The VCDC Team
Corinne Jackson
Owner/Studio Director
Acro
Contemporary
Lyrical
Jazz
*Acrobatic Arts Level 1 Certified
Corinne was born into the dance community. She trained in Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Lyrical and Modern Stage from the age of 3 under the tutelage of her mother, Jasmine Gardner. Jasmine, who was a professional dancer, did her training under the direction of Grace Macdonald. She then opened Jasmine Gardner’s School of Dance which later became The Dance Connection in Ladner, BC. Corinne later took over ownership of The Dance Connection and eventually sold it to one of her students.
Early in her career, Corinne worked with Olympian, Lori Fung, training her team as well as the Korean National Rhythmic Gymnastics team. Corinne has also received numerous choreography awards locally and internationally. Her creative and unique choreography won her the Teacher of the Year award in 1998.
Over the past 35 years, Corinne has continued to teach and inspire students across the Lower Mainland and for the past 8 years, she has spent her time working with students in the Vancouver area.
She is very excited to start this new journey as Owner/Director of VCDC!
Emily Henney
Assistant Studio Director
Creative Movement
Jazz
Musical Theatre
Tap
Ms Emily is a professional performer and has taught dance for nearly 20 years. She grew up dancing at Chiasson Dance Centre in Port Coquitlam and became an instructor at the tender age of 15. From there, she became one of the first instructors at Kids Can Dance which would later become Westside Dance Centre.
She trained in Acting at Studio 58 and has performed in many musicals including Mamma Mia! and Footloose (Chemainus Theatre) and Legally Blonde (TUTS). She was also a featured actor on The Twilight Zone (CBS All Access), The Magicians (SyFy) and stay tuned for her performance in the new Godzilla series on AppleTV coming out next year!
Ms Emily loves working with young people and sharing with them, her passion for dance and theatre. She is honoured to be part of the foundation of VCDC and can’t wait to see what adventures are yet to come.
Ashley Evans
Ballet
*BA (Hons.), ACC-ACICB, PBT Certified
Ashley started dancing at the age of 4 in Toronto, Ontario. She is a graduate of the Quinte Ballet School of Canada’s Professional Training Program and also trained at The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, The Banff Centre for the Performing Arts, and London Studio Centre in the UK. After graduation Ashley toured England and Wales with the ‘Images of Dance’ company. She has been dancing professionally in Victoria since 2005, performing with both Ballet Victoria and as Principal Dancer with Canadian Pacific Ballet.
Ashley is currently Artistic Director, Choreographer and Principal Dancer with Ballet Étoile Canada, which she co-founded in 2013. Ashley has been teaching ballet in Victoria and Vancouver for over 7 years, to students of all ages. She has both her Advanced II and Associate Teacher credentials with Cecchetti Ballet Canada and is a certified teacher of the Progressing Ballet Technique conditioning program. Ashley enjoys sharing her passion for dance with her students. She strives to pass on a strong understanding of the fundamentals of ballet technique while encouraging creativity and artistic growth. She is thrilled to be a part of the VCDC team!
Hannah Henney
Hip Hop
Jazz
Tap
Hannah Henney is a very sought after and engaging dancer, actor, choreographer, teacher and adjudicator. She first entered the dance scene in a Port Coquitlam studio called Chiasson Dance Centre at the age of three. She trained in tap, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary, musical theatre and ballet until graduating at age seventeen. She then furthered her training with the Scholarship dance program at Drive Dance Centre, the Source Dance Company and Souldiers Dance Company. During her training, Hannah fell in love with hip hop and began training in many street styles like locking, house, popping and waacking. After spending many summers in New York training, performing and battling, she has gained a deeper understanding of hip hop culture and history. The latest style she’s added to her repertoire is Litefeet. She was selected to represent Litefeet Nation and perform with Chrybaby Cozie at the 2018 Brooklyn Hip Hop festival.
Hannah’s screen dance credits include CBS’s The Twilight Zone, Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Syfy’s The Magicians, Nat Geo’s Valley of the Boom, and Disney’s Freaky Friday. She’s also performed as an opening act for artists Mya, Meek Mill, Fabolous, B.O.B., Pusha T and Raekwon. She is a member of the powerhouse female crew Diamonds in the Rough and travels as a crew member throughout the U.S and Canada performing, teaching and battling.
She has also adjudicated many festivals and dance competitions throughout the Lower Mainland where she loves connecting with the youth and sharing her knowledge and experience with the upcoming generation. Her fire, passion and positivity always shine through whether she is working on set, performing on stage, choreographing a show, or in a studio with her students.
Most recently, Hannah has also found a deep passion for acting, and has trained with renowned instructors Chad Rook, Jeb Beach and Shea Hampton in Vancouver. She made her acting debut in a Telus Storyhive webseries and official BIFF finalist called Auditions, then as the lead role in a short film with director Heather Perluzzo that had much success in the festival circuit.
Kailey Jackson
Contemporary
Lyrical
Jazz
Kailey started her training in Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, Contemporary, Stage, Acro and Ballet at the age of two. At 15, she was invited to train in the pre-professional program at Lux Dance Company. She was awarded a scholarship to train in LA at The Edge Performing Arts Centre. She also had the privilege to train at the Debbie Reynolds Legacy Studios while in LA.
Kailey was a contortionist for Artistic Expressions Productions in Langley, BC. As a young dancer, she was a finalist on Langley’s Got Talent for two consecutive years.
For the past several years, Kailey has been training and teaching alongside her mother, Corinne Jackson, in the Vancouver area. Kailey is very excited to join the VCDC team.
Regan Calicetto
Acro
*Acrobatic Arts Level 1 and Level 2 Certified
Regan Calicetto is a renowned choreographer, performer, and dance educator in the Vancouver area. Training and performing in a variety of styles, including Acrobatics, Contemporary, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Jazz and Tap, she has worked for and alongside prominent figures in the dance world, including Michelle Smith, Tiffany Tregarthen, David Raymond and Tara-Jean Popowich.
This diverse exposure has helped Regan create her own personalized style that is sought after by artists around the globe. Internationally, Regan has performed, trained, and taught in the UK, Thailand, Australia, New York and LA, and has worked with such companies as Modus Operandi, Sweett Moves, and The Underground Circus. Some of Regan's highlights include performing as a principle role dancer in multiple productions of The Lover’s Cabaret, including “The Lovers of Hendrix” and “The Lovers of Zeppelin”. Regan has also performed as a company dancer in Sweett Moves’ “Bated Breath,” in Kash Powell’s “International Dance Connection,” in London, UK, and performed at Shine 2018 Mental Health Addiction Fundraiser.
In 2020, Regan co-launched The One Dance Experience, a series of dance competitions and workshops held throughout the lower mainland and the interior of BC. The One aims to respond to the strains on the mental health of young competitors, and reformat the competitive process to foster mutual growth and positivity.
Regan's versatility, individuality and heart has allowed her to push the boundaries of choreography and performance, creating a unique art that she brings to her community. Her work has made her a standout amongst her peers, having been recognized with numerous awards and acknowledgements for her outstanding choreography and performances. Regan now focuses mainly on acrobatics and tumbling, training dancers for Acrobatic Arts AcroDance exams. She is Alixa Flexibility-certified, and has worked as coach and course conductor for TADA hand balancing syllabus. Regan continues to choreograph, perform, and teach internationally.
Sophie Mckenzie
Hip Hop
Jazz
Tap
Sophie began dancing when she was five years old. Her love of dance began with five years of Highland dancing. She then began nine years of training in ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, tap and hip hop at the one and only Westside Dance Centre. Sophie quickly fell in love with hip hop. She moved to Montreal to study Anthropology in 2015, where she taught drop-in classes for McGill students. In 2019, she was represented by Giulia Tripoli’s E3 Agency, and trained under season 4 of dancehall legend Andy Michel’s ‘Le Programme’. It was through these opportunities that Sophie was able to choreograph for and be featured in several music videos for local Montreal artists. She is currently in a member of Kill the Lights (KTL Co.), which is a professional dance training company run by Shauna Smith and Ken Yung out of Harbour Dance Centre. In addition to dancing, Sophie is also a passionate songwriter, filmmaker, writer, portrait artist, and works for the BCCDC in the realm of harm reduction. In the future, she hopes to be a choreographer and/or artistic director. Sophie is excited to share her passion for dance with the next generation of young artists.
Jessica Fraser
Acro
Ballet
Jazz
Tap
*Acrobatic Arts Level 1 Certification
Jessica Fraser has been dancing since she was four years old. She danced competitively in acro, contemporary, ballet, jazz, and tap, and has been teaching various dance styles since 2016. She’s very excited to be part of the Van City Dance Connection team!
Brittany Bishop
Ballet
Lyrical
Tap
Brittany grew up studying intensively in ballet, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, tap, and modern dance. Brittany completed her Cecchetti examinations and competed at many dance competitions all over Vancouver. At age 14, Brittany decided to pursue her passion for ballet and began her training at The Goh Ballet Academy, where she studied in the RAD and Vagonova methods. Brittany has performed various soloist and principle roles with The Goh Ballet Academy, and has received various awards at multiple international ballet competitions. In 2019, Brittany attended Canada’s National Ballet School’s Teacher Training Program, and furthered her education in teaching ballet. Brittany is currently training extensively towards receiving her Cecchetti Associates Diploma, and will soon be fully certified to share her love of dance with other dancers.