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Faculty
Kofi Arthiabah – Lindy Hop (Mon Jul 17)
Jazz dance performer, educator, and choreographer, Kofi Arthiabah has been dancing pretty much his entire life. He loves to spread the joy of the dance wherever and whenever the spirit moves him.
Born and raised in West Africa, Kofi participated in traditional African dance and drumming from childhood, and studied and performed breakdancing while in university. He came to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1998, and in 2011 he began his Swing dance training and performance career with Swing Dynamite. He has since been studying, performing, and teaching Lindy Hop as a professional vernacular jazz dancer.
Kofi went on to study the Lindy Hop artform across the globe, including most notably from the original, first generation Savoy dancers Norma Miller and Dawn Hampton, and second generation Savoy dancers, including Sugar Sullivan.
Kofi initiated his “Taking It Back to the Streets” arts project, and travelled the world performing random acts of jazz dance, across three continents, on the streets of Stockholm, Madrid, Vienna, Kampala, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Rochester, New York, Houston, Washington DC, Seattle, Los Angeles, Juneau, etc., performing classic jazz dance routines such as “The Big Apple”, “Trickeration”, “Trankie Doo”, “Stops Routine” and the “Shim Sham”. In 2019-20, encouraged by Norma Miller, and in honor of her 100th birthday, Kofi enacted and performed his “100 days of Trickeration” arts project, which showcased the highly syncopated Trickeration routine, choreographed by Norma Miller, around Ottawa and the world.
Kofi is a sought-after Swing dance performer, educator and adjudicator around the world. He is a community leader and is on the Executive Board of the Ottawa Swing Dance Society, a non-profit organization promoting Swing dance and Swing dance culture in Ottawa. He has led the organization and management of major Swing dance events and conventions in Ottawa and around the world.
Dianne Montgomery – Tap 101+ and Tap Dance with Live Music Workshop (Tues Jul 18)
Music’s powerful ability to connect human beings is at the centre of Dianne Montgomery’s artistic practice as choreographer, dancer and composer. Her values deeply align with the traditional tenets of tap dance – community building, intellect, perseverance, innovation, generational sharing, physicality, playfulness and mindfulness.
Recent projects include commissions from Fall for Dance North, Toronto International Tap Dance Festival and Citadel + Compagnie, residencies in Ottawa, Calgary and Washington D.C, collaborations with Juno Award winner Ron Davis and with the We Are One Jazz Project. Other notable work includes contributions to television (SNL, Warehouse 13), film (Gunless), music (Down and Out in Upalong) and live concert work (Feist). Dianne has produced workshops for Tony award winner Savion Glover and bebop legend Dr. Barry Harris, among others.
Kyle Jordan – Guitarist – Tap Dance with Life Music Workshop (Tues Jul 18)
Kyle Jordan is a musician, composer, improviser and educator living in Ottawa, Ontario. He works in a variety of styles including jazz, folk, rock, celtic and improvised-focused new music. Kyle has been an active part of the Canadian music scene for well over 10 years and continues to contribute to established ensembles as well as new projects. You can currently hear him performing regularly in Ottawa and surrounding areas. Kyle has also performed all over Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick , PEI and Nova Scotia.
David Lafleur – Slow Intermediate Tap Dance (Wed July 19)
David Lafleur is a tap dancer based in the National Capital Region. He is the co-artistic director of (in)sight, a cross-canadian multi-disciplinary tap dance rooted collective, alongside Ella Steele, which debuted new work at the Toronto International Tap Dance Festival in August 2022 produced by Toffan Rhythm Projects. David participated in Dianne Montgomery’s Fall For Dance North 2022 Commission and World Premiere, Softly Losing, Softly Gaining. He has also been a main cast member for Rhythm and Sound, directed by Johnathan Morin and Cori Giannotta, since their 2017 fall iteration “Illumination”, and most recently as a part of “Revamped” in July 2022. He has performed in various productions across North America, including the School at Jacob’s Pillow (directed by Michelle Dorrance, Derick Grant and Dormeshia), the Just for Laughs Festival (opening for Aba and Preach with the Montreal Swing Riot), Toffan Rhythm Projects (Allison Toffan and Juliana Kelly), and the Ottawa Jazz Festival (with the Ottawa Rhythm Initiative). David is a sought-after tap dance educator working in the Ottawa-Gatineau region and is devoted to sharing his love of tap dance with his community.
Ella Steele – Intermediate Advanced Tap Dance (Wed Jul 19)
Ella Steele (she/her) began traveling to perform and gain experience as a Tap dancer after she met her mentor, Ryan Foley, in 2010. Some training and performing highlights include being a part of Nicholas Van Young’s Institute for the Rhythmic Arts, Chicago 2015, traveling to Sweden for three years in a row for the Stockholm Tap Festival, performing in shows presented by Toffan Rhythm Projects since 2016, training with Heather Cornell and Jim Donica in New York, summer 2019, and participating in The School at Jacob’s Pillow Virtual Tap Dance Program, summer 2021. Additionally, Ella is a dedicated educator with 12 years of experience as a teacher and choreographer. Ella has been on the faculty of the TRI Youth Intensive in Winnipeg and Toronto, including creating choreography for the program in Toronto which was performed by students as a part of “Perspectives in Rhythm” at the Toronto International Tap Dance Festival, summer 2022. Ella is also the founder and director of Language of Rhythm Pre-Professional Tap Dance Company based in Winnipeg. Ella has been a main cast member of Johnathan Morin and Cori Giannotta’s Toronto based Tap dance company “Rhythm & Sound” since 2017, and is co-artistic director of (in)sight alongside David Lafleur, a new cross-Canadian Tap dance collective. (in)sight presented their work, Mirror/Water/Doorway, as a part of the Toronto International Tap Dance Festival, summer 2022, and have recently been selected by La Danse Sur Les Routes Du Québec for Parcours Dance, fall 2023.
Johnathan Morin – Slow Intermediate (Thurs Jul 20)
Johnathan Morin, an indigenous artist of Cree descent, is quickly becoming a leading force in Canadian tap dance today. Hailing from Treaty 6 Edmonton, Alberta, Morin’s talent has earned him recognition across the country and around the world. He is currently based in Treaty 13 Toronto, Ontario.
Morin has achieved an impressive list of accomplishments. He was recently nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for his role in the ensemble of “Tap Legacy Concert,” produced by Dance Immersion and choreographed by Lisa LaTouche and Travis Knights.
Morin’s other accolades include serving as principal dancer in the tap dance production “Love.Be.Best.Free,” directed and choreographed by Danny Nielsen. The show’s 3.5 week tour in British Columbia marked the first tap dance tour in Western Canada in 35 years. Morin has also performed at the TD Toronto Jazz Festival as a guest and as a featured artist. In 2018, he danced with Toffan Rhythm Projects alongside the Toronto Jazz Orchestra as part of the 2018 Edwards Summer Music Series.
In addition to his impressive performances, Morin is the Co-Artistic Director and Producer of the tap dance company “Rhythm & Sound”, which was established in 2015. The group has been presented by Feats Festival of Dance in Edmonton in 2017 and the Toronto International Tap Dance Festival in 2017. They are preparing to premiere new work in the summer of 2023. As a teacher, Morin is highly respected and has taught at various well-respected studios. He has been on faculty for the Vancouver International Tap Festival (2014), Toronto International Tap Festival (2017), and Edmonton’s Feats Festival (2015 and 2017).
Cori Giannotta – Intermediate Advanced Tap Dance (Thurs Jul 20)
Born in Toronto, Cori Giannotta has been heavily involved in the city’s tap dance scene teaching, performing, choreographing and producing. She’s had the opportunity to teach at various events, such as the Toronto Rhythm Initiative and Performing Arts BC Provincial Festival.” Performing credits include the Big Band Tap Revue with the Toronto Jazz Orchestra, The Whole Shebang: Taken By Night, the Toronto International Tap Dance Festival, Dusk Dances, and was in the 2023 Fall For Dance North Festival in Dianne Montgomery’s piece, “Softly Losing Softly Gaining.” In 2015, Cori, alongside Johnathan Morin, established a tap dance company, Rhythm & Sound. The company has annual performances in Toronto and has been featured across Canada.