Erin McCuaig

DIRECTOR, OWNER & LEAD INSTRUCTOR
Image of Erin McCuaig.
Erin McCuaig

Erin (she/her) grew up in Kenora and has studied dance for over twenty years. She has trained at a number of studios, including the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School in Winnipeg and Free House Dance in Calgary. Her training covers many styles including ballet, jazz, modern, lyrical, and tap.

After high school Erin attended Wilfrid Laurier University and graduated with her Bachelor of Business Administration. She then moved to Calgary where she worked in sports administration and market research before deciding to move home to Kenora in 2014.

During her time at the RWB, she did ADAPT Jazz and Tap examinations and Cecchetti ballet exams. Erin was also a member of Ember Dance Company in Calgary in 2012/2013. 

Her dance teacher education includes:

  • ADAPT Certified Teacher – Jazz & Tap Teacher Training School (2020-2022)
  • CCDT Limón Technique Teacher Course with Donna Krasnow (2022)
  • Intellidance Babies, Tykes, Tots, & Kids (2021)
  • NDEO Online Professional Development Courses (2018-2022)
  • RWB Teachers’ Summer Workshop (2014, 2016 to 2019, 2022)
  • Progressing Ballet Technique (2019)
  • En Avant Dance Teacher Conference (2016)
  • Lisa Howell’s Level One Training for Dance Teachers and Health Professionals (2015)

Erin is also trained in Standard First Aid & CPR/AED Level C and Mental Health First Aid Supporting Youth.

As the owner and lead instructor at DanceWorks Kenora, Erin always looks forward to sharing her love of dance with others in Kenora while continuing to enrich her skills as a dance teacher through workshops and education events.

Maddy

SPRING/SUMMER 2023 INSTRUCTOR
Madeleine Graham

Maddy (she/her) grew up in Kenora and started taking classes at DanceWorks Kenora in 2015. Since then, her training has included experience in ballet, modern, contemporary, improvisation, jazz, and tap from a variety of teachers across Canada.

Maddy is currently enrolled in the combined Dance and Kinesiology degree program at the University of Calgary. In 2023 she performed in Dance@Noon, MainStage, and Dance@Night productions through the university.

Maddy progressed from the assistant teacher role at DanceWorks Kenora in 2016-2018 to teaching her own Creative Movement classes in 2018-2019. She also served as the choreographer’s assistant and dance captain for Trylight Theatre’s production of “Iolanthe” in 2018 and attended the RWB Teachers’ Summer Workshop in 2019. She has also completed ADAPT exams in both jazz and tap.

She can’t wait to once again share her love of dance and movement exploration with the students at DanceWorks Kenora this summer.

Kirsten

SPRING/SUMMER 2023 INSTRUCTOR
Kirsten Favreau

Kirsten Favreau (she/her) began dancing, at age 12 and was one of the original students at DanceWorks Kenora when it opened in 2014. Initially beginning her training with ballet and tap, Kirsten has since expanded her styles to include jazz, pointe, modern, and contemporary over the past 8 years. Kirsten participated in the DWK Performance Ensemble for two years, began assisting in 2015, and began teaching her own classes in 2019. Kirsten’s training has primarily been at DanceWorks Kenora but she has also participated in various workshops, festivals and competitions throughout the years, including ADAPT exams in both jazz and tap. In 2023 Kirsten trained and performed with UWO Dance Force.

Outside of dance, Kirsten is a fourth year student pursuing a double major in Medical Cell Biology and English at Western University and is an accomplished musician, vocalist, and actress in the community. Although she plans on pursuing a career in Science, she feels that promoting involvement in dance and all of the Arts is very important. Sharing her passion for it with others will always be a motivation for her.

Kirsten is thrilled to once again resume her role as a dance instructor this summer.

Lena

HIP HOP INSTRUCTOR
Lena

Lena (she/her) started dancing in 2000 in Ukraine. She saw her future instructors performing and that was it, she signed up and never missed a class!

Lena loves seeing results when she teaches. She absolutely loves performing and wants her students to experience that as well.

Her dance group in Ukraine was called New Wave Dance Project, so when she first started teaching classes here in Kenora that was the name she chose for her group – New Wave Dance Project Canada. Over the years they performed at different events in Kenora, including Relay for Life, Home Show, Canada Day Celebrations, Olympic Torch Relay, Kenora Aerialettes Year-End Show and once at Kenora All Star Cheerleader Pre-Season shows.

Lena began teaching Hip Hop for DanceWorks Kenora in 2014.

Shyy

HIP HOP INSTRUCTOR
Shyy

Shyy (she/her) started her dance career as a toddler taking the basics of tap and ballet with Miss Elizabeth (who used to travel from Dryden to teach classes in Kenora) and quickly came to love hip hop when it was offered one season. From then, there was no other style for Shyy. She took hip hop classes from the time she was 8 years old, enjoying dance conventions in Winnipeg and Thunder Bay.

Shyy started being a student assistant at 14 for New Wave Dance Project where she found her love of teaching. She coached her high school dance team through a competition in Vancouver and followed up by coaching at Rising Star Dance Academy while attending college in Winnipeg.

After taking a break from dance and coaching, she moved home and opened up her own small business that has flourished into a beautiful and well-known beauty and wellness studio, Buck + Doe. Shyy has taught hip hop at DanceWorks Kenora on and off since 2016 (between having her 3 boys) and she is so so happy to be back for what looks like the long-term! She can’t wait to share the sass, energy and musicality that comes with hip hop dancing.