Find Us
Gracefully Yours Dance Academy
802 W Main St,
Collinsville, IL 62234
(618) 344-6200
[email protected]
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DOWNLOAD OUR STUDIO INFO KIT TO GET STARTED
Gracefully Yours Dance Academy
802 W Main St,
Collinsville, IL 62234
(618) 344-6200
[email protected]
Tara Pickford started dancing at the age of 4 and hasn’t sat still since. She is committed to teaching young people how to find a passion for theatre and dance at her studio.
Tara received a Bachelor Degree in Kinesiology, with a major in Mind Sciences, at the University of Calgary. She is a fully certified ADAPT Teacher, Al Gilbert Teacher, and Acrobatic Arts Teacher, and a member of the Wild Rose Dance Arts Association.
Tara has created award-winning choreography for competitions and exciting recitals for all ages and abilities. Still in the classroom, teaching all types of dance and all ages from age 1 to pre-professional, she has a strong understanding of the hard work and the process dancers, teachers, and parents take on to get to the stage and have a great experience.
When she is not with her studio family, she is at home with her two energetic children – both dancers! She loves living for the day and inspiring her children. Now that both have started their own journeys in the dance world, Tara has a deeper understanding of what families are looking for in a studio.
Adrianne has been teaching for 12 years total, and for 6 at APA. She is the Program Director for the Exam, Competition, and TAP Team Programs at the studio.
She has completed all eight levels of the Al Gilbert tap syllabus, Intermediate 3 ADAPT Jazz exam, and Grade 8 RAD Ballet exam. Growing up, Adrianne participated in numerous dance competitions, winning various scholarships and awards throughout her career.
She received an applied Bachelor of Business and Entrepreneurship for Sport and Recreation degree from Mount Royal University in Calgary and is a graduate of the ADAPT Teacher Training School. Adrianne is also a Certified Acrobatic Arts teacher and holds a “trained coach status” under the Coaching Association of Canada.
Living and breathing dance for so long has made her appreciate all of the wonderful people who have been a part of her journey, and she’s so excited to give that back to her students. She loves teaching because of the excited look on her student’s faces when they finally master something new and seeing students beam with pride makes her very happy!
She loves APA because it truly is like a second home. We laugh together, cry together, and of course, DANCE together! Adrianne is looking forward to another year at APA!
Andie started dancing at the age of 4 and trained in all styles at a competitive level from age 12 on.
She started dancing at APA when she was 12 years old and has been devoted to the company ever since. At age 16 she began her teaching career, and at age 18 she started coordinating events and working in the office. Andie feels like training at Ambition Arts was the best decision she has ever made.
She is certified as a Level 1 & 2 Acrobatic Arts instructor and has completed her ADAPT Pre Advanced Jazz Exam, as well as her ADAPT Pre-Inter 3 Tap Exam, RAD Intermediate Exam, and Al Gilbert Grade 5 Tap Exam.
Andie wants parents to know that Ambition Performing Arts is so much more than a business. She believes Ambition Arts is a community and a family. She love coming to work every day at APA because she gets to contribute to building an incredible and safe place for all kids to come to.
Rachel was born and raised in Airdrie, Alberta and has been dancing in the Calgary area since the age of 6. Rachel has trained extensively in most styles, including Ballet, Jazz, Acro, Musical Theatre, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Hip Hop, to name a few.
While competing and performing at many local and regional events throughout her dancing career, Rachel was given a teaching opportunity with Ambition Performing Arts at the age of 16. Still training and competing, Rachel quickly realized her passion in sharing her knowledge and love of dance with her students. Rachel has been a teacher at Ambition Arts for more than 10 years. The studio is like her second home.
Rachel finds strong value in continuing education, regularly attending teacher training and workshops throughout Canada and the United States. Currently, Rachel holds certifications with ADAPT syllabus as well as Acrobatic Arts. She looks forward to extending her certifications in the near future.
Rachel highly values APA’s ideology of “we don’t teach dance to make great dancers, we teach dance to make great kids”. She firmly believes and encourages that dreams and dedication are a powerful combination. Never be afraid to dream too big – if you believe it, you can achieve it.
Rae-Lee is devoted to helping aspiring young dance artists. Her goal is to create healthy and enthusiastic dancers who love art and will positively influence the world of dance. She began her ballet and contemporary training in Alberta at Crossings Dance Studio. Later, she danced for six years in Corps Bara Dance Youth Company traveling around Alberta, Toronto and New York City.
In 2012, she began her training in contemporary dance at Simon Fraser University where she studied modern dance and choreographic composition. Rae-Lee moved to Toronto in 2014 to learn from renowned faculty at Canada’s National Ballet School’s Teacher Training Program. During her training at NBS she obtained her teaching qualifications with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing and the Royal Academy of Dance.
In 2017, she graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in Contemporary dance from Simon Fraser and her Teacher Training Diploma. She is excited to be returning to Calgary to begin spreading her the knowledge she has gained while learning from the teachers and students at APA and around the province.
She encourages all dancers to love themselves for who they are and to never give up on their passions in life.