Alana Hock
Swing, Tap, Jazz, ZUMBA & Wedding Dance Lessons
This Ottawa native has studied Jazz, Tap & Swing in New York, Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, Sweden, Mexico and Tokyo with some of the world’s finest. Ever in demand, she has taught dance for over 33 years.
Career highlights include: choreographing the hit Disney television show – Jojo’s Circus, having the honor of teaching numerous times with the Ambassador of Lindy Hop – Frankie Manning, and being selected to teach 800 students at the final segment at Ottawa’s Bust A Move along side of the late fitness legend, Richard Simmons. As a guest teacher, she has taught in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Syracuse, Buffalo and New Hampshire. As a dancer, she has been featured at the Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto’s Harbourfront, Timex Watches as well as on CBC, YTV, City TV , Treehouse’s – This is Daniel Cook and was a featured tap dancer in Juno award winning, Kellylee Evans sold out show at the NAC.
Alana’s warmth, support and hundred-kilowatt smile set her apart. She’ll motivate and inspire you to go as high as you dare.
Kofi Arthiabah
Lindy Hop & Vintage Jazz
Kofi loves to move…and if it is to music, even better! He also loves Jazz music. As a child, he was a Breakdancer and grew up tearing up the dance floor in the club scene. Then, he became instantly hooked on the Lindy Hop and Jazz dance when he found out he could combine his love of jazz music and dance (thanks to Frankie Manning and Norma Miller’s interview on the Ken Burns PBS series “Jazz”).
Kofi travels the world attending the major dance camps to learn, share, compete, and most importantly, social dance. As he puts it, he “will go to the ends of the earth for a swing out”….For Kofi, the world is one big dance floor. He can be seen dancing up a storm wherever and whenever the music moves him…and that is usually all the time!
* Photo Credit: Bruno Avard
Robin Treleaven
Lindy Hop – Vernacular Jazz – Charleston – Blues
Robin has been an avid Lindy Hopper in the Ottawa community for the past 10 years. With a background in ballet and contemporary dance as well as Vernacular Jazz forms, she believes you can never have too many styles of dance. Robin is a graduate of the post secondary Contemporary Dance Program at The School of Dance in Ottawa and now works as a freelance dance artist performing, choreographing, and teaching in the National Capital region.
Through her Jazz dance journey, Robin has performed at events such as Otown Showdown, Oh My Jazz, and as part of the Canada 150 events in Ottawa. She has had the privilege to attend events such as ILHC, Stompology, and Vernacular Spectacular and learned from dancers such as Remy Kouakou Kouame, LaTasha Barnes, and Chester Whitmore. In recent years, she has been further dabbling in dance forms in the jazz lineage such as tap and waacking.
Robin acknowledges she is only a guest in Lindy Hop and Jazz dance culture, and is committed to honouring the Black roots of these dance forms. She is always striving to (un)learn and grow while aiming to make the dance scene a safe and welcoming place for everyone.
* Photo Credit: Devon Rowland
Caroline Parent
Tap – Jazz – Hip Hop – Ballet – Contemporary – Acrobatics
Teacher, choreographer, coach and cultural advisor, Caroline Parent has always been passionate about the Arts. She demonstrates in-depth knowledge in many dance styles. She has successfully completed dance exams with the; R.A.D., C.D.T.A., B.A.T.D. & the ADAPT syllabus. In 1999, she left for Montreal to train in contemporary dance at UQAM and later return home to pursue her studies at the School Of Dance’s professional training program. Caroline has also been a member of many dance teams such as; the University of Ottawa GeeGees, the Ottawa Renegades and eventually became the coach of the Ottawa Redblacks dance team. From 2011 until 2020, Caroline was director of Studio Expression Danse.
Caroline is a dynamic dance teacher, innovative choreographer, as well as a certified Jazz and Tap teacher with the ADAPT syllabus. In her twenty-year career as a teacher and coach, she has had the opportunity to work in many studios and schools throughout the Ottawa and Gatineau area. Her high energy and positive attitude make her classes both fun and challenging. Her mission is to educate her students to achieve their highest potential while sharing her passion for dance in the process.
Paul Campbell
Lindy Hop – East Coast Swing – Charleston
After a childhood and youth full of music and dancing, Paul began swing dancing in 2009, shortly after moving to Ottawa for work. He competed with various dance teams from 2010 to 2014, culminating in a win of the Team Division of the 2014 Canadian Swing Championships. Paul has been teaching Lindy Hop since 2012 and loves to focus on the basics, fundamentals, and introducing new people to the style.
Paul is a regular DJ at the Ottawa Swing Dance Society’s Friday night social dances and, since 2018, he has hosted Swing Is In The Air, a radio show on CKCU 93.1 FM, which airs every second Sunday from 4 to 6pm.
Liz Kennedy Klaassen
Lindy Hop – Vernacular Jazz – Blues – Balboa
Liz joined Dance With Alana as a student in 2016 and as a teacher in 2019. Her enthusiasm for swing dance is fed by extensive travel to events with social dances and workshops in mainly Lindy Hop and Solo Jazz, but also in Blues and Balboa. A teacher by trade, she enjoys researching the historical and cultural contexts of swing music and dance from the 19th to the 21st centuries.
Nura Evans Li
Lindy Hop – Vernacular Jazz – Charleston
Nura is a budding Dance With Alana teacher. She started dancing Lindy Hop (a type of swing dancing) in 2016 and fell in love with it not too long after. Some of Nura’s first dance steps were taken under Alana’s glittery guidance and she’s excited to share that experience with more students. Nura is passionate about rhythm, improv, and exploring swing and jazz music.
