FACULTY
CLICK on faculty image for sample of work
NELA H
Founder/Director of the XBa School of Dance
Artistic Director of The DISKORDANSE Company
Nela spent her childhood and young adulthood studying Russian Ballet with Maurice Lacasse-Morenoff in Montreal. Also in Montreal she received her Premier Degré Laureat in Classical Piano Performance from l’Ecole de Musique Classique Marguerite-Bourgeoys. Nela completed her Associate of Arts Degree in Visual Arts at Loyola Marymount College in California, and her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the SFU School of Contemporary Arts in B.C. Nela holds the British Columbia Coaching Award Certification.
In 1999 Nela was scouted by SkateCanada to train National, World, and Olympic figure skaters in her unique style of off-ice dance education, at the Centre of Excellence in Burnaby, BC, which she continued to do for over a decade.
In 2001 Nela opened XBa School of Dance in South Surrey and in 2011 Nela and the school received accreditations from UNESCO’s International Dance Council based on the school’s and Nela’s personal achievements in the world of dance.
Also in 2011 Nela founded The DISKORDANSE Company and went on to complete 4 full-length original dance works and a series of short pieces for the company. In 2013 she was the recipient of the Community Inspiration Award from the City of White Rock.
As a visual artist Nela designs costumes, stage makeup, props, and her innovative stage lighting designs have garnered her commissioned work from international dance companies. Nela’s passion is creating and educating powerful dancers by blending the arts, often bridging her acrylic paints with live stage choreography.
AMADEA H
Operations Manager
Contemporary, Improvisational, Contemporary Pointe
Amadea has been a member of the XBa School of Dance faculty for 15 years, is the studio ’s Operations Manager, and as dance teacher she specializes in Contemporary, Contemporary Pointe, and Improvisational Movement.
Amadea holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of British Columbia, where she taught dance classes at UBC Recreational Centre.
Amadea is one of the inaugural members of The DISKORDANSE Company and has been a Principal with the company since 2013.
An accomplished contemporary dancer, Amadea holds a National Silver Medal in dance, First Place as Contemporary Soloist at the Surrey Festival of Dance, is also an award-wining Hip Hop soloist, and has trained extensively in Modern, Ballet and Jazz.
Amadea has her Certification in the XBa Method of training, holds her International Certification in Dance Studies as accredited by UNESCO’s Conseil International de la Danse, and was a signing officer in the founding of the CID's Vancouver Chapter.
CRISTINA BUCCI
Hip Hop
Starting out as a self-taught dancer from Surrey, BC, Cristina has trained formally in Vancouver, Los Angeles, and London, in styles ranging from Locking, Hip Hop, and Jazz.
Her career has taken her around the globe and seen her participating in equally diverse projects with a variety of artists. Some highlights include her work with the International Dance Seminar in Brazil, Vancouver International Dance Festival, Cypher-Fest International Street Dance Festival, touring to Japan with OURO Collective, Dancing on the Edge, and working with recording artist Young MC, Indian opera singer Veera Devi Khare, dancer Lil Buck, and spoken word artist Scruffmouth Scribe through the interdisciplinary performance series Brief Encounters. Cristina has also toured Egypt and Israel with Big Fish Management, and choreographed for C3: CreateLAB Vortex Dome at LA Centre Studios.
In addition to developing her skills as a dancer and choreographer, Cristina has been dedicated to her role as an educator and mentor, acting as assistant director of training company The SOULdiers for seven years, and part of various outreach dance programs, such as Kidsafe, Share Dance, and programs through the Dance Centre. Her past 20 years of experience in the arts as a dancer, choreographer, collective member, and dance educator has seen her bring artistic excellence to all of her projects, as she continues to bring street dance-based work to the forefront of the arts in BC, Canada, and beyond.
Cristina has been on the XBa Faculty for 12 years.
JHAYMEE HIZON
Breakdance
Jhaymee “Eloquence” Hizon is known and respected throughout the Lower Mainland as a dancer, teacher, choreographer, and as one of the members of the infamous Now or Never Crew.
Jhaymee and his crew are one of the top Bboy crews in Canada and are becoming highly regarded worldwide. His style is a fusion of the traditional way of bboying and his own original movements. With the “it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it” mentality, he adds style into every movement.
Jhaymee has been teaching dance for over fifteen years, and has been with XBa for the last 5. His recent accomplishments include Massive Monkee Day (Champions), Battle of the Year International (Germany), IBE (2011 Europe World Battle), and the Closing Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics at BC Place.
Jhaymee’s goal is to promote the positive side of hip hop, while preserving this powerful art form and its strong cultural presence.
SKYE FERGUSON
Ballet
Skye is a former XBa student, DISKORDANSE company member, dance teacher/choreographer at Keri’s Highland Dance Studio and is studying Education at Simon Fraser University.
Coming from a family full of dance teachers, Skye began dancing at the age of three and has studied Highland dance, Ballet and Pointe, Jazz, Modern, Contemporary and Hip Hop. As an eight time B.C Provincial Highland dance representative, a B.C Highland dance Champion, and a top six Canadian Highland dancer, Skye has competed across Canada, the United States and Scotland. In 2016 Skye was accepted into the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Highland Dance Team where she spent a month in Edinburgh, Scotland and performed for over 100,000 people on Edinburgh Castle’s Esplanade.
Skye proudly states that she owes much of her success in Highland dance to her formal Ballet training which she studied for over 15 years. Versed in RAD and Vaganova methods, Skye has completed examinations in both as well as SDTA examinations and truly believes Ballet is the foundation of all dance.
In the 2018/19 season, Skye formally joined the XBa faculty as our new Ballet teacher.
CAROLYN ZARUK
DanceWorkout
Carolyn has trained extensively in Ballet, Ballroom, Latin, Contemporary, Musical Theatre, Hip Hop and Yoga. She is a former Principal Dancer with The diskordanse Company, having participated in the first 4 seasons of the company's productions.
Carolyn also taught XBa's Ballet classes from 2011 to 2015, and has been a substitute teacher for the school since then.
She is thrilled to bring her skills and joy of dance to XBa's Fitness Programme.
YARRA TSIAKOS
Special O, Just Dance
After completing three full seasons in the XBa Senior Performance Groups, Yarra was a recipient of the International Certification in Dance Studies through XBa School of Dance.
An accomplished dancer, Yarra is currently continuing her post-secondary studies and is heading our Special O classes.
TEACHING ASSISTANTS
Krista Maguire
Special Os - Hip Hop
Cora Miller
Hip Hop
Guest Faculty
Melissa Partridge
Production+
Christian Lagasse
Tap
Jenn Edwards
Contact Improv, Ballet Moderne
Natasha Lutz
Modern
