focussed the past decade on training in Street Dance styles such as Hip-Hop, Funk Styles, Animation, R&B, House, Dancehall, Afro-styles, Vogue, and Waacking.

Katherine began her performance training studying Musical Theatre with the Youth Singers of Calgary in 1995, and soon after began studio dance training with Absolute Dance Inc. simultaneously. She followed her passion for dance to the University of Calgary Dance Program, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Contemporary Dance, graduating with Distinction. While at U of C Katherine began training in Vogue and Waacking styles with the collective House of Dangerkat, and later also began studying with the Decidedly Jazz Danceworks Professional Training Program focussing on Classic Jazz, Tap, Lindy Hop, Afro Cuban and West African dance vocabulary.

Meanwhile Katherine began performing professionally for corporate events and commercial projects such as Groove Academy, The Calgary Spurs, House of Dangerkat, Shine Ensemble, Elektra Dance Company, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks and various entertainment agencies. She has also had the privilege of performing on numerous international tours including touring China with the production Dragonfly Cafe in 2014.

While at DJD, Katherine reconnected with colleagues Edgar Reyes, Cody Jaxon and Joey Braunwarth over a shared love of Hip-Hop and Street dance, which led them to co-found the successful Street Dance company illFX Entertainment Inc. Years later the trio of Katherine, Edgar and Cody expanded to create a sister company called illFX Education, which is a Street Dance training program for youth and young adults. This company also founded the MOVE Bursary Program which stands for Movement Opportunities Vital for Expression — and raises money to provide dancers in need with the necessary funding to pursue their passion for dance. In 2024 they debuted a completely free dance program in collaboration with the East Side Dance Festival.

Katherine is currently Co-Artistic Director of illFX Education and Entertainment Inc. as well as Co-Director and Producer for Spectra Entertainment Inc. She continues to teach and choreograph for numerous dance studios, schools and performing groups across Alberta. Katherine strives for knowledge and excellence in dance, and firmly believes in the arts as a crucial avenue for self-expression and the personal development of young people and our society as a whole.

Claudia Sánchez Alvaré was born in Havana, Cuba, and began her ballet journey at the age of 7. Her talent and dedication quickly stood out, earning her a place at the prestigious Cuban National Ballet School (ENA), where she trained for eight years. Graduating as both a ballet dancer and teacher, Claudia's classical ballet foundation was strong and well-rounded.

In 2007, Claudia joined the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, where she spent seven years dancing as a professional ballet dancer. Her impressive repertoire with the National Ballet of Cuba includes iconic works such as Giselle, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and Theme and Variations, among many others, showcasing her versatility and artistry on stage.

In 2014, Claudia moved to Canada, where she continued her professional dance career with both the Victoria Ballet and the Alberta Ballet. However, after retiring from performing, Claudia found her next passion in teaching. She dedicated over five years of her career to teaching at the Alberta Ballet School, working with dancers of all levels. She also collaborated with the YYC Dance Project, where she was in charge of their ballet training and played a crucial role in preparing dancers for competitions such as the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP), the Ballet World Competition, and prestigious school auditions, including those for the Juilliard School, the Royal Ballet School, and the Opéra de Paris School.

Claudia's teaching excellence was recognized when she received three Best Teacher awards at the 4th World Ballet Art Competition Grand Prix Semi-Finals in Calgary and Finals in Niagara Falls, both in 2007.

When the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the dance community, Claudia saw an opportunity to support dancers worldwide and launched "Learning Ballet with Claudia." This platform offers one-on-one ballet coaching, focusing on improving technique, preparing for competitions, auditions, and exams. Claudia continues to inspire dancers of all ages and levels, offering both online and in-person master classes to help them reach their full potential.

Recently, Claudia introduced a new resource for dancers—a Dance Journal, available at City Dancewear, Amazon and her website Learning Ballet with Claudia. The journal helps dancers track their progress, set goals, and record corrections and feedback from teachers.

One of Claudia's proudest accomplishments as a teacher is seeing her students succeed. Notably, one of her students received a scholarship to the prestigious Juilliard School in New York, and another was awarded a scholarship to the American Ballet Theatre School. She is also honored to have been one of the teachers of Tate McRae, a renowned dancer and artist, further affirming her legacy in the dance world.

Today, Claudia remains passionately committed to her mission of helping dancers improve and achieve their dreams, fueled by her love for ballet and teaching.

Luke is a dancer from Calgary, Alberta and a proud recent graduate of Excel Dance Experience, where he trained and worked as an assistant. Throughout his dance journey, Luke has had the opportunity to train in several prestigious invite-only programs, including the 4th edition of the Lukas McFarlane Intensive in Europe, as well as Camp Protégé, Stacey Tookey’s invite-only program.

While competing, Luke earned numerous overall awards and titles, including becoming a provincial champion in Alberta alongside his duet partner Alice, who is now an Excel Pro Assistant. Their award-winning duet was choreographed by Excel Director Gretta Briceno, who Luke has worked closely with for many years. Luke also holds a special place in Excel’s history, as he taught one of his first classes at the debut Excel Assistant Pop-Up, which sold out in less than 24 hours.

Luke is currently performing professionally aboard the Spectrum of the Seas with Royal Caribbean International. He now specializes in jazz and commercial dance, bringing together his technical training, performance experience, and knowledge from his time working as a professional dancer. Luke is so excited to return to Excel and share his passion, energy, choreography, and everything he has learned with dancers at this fall’s convention.

Nia grew up dancing at Elite Dance Academy here in Calgary, Alberta. She started off in Ballet but as her love for dance grew, Nia branched out into all other styles including Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, Hip Hop and Tap. She competed for many years and spent two years in the Young Canadians of the Calgary Stampede where she danced and sang. Over the course of her childhood, she spent time in all areas of the performing arts by also participating in acting lessons, performing in plays with local theatre, and taking piano and voice lessons from the ages of five to 18.

Currently, Nia is attending school part-time studying early learning and child studies. She also continues to pursue her love of dance by performing with the Calgary Roughnecks Drill Crew, the Rhinestone Cowgirls and the Calgary Stampeders Outriders. She is a huge animal lover and can often be found hanging out with her many pets. Nia loves to further her professional development and is constantly learning. She has completed year one of the ADAPT teacher training school, as well as modules 1 and 2 of Acrobatic Arts.

Anna Steele began dancing at the age of 3 and has fallen in love with it ever since. Growing up as a competitive dancer, she trained in a wide range of styles including Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Tap, Pointe, and Acro, graduating from Airborne Dance Centre in 2018.

Anna has trained extensively with top choreographers and instructors across Vancouver, Toronto, and Los Angeles, as well as professional cheer coaches from the NFL, NBA, and beyond. Her diverse training continues to shape her dynamic style as both a performer and choreographer.

Currently, Anna performs with the Rhinestone Cowgirls, the Roughnecks Drill Crew, and the Calgary Stampeders Outriders — and has choreographed for all three. She also had the incredible opportunity to perform with the Jonas Brothers at the 2024 Grey Cup Halftime Show, and has also appeared in multiple music videos as a dancer.

As a teacher and choreographer at multiple studios across Calgary, Anna brings passion, creativity, and a love for continuous growth to every class. She strives to create a supportive, fun, and positive environment where every student feels seen, encouraged, and empowered to be their best — both as dancers and as people.