Faculty

Meet Our Certified and Professional Dance Teachers, Assistants and Faculty

Our Teachers

Vanessa Plettell-Chevrier, RAD, ADAPT

Ballet, Jazz

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 Bigras, ADAPT, PBT

Ballet, Tap, Jazz

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, ADAPT

Tap, Jazz, Acro, Lyrical, Musical Theatre

Allie discovered her love for dance at the age of 3, and has been dancing competitively at Vanessa Plettell Dance since the age of 8. Allie has trained and competed in many genres over the years, including tap, ballet, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, and musical theatre.

Allie has successfully completed her RAD Advanced 1 ballet certificate, along with successfully completing her ADAPT Intermediate 3 certificate in jazz and achieving her ADAPT Advanced Tap certificate. Allie is a gold seal graduate of the ADAPT Teacher’s Training School (TTS) after 7 years of teaching and assisting under many different teachers, qualifying her to teach tap and jazz from Pre-Junior to Advanced.

Allie has had multiple award winning choreographies, most recently 1st place highest scoring lyrical routine age 12 and under, 1st place overall junior small group as well as 2nd place overall small fry solo.

Allie is currently enrolled in her fourth year at the University of Ottawa for a Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Allie is so excited for the upcoming dance season and to share her passion for dance with all of her students!

Maya Light, ADAPT

Contemporary, Ballet, Tap, Lyrical, Hip Hop

Maya started dancing at the age of 7 and has been a loyal member of the VPD family for the past 10 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 the first year of her ADAPT Teacher’s Training School certification. Maya has competed numerous solos and duets, specializing in contemporary. She has won Highest Scoring Open Dance, 2nd overall senior solo, 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 recently graduated from the dance program at Canterbury High School of the Arts, and will be pursuing her love of languages at the University of Ottawa this year, with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics. Maya is very excited to continue passing on her love of dance to her students!

Izzy Koch, ARAD, ADAPT

Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical

Izzy began dancing as soon as she could walk and quickly fell in love. She joined VPD a few years later at age 6 and has now completed her Advanced 2 Ballet, Advanced Jazz, and Inter 3 Tap Exams. As a student, Izzy participated in the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Alberta Ballet’s Nutcrackers, and also attended Quinte Ballet School’s Summer Intensive.

Izzy graduated from the Canterbury Dance Program in 2023 and has since completed her ADAPT Teacher’s certification. She was accepted into both TMU and York for their dance programs but decided to stay in Ottawa and pursue a Bachelor of Science in Human Kinetics. She has been assisting at VPD for countless years and has thoroughly enjoyed her teaching and choreographic career thus far.

Kim Morrison

Jazz

Kim Morrison is a passionate and dedicated dance educator with over 30 years of experience in the dance industry. With a background in jazz, tap, acro, and ballet, Kim combines technical expertise with a creative flair in her teaching.
Kim has trained and competed at various Ottawa-based schools, including Le Jazz Hot Dance Company and Vanessa Plettell Dance. Her professional experience includes performing at events such as Canada Day celebrations, museum fundraisers, NAC events, and private corporate functions in Ottawa, where she has honed her skills as both a performer and choreographer.
As an educator, Kim is committed to developing student’s technical skills while nurturing a love for dance and creativity. She has taught at Vanessa Plettell Dance, Ottawa Community Centers, Ottawa-Carleton Public Schools, and Corona Gymnastics Club. Kim is renowned for her high-quality coaching and dedication to her student’s success. Her classes are noted for their innovation, inclusivity, and emphasis on technique.
In addition to her teaching role, Kim has over 10 years of experience in strength and conditioning as a coach and trainer. She integrates her fitness background into her dance classes to help dancers stay strong and injury-free. Outside of the studio, Kim continues to dance and train in Ottawa, staying current with new styles and trends in the dance world. Kim is thrilled to bring her expertise and enthusiasm to Vanessa Plettell Dance and looks forward to contributing to the vibrant dance community.