Will Jessup
Will, grew up in Calgary Alberta and started his dance training at the age of seventeen in a high school dance program. After he graduated he danced with Ember dance company a training company in Calgary. The following summer he attended the Edmonton School of Ballet summer intensive where he received a scholarship to train there for the year. After two years of training in ballet and modern he moved to Vancouver to train with the Source dance company under the direction of Joanne Pesusich. He is currently trying with Lamondance Company under the direction of Davi Rodrigues. As an emerging artist Will has had the opportunity to do freelance work for emerging choreographer Ana Sosa for 12 minutes max’s and has also had the pleasure of working with other top choreographers in Canada such as, Josh Beamish, Brandon Alley, Racheal Prince, Kirstin Wicklund, Dario Dinuzzi, Heather Dotto and many more. Will has also been focussing a lot on the creation side as well creating work for studios as well as personal projects which he has performed excerpts from in festivals and shows around Vancouver.
Isla Spotswood
Originally from Pretoria, South Africa, Isla’s family moved to Calgary, Alberta at the age of five. She competed and trained as an elite gymnast before starting dance at age eleven. Isla completed her professional training at Alberta Ballet School in 2019 where she trained closely with Aram Manukyan, Graham McKelvie, Sasha Ivanochko and Artistic Director Ashley McNiel. She worked with and performed choreography by Edmund Stripe, Davida Monk, Jean Grand-Maître, Helen Husak, Sasha Ivanochko and Graham McKelvie. Isla has participated in summer programs such as Joffrey Ballet NYC, Arts Umbrella’s ISDI and Gaga Lab. During her first season at Lamondance she had the pleasure to work with artists such as Dario Dinuzzi, Amber Funk Barton, Brandon Alley, Racheal Prince, Kirsten Wicklund and Peter Smida. Isla is thrilled to continue her training and development as an artist as she enters her second season with Lamondance.
Oksana Maslechko
Oksana began dancing at age 12 with ‘Slava Doval’s DanceFusion’, in her hometown of Nelson BC. From that moment on, she knew she had a passion for the art, and was lucky enough to experience a variety of different styles such as Contemporary, Hip Hop, House, Afro, Bellydance, Folk, and many more. In 2016, she moved to Vancouver to join Lamondance Training And Performance Program, directed by Davi Rodrigues. This program has provided her with new tools, and endless opportunities to learn from, and connect with artists in the dance community. She has had the pleasure of working with Brandon Lee Alley, Racheal Prince, Lara Barclay, Kirsten Wicklund, Heather Laura Gray, Vanessa Goodman, Alysa Pires, Heather Dotto and Shauna Elton. Oksana is so thankful for the support she has received from her mentors, and will continue to push herself to grow and evolve as an artist.
Lazaro Silva
Lazaro started his career at the age of 21 years old in the "Universidade Federal de Sergipe" (Brazil), looking for an art career he found his place with the dance world. He was invited by the University to dance with the group, representing the "The dance art" at the University. Because of his love for the art of dance, he got offered a scholarship from the Universityuniversity's teachers to upgrade his dancing. To keep enhancing his studies, he went to Ballet Celia Duarte dance School, where he took private ballet classes with his teacher, Klely Perelo, to work even more on his technique. Lazaro is looking forward to continuing with this fantastic time at Lamondance learning and collaborating with different choreographers and dancers. And he is looking forward to keeping growing even more as an artist.
Yuha Tomita
Yuha began dancing in Kanazawa, Japan when she was 4. She had chance to learn varieties of different dance styles such as ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz, and flamenco etc. At the age of 15, she went to Buffalo, NY in United States to study dance at Neglia Ballet Artists until she complete her studying at high school there. After graduating, she moved to Chicago to join Trainee program at Joffrey Academy of Dance under the direction of Raymond Rodriguez. She has had opportunities to perform, and work with multiple contemporary dance choreographers and teachers there, which made her desire grow for this contemporary dance art form. In 2018, she joined Arts Umbrella Post-Secondary Graduate Program directed by Artemis Gordon. She was lucky enough to work with world-renowned artists. And for coming up season, Yuha is thrilled to join Lamondance Apprentice Company, and looking forward to work in such supported environment.
Emerging Artists
Natasha Pavan
Natasha Pavan began her training at the age of five years old. She has trained in all different dance styles, including jazz, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary, acrobatics, modern, ballet, tap, and tumbling. She has spent most of her dance career in a competitive company at Pulse Dance Centre, where she now continues to assist and teach classes. Natasha has also competed in many local and international competitions and conventions, where she has attended many workshops. She has also completed her Advanced 1 ISTD Modern Exam. Natasha is happy to be continuing her dance training as a part of Lamondance for Season 12.
Rosalie Caron
Rosalie began her training at Ballet Classique du Haut Richelieu, Québec, under the direction of Cécile Tremblay. In Montreal, she joined Ballet Divertimento’s Professional Program, founded by Susan Alexander, under the artistic direction of Christine Cyr. While at BD, she studied with renowned teachers and choreographers such as Owen Montague, John Alleyne, Christopher Rudd, Zack Tang, Diana Loosmore, Vanesa GR Montoya and Kristen Céré.
Rosalie participated in an international dance exchange with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She then joined Alberta Ballet School’s Post-Graduate program, under the direction of Ashley McNeil, where she studied and worked with Aram Manukyan, Graham McKelvie, Edmund Stripe, Murray Kilgour and Wendy Wright.
Nancy Li
My name is Junjiaqi Li, you can also call me Nancy. I was born in China and raised in Vancouver. Because of the many cultures I have encounter, I have good grasp of many styles of dance forms such as Chinese dance, ballet, and contemporary dance. I graduated from School of Contemporary Art of SFU with a bachelor’s degree, and now a part of Lamondance. While in school, I earned many awards from local and international competitions for my exemplary technique skills and performance. In constant contact with different artists and being inspired, I began to choreograph my own. My current focus is using minimal drama to express the emotions through body movements unearthed from life experience. I am also looking for a way to combine elements from multi culture to create a dance form that can be appreciated by the public.