Leadership
My fancy bio goes here.
Sarah fell in love with dance young, she started off with ballet at age 3 and eventually added on everything she could throughout the years. While she is a ballerina at heart, she is always open to trying something new, including a few memorable years of breakdancing. Sarah’s ballet training is primarily in RAD and her university degree is in kinesiology. As a self-proclaimed nerd at heart, she is fascinated by combining dance and biology, looking at the anatomy and biomechanics behind the moves, and loves teaching and working on technique. Sarah grew up in Southern Alberta, but has had the opportunity to take classes, perform and compete all over North America, and can’t imagine her life without dance. Passion & Performance found its way into her life when she most needed it, and Sarah is grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the amazing P&P family.
Desiree has always had a deep desire to bring positivity and passion to everything she does. As a heartfelt and driven instructor in dance and fitness for over a decade, she strives to make every experience with her a positive and motivational one.
As a Certified Motivational Coach and Emotional Intelligence Coach, she believes that everyone has the strength within to reach their goals, find happiness, and enjoy the process — and she’s here to help guide them on that journey.
Desiree is a successful entrepreneur as the owner of Zynth Events & Entertainment Inc. After graduating from the University of Victoria and rehabilitating from a devastating car accident, she discovered the importance of doing what you love — and doing it with love.
She has performed and choreographed for incredible artists, companies, and events across North America, including Bass Coast, Calgary Stampede, Shambhala Music Festival, Destineak at the Montreal Grand Prix, Bif Naked, The Lovers Cabaret, Boney M, the Vancouver Canucks, BC Lions, and Vancouver Warriors. Currently, she is the Director of Artists Emerge, one of Canada’s leading street dance competitions, and Represent Dance, where she works to create uplifting, inclusive, and high-quality performance opportunities for dancers of all styles and levels. You can also catch Desiree on the field as a professional cheerleader for the NLL, or on stage getting silly with her Passion & Performance dance fam, spreading joy, glitter, and high kicks wherever she goes.
In 2023, she was honoured to receive the Best Dance Teacher award in the Georgia Straight's Best of Vancouver. Though dance can be a solo act, Desiree knows it’s always a community effort, and she loves bringing people together to share in the love of movement and music.
Victoria Administration
Becky was born in Victoria, but grew up in Kelowna where she danced ballet at the Canadian School of Ballet for five years under the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) syllabus. After taking a five-year hiatus from ballet and moving back to Victoria, she entered the dance scene again at Karen Clark Dance Studio, where she danced for just over six years. Becky continued dancing ballet under the RAD syllabus and completed her Grade 8 RAD exam in 2016. From 2017-2022, Becky stepped away from full-time dance again and began to take workshops of varying dance styles around Victoria. It wasn’t until the summer of 2022 that Becky heard about Passion & Performance and joined her first classes in September. Since then, Becky has deeply engrained herself in this wonderful dance community by taking more classes at increasing technical difficulty and joining the studio as a staff member. From July 2023 - December 2024, Becky was a Costume Assistant and also took on the role of Desk Staff Team Lead from January 2024 - December 2024. Since January 2025, Becky has been training as the YYJ Dance Program Assistant in order to fully step into the role in May to cover for a maternity leave. She is excited to continue being a part of this team in a new capacity!
With a love for the musical theatre since she was a child, Michaela joined P&P in 2020 after she was missing the stage. Michaela has enjoyed various styles over the years including Chair, Heels, Hip Hop and Jazz, but recently has fallen in love with the art of Burlesque. If she's not at the studio dancing, you can catch her reading a book or walking her dog.
I started dancing at the age of five, exploring various styles before discovering my love for hip-hop and contemporary dance at sixteen. After a ten-year hiatus, I rekindled my passion for movement at this studio, where I continue to grow and share my love for dance. Through dance, I’ve embraced the journey of exploring sensuality, sexuality, and deep comfort in my body, using movement as a way to connect with myself and others. I occasionally teach workshops and currently co-teach the Sultry Slow Burn classes, helping others find confidence and self-expression through dance.
My name is Jenn, costume fairy extraordinaire, lover of all things sparkly and also club sandwiches. When I’m not working my day job or enjoying family time you will find me at the studio which I have called my second home since 2013. Getting back into dance as an adult has been one of my greatest joys and it has allowed me so many cool opportunities I never would have been able to do.
Starting her dance practice with highland dancing as a child, Taylor quickly fell in love with being on stage and performing. She explored with jazz and hip hop as a teenager for a few years before taking a break to attend university. After several years away from dance, Taylor found Passion and Performance in 2019 and knew she had found where she belonged.
Lexie started dancing at the ripe age of 3, and has continued nurturing her love of the art throughout various parts of her life, whether it be at her home studio where she grew up, as part of the UVic Dance Company, at music shows, or now at Passion and Performance. She's spent her life training in many different styles like ballet, jazz, hip hop, cabaret, but she has a special place in her heart for contemporary, where she gets to let the weird out. She started dancing at Passion and Performance in September 2024, and has quickly found a home here, finding a community of support through mutual love for dance.
Jordan started dancing as a teenager in the Cowichan Valley and quickly fell in love with performing. She dedicated her time to ballet, lyrical, and contemporary until she graduated from her studio in 2018. After a few years away from the stage, she discovered P&P in 2024 and reignited her passion for dance. Jordan is thrilled to be a part of the front desk team at P&P. She is here to help with any questions you have or to chat while you wait for class.
Meaghan started dancing as a child and kept it up all through grade school. More of a mathlete, dance was an important part of movement that brought her joy and didn’t require hand-eye coordination. A very shy child, she started to find her confidence in performing. A lifetime later, Meaghan started dance again and it’s been the best decision she has made since not buying that timeshare. She has tried it all at Passion and Performance, everything from burlesque to hip hop. She loves chatting about everything dance and is happy to answer any questions.
Alyssa grew up dancing in various styles but her main passions were Ballet and Lyrical. After a fifteen year hiatus, returning to dance as an adult was the best scary decision she could have made - it brought her confidence, joy, and a sense of belonging she hadn’t realized she was missing. Beyond the movement itself, it’s the community and friendships that have made the experience so meaningful. In her role as Memberships Assistant, Alyssa feels lucky to help others connect with the same magic she’s been fortunate enough to rediscover.
Vancouver Administration
Kate grew up dancing and performing in musical theatre in Vancouver. She received a diploma in Theatre Arts at Grant MacEwan University, then proceeded to tour with Jubilations Dinner Theatre for 4 years. She started performing with Zynth Entertainment in 2019 when she moved back to Vancouver, then quickly fell in love with Passion & Performance from the first class she attended in 2023. She has relocated to the Sunshine Coast, but will still travel to the city for classes because she can't stay away!
Shardae danced as a child doing competitive Highland dancing, hip hop, tap and jazz. They were a professional cheerleader for 3 years with the BC Lions before taking a long break from dancing. They joined the P&P family when they opened their Vancouver location, and havent looked back since!
Maria has been dancing and doing gymnastics since she was five years old - a back injury caused an involuntary 10 year break before coming back in full force! She is a professional dancer with Zynth Entertainment and loves to try new styles of dance in her spare time. Maria has extensive experience running and organizing events which she brings to the team. She feels the most at home, dancing in heels, Pleasers, on a pole, in a burlesque show, or getting funky to hip-hop or jazz styles!
I’m Shelby! I started dancing with Des 5 years ago during Covid and it has opened my life up to so many wonderful things! When p&p opened in Vancouver it truly changed my life and introduced me to so many wonderful, friends, this community and the ability to flex my creativity. As props master, I make all the props and decor for the themed shows. If you ever need a cardboard VW van, a seashell, or a ghoul, I’m your girl!
Victoria Instructors
Chai Tease is your local Gulf Island Wild Child. She started her adventures in dance in 2015 with Passion & Performance, which quickly grew into a love of burlesque and performance. She co-founded The Pervz&Curvz Collective in 2019, and then moved on to starting her own company Sinnergy Productions in summer of 2022. Chai now runs group burlesque classes through SINnergy called the Harbingers of Lust, her advanced dance troupe The Order of Asmodeus, and is the Burlesque Instructor at Passion & Performance.
Emily Eymundson is a dance, drama, and musical theatre practitioner. She has a special love for anything kooky and unexpected in the performing arts, and has a habit of fusing styles together. She is passionate about collaborative processes when creating works for performance. Emily’s favourite styles to teach at P&P are Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Cabaret Jazz, and Physical Theatre. She’s been teaching with P&P since 2022 and loves working with dancers of all levels - especially those brand new to dancing!
From taking dance classes throughout most of her childhood, Nicole discovered her love for hip hop over 20 years ago at Dansko. After a long hiatus, she found Passion and Performance in 2017 and fell right back in love with all things dance. Since then, Nic has had the privilege of trying all that P&P has to offer, including teaching hip hop! The newest teacher at the studio brings fun and joy to the classroom while being committed to creating an inclusive environment and dynamic routines!
Nova grew up an enthusiastic performer, finding joy in tap, jazz, and musical theatre above all, and found the love for choreography and teaching in 2015. They have taught and trained across many dance and theatre institutes in the lower mainland. In the winter of 2022 they burst into the drag scene, merging their queerness, clownery, and dance background, thus becoming the premiere tap dancing drag clown Leo Moon. In the summer of 2022 they moved to the island and began teaching and training in the Fall at Passion and Performance.
Nova prides themself in creating a safe, accessible dance space where students of any background can bring their authentic selves to the studio, and leave feeling empowered and uplifted. As a trans neurodivergent dancer, it is important to them as an instructor to ensure each person who walks into class feels welcomed and seen.
Vancouver Instructors
Audrey (she/her) was born and raised in Vancouver and first started training in heels, commercial dance, and hip-hop at Harbour Dance Center when she was 19. She continued her dance journey as a student, performer, professional dancer and instructor throughout the years in Vancouver and Ottawa. She was a part of several dance companies and programs, including Kill the Lights, Culture Shock Ottawa, Bloom Heels, Interquill, Moving Forward Dance, Badass Babes, Illustrative Society, and HEEALSOULES. With her positive energy, she strives to make everyone feel great, confident, and supported during class. She enjoys teaching all ages and styles and continues to share her knowledge and passion with her students.
Kyra discovered their love for dance at the ripe age of 3, and has known ever since that she would make a career as a creative person. Kyra began training in classical styles such as jazz, contemporary, musical theatre, tap and ballet before finding their current passion in street dance, including heels, hip hop, and jazz funk. Kyra has had the privilege of taking their craft international, getting to live and train in Los Angeles and perform with The Lola’s in Costa Rica. Kyra works regularly with Zynth Events & Entertainment, having performed in shows for MGM Grand and DJ duo Destineak. They’ve also had the opportunity to perform alongside sought-after artists such as Esther Anaya, Jeremih and Fito Blanko. Kyra’s love for performing eventually brought them down the path of teaching! Working exclusively at Passion & Performance, they are inspired everyday by their students, and find real joy in helping others ignite their flame for performing too. Currently Kyra can be found touring nationally with Moon Coin Live on their ABRA Cadabra ABBA Tribute show, cheering for the NLL Vancouver Warriors on their Lulu Lemon Dance Team, and assistant choreographing and dancing for The Lola’s Showgirls. Kyra believes that life is a holiday, and to enjoy the fruits of your labour is life’s greatest gifts! You can find Kyra wherever the creative flow takes them, Passion & Performance being one of those places.
Halie is a professional dancer who has been working and teaching in Vancouver since moving here from Las Vegas in 2014. Her dance background includes styles in jazz, commercial heels, erotic movement, Samba no Pe, as well as other styles of Brazilian funk and Afro-Brazilian dance. Halie's passion for teaching is rooted in helping people find their strength and passion on stage and in their performance. She firmly believes that dance is for everybody. After experiencing many years of rigidity in ballet, her passion for movement and freedom expression was re-ignited when she began studying Brazilian dance and samba in 2015. She now continually strives to help students and professionals alike explore that expressive freedom and tap into their own strength and artistry in a way that feels both unique and impassioned.
Hi there! My dance journey began way back in Alberta before the internet times, and has taken me around the globe! With over 25 years in the performing arts, I've worn many hats—dancer, choreographer, instructor, and adjudicator—both on and off the international stage. You might see me on film sets training dancers, judging dance competitions across Canada, or having a blast coaching the Vancouver Warriors Dance Crew.
I'm so jazzed (literally and figuratively) to be part of this amazing P&P community here in Vancouver, the city I live in and love. Nothing delights me more than sharing my experience and enthusiasm for all things dance with those who join me in the studio, leave their troubles at the door, and give it their all on the dance floor!