Adela Cleverley
Artistic Director
Adela Cleverley has been training in ballet and highland dance since the age of 9. She has performed in many shows with Ann Milne and the Owen Sound Academy of Performing Arts, including Dancing for Life and Dancing for Life... Because You Can. Adela is a competitive highland dancer and has been teaching competitive and recreational highland since 2008. In 2012, she became a fully qualified Member of the BATD for highland, and she is now a Member of the SDTA (Scottish Dance Teachers Alliance). Adela has also been teaching Ballet and Contemporary since 2012, and Adult Dance since 2015. In 2019, Adela completed her Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies with the RAD (Royal Academy of Dance), which qualifies the Owen Sound Dance Academy as an RAD registered school.
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Adela graduated in 2016 after five years of training in the Dance program at York University in Toronto, having received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, as well as a concurrent Bachelor of Education at the Primary-Junior level. At York, Adela studied classical and contemporary ballet, improvisation and Skinner Release Technique, and a range of modern dance techniques including Graham and Limón. She was able to expand and enrich her dance background with studies in choreography, conditioning, dance history, and dance kinesiology, as well as courses in early child development
and motor learning for dance. In her time at York University, Adela also had the opportunity to perform twice in the school’s annual production of York Dances, and has been inspired by the countless professional modern dance and ballet shows she was able to attend each year.
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Adela has had the pleasure of training under many notable Dance Artists, including Julia Sasso, John Ottman, Carol Anderson, Tracey Norman, and Helen Jones.
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Until 2017, Adela taught Highland, Ballet and Contemporary at the Owen Sound Academy of Performing Arts, and she was honoured to become the owner and Artistic Director of the new Academy in August 2017. Since then, Adela has continued to train dancers in these styles as well as teaching Preschool, Adult Dance, and Parent & Tot. She has put 8 full dance recitals on stage, including The Nutcracker in 2018 and 2022 and the Academy's most recent production of Odyssey this past June. In 2022 Adela began further outreach and contemporary dance artistry when she founded the youth dance company, Wildflower Dance Arts. Through her years of training at the OSAPA and York, Adela discovered a real passion for teaching and creating dance and is honoured to be able to continue sharing her art with this community.
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Photo Credit: Candra Schank
Michele Hopkins
Professional Instructor
Michele Hopkins is an award-winning dance artist who has been dancing, teaching, choreographing and directing for over 25 years. Michele has performed extensively throughout her career in both classical and contemporary formats across Ontario and the United States. She engages both her students and the community in dance in a variety of dance projects and performances.
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Michele has had experience dancing and choreographing for numerous classical ballets including The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Don Quixote, as well as various contemporary dance productions throughout her career with the Niagara Ballet Company, In Company of Dance, and as an independent dance artist.
Michele completed ballet teacher training at the National Ballet School in Toronto and the American Ballet Theatre curriculum in New York City. Michele is also a certified yoga and pilates instructor and mind-body therapy practitioner. She was the Artist in Residence at the Cambridge Centre for the Arts and has been recognized with a Mayor’s Cultural Award, Bernice Adams Award and as a YWCA Woman of Distinction. She has been involved in numerous Arts and Culture organizations and committees and regularly attends workshops and training in Toronto and NYC.
Michele moved to Grey Bruce with her family in 2021 and has since taught Preschool Dance, all levels of Ballet Technique, Advanced Contemporary and Adult Ballet, as well as producing choreography for the Academy's last three major productions. We are delighted to have her continue teaching all of these programs in our 2024-25 dance season.
Liisa Smith
Professional Instructor
Originating from the Canadian prairies, Liisa Smith's journey led her through the cultural landscapes of Pakistan and Switzerland during high school. She completed her BFA in Dance with a minor in Economics at York University in Toronto where she spent 15 years working, performing, teaching, and creating. Today, she thrives as a dance artist and electrical apprentice based in Sauble Beach, Ontario.
The creative force behind random acts of dance, Liisa founded this charitable organization dedicated to creating, performing, and producing contemporary dance, including multiple full-length works, site-specific pieces, tours, and the community-minded festival, Your Dance Fest. In her choreography and improvisation she is intrigued by the slightest gesture juxtaposed with grandiose movement. She fuses forms, melting different dance genres with spoken word and original sound scores. Liisa focuses heavily on building audiences and loves for art to surprise her, taking a huge interest in site-specific work.
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Liisa loves sharing in the joy of dance through teaching and has completed certifications in C-I Training, Limon technique, ADAPT Tap and Jazz, and TDC Tap Syllabus. In rehearsals and classes, Liisa radiates a calming and grounding energy
that nurtures a creative environment. Her goals in teaching dance go beyond the steps as she strives to instill a life-long love of movement and a relish in hard work in her students.
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Balancing her artistic pursuits and her apprenticeship, Liisa is a proud mother of two young kids. She finds joy in board games, delights in a cup of tea, and embraces the wonders of the outdoors. Liisa is excited to be joining the Academy in our 2024-25 dance season, to start our very first Tap program!
Ava Stutzman
Associate Highland Teacher
Ava Stutzman is a champion highland dancer who has been dancing since the age of 3 and has been a competitive highland dancer since the age of 4. She also had a number of years of ballet training in the past, and over the years she has performed in many Academy shows and community performances. Through her dance career so far, Ava has had the opportunity to travel to many places including Scotland, Nashville and Pennsylvania, as well as having the opportunity to take workshops with world renowned judges Diane Krugh and Linda Armstrong and meeting multiple world champion highland dancers. A highlight in Ava's competitive career was placing top 6 overall in the USIR North American Championships in 2019.
Ava has received honours in every highland examination and has been nominated multiple times for BATD and SDTA North American Scholarship events. She began assisting with highland classes in 2022 and in April 2023, Ava passed her SDTA Highland Associates' exam which certifies her as a teacher. This year, she was delighted to be accepted to perform in the Royal Military Tattoo performances in Belgium and the Netherlands in the fall, and this year she will also be working towards her full Membership with the SDTA. She is very excited to share her knowledge and experience to help our highland dancers learn and grow!
Kathleen Jerome
Associate Highland Teacher
Kathleen Jerome is from Owen Sound and grew up training in ballet, highland and Irish dance at the Sheila Milne School of Dance and the Owen Sound Academy of Performing Arts. She has her Members Certificates for both Highland and National Dances under the BATD method. She earned her Intermediate certificates in both RAD and Cecchetti methods of ballet. Kathleen has successfully competed in solo and choreography competitions all over North America in both Highland and Irish dance styles. She has dabbled in jazz, lyrical, contemporary, modern, tap, and musical theatre and has trained under such notable teachers as Sheila and Ann Milne, Nadiene Gibney, Theodor Constant, Heather Dixon, and Paula Woodgate.
Kathleen attended Queen’s University for Drama and English, then completed her Master’s in Theatre History at the University of Victoria. She gained her Bachelor of Education back at Queen’s, and is now a full time English teacher at St. Mary’s High School, where she helps with Student Council, public speaking competitions, and their dramatic productions. Katie has taught various levels of ballet and highland in the past, and will be joining us to teach Preschool Highland this year!
Lila Warrilow
Student Teacher
Lila Warrilow has been dancing since the age of 3 and has trained in many styles of dance including highland, jazz, musical theatre, ballet, and contemporary. She has had the opportunity to learn from some amazing dance artists including Carol Anderson and Mateo Galindo Torres. Lila was a competitive highland dancer for a number of years and has received Honours through all of her highland theory examinations, which has nominated her for the SDTA North American Scholarship event twice. In 2023, Lila achieved Merit in her RAD Intermediate Ballet exam. Lila has performed in many shows and community performances with the Owen Sound Dance Academy and had the opportunity to expand her contemporary dance artistry by participating in the spring pilot program for Wildflower Dance Arts, culminating in a performance at Earth Day Grey Bruce in the spring of 2022. In December 2022 Lila performed the title role of the Nutcracker in the Academy's production, and in the summer of 2023 she had the exciting opportunity to train in ballet and contemporary at the Dance Arts Institute's summer intensive in Toronto. Lila began assisting with ballet and highland classes in 2018 and began teaching her own classes in the fall of 2022. She is looking forward to continuing to share her love of dance with all of our new and returning dancers!
Megan Nissen
Student Teacher
Megan started taking ballet lessons at the Southport School of Classical Ballet in Port Elgin when she was 3. After moving to Owen Sound when she was 7, she joined the Owen Sound Dance Academy and trained in ballet, contemporary and highland. She has achieved Honour level in Highland Theory exams and Merit in all levels of RAD Ballet exams so far. Megan has also had the opportunity to participate in the Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre's online SunDance intensive in 2020, and has learned from a variety of amazing dance artists in workshops at the Academy. She has performed in many roles at the Owen Sound Dance Academy’s shows including the role of Clara in the 2022 Nutcracker production. Megan also participated for two years in the youth dance company, Wildflower Dance Arts, including with a solo contemporary piece in 2023. Megan has been assisting in Preschool and Primary Ballet classes at the Academy since 2022. She is currently working towards her Intermediate RAD certificate and is excited to share her experience and joy of dance with younger dancers at the Owen Sound Dance Academy!
Ireland Kennedy
Student Teacher
Ireland Kennedy is a Premier Highland dancer who began her dance career taking highland dance lessons at the age of 6 in Stouffville, until she moved to Thornbury and joined the Owen Sound Dance Academy at the age of 8. Ireland started competing in Highland dance competitions when she was 9 and competed with much success, winning many awards all the way up to Premier level. She has achieved Honours in her SDTA highland and theory exams and attended the SDTA North American Scholarships in Halifax in 2022. Ireland has participated in many OSDA shows as well as community performances. She began assisting with Preschool, Primary and Beginner Highland classes in 2022 and is excited to continue to share her love of highland with young dancers at the Academy this year!
