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.).

Gemma-Lee is a Certified ADAPT teacher, however her ultimate passion has always lied in Hip Hop. She began dancing at the age of 3 and she is quite accomplished, having won special awards and overall highest scores at various dance competitions. Gemma-Lee’s dedication to her students of all ages never goes unnoticed. She believes in using an imaginative approach and is devoted to being the type of dance teacher that continues to inspire her students both inside and outside of the studio. Gemma-Lee knows from experience that dance teaches many valuable life lessons. Outside of dance, Gemma-Lee holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Communications and enjoys spending time outdoors and travelling.

Caitlin McKay is a Royal Academy of Dance graduate having trained in one of the highest levels of ballet certification (Advanced 2) offered by the Academy.  Caitlin has also completed the ADAPT Jazz certificate in Intermediate 3. Caitlin has also been taking classes in other various styles like tap, hip hop and lyrical over the past 10 years and continues to do so. Caitlin has broadened her dance training through RAD and ADAPT workshops and has recurved training at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Summer Program in 2012. Caitlin has been teaching ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical and hip hop for the last 7 years.
She brings with her performance experience through local productions and competitions and she has choreographed many high achieving numbers for her students.  Recently Caitlin was selected for a spot on the Manchester University dance squad (Jazz team) where she represented the University in various competitions.  Caitlin has a love of dance and teaching and being in the dance environment is her happy place.

Casandra began her love of dance at the age of four at Extravadance Academy in Rockland, Ontario. During her training, she passed her ADAPT Advanced Tap certification, trained up to ADAPT Intermediate 3 Jazz, RAD Ballet Pre-Advanced; while also competing in Contemporary and Lyrical. Casandra has graduated from the TTS ADAPT certification program, qualifying her to teach Tap and Jazz from Pre-junior to Advanced. She has also recently graduated from the University of Ottawa with Magna Cum Laude in an honours bachelors program, and will be studying at the University of Montreal to complete her Masters Thesis. With her accomplishments in tap and jazz dancing, Casandra is excited to bring her love and passion for dance to all of her present and future students.

Annie has been a committed member of Vanessa Plettell Dance for over 10 years. As a dancer, and now a teacher/choreographer, Annie has won numerous awards at competitions for her choreography as well as her dancing. She recently completed a bachelors in Human Rights and Social Justice from Carleton University. She was selected to be the lead dancer in numerous End-Year shows and was part of the dance team at Carleton University. Annie is a hard worker who cares for and supports her students.

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 theater.

Allie has successfully completed her RAD Advanced 1 certificate, along with successfully completing her ADAPT Intermediate 3 certificates in both tap and jazz.

Allie is a gold seal graduate of the ADAPT Teacher’s Training School (TTS) after 5 years of teaching and assisting under many different teachers, including being mentored by Casandra Bigras. Allie is also a well-rounded competitive dancer, having recently won Highest Scoring Tap Dance at Inspire Dance Challenge in 2022, 5th Overall Senior Solo at Kick It Up Dance Competition in 2022, and other scholarships and special awards over the years. She has also been selected for several roles in the VPD annual year end shows, most recently playing the role of Mary Poppins in 2022.

Allie is currently enrolled in her second year at the University of Ottawa for an Honours Bachelors 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!

Vanessa discovered her love of dance at age 4 at Vanessa Plettell Dance. During her training and competing, she was successful in passing her RAD Advanced 2, ADAPT Inter 3 jazz, and other ADAPT tap exams. She also has experience in lyrical, contemporary, hip hop, and musical theatre. She has trained at VPD for 14 years and has been selected for many solos and duets in the past. She has won 4 scholarships through our competitions and got the chance to dance in L.A, alongside famous dancers. Through this experience, she was able to participate in a music video. She has been working as a teacher at summer camp for 4 years now and as camp manager last year. She has been guiding young students in ballet, tap, jazz, acro, and hip hop. She is currently enrolled at Carleton University studying cognitive science with a specialization in neuroscience. In May 2019, Vanessa starred as the lead dancer in the year-end production ‘Dancing Queen.’ Vanessa is hard-working and puts her heart and soul into everything she does. She is beyond excited to see the smiling faces of her students this season.

Maya started dancing at the age of 7 and has been a loyal member of the VPD family for the past 9 years. Training competitively in a wide range of styles, she has completed her Advanced 1 ballet exam as well as her Intermediate 3 jazz and Intermediate 2 tap exams. She will be working towards her Advanced jazz exam and her Intermediate 3 tap exam this year. Maya has competed numerous solos and duets, specializing in contemporary. She recently won Highest Scoring Open Dance, 2nd overall senior solo, and a scholarship at Inspire Dance Challenge 2022 for her open solo, 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. She was also accepted into the dance program at Canterbury High School of the Arts. Maya is very excited to continue passing on her love of dance to her students this year!

Kyla’s love for dance started at the age of 7 when she began her dance training in acro and lyrical. She now competes in over 8 styles of dance, and has been a dedicated member of Vanessa Plettell Dance for the past 8 years. Kyla has been assisting for the past 3 years in tap, jazz, ballet and acro. She has learned so much from different teachers, especially Allie Fournier. Kyla loves sharing her knowledge and love for dance with her students and loves seeing what an impact dance can have on someone. Kyla has completed numerous RAD and ADAPT examinations including her Advanced 1 ballet exam. She is currently working towards her Advanced 2 ballet, Intermediate 2 tap and Intermediate 3 jazz exams. Kyla was accepted into the Quinte Ballet School of Canada and she currently attends Canterbury Arts High School where she is part of the dance program. Kyla loves all styles of dance and looks forward to helping her students grow and improve as dancers this year!

Kendra began her training at age 7 with VPD in ballet, jazz, tap, acro, and lyrical, receiving Highly Commended Plus in her jazz and tap exams, as well as Distinction in her ballet exams (up to Advanced 1).

At age 10, Kendra was selected to perform in the Nutcracker with the Alberta Ballet Company at the NAC. She has been a highly competitive dancer ever since, travelling across the US and Canada attending many conventions (Revel, Radix, Break the Floor etc.), receiving Jump VIP Winner, Nuvo Breakout Artist Winner, Radix Core Performer, and 24/7 Non-Stop Dancer Winner scholarships. This led her to qualify for The Dance Awards (Las Vegas). During her competitive seasons, Kendra achieved 1st place overall at Real Dance, was awarded a BE Discovered LA scholarship, and won an AMDA LA scholarship earning a total of $47,000. She also owns the title of ADA’s Regional Senior Dancer of The Year.

Her success displayed at these conventions led Kendra to be personally invited to Stacey Tookey’s mentorship program and to receive 1st Runner-up in her 2MinAudition Contest. She went on to dance backup for Shawn Hook, Paula Abdul, and Lilly Singh at several WE Day events. Kendra was also named 2018 Face of Fever and had the honour of being OPSM Pro Dance’s Drive to Succeed Winner, chosen by World of Dance Runner-Up Michael Dameski, Mykell Wilson and Deirdre Barnes receiving an all-inclusive trip to Los Angeles to further her dance education.

Kendra then dove into the world of choreography, teaching workshops and setting pieces on VPD students in jazz funk, contemporary, lyrical, and jazz. Watching her students grow, learn, and improve their quality of movement has been something she’s so proud to witness as a choreographer.

Kendra continuously ventures out to Los Angeles, where she’s trained under the artistic direction of Janelle Ginestra and Willdabeast Adams as a company member of their well renowned IMMABEAST and IMMABREATHEco. She continues to train with world famous studios (Millennium Dance Complex, The PlaygroundLA, TMillyTV) and industry leading choreographers.