FACULTY
2024/25 Season

CLICK on faculty image for sample of work

AMADEA H, Director

ICDS Program, Contemporary, Dance Improvisation

Amadea has been a member of the XBa Dance Centre faculty for 16 years, is the studio’s new Director, and as dance teacher specializes in Contemporary and Dance Improvisation.

Unlike many of her peers, Amadea’s dance training increased after graduating high school and became professional at 19. She 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 the top Contemporary Soloist at the Surrey Festival of Dance, is also an award-wining Hip Hop soloist, and has trained extensively in Modern, Ballet, Pointe and Jazz. She has her Certification in the XBa Method of Training, and holds her International Certification in Dance Studies, as accredited by UNESCO’s Conseil International de la Danse.

Amadea holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of British Columbia, where she taught dance classes at UBC Recreation Centre, and was a finalist in the 2022 Surrey Women in Business Awards, Emerging Leader Category.

For the 2024/25 Season, Amadea is overseeing all streams of the ICDS Program and is teaching Contemporary and Dance Improvisation classes on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays for ages 8 to Adult.

YARRA TSIAKOS

Street Dance

A dancer all her life, Yarra started training at XBa at the age of 15. She successfully completed and earned her International Certification in Dance Studies in 2019. Yarra has taught XBa's Diverse Abilities Dance classes since 2019, after undergoing thorough training under XBa's Founder Nela H.

She has an extensive background in Street Dance, Contemporary and Ballet, and maintains her dance education at XBa while teaching. Yarra is constantly upgrading her skills and has created a unique style of street movement that she is eager to instil upon her students.

Yarra is currently pursuing her Bachelors degree in Business and Dance at Simon Fraser University, and for the 2024/25 Season, she will be teaching Street Dance for ages 4 to Adult on Fridays and Saturdays.

MARIA DJORDJEVIC

Ballet, Pointe

Maria began training in classical ballet at the age of 5 at the Goh Ballet Academy under the direction of Chan Hon Goh. At the age of 18, she joined the Goh Ballet Youth Company, where she had the opportunity to perform numerous soloist and principled roles in productions such as the Nutcracker, Coppelia, and Cinderella.

In 2021, she joined the Arts Umbrella Grad Program, where she spent 2 years under the direction of Artemis Gordon. As an AU Grad, she had the opportunity to collaborate with both world renowned and up-and-coming contemporary choreographers, such as Crystal Pite, Fernando Magadan, and Johan Inger. In 2022, Maria was fortunate enough to tour the Netherlands with the Arts Umbrella Grad Program, where she got the chance to perform across numerous stages, including with students from the Dutch National Ballet school.

Maria is a student at the University of British Columbia and is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s in Kinesiology. She is incredibly excited to join the faculty of the XBa Centre of Dance!

For the 2024/25 Season, she will be teaching Ballet for ages 4 to 17 and Pointe for ages 13-17 on Wednesdays.

EMMA MISAK

Breakdance

Emma Misak is a Bgirl born and raised in Surrey, BC. She has been dancing for over 9 years and has competed in various competitions both locally and internationally including battles in Japan, China, Europe and Argentina to name a few.

Emma won a Silver Medal in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Argentina representing Team Canada. She is very active in the breaking community with recent accomplishments including winning numerous breaking battles such as “Red Bull BC One Canada Cypher”, “Canada DanceSport 1v1 Championship” and “Soul Culture, 1 on 1 BGirl battle”. Recently Emma was invited as a wildcard to compete in the biggest breaking competition in the world in New York - the Red Bull BC One World Finals.

She is passionate about passing on her love, drive and knowledge for the hip hop culture and dance to young dancers in her community. She has been teaching for 7 years and continues to inspire others and help build the new generation of b-girls and b-boys in her hometown.

Emma’s long term goal is to continue dancing for as long as she can, and to continue teaching and inspiring the new generation, she also plans on traveling and competing internationally as much as possible. For the 2024/25 Season, Emma will be teaching Breaking on Fridays for ages 7 to 17.

NELA H

Founder of the XBa Centre 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.

Nela officially retired in 2024 and has fully entrusted her business to her daughter Amadea. She is extremely excited to see what the future brings, both personally and professionally, and is as excited to watch XBa's continued success!