Welcome to Dust and Soul Dance Projects

 Aya found a love for dance at age five and started her training with the Alberta Ballet School in Edmonton. She later joined the professional programme with intensive focus on ballet, modern, jazz and pointe. She moved to the Edmonton School of Ballet for her graduating year where she danced many leads in their junior performing company. Upon graduating, Aya joined Ballet North and toured Alberta, B.C. and Russia. A year later, Aya moved to Jonquière, Quebec, where she started teaching ballet, pointe, variation and modern at L'École de Danse Le Prisme Culturel. In 1996 she joined Ballet Jörgen Canada as a soloist, where she stayed for the next twelve years, touring all over Canada and the United States and working with many of Canada's most sought after choreographers. Since  2008, Aya has been teaching mostly ballet and pointe at various studios. With her extensive professional stage experience, Aya excels at getting dancers to findfreedom in their movement in order to awaken their inner artistry, while maintaining a strong technical base. 

 Amanda is a passionate actor/dancer/singer rooted in Kitchener Waterloo. As a resident, she was actively involved in community theatre by sharing her expertise and energy with young people in schools and non-profit organizations. Amanda Damaren is a graduate of the Eastwood Collegiate Integrated Arts Program under the direction of Janis Price. She graduated with an Arts diploma majoring in Dance as well as an Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Eastwood Collegiate provided Amanda with a foundation for dance, theatre and vocal training as well as opportunities to perform lead roles such as Jan in the musical Grease, as well as dance along side professional modern companies including Ballet Jorgen, Toronto Dance Theatre and David Earle. Amanda recently lived in Vancouver BC where she graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at Simon Fraser University. Amanda is highly trained and has worked with numerous choreographers such as: Rob Kitsos, Judith Garay, Chengxin Wei, Megan Walker-Straight and Leslie Telford. Amanda has an extraordinary vision for improvisation, collaboration and creation.   

 Kate Kamo McHugh is a multidisciplinary theatre artist from Kitchener, Ontario. She is interested in artistically exploring concepts such as migration, belonging and the intersection of art and care. Recent highlights include an artist residency at the National Arts Centre, presenting a solo piece at IMPACT 21 Theatre Festival, and performing with Cosmic Fishing Theatre. In 2021 Kate was honoured to co-facilitate a movement based workshop for the Newcomer Youth Program in partnership with MT Space and the YMCA. Currently Kate is working on her show Twenty Grains of Rice: Seeds of Reclamation, an exploration of her Japanese Canadian identity - cultural loss, retention and creation. She holds a BFA from Toronto Metropolitan University in Theatre Performance Dance. 

 Michael has danced competitively for over a decade and loves all styles of dance – He has performed everything from jazz in a music video, to hip-hop at world championships, to taking the RAD solo seal exam. Currently I study Mathematics/Teaching at the University of Waterloo and compete as part of the UW Dance Company. Michael is  thrilled to have the opportunity to work with and learn from professional dancers as he continues to pursue his dreams. 

 Marina Simonović is currently a third year at University of Waterloo studying mathematics with a major in financial analysis and risk management. She is an executive member and choreographer on the UW Dance Company competitive team, and is a teacher at Carousel Dance Centre, where she danced growing up. Marina has completed her RAD Advanced 2 Ballet exam, and has attended summer intensives across Canada and in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Marina is also a co-founder of Rhapsody Dance Project, a dance collective for young adult dancers in KW. 

Bio coming soon