Faculty

Vanessa Plettell-Chevrier is a classically trained ballet dancer with the Royal Academy of Dance. Raised in Lethbridge Alberta, she was a scholarship student for five years at the Banff School of Fine Arts Summer School and in New York City with Alvin Ailey and Joffrey Ballet. Her passion for teaching and choreography has well prepared her students for exams, competitions and performances. She holds her Major Advanced Ballet Dance Certificate and Teaching Certificate and she is a Registered Member with the Royal Academy of Dance (A.R.A.D)

Casandra started dancing at the age of 3. Throughout her dance education, she trained and competed in Jazz, Lyrical, Tap, Contemporary, Ballet, Pointe, and Musical Theatre. She has her Intermediate RAD Ballet certificate and trained up to Advanced 1 and holds the Pre-Intermediate 3 Jazz exam certificate and trained up to Intermediate 3. In Tap she passed both her Pre-Advanced and Advanced Tap Exams.

Miss Casandra began teaching in 2018 while obtaining her gold stamp ADAPT certification. Now being completely certified in the ADAPT syllabus and teaching for the past 5 years, she has had the success of putting through multiple students from the levels of Pre-Junior to Advance in exams with high marks. She has also had multiple high-scoring, top style, and overall winning Tap choreographies. Casandra has recently completed her Progressing Ballet Technique certification and is pursuing her RAD ballet teachers certification.

Casandra is a University of Ottawa alumni graduating in 2021 with an Honours  B.Soc.Sc  in Conflict Studies and Human Rights with a Minor in Social Sciences of Health and is in the process of completing her Masters of Arts and Sciences in International Studies with a Specialization in Peace, Conflicts, and Culture.

Allie Fournier discovered her love for dance at the age of 3 and has been dancing competitively at Vanessa Plettell Dance since the age of 8. She has trained and competed in a wide range of styles, including tap, ballet, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, and musical theatre.

Allie has successfully completed her RAD Advanced 1 ballet certificate, her ADAPT Intermediate 3 jazz certificate, and her ADAPT Advanced Tap certificate. She is also a gold seal graduate of the ADAPT Teacher’s Training School (TTS), qualifying her to teach tap and jazz from Pre-Junior to Advanced levels. Most recently, she became a certified Acrobatic Arts instructor, further expanding her expertise and passion for safe and progressive acro training.

Allie’s choreography has received multiple awards, most recently including 3rd place musical theatre solo, 1st place lyrical routine, 1st place overall junior small group, and 2nd place overall small fry solo. Outside of the studio, Allie works as a full-time elementary school teacher, specializing in supporting students with diverse learning needs. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Ottawa, and brings her knowledge of child development and mental wellness into all of her teaching, in the classroom and in the dance studio.

Allie is dedicated to creating a positive, inclusive, and empowering learning environment and is so excited for the upcoming dance season!

Maya started dancing at the age of 7 and has been a loyal member of the VPD family for the past 13 years. Training competitively in a wide range of styles, she has completed her Advanced 1 ballet exam as well as her Advanced jazz and tap exams. She has also completed her ADAPT Teacher’s Training School certification. Maya has competed numerous solos and duets, specializing in contemporary and hip hop. She has won Highest Scoring Open Dance, 2nd and 3rd overall senior solo, multiple scholarships, and special awards for her solos and duets choreographed by Kendra Brulé. Additionally, she won a special award as well as a choreography award for her self-choreographed contemporary solo at Dancefest 2023. Maya graduated from the dance program at Canterbury High School of the Arts, and is currently pursuing her love of languages at the University of Ottawa, with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics. Maya is very excited to continue passing on her love of dance to her students!

Kyla found her true passion at Vanessa Plettell Dance, 11 years ago when she started her dance training in acro and lyrical. She has competed in many different styles of dance and has had many performance opportunities, specifically in VPD’s Coppélia and Fairytale Adventures, where she was casted as a lead dancer. Kyla has been assisting for the past 4 years in tap, jazz, ballet and acro. She has had the pleasure of working directly under Allie Fournier and Vanessa Plettell-Chevrier. Kyla completed her RAD Advanced 2 Ballet Examination, as well as, her ADAPT Advanced Jazz & Tap Examinations after receiving a Highly Commended Plus on her Intermediate 3 Jazz exam. Kyla was accepted into the Quinte Ballet School of Canada’s Professional Training Program and graduated from Canterbury Arts High School with a certificate in Dance Arts. She has completed Year 1 of her ADAPT Teacher’s Training School certification and looks forward to helping her students grow and improve as dancers this year. Kyla loves sharing her knowledge and love for dance with her students and loves seeing what an impact dance can have on an individual.

Morgan’s extensive training in contortion, tumbling, and aerial hoops has earned her numerous awards for her acrobatic performances. In 2019, she was selected to train at the Cirque du Soleil Summer Intensive, where she further developed her acrobatic skills under world-renowned teachers.

She is a certified Acrobatic Arts instructor and has completed formal training in the Acrobatic Arts syllabus, ensuring a safe and structured approach to acro instruction.

Morgan is a graduate of the Canterbury Dance Program and holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Carleton University.

Morgan is committed to creating a safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environment where all dancers feel confident and encouraged to grow. She is thrilled to be part of the VPD team this season and looks forward to inspiring her students through hard work, creativity, and a love of dance.

She is a dedicated student in Canterbury High School’s dance program and has performed professionally with Ballet Jörgen in The Nutcracker and Anne of Green Gables. Cassie was voted Ottawa’s Best Dancer 2025 in the Ottawa Faces Awards.

Cassie has completed her RAD Advanced 2 ballet examination, her ADAPT Intermediate 2 jazz examination and her ADAPT Intermediate 3 tap examination. She is currently working towards her RAD Grade 8 ballet examination and her ADAPT Advanced Jazz and Tap examinations.

With over three years of teaching and assisting experience in weekly classes and summer camps, she is very excited for this upcoming dance season to share her passion for dance with her students!

Vivianna has trained and competed in various styles over the years, including ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary and acro. She has completed her ADAPT Intermediate 2 Jazz examination and ADAPT Intermediate 3 Tap examination and is currently working toward her ADAPT Advanced Jazz and Tap examinations, continuing to grow in both her own training and her teaching.

Vivianna is looking forward to creating a positive, encouraging space where everyone feels inspired to move, express themselves, and fall in love with dance. Vivianna is very excited for the upcoming dance season and to share her passion for dance with her students!