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MEET THE TEAM
Cynthia Aguiar
Artistic Director | She/Her
Cynthia (BA, B.Ed, owner/artistic director) is a Professional Dancer, Qualified Dance Educator, Artist Performance Coach, Choreographer and Movement Facilitator. She is known for her unique creative process and the safe environment she creates during this process which has been called “healing”, “inspiring” and “the best way to create movement art”. She has a deep love for storytelling through movement and strongly believes everyone should feel safe enough to do just that. She has facilitated residencies and created movement experiences/shows such as Shift, Art & Cleanse, Heal, Bookend.
Cynthia has choreographed for music videos such as Waste my Time (Eleanor) as well as choreographed and starred in videos such as What you are (Collective Evoltion), As A Crew (Big Lou). She has had the honour of collaborating with many collectives, events, and councils such as The Forest City Music Awards (FCLMA), London Pride Festival, The ISO project, Breath In Movement, London Arts Council, Dance Ontario, London Dance Festival, Simple Reflections collective, CyouMove, O.N.E Dance Centre and more.
In addition, Cynthia has been a choreographer at O.N.E Dance Centre since 2016. In 2019, she served as co-director of O.N.E Contemporary Company (alongside Dana Hambly, Codie Primeau, and Nicola Popp) where they presented their work in London Fringe Festival.
Her love and passion for movement continues to grow. She is so very grateful for her beautiful dance family and the journey that brought them together.
- We’re all moving through life differently. That’s what makes it beautiful.
Alicia Raphael
Assistant Director | She/Her
Alicia began training in various dance styles starting at a young age. After a long hiatus, she returned to dancing after completing her career, competing nationally and internationally in track and field . She always had a passion for dancing. Since starting at O.N.E in 2019, Alicia has sought to improve her craft by participating in various workshops, performances, and training in different styles, including Choreography Movement and Commercial Dance.
She has recently had the opportunity to become a member of La Compagnie de Danse (directed by Cynthia Aguiar). Alicia has her Bachelor of Education, Master of Arts in Management and Leadership with a specialization in coaching, and seeks to further her dance education.
She is passionate about physical literacy and believes that everyone can dance and express themselves through movement. Alicia is incredibly grateful to have been welcomed into the O.N.E family. She is honored to share her passion for dance in such an open, warm, and inclusive environment.
Justine Strokan
Director of Marketing | She/Her
Justine began dancing at the age of four, where she formally trained in disciplines such as ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, modern, and acro. She is a dancer and choreographer based out of O.N.E. Dance Centre. She believes that art, in any form, enrichs our lives. She feels privileged to move and create with La Compagnie de Danse.
Allan Pao
Member | He/Him
Allan Pao is a Dancer, Choreographer and Drop-in Instructor. He started dancing at a young age and completed all 4 years of the dance course at JP II learning and performing various genres of dance. Allan is now teaching at O.N.E Dance Centre in London, Ontario and has been there since 2011. Over the years he focused on working to improve and train in multiple styles of dance such as Hip Hop, Afro-fusion, Jazz Funk, contemporary and improv.
He was a member of a group called Dynamic Dozen (2012) a local flash mob group through an organization called Youth Opportunity Unlimited. A choreographer/dancer for O.N.E Dance 19+ Dance showcase (2021-2022) in which he co-choreograph for the competitive team and the other sets. Allan is now a current dancer and member of La Compagnie De Dance (Cynthia Aguiar). He got to perform in many shows that included Leap (Breath in Movement), and Cleanse.Heal.Bookend (La Compagnie De Dance), London dance festivals, Shift (La Compagnie De Dance) and an opportunity to perform for a local artist by the name of Big Lou in his music video (As a Crew).
Alli Robb
Member | She/Her
Alli Robb is a multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto and broadly around Ontario. She is a dancer, choreographer, teacher and writer, with a fascination for the creative process. Alli trains in a variety of classical and commercial genres, including ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop and house. As a 2023 graduate of the Toronto Metropolitan University Performance Dance Program, Miss Robb has collaborated and performed works by Alyssa Martin and Rock Bottom Movement (DinoLand), Louis Laberge-Côté (The Ianos Gate), and Hanna Kiel of Human Body Expression. She has also worked with artists from internationally-acclaimed companies, including Jesse Obremski from Gibney Company, and the Stephanie Lake Company (Colossus) as part of TO Live. Alli was a member of UHHU, the Toronto Metropolitan University competitive hip-hop team, and worked as a choreographer for the varsity dance team, TMU Dance Pak, as well as the Western University varsity dance team, InMotion. She is the Artistic Director of “STRANGER” and “UPSIDE”, two film projects where she acted as lead choreographer, poet, interpreter, composer and film editor. She is a member of La Compagnie de Danse, a group that facilitates movement-based workshops in London, Ontario. Alli also recently taught a 12-week drop-in dance program for adults with disabilities through the Hutton House in London, Ontario. Though emerging, Alli was invited as guest faculty for the Young Creators Challenge Next Generation Workshop, and has received numerous accolades for her choreography. Ms. Robb has completed the TOES for Dance Leading With Curiosity Workshop, and ProArte’s EstateDanza Summer Intensive Program. Alli is self-taught on the ukulele and earned her black belt in karate – both influence her movement invention. She is also a student of Philosophy with a Minor as part of her BFA training from TMU. Alli has an aptitude for unpacking the human experience. She is eager to continue sharing her artistic voice and passion for performance.
Brandon Clarke
Member | He/Him
Brandon Clarke is a well-respected and award-winning dancer, instructor, choreographer, and office administrator of the London, Ontario dance community. He has been involved for many years now in the industry holding work experience with organizations such as the National Basketball League of Canada, the University of Western Ontario, and Canada's National Ballet School. Brandon has served as head choreographer and assistant creative director for award-winning children's entertainer, Saidat, and many of her artistic projects including her live show, music videos, Toronto Pride performance, and more. He is also a beloved graduate of the Dance Minor program at Western University where he learned from, and worked with, dance lecturers Barb Sarma, Dale Yoshida, and Pamela Eddleston. Brandon has been the Stage Manager for their spring student showcase, "Studies in Motion" consecutively since graduating from the program himself. Brandon has worked for many studios within the London region, as well as surrounding cities, providing classes, workshops, and summer intensives, where his goal is to make every student feel special. Brandon is very excited to be expanding his dance portfolio by joining 'La Compagnie de Danse', under the direction of Cynthia Aguiar. He cannot wait to bring his unique style, and fun personality, to the company and is excited to meet new people.
Christina Tsaltas
Member | She/Her
Christina was born and raised here in London, ON. She has been a traditional Greek dancer since childhood, and it was during her high school days where she discovered her love of all forms of dance. While attending Western University, Christina joined UWO Dance Force to continue her dance journey. This experience led her to complete a Minor in Dance, where she studied modern dance, contemporary, ballet, musical theatre, and choreography/movement making. Along with this degree, she also completed a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology, a Bachelor of Education, and a Minor in Psychology. Christina began attending classes at O.N.E in 2019. She has now had the opportunity to participate in multiple O.N.E showcases as well as teach and attend classes regularly. She is a current member of La Compagnie de Danse, which is a sister company of O.N.E led by Cynthia Nakeyar.
Clara Gharibo
Member | She/Her
Clara is a dancer, choreographer, teacher and business owner. Her business, CYouMove is built on her dance values- to help people rediscover the joys of dance and find freedom with movement. She believes that dance builds connection to yourself and others, a means of self expression, a creative outlet, a way to communicate feelings/ideas and an emotional release. She has been dancing for over 25 years and has trained in a variety of dance styles, primarily ballet and contemporary. Clara has been dancing with La Compagnie De Danse since 2019.
Dana King
Member | She/Her
Dana is a dancer and choreographer based out of O.N.E Dance Centre. Through movement she strives to dive deep and tap into the emotions that we are often unable or afraid to express with words. Through teaching, she strives to provide a safe, inclusive environment for other dancers to do so as well.
Michelle Kim
Member | She/Her
Karina Tassiopoulos
Member | She/Her
Karina is a highly accomplished dancer, starting her training at the age of 4 at Elite Danceworx in Markham, ON. She has received training in various dance styles including jazz, tap, ballet, acro, contemporary, modern, and hip hop. Throughout her training, she had the opportunity to learn from renowned choreographers such as Travis Wall, Mandy Moore, Chloe Arnolds, Stacey Tookey, and Jason Parsons. Karina's talent and hard work have earned her numerous awards and titles across Canada and the US, including a scholarship at the Dance Awards Best Dance Competition in New York. She has also performed in the Nutcracker production by the Toronto International Ballet Theatre. Karina also appeared on season 3 of the popular TV series The Next Step and has been involved in various other projects. While completing her undergraduate studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, where she choreographed and competed on the WLU Competitive Dance Team, she continued teaching and choreographing at multiple studios. In 2020, Karina began her graduate studies in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and she is currently a PhD Candidate at Western University. Outside of her academic pursuits, Karina finds joy in using movement as a means of expression and creativity. Karina dedicates her spare time to teaching and training at O.N.E. Dance Centre, a place she considers her second home. She is excited to be a part of the La Compagnie family and eagerly anticipates the future.
Kevin Clements
Member | He/Him
I am Kevin Clements. I am a 24 years old and I am a heterosexual male Canadian born and raised in London, Ontario. I am a younger half-brother to my older sister, and also to my younger brother.
I dance, sing, play a little guitar, and drums! I am also an athlete and artist, and love watching animation and anime.
Olivia Torrance
Member | She/Her
Starting at 3 years old, I trained and danced competitively in all styles from Ballet to Hip-Hop to Acro. Loving every second of my competitive years, I began teaching and choreographing for other competitive dancers at 16 until I graduated from my studio. After a 3 year break from dance, I reconnected with my love for dance and began taking classes at O.N.E.. Since then, I have gotten back into teaching and love my O.N.E. fam, spending as much time as possible with these incredible people.
Shannon Filson-McLean
Member | She/Her
Shannon was born and raised just outside of London and began her dance training at the age of 3. She trained in Ballet and Jazz until age 18, participating in annual shows. While attending Western University she continued her dance training in modern and contemporary and joined/choreographed for UWO Dance Force while completing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. After finding O.N.E. in 2019, she continued training in a variety of styles and started teaching drop-in classes. She has performed in and choreographed for the O.N.E. 19+ and Team Up showcases as well as La Compagnie performances.
Shweta Sherpa
Member | She/Her
Shweta is 26 years old and a DSW. She loves dancing and it’s always been a part of her life. She began dancing formally at O.N.E. Dance Centre in 2022, kickstarting her passion for the art, and participated in La Compagnie de Danse's Women's Empowerment Program.
Thalyta Medeiros
Member | She/Her
Thalyta Medeiros was born and raised in São Paulo - Brazil. Her contact with dance began at a very young age, 3 years old, with the encouragement of her mother, who is also a dancer. She majored in dance, at the age of 14, after 8 years at the Conservatory Dance Program. She formally trained at a professional level in styles such as Classical Ballet, Jazz Dance, Modern Dance, Tap, Contemporary, Lyrical, Musical Theater, and Circus Activities. At the age of 18, she became her mother's partner at a dance school called Espaço Dança e Vida, where in addition to preparing many dancers for the job market, she also won many festivals and awards as a professional dancer and choreographer.
At age 20, she graduated from the School of Dramatic Arts, as an actress, to further empower her artistic streak. She performed in major Brazilian musicals, acted in plays, recorded movies, TV commercials, and also did some dubbing.
Recently in 2019, she decided to move to Canada to continue expanding and improving her artistic knowledge but with new challenges.
She was grateful to teach a variety of styles at The Dance Alliance where she also had a temporary job with Scott Moir and his team.
She is currently a Brazilian Jazz Funk instructor at O.N.E where she also had the opportunity to work again as a dancer. Through the O.N.E. she met Cynthia Aguiar (owner of La Compagnie de Danse), and today she feels honored by the opportunity to be part of the company.
Virginia Jackson
Member | She/Her
Virginia’s love of dance started at age three, when she began studying ballet, tap, and musical theatre at the Catherine Samuel Ballet School in Hamilton. She trained and completed examinations in the Cecchetti Method of Ballet. Throughout her university years, Virginia explored more dance styles including lyrical and contemporary. Virginia holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education, and is currently a French Immersion Elementary School Teacher with the Thames Valley District School Board. Virginia first joined La Compagnie de danse when she moved to London in 2019. She then began taking classes at O.N.E Dance Centre and became a choreographer at the studio in 2020. She is grateful for the authentic movement experiences and connections that O.N.E and La Compagnie have given her.
Yunike Soedarmasto
Member | She/Her
Yunike (you•KNEE•ka) is an NYC born, Canadian-raised artist. She’s an actor, singer, musician, and dancer. While she loved dance her whole life, she began her dance training in 2017 at theatre school, but it wasn’t until she found O.N.E Dance Centre mid-pandemic that she was able to find her stride and learn that there was a safe and encouraging space for her to discover dance identity. Yunike is passionate about representation for Asian women in the industry and is an avid believer of “it’s never too late”.