Meet our Instructors

Olena Zakharova is a Professional Ballet Dancer/Teacher/Choreographer. Ukrainian born, Olena Zakharova began her ballet training at Donetsk Ballet School and continued her education at Kharkiv College of Culture (Ukraine). While studying in College she was invited to join Kharkiv National Opera and Ballet Theatre. From 2004 to 2005 worked at Odessa National Opera and Ballet Theatre. In 2005 moved to Egypt to join Cairo National Opera for two years. In 2007 after short period in Poland, moved to Canada to join Atlantic Ballet Theatre (Moncton, New Brunswick), where she was dancing for 7 years before retired from professional dance career in 2014. Repertoire included:

Sugar Plum Fairy (Nutcracker), The Queen of Dryads (Don Quixote), Fairy (Cinderella), Scheherazade (One Thousand and One Night), Trio of the Shadows (La Bayadere), Rosalinde (Romeo and Juliette), Countess (Figaro), Cordelia (King Lear), Christine (Phantom of the Opera) and many others. Olena started to teach ballet part time during her time in New Brunswick for a several local dance schools. In 2014 moved with her family to British Columbia and joined Fraser Valley Academy of Dance (Mission, BC) as a full-time ballet teacher, where she worked with the students helping them successfully prepare to annual full leigh Nutcracker, year end shows, as well as local ballet competitions and Young American Grand Prix.

Alexx is a well rounded dancer, and performer. She has trained and competed in hip hop, jazz, tap, contemporary, lyrical, musical theatre, acrobatics, gymnastics, ballet and pointe from a variety of different teachers and studios in Kelowna. She was introduced to dance when she was 9 years old through a musical theatre exam program. After completing all of her exams with distinction, she fell inlove with the art of dance and joined a studio to expand her dance knowledge when she was 13, and began dancing competitively at age 14. Alexx has placed first at over 20 competitions for both solo and group work. She loves to challenge herself and her students with creative choreography and technique. Alexx hopes to help her students improve as dancers and wants to encourage them grow and find a passion for dance.

Erica Thomson was born and raised in Port Moody, BC. Erica studied dance at Caulfield School of Dance in Port Moody, training in styles such as ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary and hip hop, as well as volunteering as an assistant teacher. Now graduated, Erica returns each year to stage manage the Caulfield School of Dance year end shows. Erica also danced as a member of a Port Moody hip hop dance crew from 2012-2014 and competed locally under the direction of The Creative Outlet owner and director Andrew Galang. Erica received the 2013 Jennifer Jackson Memorial Scholarship as well as a 2014 Ministry of Education Dogwood Award for her dedication to dance. Erica then brought her passion for movement to her students in the City of Port Moody dance programs where she had the opportunity to teach the same classes that first sparked her interest in dance at the age of two. Now in Kelowna to study at UBC Okanagan Erica is excited to share her knowledge and true love of dance with the students.

Olivia Latendresse grew up in Delta, BC, and trained for 14 years at Deas Island Dance upon completing her RAD Advanced 2 ballet exam in 2014. Throughout her childhood she has performed in yearly ballet productions and community events including performances in Disneyland, California. She has attended several Ballet focused Summer Intensives across Canada, including Goh Ballet, Okanagan Summer Dance Intensive, Alberta Ballet, and l’Ecole Superieur du Ballet du Quebec. Olivia has recently graduated from UBC Okanagan, receiving her Bachelor in Business Management. She now works as Office Administrator at Mission Dance Centre as well as Dance Instructor at MDC and with the City of Kelowna. Olivia is also now a part of Mission Dance Centre’s Senior Company, and hopes to continue inspiring and teaching young dancers.

Saia Kuwata is originally from Osaka, Japan where she began her training. In 2016, she moved to Victoria, Canada to continue her training in the Post-Secondary Bridge Program at the Victoria Academy of Ballet, which she graduated from in the spring of 2018. While at the Victoria Academy of Ballet, Saia had the opportunity to work with many guest teachers such as Alysa Pires, Wen Wei Wang, Jorden Morris and Christopher Anderson. Saia placed in the top 12 at the Youth American Grand Prix semi-finals in Seattle, Washington. She has performed in Ballet for the Future (2014, 2015) under the direction of Gen Horiuchi (Artistic Director of the Saint Louis Ballet Company), as well as Alberta Ballet’s  The Nutcracker (2017), and Ballet Kelowna’s A Streetcar Named Desire (May 2018). This is Ms. Kuwata’s first season with Ballet Kelowna.

Annette has been training and performing at Mission Dance Centre for 15 years. She attended the Ballet Jorgen Summer Intensive IV in Toronto for five weeks in 2018 and trained in ballet, pointe, repertoire, and contemporary. She also attended Ballet Kelowna’s Summer Intensive with Heather Myers in 2017 where she was taught ballet and contemporary technique as well as Heather’s repertoire. Annette has performed leading roles in productions such as: MDC’s “The Nutcracker” 2015-2018 as the Sugar Plum Fairy partnered by the former MDC student who graduated from The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, Jera Wolfe. Annette also danced the role of Odette in MDC’s “Swan Lake” in 2016 & 2019, partnering with Jera Wolfe and Ballet Kelowna’s Valentine Chu, graduate of The Paris Opera. She was also the recipient of The Teen Honour in the Arts Award for the Kelowna Civic & Community Awards in 2018.

She just recently graduated from MDC’s Pre-Professional Program and is continuing her career in Toronto, Canada in hopes of becoming a professional ballet dancer. Annette is a passionate teacher and loves to inspire and mentor the younger generation.

Taria has been dancing for 10 years, training at MDC for the past 5, and teaching ballet/contemporary/jazz for the past 2 years. She recently attended the Arts Umbrella International Summer Dance Intensive in Vancouver and studied ballet, contemporary, improvisation, and modern techniques. Dancing is important for her not just to keep her in shape physically, but also mentally; it is something that constantly challenges her, and gives her a deeper understanding of the world around her. Taria’s goal through dancing is to attend a post secondary dance program and pursue contemporary choreography as a career.

Originally from Brampton, Ontario, Kurt has been a dancer with Ballet Kelowna since the summer of 2012. Prior to his move, he studied with several of Canada’s top professional ballet schools including the National Ballet School of Canada, The School of Alberta Ballet and Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, where he graduated from their Ballet Academic Program in 2011. Kurt has also travelled abroad to Austria, England, Italy, New Zealand and the US in order to further his development and knowledge of dance.

During his five years with Ballet Kelowna, Kurt has performed in numerous mixed repertoire programs locally in the Okanagan Region and throughout British Columbia and Alberta. Most recently he performed in a collaboration with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra called Canadiana Suite in early May. Additionally, Kurt has been featured as The Cavalier, Nutcracker Prince, Snow King and Arabian Man in the local production of The Nutcracker staged by Canadian School of Ballet and will be making his Kelowna Actors Studio debut in their upcoming production of Billy Elliot.

In 2015, Kurt was the first recipient of the Brian MacDonald Dance Award (established upon his passing), and participated in The Banff Centre’s prestigious Summer Dance Program. Kurt is excited to join the Mission Dance Centre as a ballet instructor.