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ADULT GENERAL PROGRAM FACULTY
Who We Are
Robyn Thomson Kacki
She/Her
General Program Coordinator
Teacher
Our General Program Coordinator, Robyn, was born in Winnipeg and some of her oldest and fondest memories are of SCD. She began dancing in the General Program at the age of 3, and went on to graduate from the Junior and Senior Professional Programs. Since graduating, Robyn has enjoyed a career as a professional dancer, working with many wonderful choreographers and companies, performing nationally and internationally.
In addition to her love of performing, Robyn has a passion for teaching. She is a certified ADAPT (Associated Dance Arts for Professional Teachers) Jazz teacher and teaches a variety of ages, levels, and forms. Robyn teaches and choreographs in the Youth and Adult General Programs, as well as the Junior and Senior Professional Programs. She is a mother to two wonderful children and feels fortunate to share the love of dance with them and to be a part of this very special community at SCD.
Melanie Stewart
She/Her
General Program Administrator
Teacher
Born and raised here in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Melanie is a recent graduate of The Senior Professional Program and a graduate of The Junior Professional Program. Melanie has had the chance to travel nationally and internationally for dance performance and training including in Toronto, Montreal, Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Vancouver.
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She has completed her RAD ballet examinations with High Merit and Distinction up until Advanced 1
​She is currently dancing with NAfro Dance Productions as a student dancer and hopes to continue in a career of dancing and teaching.
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Melanie is passionate about sharing her love of dance and making dance accessible to all.
Julious Gambalan
He/Him
Teacher
Julious Gambalan is a Filipino professional dance artist residing in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He holds both a 4-Year Bachelor of Science (2016) and 4-Year Honours Bachelor of Arts degree (2023) at the University of Winnipeg.
Julious started dance training at Sisler High School. He continued his training through The School of Contemporary Dancers Junior Professional Program and Senior Professional Program. Where he worked with many local and international artists.
He has also had the opportunity to perform nationally and internationally at the Stream of Dance Festival in Regina, , The 40 Dancer Project at the New Blue Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Vienna, Austria and Maputo, Mozambique, Africa.
Presently, Julious works with Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers (Jolene Bailie) and NAfro Dance Productions (Casimiro Nhussi).
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Thomas Oberlin
He/Him
Teacher / School Administrator
Thomas Oberlin is a contemporary dancer, choreographer and consultant from Treaty One territory in Winnipeg Manitoba.
Thomas holds a BA Honours in Dance from the University of Winnipeg and is a graduate of The School of Contemporary Dancers' Senior Professional Program.
Through SCD, Thomas has had the opportunity to perform in Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers' Emerging Artist Initiative for the past three seasons (2022, 2023 & 2024), perform in New Dance Horizon’s Stream of Dance Festival & Secret Garden Tour in Regina, and train professionally at the Summer Arts Blast Off intensive in Toronto (2023, 2024 & 2025)!
Before training at The School of Contemporary Dancers, Thomas trained at LA Dance Academy for over 10 years. Thomas' training focuses heavily on Modern, Contemporary, Improvisation, Partnering, Ballet and Tap. Thomas has also had the opportunity to train with artists from across Canada as well as with choreographers from France and Austria. Thomas continues to train as both a dance artist and a teacher, taking classes whenever he can!
Thomas is the Co-Founder of Aggregate Dance Co alongside Nat Sluis, a professional Contemporary Dance company with goals of connecting artists of the Canadian Prairies with each other and beyond! Thomas is passionate about sharing Contemporary Dance with people of all ages and skill levels, whether it’s through classes, workshops or performances.
Kelsey Thomas
She/Her
Teacher
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Kelsey Thomas has been dancing and choreographing for much of her life. She studied ballet extensively growing up and completed her Royal Academy of Dance graded exams. She began teaching ballet as an adult and found that she had a knack for explaining difficult technical concepts in a simple and hands-on manner. Her ballet training laid the foundation for becoming a versatile dancer and choreographer.
Kelsey is experienced in creating tap, lyrical, contemporary, ballet, and jazz pieces for the stage. Having studied instruments and singing in choirs growing up, her teaching and choreographic style reflects her keen understanding of musicality. This musicality has resulted in Kelsey becoming a skilled tap dancer. She has honed her craft by attending classes and workshops throughout Canada and the US, and has taken classes from esteemed dancers such as Sarah Reich, Bril Barrett, Evan Ruggiero, and Jim Hibbard.
Learning from such talented and diverse individuals has helped shape her own individual teaching style: high-energy, friendly, and fundamentally inspired by music. Kelsey is also a passionate writer and copyeditor, and works as a Communications Specialist by day.
Sofia Clareto
She/Her
Teacher
Sofia Clareto is a Brazilian dancer and teacher, trained in Classical Ballet, Contemporary Dance, and Jazz through the Professional Program of Grupo Raça (São Paulo). As a dancer, Sofia has been part of independent contemporary dance groups and companies—her area of greatest affinity and long-term career focus. She has also performed classical ballet variations and worked in commercial jazz productions.
As a teacher, she teaches Contemporary Dance and Classical Ballet, with her greatest experience and area of expertise being Adult Ballet. She believes that, by teaching adults, she learns a great deal about self-care and resilience. She sees the classroom as a safe space for freedom and growth, where individual vulnerabilities and strengths dance together.
Jayde Lytle
She/Her
Teacher
Jayde Lytle is a dancer/choreographer from Winnipeg, Manitoba who has been dancing for over 17 years. Competing for 10 years and gaining knowledge from various dance schools around Winnipeg. She has trained and competed in multiple different styles being most profound in lyrical, contemporary, jazz and hip hop.
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Teaching all ages of dancers is a passion Jayde has and is determined to teach the next generation of dancers self confidence, perseverance and teamwork.
Most importantly Jayde wants to provide a space for dancers of all levels a healthy environment to learn creative expression through movement. She can’t wait to dance with you and is thrilled to continue with The School of Contemporary Dancers.
Johanna Riley
She/Her
Teacher
Johanna Riley has been a dance artist for over 20 years. She was a company member with Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers for twelve seasons, and has performed with other independent dance, theatre, and multidisciplinary artists from Winnipeg, across Canada, and beyond.
She has choreographed over a dozen original dance works, is a co-founder and former board member of Young Lungs Dance Exchange, and was also a faculty member of the School of Contemporary Dancers for most of her career, teaching dance technique, improvisation, performance, and composition. She is currently a teacher in the Seven Oaks School Division.
