Photo credits: Lois E the Photographer
Faridae Mody - Executive Director & Head Dance Educator
Acro, Contemporary, Jazz & Mini Movers
Faridae was born and raised in Peace River, Alberta. She spent 10 years training in jazz, ballet, contemporary, musical theatre, lyrical, pointe, hip hop, and modern. Faridae earned awards at festivals for her self-choreographed solos and completed her Intermediate 2 ADAPT Jazz exam. After high school, Faridae went on to study Musical Theatre at St. Lawrence College in Ontario, where she was named Dance Captain of her year. Since moving to Edmonton, she has continued to educate herself as a dancer, dance educator and business owner. Earning her certification as a Jazz instructor (ADAPT), in Kids Yoga (Wee Wild Ones), continuing her certification with the Acro Dance Teachers Association, and taking classes from professional training studios for graduated dancers here in Edmonton. Faridae has also earned a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Management at MacEwan University.
Faridae has accumulated 15 years of teaching experience. As an educator, she is passionate about teaching dance but looks to teach dancers more than dance techniques; Faridae is passionate about showing her students what they're capable of and helping them to develop the mental skills to achieve it.
As Executive Director, Faridae believes that every child should have the opportunity to dance and is working towards making dance accessible to all families through sponsorships and community involvement!
Mara Palahniuk - Dance Educator
Ballet & Ukrainian
Mara has been dancing since she was three years old. Beginning with Ballet and Ukrainian dance styles, she pursued her passion for dance into many other styles, including Ballroom, Latin, Character and Martha Graham Modern dance. Mara has travelled worldwide for dance, studying at the Alberta Ballet, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet in New York, and the Royal Academy of Dance in London, England. In these programs, many told Mara that she had a natural eye for teaching and a talent for creating choreography. She followed this passion and became a teacher and choreographer at 14 and continued to become Ballet Mistress and Stage Dance Department Head at Windermere Music Academy in 2018. Mara joined Elite Dance Studio to teach Ballet and her new ABC class (Abs, Ballet and Cardio) in 2020.
Mara has been a professional dancer since the age of 15, when she was accepted to the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers. Since then, she has continued to dance professionally with Shumka, touring throughout Canada and the United States with plans to tour Ukraine in 2022. Mara is currently studying at the University of Alberta as a major in English and minor in Creative Writing, Ukrainian Culture, Language and Literature and Women and Gender Studies, with aspirations to continue her education to become a teacher. Mara is excited to help jump-start the Ukrainian dance program with Freedom School of Dance!
Genenne Gilliard - Dance Educator
Hip Hop & Tap
Gen started her dance training at age 3, in Ballet and Tap in London, England. When her family migrated to Saskatchewan, her love for dance continued and added Jazz, later Hip hop as well as Figure Skating. Gen has taken dance exams in RAD Ballet, Jazz and Tap CDTA and Skate Canada and competed for many years.
Wanting to pursue her love for dance as a teacher and choreographer, Gen moved to Edmonton and Graduated from the Grant McEwan’s Dance Performance and Dance Teacher Training Programs. Her studies didn’t stop there and she continued to advance her training in Toronto, New York and L.A.
As an instructor, she continues to educate herself through Teacher Workshops in Canada and the U.S. She also holds Module 1 in Acrobatic Arts and Alixa Flexibility and is certified in Standard First Aid CPR C & AED
Gen brings 20+ years of teaching experience and currently teaches Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Broadway and Hip Hop to students. Gen shares her energy, passion and love for dance to her students and strongly believes dance is for EVERYONE. Committed to all her students, Gen provides a positive, encouraging and enjoyable atmosphere.
Gen is thrilled to be a part of the teaching staff at Freedom School of Dance!
Rebecca Bissonnette - Dance Educator
Musical Theatre
A dance studio kid from way back - like all the way back - Rebecca has always made it a point to have dance in her life. Trained in tap, jazz, ballet, highland, baton, musical theatre, lyrical, hip hop and contemporary (proudly Shelley Tookey trained for 15 years) Rebecca brings her fierce belief that every body is a dance body to every dance floor she has the pleasure of gracing.
Off the dance floor, Rebecca is a beautiful hybrid of educator and artist. You might have seen her passion as a board member with CO*LAB, an Artistic Director with her own company DEPTH Perception Productions, a teaching artist with Workshop West Theatre or telling stories as a part of Die-Nasty, the Live Improvised Soap Opera.
Rebecca is always looking for ways to use her voice and being an arts educator is an important piece of that. She has a unique way of addressing issues that we all deal with while being honest, sharing her experiences and letting people know they aren't alone. Students seem to gravitate towards her, and she's taught them all, from babies to young adults. If your voice is stuck, she'll support you in doing the work to find it.
Alia Walker-Janz - Studio Assistant & Dance Educator
Mini Ballet, Mini Jazz & Mini Tap
Alia is a born and raised Edmontonian with several years of dance experience. Dancing in her community led her to the Victoria School of the Arts, where she trained in ballet, jazz, musical theatre, tap and contemporary. She also took advantage of all available master classes through her time at Victoria, learning the history behind traditional dances. While getting her bachelor's degree in Social Science, Alia continued to dance, taking on ballroom dancing and brushing up on her ballet technique.
Alia is committed to further pursuing her dance education and providing the same encouraging support extended to her by previous mentors.
Ava Moser - Dance Educator
Ballet & Ukrainian
Ava began dancing in Fort McMurray at the age of three, taking ballet and tap lessons. After going to see her first Shumka show that year, she fell in love with Ukrainian dance. Ava then enrolled with the Avrora dance school in 2007, taking Ukrainian lessons there for seven years. Her family eventually moved to Edmonton to enroll in the Shumka School of Dance to reach her dance dreams. Joining the Intensive Division in 2015, Ava began to take more dance lessons, including RAD ballet and contemporary dance. After graduating from the School in 2019, Ava auditioned for Studia Shumka and became one of the newest members.
Her love for teaching began when she taught her first class back in 2017. Ava is currently attending the Concordia University of Edmonton with aspirations of becoming an elementary school teacher to expand her passion for teaching that she discovered through the summer camp Leader in Training program.
As a full member with the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers, Ava is continuing her dance career and hopes to share her love of dance with audiences for many years to come.
Kyla Bendera-Munroe - Studio Assistant & Dance Educator
Hip Hop
Kyla has been dancing on and off since the age of 3. She started out at a few studios in St. Albert and Edmonton, but when her family moved to Rosetown, Saskatchewan, she started to take dance more seriously. At 12, she joined the JD Dance Studio, only taking Hip-Hop and Ballet. After her first year there, she decided to join contemporary, jazz, pre-pointe and lyrical as well. Every class she took, she fell in love with. In 2018 she took her Grade 3 RAD ballet exam at Dance Ink in Saskatoon.
Her love for teaching came in 2021 when she helped assist a 3 to 5-year-old ballet and tap class. It was a blast to share the love of dance with the next little dancers, and she knew she wanted to continue. That following year in 2022, she danced at her local football team’s halftime show. That’s where another local studio owner spotted her and wanted her to teach Hip-Hop.
She hopes to continue her dance education and get more experience under her belt!
Kyla is currently studying at the University of Alberta for Business Economics and Law and hopes to continue her education further and go to Law School.
Kyla is so excited to share the love of dance with you all here at Freedom School of Dance!