About Us

Our Studio

Elegance Ballet Studio is a training ground for students of all ages. Our Studio focuses on teaching students to consistently act with integrity and respect, encourages continuous improvement and foster teamwork. Each class is innovatively designed to provide creative and progressive training techniques taught by highly qualified dance teachers who focus on developing artistic growth within every student.

The Studio is recognized for its high standard of training based on the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) Syllabus, dedicated and qualified staff and its modern convenient dance facilities. We encourage students to attain a strong background in Classical Ballet. Our studio also offers Technical Training Programs in National Dance, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip-Hop and Jazz. The foundation of all dance techniques are to develop poise, encourage good posture, and improve coordination and body core strength. Our primary goals is to build elegance, confidence and a love of dance while encouraging teamwork, fund and friendships.

Our Mission

Our studio provides a caring and equal opportunity environment with artistic and academic training of the highest possible caliber, offering all students a positive learning experience that is constantly monitored for potential growth and improvement. We strive to achieve excellence through recognized accreditation and training via a curriculum designed to provide students with as many opportunities to perform as possible.

Our studio is an equal opportunity employer who recruits, trains, learns from, grows with, and promotes professionally accredited employees through fair and equal hiring practices that are respective of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, age, orientation, and physical status. The Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) is our primary guideline for hiring in Canada, following all Ontario Employment Standards, and guidelines of the International Mobility Program Get to know your rights while working in Canada for foreign employee awareness of employment rights and workplace protections in Canada.

Faculty

ELEGANCE BALLET STUDIO programs are directed and taught by professional dance teachers.

Amanda Zhang

Amanda Zhang

Artistic Director, Founder and Director
RTRAD / RTISTD / PBT
Royal Accademy of Dance Registered Teacher

Amanda is an artistic director, founder and director of Elegance Ballet Studio. She has been dancing since the age of four. Five years full time ballet training in Beijing Academy of Dance. Amanda used to perform on various stage as proferssional dancer, such as participating in 1996 CCTV (China Central Television) Spring Festival Gala.

Amanda is a Royal Academy of Dance Registered Teacher (RAD), and a certified member of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD). She has been teaching dance for over 15 years and many of her former students obtained Distinction in different levels of RAD exams, received many awards from competitions, and performed many programs in community and the National Ballet of Canada's production of the 'The Nutcracker'. So far, two of her former students have been accepted to NBS full-time professional program.

Amanda dedicated her life to the world of Ballet. The Elegance Ballet Studio is a major part of Amanda's life. Her students and their families are what makes Elegance Ballet Studio what it is. She cannot imagine her life without this studio and is grateful for the continued support of her friends and family.

Jeremy Nasmith

Carmen Cairns

ARAD / RTRAD / RAD Tutor
Royal Accademy of Dance Registered Teacher

Carmen Cairns is an internationally celebrated dance teacher, known for her accessibility, humour, and ability to empower her students. The UK native graduated from the 3-year Teacher Training at the Royal Ballet School. She also holds a Degree in Dance Education from the University of Surrey and is a Benesh Movement educator.
With over 24 years of experience, Ms. Cairns has taught worldwide from as far as Cyprus to Canada. She is also a busy tutor for the Royal Academy of Dance, travelling across North America to teach both student and teacher courses. With a passion for Teacher Training, she has been teaching at Canada’s National Ballet School for the past 12 years and was Manager of the Teacher Training Program for 3 years. Her aim being to foster artistic, cultural, and academic growth in every possible way.
Since arriving in Canada 17 years ago she has been an integral faculty member for Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre, both as a ballet teacher and as Associate Artistic Director. Ms. Cairns has seen many students through their RAD examinations, and in every class her promise is to nurture both technical and artistic development, while ensuring that students feel a sense of accomplishment in themselves.

Charlotte Yeung

Charlotte Yeung

ARAD / RTRAD / BA(Hons) Ballet, HKAPA
Royal Accademy of Dance Registered Teacher

Charlotte was born in Hong Kong and graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) Degree in Dance majoring ballet with First Class Honour in 2018.She then went to the Chongqing Ballet as a professional dancer in the same year.
Charlotte has completed ballet Advanced 2 with distinction and finished the RAD Certificate of Ballet Teaching and become a RAD registered teacher.
She participated actively in both local and international ballet competitions.

  • The Genée 2014
  • The 44th Open dance competition - Gold Medal
  • The 8th Taipei International Ballet Grand Prix - 5th Place
  • 2017 Asian Elite Dance Competition (Open group solo) - 2nd Place

Jeremy Nasmith

Jeremy Nasmith

Ballet Teacher

Jeremy Nasmith danced with Opera Atelier starting in 1986 and joined the National Ballet of Canada in 1995 achieving the rank of Second Soloist in 2000. He moved to Japan to pursue a freelance career in 2001, but kept ties with both Toronto companies, returning regularly to guest. He began to teach ballet at Architanz in Tokyo and DanceTeq in Toronto in 2001. Jeremy retired from the National Ballet in 2008, and from Opera Atelier as a dancer in 2019, although he still sings Baritone in their chorus. Jeremy has been artistic director of DanceTeq since 2017.

Juliya Valasevich

Juliya Valasevich

Vaganova Specialist, AcroArts M1, Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus

Juliya's journey in dance began at the age of 5, and by 10, she embarked on a rigorous nine-year full-time ballet program that set the stage for her illustrious career. A graduate of the Belarusian State Choreographic College, Juliya has excelled as a ballet dancer, teacher, and artist. Her expertise and artistry have taken her across the globe, performing in renowned venues in Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and South Korea.
During her tenure with the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre of Belarus, Juliya’s dedication and talent earned her roles in a diverse repertoire, including The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Cinderella, Bolero, La Bayadère, La Sylphide, La Esmeralda, Anyuta, Carmina Burana, Chopiniana, Cipollino, Creation of the World, Spartacus, La Fille Mal Gardee, and Flower Festival in Genzano. After relocating to Canada, Juliya shifted her focus to teaching, bringing her extensive knowledge and passion to numerous dance studios across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). She has taught both recreational and competitive students and has continued to expand her expertise.
Juliya holds a certification in Acrobatic Arts as a Module One Acrobatic Dance Teacher and has also earned certificates in contemporary dance and jazz from her studies in Germany and Poland. In addition to her teaching, Juliya remains actively involved in performance. She frequently participates in local dance projects and collaborates with singers, musicians, and circus artists. As a co-choreographer and soloist with the Ismailova Theatre of Dance, she continues to explore and enhance her craft. Juliya is committed to ongoing professional development, having recently attended a teacher training seminar on the Vaganova method and classical dance teacher workshops in Minsk and St. Petersburg.
Juliya is eager to meet her new students and looks forward to sharing her wealth of knowledge and experience with the next generation of dance enthusiasts.

Ryan Lee

Ryan Lee

Contemporary Specialist, Professor

Independent Dance Artist Ryan Lee graduated from Toronto Metropolitan University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. He has been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with such companies as Human Body Expression, ProArteDanza, Toronto Dance Theatre, Kaeja d’Dance, Transcendance, Anandam Dancetheatre, inDANCE, The Chimera Project, Frog in Hand and TOES for Dance.
He has been commissioned to make choreographic works by ProArteDanza, Toronto Metropolitan University, George Brown College, The Emerging Artist Intensive, Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre, Dance Arts Institute (formally The School of Toronto Dance Theatre), Centennial College, Branksome College, Etobicoke School for the Arts, Cawthra Park Secondary, Unionville High School and Rosedale School of the Arts. Ryan's work has been presented at festivals such as Dance Ontario Dance Weekend, SummerWorks and Dance:made in Canada.
Ryan is a professor at Centennial College and contract lecturer at TMU. Ryan is the current rehearsal director of Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre.
Ryan has adjudicated across Canada for competitions such as View Dance Challenge, Limelight, Millennium Dance Productions, Fever International, Move: The Competition and The Surrey Festival.

Phoebe Yin

Phoebe Yin

RTRAD / PBT
Royal Accademy of Dance Registered Teacher

Phoebe Yin is a graduate of Canada’s National Ballet School in the Teacher Training Program (TTP), earning a diploma with distinction and receiving the Sylvia McPhee Award. She holds a Registered Teaching Status with the Royal Academy of Dance. Phoebe's educational background includes a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Simon Fraser University (SFU), where she gained expertise in teaching, choreography, improvisation, and performance, whilst training in Graham and Cunningham techniques.
Her dance journey began at age 13, training in Ballet (Cecchetti/RAD), modern, contemporary, ballroom, and hip hop.
In 2016, she was awarded a scholarship from the Arts Umbrella Summer Intensive program.
Phoebe's passion for teaching was ignited through her certifications in swimming and music teaching, providing her with the opportunity to work with children. This inspired her to further enhance her teaching techniques, leading her to become a certified teacher in Progressive Ballet Technique (PBT).
Phoebe's deep love and dedication to teaching stem from her belief in the transformative power of dance, fostering discipline, teamwork, and self-expression, enabling students to grow both physically and mentally.