Professional Dance Instructors in Scarborough

Ani Kouyoumdjian graduated with honors from a 7 year scholarship program at the Choreographic Dance Academy of Yerevan, Armenia - an academy that has produced many famous ballet dancers and has made Armenian Folk Dance what it is today.

At age six Ani began to study ballet and continued her studies in the junior division with the National Ballet School of Canada and George Brown College for the Arts. At age eleven her natural talents were discovered by well known ethnographer, dancer, and choreographer Azad Gharibian who invited her to continue her studies in Yerevan under his tutelage. When she was thirteen, Ani was the first Canadian and also the youngest scholarship student in Armenia, and was just beginning her training as a classical ballet dancer studying the world-renowned Russian Vaganova Technique, a metod that did not isolate one particular part of body, but trained it into one harmonious whole.

Ani holds a Teaching Diploma in Ballet - Vaganova Method, Character Dance and Armenian Folk Dance. While studying she also taught at The Choreographic Dance Academy of Yerevan.

Ani has worked extensively with teachers and dancers in Leningrad, Moscow, France, Armenia, and Canada. She is honored to include among her mentors, ballet masters Maxim Mardirossian, Azad Gharibian, Theressa Grigorian, and Ludmilla Semenova - student of Agrippina Vaganova.

Ani regularly takes part in various dance workshops, including the National Ballet School of Canada. In addition to solo performances, Ani has also worked with the Armenian State Opera and Ballet Company’s many productions including: Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Coppellia, Snow Maiden, Giselle, Gayaneh, Andouni, and Mascarade. In Toronto she has appeared in many productions with Opera Atelier, Canada's Baroque Opera Company, rounding out her portfolio with yet another dance form.

Having trained as a professional classical ballet dancer, Ani uses the Vaganova ballet technique as the foundation of her dance instruction, bringing an understanding of the grace and importance of each movement, regardless of whether it's ballet, folk dance, character dance or any other dance form.

Through Toronto's premier entertainment company - DO Dat Entertainment - Tuch has transformed his passion for dance into a thriving career. Tuch has risen to the top of his craft as a sought after dancer/performer and choreographer known for his performance abilities & professionalism. 

Tuch joined Do Dat Entertainment in 1998, and since then has performed with top musicians and entertainers, such as Shawn Desman, Eve & Gwen Stefani, Jully Black, Missy Elliott, and Selena Gomez. He’s worked with Sean Paul, Rihanna, Danny Fernandes, Victoria Duffield, Keisha Chante, Christina Aguilera, and Jay-Z in music videos and commercials. In addition, Tuch has appeared in numerous television/film and stage productions such as: the 2011 Much Music Awards, the Listener Series, 2010 Olympic Torch Ceremony, Bell’s Celebrity Gala, E! News Weekend, the motion picture Honey featuring Jessica Alba, the Junos & BET Awards.

A few highlights have been Movement Coach to rising Canadian singer Francesco Yates, and assisting Luther Brown on So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Lifetime's 2014 biopic :Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B" & the 2015 Pan Am Opening Ceremony. Most recently, choreographer for Chinese superstar Kris Wu's performance on the 2018 iHeartRadio MMVAS. 

With more than 20 years in the dance industry, Tuch is a fixture in the Toronto dance industry, having taught classes & workshops internationally, guiding and working with up-coming artists, and judging at the World Of Dance Competition 2011-2012 & the 2017-2018 Canada Hip Hop Dance Championship.  

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Kojo “Tuch” Mayne has been a part of the Legacy Of Dance Academy family for over ten years.

Elysse is an experienced versatile teacher and performer in  multiple styles including Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary, Tap, and Barre Burn (Adult). She was a dancer with Movement Market, a Contemporary dance company for four years.

Elysse has her Bachelor’s in Physical and Health Education from Queen’s University, where she specialized in exercise for the aging and persons with disabilities; this continues to be a passion that she brings into her teaching,in addition she has studied the Cecchetti Ballet Syllabus, and RAD syllabus. Elysse is in her second year of the 3-year Teacher Training diploma program at Canada’s National Ballet School.  Here she is refining her teaching goals, techniques, and methodology, In addition to the aforementioned exams, she is working towards teaching qualifications in the ISTD National syllabus and NBS’s Vagonava-based curriculum.

Lauren grew up dancing competitively in Georgetown, Ontario and then completed the George Brown Performance Dance Studies Program with honours after high school. She then went on to do a mentorship with Ballet Jörgen and performed in The Nutcracker and Swan Lake while touring across Canada. Afterwards, Lauren decided to go to Canada’s National Ballet School for their Teacher Training Program, where she refined her teaching skills and found her passion for making the dance world a more inclusive space. She now has her Registered Teacher Status with the Royal Academy of Dance and is passionate about teaching dance to people of all ages and abilities.

Giselle is a passionate teacher and dancer from Ottawa, Ontario. She grew up dancing and performing competitively for 10 years in many styles including Ballet, Jazz, Tap, and Contemporary. She then pursued her love for teaching the art of dance, graduating from Canada’s National Ballet School’s Teacher Training Program. During her time at The NBS, she studied the RAD syllabus, the Cecchetti syllabus, and the school’s Vaganova-based curriculum. Currently, she is working towards her Cecchetti Associate Provisional Membership. Giselle is also a recent graduate of Algonquin College’s Business Management and Entrepreneurship program and plans to open up programs for dancers with special abilities of all ages and make dance more inclusive.