Mission Statement
We are delighted that you have chosen our studio for your dance education.
At Accentz Dance Studio, we seek to provide excellence in dance training from 2 years old through to the adult, and the beginner to advanced student; whether or not the student intends to become a professional dancer. This instruction is achieved through individual and group instruction where students are trained in correct dance techniques, are inspired to be creative and learn to be their best.
Accentz promotes a family atmosphere, where students can express themselves through dance, learn self-discipline, gain self-esteem, and, where students can meet their peers and form common bonds of friendship that will last them throughout their school years and into their adult futures. There are two different routes you can take with us at Accentz. You can join our fun filled recreational program, which has classes for all ages, levels, dance styles, boys and girls. Or for the more serious dancer, we have our competitive and exam program. This program requires commitment and usually several hours of dance training each week.
Please check the board and website for studio holidays throughout the year. Accentz Dance Studio follows the school district 22 calendar with the exception of Pro Days when there WILL be dance classes. All studio newsletters will be sent via email and a master copy will be posted at the studio. If you do not check email, please make every effort to check the studio notice board regularly.
About
Becky Martselos - STUDIO DIRECTOR : A.I.S.T.D Qualified Tap, Modern, Ballet & National
Becky was born in a small town in central United Kingdom. After graduating high school she pursued an education at the Prestigious Laine Theater Arts Performing Arts School in London. She graduated with 4 teaching diplomas and also a performing arts diploma.
She continued on to perform with UK’s family comedian Michael Barrymore and then decided that it was time to travel. She worked for several Cruise Line Companies as a dance captain, performing in the shows and supervising the entertainment department over the next decade and then upon meeting her husband, Anthony, a decision was made to settle on dry land in Canada.
Settling on Vancouver Island for 1 year and then making their way back to Anthony’s home town of Vernon to get married and begin a future. During this time Becky furthered her education into the realm of Pilates and to this day continues to practise and use some of the exercises to benefit her students.
Accentz Dance Studio was born in September 2005 – The happy couple built the 4 professional studio complex with their own hands from the ground up (Anthony Is the handy one). Within the next 3 years their family grew – Mikey and Niko were born and their family complete The Okanagan is the most perfect place on earth to live and raise a family. Life is So GOOD!!
Accentz Dance Studio has grown over the years. They have had and continue to have the best community of professionals teaching of students. Currently with the launch of our brand new DANCE ACADEMY with SD22, Becky is busy working on this new adventure.
Becky Lives daily by her studio moto “I CAN – I WILL – WATCH ME”
About
Kennedy Knopf
Kennedy Knopf was born and raised in the town of Vernon BC where she began her dance education at Accentz Dance Studio. Continuing her artistic training in Vancouver BC, she is a graduate of the Vancouver Training Society biannual scholarship, The Dance Initiative, as well as Harbour Dance Centre’s – Source and Aviary Dance Company’s’.
As an independent artist, Kennedy has fortunately worked with Carlo Atienza in “Sonder”, Heather Dotto with ‘Dances for a Small Stage’, as well as a performing apprentice with Heather Laura Grey in her original work “The Tunnel” and many others.
She is currently apprenticing with the successful, Vancouver based, contemporary company Radical System Art under the direction of Shay Keubler.
A few other accomplishments include the short film, “She” by Adele Thomas awarded Accolade Award of Merit from The Accolade Global Film Competition, as well as 2 Laurel nominations. Kennedy was the primary dancer in Vancouver Spring Show 2016 (Joel Hanna). She was the BC Stage Provincial winner in 2012 and a Team Canada soloist dancing in the I.D.O World Championships (Danielle Fischer).
Kennedy’s TV and Corporate Credits include, PRP Productions and Disney.
Kennedys’ bubbly personality, dedication and persistence has made her a valuable artist. She is hungry to share her passion for movement and to continue excelling within as many facets of the industry she can get her hands on.
About
Chris Larsen
Chris Larsen started dancing in Prince George, British Columbia with Judy Russell’s Enchainement Dance Centre. At the age of 13, Chris was accepted to study at Canada’s National Ballet School where he continued until graduation. After graduating, Chris had the opportunity to train with the Royal Danish Ballet’s apprentice program. From there, Chris went on to dance professionally in international ballet companies for over 15 years. He danced with Ballett-Art François Klaus in Switzerland, the Hong Kong Ballet, and the Birmingham Royal Ballet in the United Kingdom, where he danced for 10 years before retiring as a Soloist. He has performed a large range of roles, from corps de ballet through to principle parts in many of the great classics as well as numerous new works, while also having the opportunity to have roles created on him. During his dance career, Chris had the privilege of touring and performing at the most prestigious venues worldwide, along with of dancing in international Galas.
While he was a member of Birmingham Royal Ballet, Chris led and participated in many outreach projects with the company’s Education Department; educating audiences and introducing dance to youth in schools and community groups. Since retiring from professional dance, Chris received The Professional Dancers Teaching Diploma from the Royal Academy of Dance and returned home to British Columbia.
Chris has adjudicated for Danceworks Festival in Victoria, and the Kootenay Festival of the Arts in Trail, B.C. Often called upon by the RAD to guest-coach workshops and seminars, Chris has also guest taught for intensives in Vancouver, Toronto, LA, and Prince George and most recently was invited to guest teach at the Victoria Academy of Ballet.
Currently, Chris co-directs a Pre-Professional Program at The Canadian School of Ballet in Kelowna, where he has also worked to re-stage CSB’s 25th anniversary production of the Nutcracker. Chris co-founded Dance Training Okanagan in 2017 which hosts a Summer Dance Intensive in Kelowna every summer with incredible teachers and artists from across Canada.
About
Amie Roussel
I am a mother of two amazing little boys and a wife to an incredible man who has made it possible for me to pursue my dreams. I grew up dancing in Northern Alberta, focusing primarily on ballet and Ukrainian dance until high school when I added EVERYTHING else. I continued my dance training after high school when I moved to Vancouver for the summer, and shortly after that I moved to Paris, France to train with the International School of Ballet for just over a year. I returned home to run a small non for profit dance studio for the next four years but found time to travel during the summer months and this enabled me to study dance all over the world in places like Toronto, LA, New York, Tokyo, London, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Cuzco, Rio de Janerio, and Hong Kong.
Vernon is home to me now and I continue to teach ballet at Accentz Dance Studio, as well as run my own photography business, Carousel Studios, and feed my passion for dance photography with Famous Photos. I love the way that I can connect with people through both dance and photography. To see the product of my passion for teaching is the most amazing feeling. I love what I do.
About
Heather Kwantes
About
Robin Nanji
Robin has been immersed in the world of gymnastics since before she had
learned to walk. She was often the toddler using the gym as a playground while her own elite gymnast mother trained. Once her own classes began she quickly realized her talent and love for the sport was more than simply something that had been passed down to her. She progressed and trained for 13 years and competed as a successful National level gymnast. Along the way Robin also developed a love for dance that led her to win choreography awards for her routines at numerous competitions.
She then decided it was time for her to pass on her knowledge and began
coaching at the age of 16. She taught in B.C for 7 years before moving to Alberta and it wasn’t long before she once again found herself in the gym. Shortly after moving to Calgary, a long time training friend introduced her to the incredible world of The Young Canadians! This School of Performing Arts was a perfect fit for Robin. It allowed her to combine her knowledge of gymnastics with her passion for dance and performance, leading her to teach and eventually direct the school’s Acro-dance department.
She has spent the last 8 years growing and developing the Acro-dance program at the YC School of Performing Arts and is looking forward bringing her knowledge and passion to the students at Accentz Dance!
About
Mackenzie Denis
Mackenzie began dancing at the age of 3, training in RAD Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Contemporary. She has completed her Royal Academy of Dance Advanced 2 examination with Distinction and had numerous roles in The Nutcracker including Clara. Furthermore, Mackenzie was invited to dance alongside professional dancers in Ballet Kelowna’s Canadiana Suite and had the opportunity to be a part of Disneyland’s Dance the Magic Parade. She travelled to San Diego, California, to participate in DancerPalooza’s very own Travis Wall Experience where she took classes from Travis Wall, Mark Meismer, Teddy Forance, and various others. Mackenzie has been teaching dance since 2018 where she found her love for teaching Ballet, Tap and Jazz specifically. Mackenzie is a Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) certified teacher, Acrobatic Arts Certified Teacher and a Royal Academy of Dance Registered Teacher.
About
Avery Morrison
Coming Soon
About
Paige Sakamoto
Born and raised in Salmon Arm BC, Paige found a passion for dance and gymnastics at an early age, training in ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop, and acrobatics. In her early years, Paige competed two consecutive years in the BC Gymnastics Championships, qualified for BC Provincials in the Stage Dance category and at the age of 15, she toured with the World Festival of Polish Folk Groups in Rzeszów Poland, performing traditional polish dances.
Paige went on to continue her professional dance training in Vancouver BC, where she graduated from Harbour Dance Center’s Intensive Training Program. She then fine-tuned her love for hip hop and contemporary by dancing with companies Kill the Lights, Aviary, and Illustrative Society, getting to learn from many amazing mentors including Ken Yung, Shauna Smith, Julio Fuentes, Moe Brody, and Joe Tuliao. While dancing professionally in Vancouver, Paige had opportunities to work for Nickelodeon, Make a Wish Foundation, Vancouver Spring Show, and backup dance for live performances and music videos for musical artists Michael Bernard Fitzgerald and So Loki.
Paige then made the move to Kelowna to focus on her passion for teaching children dance. Some of her choreography achievements include the Harlem Globetrotter’s half time performance, and winning titles ‘Top Choreography’ and ‘Most Innovative Choreography’ at dance competitions.
Paige’s most recent endeavors have included welcoming her daughter and son into the world with her husband, and settling down in Vernon, BC. Paige feels very fortunate to have been able to work with so many dancers & gymnasts of all ages and is thrilled to be able to share her knowledge and love of dance with the students at Accentz Dance Studio.
About
Robin Coogan-Penner
Robin fell in love with yoga while preparing for the birth of her first child. She developed her practice over many years and has always loved the philosophy of blending your mind and body to work out your full self. Over the years, she has seen countless benefits of practicing yoga and has wanted to deepen her practice through teaching it to others. Robin is an experienced high school teacher and received her 200 hr YTT Certification to help complement her teaching style. She is so excited and humbled to be able to share the benefits of yoga and work on flexibility goals with the dancers at Accentz.
About
Carly Beckner - Guest
About
Sarah Podollan
Sarah was born and raised as a midwest girl but the west coast always called her name. Within the first year of moving to Los Angeles to see what the entertainment industry was all about she was cast in Austin Powers to portray one of her idols, Goldie Hawn from Laugh In. It was apparent to her that following her heart and instincts was the way to live.
She continued on her path in LA landing a record deal with Disney's Hollywood Records and appearing in more movies and Guest Starring on TV shows like Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and CSI:NY.
Wearing her heart on her sleeve, as she always does, Sarah followed her ex-NHLer husband, Jason Podollan, to B.C. Canada to grow a family. She lives a true Canadian lifestyle with her three beautiful young boys. Her days are full of hockey, family and outdoor living. Sarah's family loves giving back to their community by donating to the local schools and giving away new hockey equipment to young players. Being a mom, wife, entrepreneur and performer it's safe to say she is the ultimate multitasker.
Sarah is so excited that the film and TV industry is growing every year in Canada. As she always say's, "Pinch me, life is good."
About
Danny Neilsen Guest
Danny Nielsen is one of Canada’s most sought out professionals. Originally from Calgary, AB, he began his rhythm tap career as a founding member of MADD Rhythms Canada under the direction of Lisa La Touche. He has also performed with reputable companies such as Heather Cornell’s CanTap, Lisa La Touche’s Tap Phonics and Acia Gray’s Tapestry Dance Company. In his hometown, Danny was hired as the company tap trainer for the highly-regarded Decidedly Jazz Danceworks. The opportunity led to having short choreographies featured in their productions of Tinge and Tone and 25.
For the past 3 years, Danny has been touring with Vancouver based dance company Radical System Art (Shay Kuebler). The show entitled Telemetry features Nielsen in a role created exclusively for him. The show has enthralled audiences across the globe having performed in prestigious venues such as the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Place Des Arts in Montreal, the White Bird Dance Series in Portland, the Suzanne Dellal Centre in Tel Aviv, and the Schritmacher Festival in Germany to name a few.
From 2010-2016, Danny lived in Vancouver, BC. He spent 2 years as the ‘Artist in Residence’ with the Vancouver Tap Dance Society. In 2012, Danny was the recipient of the Santa Aloi Award from the Scotiabank Dance Centre. He used the grant to create and direct his first full length production Love.Be.Best.Free, which toured BC for a month in February of 2017. He also co created Night Cap with longtime friend Joel Hanna which featured American tap icons Martin ‘Tre’ Dumas III and Jason Samuels Smith.
Danny has taught and performed at many national and international tap festivals across the globe including Zurich Tap Fest, Tap Ahead in Germany, North Carolina Rhythm Tap Festival, CHRP’s Rhythm World, Taptastic Festival in Germany, and Portland Tap Fest to name a few. Television credits include the worldwide broadcast of the 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies and the opening number for the 2008 Jerry Lewis Telethon choreographed by Chloe Arnold in Las Vegas, NV.
Danny recently just created his second full length production entitled ‘On Foot’ with the support for the Canada Council for the Arts. It premiered in both Vancouver and Calgary in the fall of 2019.
About
Liam Mackie Guest
Liam was born and raised just outside Vancouver, BC, in the small town of Mission. He has been a competitive dancer since the age of 6 in genres such as Contemporary, Ballet, Musical Theatre and Hip Hop. Liam also enjoys taking acting classes at AMAW in Vancouver BC. When Liam's not dancing or acting, he works as a professional DJ under the name DJ LEEEPS, He enjoys soccer refereeing in his hometown of Mission & adventuring through beautiful BC with his friends and family.
Liam has worked with dance choreographers such as Kenny Ortega, Leon Blackwood, Travis Payne, Amy Wright, Paul Becker, Jamal Terry-Sims, Louise Hradsky & Jeff Mortensen.
About
Greer Whillans Guest
Greer Whillans is a creative and expressive Canadian-born dancer, choreographer, actor, and model whose professional experience spans the likes of various live/theatre productions, popular TV & Film projects, and print and digital campaigns. Greer is a UBCP/ACTRA Member, AGMA Member, and SAG/AFTRA member holding citizenship in both Canada and the USA – making Greer’s versatile and professional talent sought-after nationwide.
Greer’s continuous training and dedication to dance have developed a strong understanding and execution of various styles including Hip-Hop, Jazz & Jazz Funk, Heels, Contemporary, Ballet, Lyrical, Contact Improvisation, and Partnering. Greer’s training in contact improvisation comes from EDAM Dance (Experimental Dance And Movement) where she trained under Peter Bingham on scholarship.
Greer spent 6 years living in LA where she performed with the highly regarded contemporary dance company, Heidi Duckler Dance. Her time in Los Angeles presented her with various opportunities including being cast as 1 of 4 dancers for the LA Opera’s Production of Roberto Devereux, and dancing at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards for Dua Lipa choreographed by Teresa ‘Toogie’ Barcelo. During this time, Greer was also the Assistant Studio Manager at the world-renowned dance studio, Movement Lifestyle.
Upon returning to Vancouver in 2020, Greer has continued to gain professional dance and choreography experience on the sets of popular TV & Film productions, as well as creative and artistic projects around the city. Greer has had the pleasure of working under the choreographic direction of industry moguls like Mandy Moore, Heather Laura Gray, Louise Hradsky, Jamal Sims, and many more. Some of Greer’s professional TV & Film credits include Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, the CW TV series Virgin River, Nickelodeon's The J Team featuring Jojo Siwa, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Charmed, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, and Riverdale to highlight a few.
As Greer’s career has progressed, she has begun creating art from behind the lens. Choreographing is one of Greer’s creative passions, and it is where she sees her career long-term. Greer co-choreographed and performed an award-winning piece titled Bonheur for the Sunday Shorts 2022 film fest. Since then, Greer has assisted with choreography for the popular James Gunn HBO Max action series, Peacemaker featuring John Cena, as well as co-choreographing the opening number for 2021’s Crazy 8s Gala which was directed by Maxime Beauchamp. More of Greer’s choreography can be seen featured in various music videos including Behzad Leito's Ashk which has gained over 75,000 views on Youtube. Being an active and valued faculty and crew member of Groove Street Productions, Greer has continued to collaborate and work closely with industry professionals. Greer’s choreography skills come highly recommended by industry experts in the Vancouver area.
Greer’s talents are not exclusive to dancing and choreographing. She has also been featured as an actor and model for brand campaigns and advertisements. Greer’s acting and modelling can be seen in television ads for Campbell's Soup, BudLight, and Apple Inc., as well as print campaigns including Honda Accord and Ford Mustang. Greer’s acting capabilities have also been featured in NBC’s TV series Debris as well as the CW’s series Nancy Drew.
To complement Greer’s interest and experience in TV & Film, she is also a passionate and charismatic dance instructor who frequently teaches at Vancouver’s esteemed dance studio, Harbour Dance Centre. At Harbour Dance Center, Greer is also the Assistant Director for the Source Dance Company. For several years Greer was a principal dancer at the Vancouver ‘WE Day’ events, where she taught over 17,000 youth annually. Greer can be found instructing and choreographing throughout the lower mainland in BC, where she frequently sets pieces for competitions, small/large scale stage performances, and creative projects.
Greer has devoted her career to sharing and exploring movement. She is an enthusiastic and creative artist who strives to inspire, educate, and motivate.
About
Chanel Lacasse
An unstoppable force in this industry. Chanel has acquired a sense of grace, style and story telling. Her personality is vivacious, her laugh is contagious but her concentration at work is what helped her obtain her Solo Seal Award. The highest recognition from the Royal Academy of Dance – of which only 250 recipients in the world have achieved.
Chanel has been passionate for the performing arts from an early age – having been taught initially by her mother and grandmother. Her interest in jazz, contemporary, and ballet filled her desire to continue learning. Her love of dance took her around the globe to places like St-Petersburg, Russia, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Boston Ballet, Walnut Hill for the Arts and Los Angeles School of Ballet. In Vancouver, Chanel joined the ‘Source Dance Company’ led under the direction of Joanne Pesusich. Shortly afterwards Chanel begun doing commercial work as well as collaborative projects and she hasn’t stopped since. She is now Assistant Director of The Source Dance Company as well as a Faculty member of Harbour Dance Centre – Vancouver’s top drop-in studio for professional dancers. She is one of Groove Street Productions main assistants and when she is not touring, she is either choreographing, dancing, adjudicating, teaching across North America or busy running her own KC Dance Workshops – a touring dance workshop that is geared towards inspiring youth across Western Canada.
From the dance studio to set – Chanel has done commercial work for Sephora, GSG Productions, PRP Productions, Canada’s 150th Celebration, Whistler World Ski & Snowboard Event, Diner En Blanc, St. Paul’s Hospital, Variety Children’s Charity & Marianas Trench Music Videos . She has worked with leading industry choreographers, Moe Brody & Jennifer Oleksiuk on hit TV series including ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ and ‘The Inbetween’. You can also catch Chanel on the Season 3 finale episode of ‘iZombie’!
One of Chanel’s favourite parts of being in the entertainment industry is getting to bring ideas and visions to life. She feels so fortunate to have worked with some of the most incredible choreographers including Sabrina Phillip, Cherice & Charissa Barton, Joanne & Alex Pesusich, Liz Tookey, Jocelyn Peden & Heather Laura Gray just to name a few.
Chanel is in constant pursuit of what inspires her to better her craft. Her dreams have become a reality and she is so excited about what the future has in store.
About
Nathan Dadear Guest
Nathan Fadear is a BC born professional dancer, yoga instructor, educator, adjudicator and choreographer.
With over 10 years of experience and influence, Nathan has been fully immersed in the dance and entertainment industry. Nathan’s dance opportunities have allowed him to travel internationally with three contracts on Princess Cruise Lines, to Sweden to perform for the International Diabetic Conference, to Poland for the International Polish Folk Festival, and to Reno, Nevada to perform at the Eldorado Resort and Casino in Santa’s Christmas Wonderland.
Nathan has extensive experience in film and television and is grateful to have worked on productions for Disney, NBC, the CW, Hallmark, Mainframe, HBO Max, Netflix and Roku. Some of Nathan’s favourite film/TV credits include Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Riverdale, iZombie, Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Haters Back Off, Man in the High Castle, the remake of Disney’s Freaky Friday, Hallmark Channel’s Love at First Dance, and Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas.
Nathan has also had the pleasure of choreographing music videos for artists such as Matt Webb, The Promised, Fionn, Kate Morgan, and most recently for Dear Rouge’s song “Fake Fame”, which hit number one on the Canadian music charts!
As a teacher and adjudicator with a well rounded understanding of all genres, Nathan uses his knowledge and expertise of the industry to inspire and support the younger generation of talent!
Most recently, Nathan is focusing his efforts on choreography and has been working on some very special projects that will hit the screen summer of 2022!
About
Traci Stevenson Guest
spent her early dance training in Penticton BC under the direction of Lorna Bull and Marci Melton. After graduation, Traci became a member of the GOH Ballet training company. She spent two years dancing with the company, performing all over British Columbia and internationally at the Recontres Internationales de la Danse Festival in France and the Beijing Dance Festival.
Traci then went on to dance professionally with Ballet North, Ontario Ballet Theatre, Banff Festival Ballet and the National Ballet of the Czech Republic. Her professional performing highlights include Swan Lake, Giselle, La Fille Mal Gardee and Balanchine’s Serenade.
Traci’s teaching career began in Japan on a yearlong exchange between the Goh Ballet and Haga Ballet Academy. Since then Traci has taught all over BC as a guest teacher and adjudicator. She has been the director of Okanagan Dance Studios for the past 18 years. Her passion for ballet, modern dance and choreography continues to grow with every student she works with. Traci feels blessed to be able to teach and encourage so many lovely students and to work along side such talented and passionate instructors.
About
Penelope Boyse Guest
Penelope is an independent dancer, teacher and choreographer from the UK, now based in Vancouver. She trained in London, UK at the prestigious Doreen Bird College of Performing Arts, where she studied many genre of dance and Musical Theatre. She completed her post-graduate training at the London Centre of Performing Arts where she earned her ISTD Licentiate teaching qualifications in Modern, Imperial Ballet and Tap. She is now working towards her Tap and Modern Fellowship, with a goal of becoming a certified Examiner.
After graduating, Penelope began her professional career as a dancer, singer and actress, performing in various dance and Musical Theatre companies, with extensive European tours. She has now been teaching and choreographing for over twenty years, preparing students of all ages, abilities and levels for examinations, competitions and performances.
In 2001, she opened her own dance studio, with over 200 students, many of whom have graduated post-secondary institutions with dance focuses and are now successfully performing in London’s West End, in contemporary companies around the world, and on Broadway. Most recent accolade, a male student cast in 'Hamilton', West End of London.
In 2010 Penelope traveled to New Zealand, to run a school of over 400 students. She guest taught and examined at Wellington Dance and Performing Arts Academy. Danced with NZ school of Dance, and adjudicated a televised nationwide dance competition, 'Stage Challenge'!
From New Zealand, she travelled to Melbourne, Australia, and in 2011 she moved to BC, Canada. Where she ran yet another school in the beautiful Okanagan.
In 2012 Penelope relocated to Vancouver, where she proudly joined the faculty at Richmond Academy of Dance and Arts Umbrella.
Since then she has continued training around the world, both as a dancer and teacher. In countries such as Canada, New York, UK... to name but a few. She has also studied counter technique and fascia release therapy, with a view to developing these skills in the future.
OUR PHYSIOTHERAPISTS
Meet our studio physiotherapists
Alex Vanneste
Alex is from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the University of Saskatchewan. When he’s not at the clinic, you’ll most likely find Alex riding a bike. Alex is fascinated by high-level sport and has a special interest in working with athletes of all sorts.
