Sandra D'Arsie
Founder and Director of Let’s Dance Ltd. for 35 years, one of the premier dance studios in the Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge region. For 39 years, Sandra has been teaching students the art of dance, respect for others and pride and confidence in oneself. Sandra appreciates the finest things about dance with specific attention to detail on dance technique, precision and appropriate choreography. She has judged numerous competitions as well as "National competitions" for Dance Masters of America. She encourages her dancers to attend workshops to expose them to different styles and techniques.
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Her students have a long list of awards and achievements in dance and are featured in commercials, TV shows and movies, modelling and professional work on Cruise Ships and resorts internationally. One former student finished filming and upcoming movie with a major role and another graduated from Point Park University and is now pursuing a dance career in LA.
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Sandra's dancers love her methods and personal interest in their lives. They start as toddlers and leave when it's time to further their education or set out on their chosen career. Sandra also grooms her dancers to teach dance and share their love of dance with others.
Lindsay Magnus
Throughout the past twenty years, Lindsay has trained in various styles of dance including ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and hip-hop. She began competing at the age of six, and has gained a wealth of knowledge through her competitive experiences. She has improved her ballet technique and artistic abilities by earning distinction in her R.A.D. ballet exams. Prior to joining the faculty, she assisted for several years in various forms of dance. Lindsay graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with a degree in Honours Business Administration and a Minor in Psychology. She was highly involved in the dance community at Laurier as a member and captain of the Competitive Dance Team. Lindsay is motivated by her students, and looks forward to sharing her love of dance with them.
Lauren D'Arsie
Lauren D'Arsie is a dedicated dancer, teacher, emerging choreographer, and upcoming artist. Her journey in dance began at the age of four at Let's Dance Ltd., where she received competitive training in Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Ballet, Hip Hop, Acro, and Tap
Lauren's passion for dance is matched by her strong work ethic and commitment to growth and improvement. She has honed and enhanced her technical skills through her consistency in attending workshops and conventions across Canada and the USA. Through these experiences, Lauren continues to draw inspiration from talented professionals, as she strives to become an inspiring artist and choreographer of her own for the upcoming generation in dance.
Throughout her career, Lauren has earned numerous accolades, including being a title holder for Bedazzled Dance Competition and roles as an assistant and ambassador at many dance conventions across Ontario. Her ability to captivate audiences with passion, emotion, and technical expertise has secured special awards and high scores throughout her competitive dance career.
Currently pursuing a major in Psychology at Wilfred Laurier University, Lauren remains active in the dance community as a member of the WLU Competitive Dance Team. She is devoted to sharing her love for dance with young artists, empowering and motivating her students to achieve their dreams along the way
Nia Archer
Nia began dancing at the age of 5 and has loved it ever since. She trained at JoAnne Chapman School of Dance for most of her career in all dance styles, including jazz, tap, ballet, acro, contemporary, and hip hop, and was fortunate enough to assist and teach in her final years before graduating. Throughout her training, she had the privilege of learning from professional choreographers such as Mandy Moore, Travis Wall, Kirsten Russell, Chad McCall,and Al Blackstone, to name a few. Nia obtained her acrobatics teaching certificate from the British Association of the Teachers of Dancing in 2015 and completed all levels of the Royal Academy of Dance ballet examinations. Nia was grateful to work as a background dancer on three seasons of Family Channel’s hit series, The Next Step.
As a recent Wilfrid Laurier University graduate, Nia was able to excel in her studies while continuing to pursue her love of dance. She joined Laurier’s Competitive Dance Team in her first year and took on many leadership roles including Choreographer, Promotions Executive, and Team Captain. During her time at university, Nia was cast by well-known choreographer Chad McCall to perform in his debut show “Mutual Coordinates” in Orlando, Florida. Performing in this show was one of the greatest highlights of Nia’s dance career thus far.
She is excited to be a part of the Let’s Dance family and is looking forward to an amazing year!
Sabrina Sinopoli
Sabrina began dancing at the age of 2 and was dancing competitively by the age of 5. She trained competitively at JoAnne Chapman School of Dance until she graduated in 2016 at the age of 18. Sabrina attended St. Elizabeth Catholic high school where she was involved in and choreographed for the Regional Arts Program, which sparked her love for choreographing. She has had the privilege of working with many accomplished choreographers such as Travis Wall, Mandy Moore, and Misha Gabriel, among others. She has also had the opportunity to travel with and assist well-known choreographer Chad McCall and was cast in his debut show “Mutual Coordinates” in Orlando, Florida. Sabrina was also fortunate enough to work as a background dancer on two seasons of Family Channel’s hit series, The Next Step.
Sabrina completed her undergraduate degree in Health Sciences at Wilfrid Laurier University where she competed with, and choreographed for, the Competitive Dance Team, in addition to her role as Team Captain. She is currently a graduate student at Laurier and continues to support the dance team and her fellow peers as much as possible! Sabrina has been recognized with many awards throughout her dancing career and is certified from the British Association of the Teachers of Dancing in acrobatics. Throughout her dance training, she also completed all levels of the Royal Academy of Dance ballet examinations with Distinction.
Sabrina is thrilled to share her love of dance with the students at Let’s Dance!
Meghan Harding
Meghan has been dancing since the age of four, training in all dance forms. She has participated in the Royal Academy of Dancing ballet exams achieving honours. Meghan has had numerous successes at dance competitions in Canada and the United States. She has competed at national level competitions in New York City, Las Vegas, Tennessee and Ontario. Meghan has always been a dedicated and passionate dancer, and now she shares her passion with her students. She is a Wilfrid Laurier University graduate, and enjoyed being involved with the Wilfrid Laurier Competitive Dance Team during her time at Laurier. The best part of teaching for Meghan is to be able to inspire young dancers and help them achieve their goals and dreams.
Jackie Titus
Jackie Titus has worked at Let’s Dance Ltd. in the position of ballet teacher and choreographer. Before this she was employed at Studio Dance Pointe in St. Thomas for six years. During that time she prepared students for ballet exams and choreographed dances for recital and competition. Her dances have been well received at competition earning several special and overall. She became interested in becoming a ballet teacher and choreographer when she was in high school and spent many hours in a London studio assisting teaching in all levels of ballet. She has continued to further her dance education by attending workshops offered by the National Ballet School and the Royal Academy of Dance. In 1996 she became a certified ballet teacher after successfully passing the Royal Academy of Dance Teachers Exam.
In 1994 she graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology with a minor in dance. In 2010, Jackie graduated from Althouse College with a Bachelor of Education and is currently employed by the Thames Valley District School Board as an occasional teacher. She is married and has two girls who love to dance as well. She recently relocated to the New Hamburg area where she became part of the Let’s Dance Family. When not teaching (school or ballet) Jackie enjoys volunteering at elementary schools helping students with their reading and writing. As well she has helped many of the schools and teachers by choreographing dance routines for gym classes and the schools dance fests.
Meghan Knapp
Meghan's dance journey kicked off in her early years, launching her into the worlds of dance education and choreography, where she has been a proud member for the past 20 years.
As an inspirational dance educator, she has trained in and continues to train in various dance genres, allowing for a distinctive dance fusion in her dynamic teaching style and choreography.
Many partnerships, mentorships, and her passion for learning have enhanced her skills along the way, which keeps her focused on professional and personal improvement in her role as a dance educator.
And when she’s not shuffling and shaking, Meghan most enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and dogs :)
Nathan Espejo
Nathan is a professional dancer originally from Brampton Ontario Canada. He began training at Joanne Chapman School of Dance at the age of 7. Nathan studied in many disciplines of dance such as jazz, tap, acrobatics, ballet, contemporary, lyrical, salsa, and hip-hop. However, his first love and passion is for hip-hop. He has competed at dance competitions across Canada and the United States since the early age of 9. Nathan is a versatile dancer garnering numerous national awards at various competitions such as JUMP Dance Convention, Hall of Fame and Dance Canada. During his time at Joanne Chapman School of Dance, Nathan has trained under and worked with many guest choreographers and renowned professionals such as Mandy Moore, Misha Gabriel, Kenny Wormald and Marty Kudelka. Nathan has been privileged with opportunities to work on stage, television, film, music videos, commercials as well as consumer product goods. He has performed in the opening number choreographed by Misha Gabriel & Nick Bass for the first ever Choreographer’s Emmy Nominee Reception in Los Angeles. This prestigious event brought together many professionals in the entertainment industry such as Nigel Lythgoe, Kenny Ortega, Paula Abdul, Travis Wall, NappyTabs, Derek Hough and many more. Some of his other credits include Canadian based television shows such as YTV’s The Next Star and Family Channel’s The Next Step. Nathan has brought his talent
overseas and traveled to Dubai and China for Creativiva’s stage show called the Jungle Book Circus. You can see Nathan in Spin Master’s Bella Dancerella – Disney’s High School Musical 1 and 2 dance instructional DVD’s/toys. In addition, he has appeared in the viral YouTube video called #TheGodProject, which has over 1 million views online. Nathan can be seen in a virtual reality commercial for Samsung that was filmed in Los Angeles. Nathan can be seen as a dancer in Disney Channel’s Original Hit Movie titled Zombies, choreographed by Christopher Scott. He can also be seen as a dancer in Zombies 2, both Disney Channel Original Movies streaming now on Disney Plus.
Nathan is also an accomplished instructor and choreographer. He holds his teaching Certificate in Stage with the B.A.T.D. and shares his love for dance with all he comes in contact with. Nathan has taught numerous classes and workshops across Canada. His choreography and students have earned top awards at numerous regional and national dance competitions in Canada and the United States. Nathan’s choreography credits include being an assistant choreographer to Amy Wright and guest choreographer on The Next Step Live On Stage Tour/The Next Step Live: The Movie and The Next Step Seasons 4, 5 & 7. He also choreographed for The Next Step Dance Battles game/app for IOS and Android. He’s worked as the associate choreographer for The Next Step: Absolute Dance - Live On Stage Tour in Australia.
More recently, he’s worked as the associate choreographer for The Next Step Season 9. Nathan was also the choreographer for the animated movie titled Ice Dragon produced by Tricord Media that was in theaters across Canada. Some of his other choreography credits include a national commercial for Yes TV Canada and pieces for The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards & Gala and the Punjabi International Film Academy Awards.
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Lori Pelter
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Lori began dancing at the age of 3 and trained at Let’s Dance Ltd from its first season until she graduated in 2003. During that time, Lori accomplished numerous outstanding achievements across Canada and the United States. Among them are invitations to the National Ballet School of Canada, competing at the national finals of NYCDA as an outstanding teen and senior dancer, and holding several Dance Masters of America titles, with a national top four placement at Miss Dance 2004. Lori trained in Jazz, Ballet, Pointe, Acro and Tap.
She has received honors in all major ballet examinations with Royal Academy of Dancing and is a certified acro teacher from the British Association Teachers of Dancing. After graduating from Let’s Dance Ltd, Lori continued dancing professionally with Royal Caribbean International. On board, she performed both as a dancer and aerialist representing several casts as Dance Captain and Aerial Coordinator. Before retiring from the company, Lori became Install Director managing numerous casts across several of the company’s twenty-four ships.
Lori graduated from the University of Waterloo, holding a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Now, she enjoys teaching and sharing her love and passion for dance, music, and movement with young children and dancers of all ages. At Let’s Dance, Lori genres of dance to both recreational and competitive students. Lori’s training, experience, and passion for dance and music encourages and inspires new generations of dancers to continue reaching their goals.
Irina Lerman
Irina Lerman graduated from Vaganova Ballet Academy in 2011 in a class of professor Ludmila Kovaleva (coach of Diana Vishneva, Olga Smirnova, and Maria Khoreva) and joined after graduation the Mariinsky Ballet where she was dancing for 7 years. Irina Lerman performed classical, neoclassical, contemporary, and modern repertoire of the Mariinsky Theatre including M. Petipa, G. Balanchine, A. Ratmanskiy, and Sasha Waltz.
In 2015 Irina trained at the Netherland Dance Theatre and performed a repertoire of Chrystal Pite, Paul Lightfoot, and Sol Leon. During the same period, Irina was fortunate enough to participate in workshops of renowned choreographer Wayne McGregor and work with choreographer Edward Clug.
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At the age of 21 Irina made her choreographic debut at the Workshop of Young Choreographers in Mariinsky Theatre and in a few years obtained a Master’s Degree in Choreography from Vaganova Ballet Academy. Irina became a Finalist of the International Competition in Riga, Latvia, and won a Silver medal as a Choreographer.
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Irina also made several independent productions around the world - in the USA, and Europe, worked at video dance productions such as «Exiled Hope. After…» and «Between Dreams», both were developed and filmed in Canada.
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Irina had the privilege to perform at the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games 2014.
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Since 2019 Irina was a Leading Soloist of the Atlantic Ballet of Canada. From 2021 Irina Lerman works as an independent teacher, choreographer, and ballerina.
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In 2022 Irina launched Artistry and Performance, a Summer Intensive in Ballet with Irina Lerman in Toronto, Canada. She recently received RBC Newcomer Arts Award from Toronto Arts Foundation.