The GS Team
Ashley Goddard-Kabakos
Director and President
Acro, Aerial Hoop & Silks, Hip Hop, Jazz, Lyrical, Strength & Flexibility, Conditioning
Certifications Include;
Acrobatic Arts; Module 1, 2, Aerial & Back Handspring, AcroDance Pre-School, Aerial Arts Hoop by Acrobatic Arts, Aerial Silks by Acrobatic Arts, DMA, Progressive Ballet Technique,
Alixa Flexibility; Module 1 & 2, A.D.A.P.T,
Strong by Zumba.
I have been dancing since the age of two and have trained in many styles and genres of dance and musical theatre. Since the age of 16, I have nurtured a successful career as a professional dancer, and have even had the pleasure of travelling around the world doing what I love. I have had the privilege to work with some of the industry’s top choreographers, Sean Cheeseman, Marty Kudelka, and Jeff Dimitriou to name but a few.
I grew up in Surrey, England and studied at The Royal Academy of Dance and Julie Sianne Theatre Arts. I trained in RAD and ISTD Ballet, and ISTD Tap and Modern Theatre Dance. I am a graduate of Tiffany Theatre College, where I achieved my diploma and my ISTD Modern Teaching Associate – I was one of the youngest students to have achieved this.
Growing up, I featured in various television shows and commercials and at the age of 8, I landed my first role in “Scrooge the Musical” at London’s West End Dominion Theatre.
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When I wasn’t performing I was competing. I was deemed All England Champion in four different categories - Jazz, Tap, Character and Contemporary, and was honoured to receive the Musicality Award at the 2004 ISTD Ballet Awards.
I have continued to dance professionally, and have developed my portfolio to include accomplished Choreographer and Producer. Recent career highlights have included performing at the Ed Mirvish Theatre, Toronto, The Fallsview Casino, Niagara Falls, and Toronto’s prestigious Princess of Wales Theatre.
All whilst pursuing yet another passion. The passion to teach.
Through the years I have taught a variety of classes and styles at various dance schools, all of which I have thoroughly enjoyed, although the classes always seemed to end so quickly which left me feeling that I was unable to get everything that I had planned done. It was then that I came to the realization that time and class size play crucial roles in learning to dance, that and of course dedication.
Goddards Studio, for those who want more.
What I want for Goddards Studio is to take everything that I had learnt and experienced in my career and apply it to how our students will be taught and how the studio is run. Shaping it into something completely different.
Get lost in the dance, not in the class.
A wonderful mantra we have adopted at Goddards and a belief very dear to my heart. No child should be left at the back of the class, every student deserves their teachers undivided attention. Our well rounded programmes and classes here at the studio will be capped at only eight students, and more time per class has been granted. I want to ensure success in each and every class and help your child learn and progress with confidence. Less students and longer classes makes for the perfect winning combination.
There is an art in teaching.
I have been lucky enough to have the constant support and encouragement from my family which has pushed me even further as a dancer, and helped mould me into the person I am today. The world of dance is constantly changing and developing, I am still learning to this day and my love and passion for the arts continues to grow and evolve.
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"We are committed to both our students and our parents and we can’t wait for you to be a part of our family.
Your child will grow up in a studio that is based on grace, passion, respect and determination".
Stephen Michael Kabakos
Stephen (otherwise known as Steve Michaels) has been a successful professional entertainer for over two decades. Based out of Milton, Ontario, his passion and love for music and acting has taken him all around the world, and has continued to be the driving force behind his extraordinary accomplishments.
He has had the privilege to work with two of England’s top producers – Bill Kenwright and Laurie Mansfield of London’s West End, starring in the musical “This is Elvis”, where he performed over 200 shows in six months.
His most recent successes include starring in the hit concert musical “Return to Grace” at the Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto, where he and a cast of over 31, performed to more than 10,000 audience members.
In 2001 Stephen created his production company, TVB Productions, which has successfully created many theatre shows and concert presentations over the past 20 years.
Creating Goddards Studio with his wife, Ashley, is a huge, exciting endeavour one that he hopes you will become a part of.
Stephen Michael Kabakos
Stephen (otherwise known as Steve Michaels) has been a successful professional entertainer for over two decades. Based out of Milton, Ontario, his passion and love for music and acting has taken him all around the world, and has continued to be the driving force behind his extraordinary accomplishments.
He has had the privilege to work with two of England’s top producers – Bill Kenwright and Laurie Mansfield of London’s West End, starring in the musical “This is Elvis”, where he performed over 200 shows in six months.
His most recent successes include starring in the hit concert musical “Return to Grace” at the Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto, where he and a cast of over 31, performed to more than 10,000 audience members.
In 2001 Stephen created his production company, TVB Productions, which has successfully created many theatre shows and concert presentations over the past 20 years.
Creating Goddards Studio with his wife, Ashley, is a huge, exciting endeavour one that he hopes you will become a part of.
Nicole Tomaino
Office Manager
Kayla Palmer
Competitive - Contemporary, Jazz, Lyrical, Conditioning, Acro
With over 20 years of dance experience and 14 years of teaching experience, Kayla has extensive and well-rounded knowledge in dance education and proper artist development. Combining her expertise, talent and contagious passion for performing arts, Kayla is an outstanding role model and educator for young dancers everywhere. She is a former studio owner who knows the ins and outs of what it takes for dancers to become the best teammates, technicians, and overall artists.
Her positive, upbeat and encouraging approach always makes
for an uplifting learning experience for every dancer in the room.
Lisa Auguste
Competitive - Hip Hop, Jazz Funk, Jazz Technique, Contemporary
Lisa is a multi-faceted performer working in Toronto, Ontario. She is a highly sought after professional dancer specializing in ballet to hiphop, latin to breakdance (and everything inbetween). Lisa can be seen on T.V in “Zoey’s extraordinary playlist”’, "What we do in the Shadows”, "Shadow Hunters”, “The Expanse”, Disneys “Sneakerella” and
"The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (Remake). She acted in feature films including
“Silent Hill 2”, “Jean of the Joneses”,
“Shall We Dance” (starring Richard Gere).
Lisa was honoured to be a finalist in the first season of “So You Think You Can Dance Canada”, after gracing the Mirvish stage as Cheetah in “The Lion King”.
She has shown her prowess dancing in music videos for Katy Perry, Janelle Monae, Jully Black, Kreesha Turner, Shawn Desman and more. She has performed at the PanAm Games Ceremonies in Guadalajara and Toronto. She took to the Four Seasons Stage in “Nixon in China” and “Aida” for the Canadian Opera Company.
When she is not performing, Lisa is teaching, working, choreographing and adjudicator across Canada.
Mercedes Bernardez Carret
Professional Ballet Instructor, Former
Principal Dancer, Ballet Mistress, Producer
Argentinean born Mercedes Bernardez Carret, has had an international career as a Principal Dancer and Ballet Mistress in several ballet companies in Argentina, Chile, and Venezuela. Miss Mercedes served as Artistic Director at Quinte Ballet School (1997 to 2003) and Ballet Mistress at Alberta Ballet (2003-2006).
As a sought after guest teacher,
Miss Mercedes has taught at many
pre-professional ballet schools, including the Richmond Academy of Dance and Dance Umbrella (Vancouver, BC), Alberta School of Ballet, Ballet Creole Canada. She is also a permanent guest teacher at the acclaimed University of North Carolina School of the Arts (Winston Salem, USA).
Miss Mercedes teaches company class for The National Ballet of Canada and Ballet Jörgen Canada. In Studio. Miss Mercedes acts as Artistic Advisor for Les Pettit Ballets in Ottawa and is the Associate Director of Danza Corpus Canada. Also, Miss Mercedes is the
co-director for the International Dance Intensive TEADE, which takes place since 2011 in Matanzas, Cuba, and recently has done the first Virtual Version of TEADE ninth version in July 2020.
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Jasmin Best
CDTA-A, RAD
Jasmine Best is a ballet instructor that is dedicated to helping each student develop their full technical and artistic potential.
She is a member and accredited ballet teacher, being an associate member of the Canadian Dance Teachers Association
and is certified in Conceptual Dance Education.
Born in Mississauga, Ontario, she has studied the foundations, progressions and execution of classical ballet techniques for over 16 years. Jasmine found her passion for ballet at the early age of 2 and constantly seeks opportunities to advance her proficiency. Since then, she has gained a solid technical foundation, holding a teaching certificate in Vaganova and, formally training in the ballet schools of
RAD, Vaganova, the ABT curriculum and BATD. This has allowed her to prepare (pre-ballet - vocational level) ballet students for RAD examinations, competitive performances, auditions, and professionalism in post-secondary dance programmes.
While competing and performing around Canada, she has received high praise for her artistry and performance skills, being trained by Lynn Morrison, Natalia Romanova, Amanda Peterson, Ciprian Campianu, and Rajka Kupesic. She has also performed in the annual Nutcracker with Ballet Jörgen. This led to her being the first junior international ambassador for
Brown Girls Do Ballet.
Her love for performing inspired her to fuse performance techniques into all of her ballet classes. While continuing her learning in the art of ballet,
Jasmine aspires to instill a healthy approach to ballet, physically and mentally in her students with her radiant and energetic teaching style.
Julia Meze
AcroDance Pre-School, Jazz
Tyler Hergott
Competitive - Tap
Tyler started dance at the young age of three but knew he was hooked the first time he watched his older sisters on stage. Since then, dance has always been the guiding force in his life. In his time dancing,
Tyler has trained in tap, lyrical, contemporary, jazz, ballet, hip hop,
and musical theatre.
While Tyler has trained in all styles, he has found his greatest passion in Tap dance. Tyler is drawn to the rhythms and music he can create in his movement and prides himself on his view of Tap dance as an instrument. His understanding is rooted deeply in historical and practical knowledge of the dance, passed on to him by some of the greatest tap dancers today, including: Dianne Walker, Sarah Savelli, Starinah Dixon, Sam Weber, Ray Hesselink, Maud Arnold, Mike Glenney, Randy Skinner, Gregg Russell, and Bril Barrett. Tyler's dance experience has led him far from home, having travelled to Detroit, Cleveland, and even Germany in pursuit of furthering his craft.
Tyler was also a proud member of Team Canada for Tap, and competed in Germany at the World Tap Dance Championships, earning himself Silver and Bronze medals in the process. He's attended such workshops as: "Dianne Walker's Artists Symposium", the "Canadian Dance Expo", the "Eastern Canadian Tap Conference", "Tapperfest", and the "Toronto Rhythm Initiative Summer Intensive" and he has also
completed the American Tap Dance Foundation's "Teacher Training Certificate" Programme.
Tyler began teaching dance in 2019 and was immediately drawn to the growth he can help nurture in his students and the challenge of creating new ways to push his students to their full potential. He embraces a fun, upbeat classroom environment rooted in a deep respect for the dance and the history it represents.
Ashley Thomas
AcroDance Pre-School, Jazz
Vocals and Piano
Olivia Morton
Vocals (Lil Bopz' and Rising Star Programs)
Canadian soprano Olivia's performing has been described as "engaging" by Opera Canada. Previous roles include Corina in "David Conte's Firebird Motel"
(San Francisco Conservatory of Music), Suor Genovieffa in "Suor Angelica" (Accademia Eauropea dell'Opera),
First Lady in the World Premiere of
"A Northern Lights Dream" (Summer Opera Lyric Theatre).
She previously studied at the University of Western Ontario and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
As a voice instructor, she emphasizes vocal health and utilizes pedagogical techniquies obtained from both vocal professionals and speech pathologists to guide developing voices. She is currently based in the greater Toronto Area.
Mairead McMullan
Vocal and Piano
Mairead developed an interest in music at a very young age and first began singing with a local choir at the age of 5. Since then,
she studied Belcanto under Kirsten Pelchat and pursued studies in both voice and piano with teachers in Milton and Toronto.
Mairead has performed in many recitals and festivals as a soloist as well as part of a choir. She has won several awards and medals at local music competitions placing first in several categories. In addition to studying privately she is continuing to pursue upper-level exams through the Royal Conservatory of Music while completing her undergraduate studies in
Political Science at McMaster University in Hamilton.
Miss Aria
Miss Avery
DESIGN
Miss Charlotte
Miss Elle
Our team wouldn't be complete with our Assisstant Teachers
Miss Emma
Miss Jacqueline
DESIGN
Miss Kylie
