OUR TEAM
Director/ Teaching Staff
Director/ Teaching Staff
Teaching Staff
Teaching Staff
Teaching Staff
Teaching Staff
Teaching Staff
Teaching Staff
Teaching Staff
Teaching Staff
Teaching Staff
ASHLEIGH GEMMELL
TEACHING STAFF
CELINA BOOTH
TEACHING STAFF
Celina was born and raised in Vancouver, BC. She is 28 years old and has been dancing since the young age of 3 at various studios around the Greater Vancouver area. She is trained in a wide variety of styles such as hip hop, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, modern, ballet, musical theatre and tap.
She attended Langley Fine Arts School in her teenage years in which she found a passion for both choreography and teaching. She chose to pursue dance after high school and joined Kill The Lights Company, ran out of Harbour Dance Centre, under the direction of Ken Yung and Shauna Smith. It was in this program that she realized that teaching and educating a younger generation of dancers was a huge passion of hers that she wanted to pursue. Whilst choreographing and teaching is the main focus for Celina, she has also performed in many stage shows throughout Vancouver, including The Main Event, The 2010 Olympics, BC Lions Half Time Shows, Vancouver Pride and multiple shows with The Lovers Cabaret. Her most recent performance credit was in the Netflix film, Puppystar Christmas, where she is a featured dancer.
Celina has been teaching various dance styles for the last eighth years, providing award-winning choreography at numerous competitions in the Lower Mainland and is heading into her fifth year teaching at Mellado Dance Elite. She is excited to continue sharing her passion for dance with MDE dancers and hopes to continue educating and inspiring the next generation of dancers for years to come!
LORRAINE CHONG
TEACHING STAFF
Lorraine Chong began her ballet training at the Pacific Ballet Theatre School in Vancouver, under the direction of Maria Lewis. Wanting to expand her knowledge of teaching technique, she attended the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division’s Teacher Training Program. She currently holds her Licentiate qualification through Cecchetti USA, and her Associate Diploma qualification through Cecchetti Canada. Lorraine regularly pursues opportunities to challenge herself and expand upon her knowledge of the ballet art form, attending numerous ballet workshops and summer schools throughout Canada and the USA. She has recently become a certified teacher of Progressive Ballet Technique (PBT), a revolutionary program to enhance ballet technique. She has travelled to New York and participated in the American Ballet Theater’s teacher certification program. By completing this program, Lorraine is now an ABT® Certified Teacher who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level Three of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She also has held positions of Secretary and Treasurer as a former Executive member of Cecchetti Canada, B.C. branch. Lorraine brings over 20 years of teaching experience, and aspires to provide a stimulating and encouraging learning environment for students. She takes great pleasure in the enjoyment dance brings and the invaluable life lessons it affords.
MARY PETERSON
TEACHING STAFF
Mary Peterson takes great joy in sharing her love of dance through her teaching; and her fondness of children shines through to each student she teaches. Raised in the Tri-Cities, Mary is well trained in ballet, tap and jazz, and has been teaching for an outstanding 25 years! Her dance training includes RAD ballet & CDTA tap examinations, workshops in New York and Seattle, and she has received numerous awards from festivals and competitions for both performance and choreography. Mary’s experience as a mother of two enables her to run a dance class that is not only well organized, but very enjoyable! Her respectful and nurturing manner helps to instill confidence in her dancers, giving them a positive learning experience and helping them strive to be the best they can be. Mary returns for her 16th year at Mellado Dance Elite, and her skills and passion are great assets to our dancers!
NICOLE FABBI
TEACHING STAFF
Nicole Fabbi’s dancing and singing career began at the age of 3, when her mom enrolled her in a musical theatre and tap class at Diamonds in the Rough musical theatre studio in Port Coquitlam. She began singing in various competitions at the age of 6, including the PNE “reach for the stars” talent show and the Coquitlam Dance and Singing Honors Festival. Nicole has been a member of Mellado dance elite from the very beginning. She has enjoyed many years of competition in jazz, lyrical, ballet, modern, tap and stage. In September 2012, she began dancing with the Endangered Dance Company out of Harbour Dance Centre in Vancouver. Followed by the Onyx Dance Company, which she joined in 2013. She was also a member of the Felions, the BC lions dance team during their 2014 season. Nicole began teaching at Mellado Dance Elite in September 2009. She enjoys sharing her passion by teaching dance to students ages 3 to 16 in various genres such as musical theatre, ballet, tap, jazz and lyrical. In August 2011 Nicole completed her bachelor of arts in psychology and human counseling and development at SFU. In August 2012, she graduated with her bachelor of education from SFU and is now a teacher in the Coquitlam school district. Sharing her love of singing and dancing with young people is one of Nicole’s greatest passions and she is looking forward to doing that for many years to come at Mellado Dance Elite!
CAITLIN WRIGHT
TEACHING STAFF
Caitlin has been dancing since the age of four and has had extensive training in many different styles like jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, hip-hop and musical theatre. Caitlin was born and trained in Maple Ridge and has taken classes and competed in various competitions and workshops throughout Las Vegas and L.A. where her dance team won numerous awards. Her love and enthusiasm for teaching came at the age of 13 years old when one of her dance instructors gave her the opportunity to assist in her class. Caitlin has performed in many high-profile events including, dancing for her Majesty the Queen during her Royal visit, was part of the junior dance team for the Vancouver Grizzlies Basketball team and performed in the opening ceremonies for the Para-Olympics in 2010. Her performances also include dancing for eight years in daytime and night shows at The Fair at The PNE, including Zydeco Jam, City Rhythm, Rolling Thunder, Toontastic Parade and Celebration Parade. She has also performed in many community shows and Grey Cup Events. Aside from dance Caitlin has her English and Arts Degree and is currently working for lululemon. This will be Caitlin’s 10th year teaching at Mellado Dance Elite and can’t wait for the next season to begin!
DEVAN GENEREUX
TEACHING STAFF
Devan Genereux, a Vancouver, BC native, is a passionate dance artist, teacher and choreographer. She cultivated her love for dance at a young age and her multifaceted background includes extensive training in ballet, contemporary, improvisation, modern, jazz, and hip hop. Upon graduation, Devan pursued her training at Lamondance under Davi Rodriguez, Lara Barclay, and Monica Proença. During this time, she had the opportunity to represent Canada as a soloist at the IDO World Championship of Dance in Frankfurt, Germany as well as traveling to Brasilia, Brazil to perform in Barakah (Lamondance) at the International Dance Seminar of Brasilia. Following her training in Vancouver, Devan moved to Toronto to further peruse her passion at The Conteur Academy where she has trained under recognized artists Eryn Waltman, Sheona Bell, Kelly Shaw, Ryan Lee, and Colleen Snell, to name a few. Devans unique strength and connection with the floor and her dance partners have allowed her to begin a successful professional dance career. Her notable credits include performing in 5inco (Lamondance), Human (Lamondance), Frames (The Conteur Academy), Fill In The Blanks (The Conteur Academy), and most recently, Scaredy Cat (Small Stage).
TIAM BARDESTANI
TEACHING STAFF
Hey there! My name is Tiam (or Miss Tiam) and I’m a 2020 high school graduate and currently I’m a second-year psychology student at Simon Fraser university. I have minor in psychology but I’m studying to get my major in psychology next year. I have been apart of Mellado Dance Elite for 5 1/2 years. Before Mellado, I was a figure skater- (dancing but on ice). My first class at Mellado was Hip Hop (which happens to be my favourite). As years went on, I got into contemporary, lyrical, jazz and workshops in the summer time. You may have also seen me helping out in other classes as a student teacher or each year at recital. I love dancing and the studio with all my heart because the dancers and teachers are what makes MDE a close and positive family. This year, I hope to be an energetic and fun yet inspiring dance teacher to all the dancers at the studio and the smiles and laughter each dancer will bring to class till the moment they step onto the big stage! Go MDE!
CARLA MELLADO-ROBERTSON
DIRECTOR/ TEACHING STAFF
As the director of Mellado Dance Elite, Carla Mellado has her hands in everything at the studio! Carla is a passionate teacher, the visionary behind the studio, and dedicated to building a business where her dance families thrive.
Originally from Coquitlam,, Carla was born dancing. Her training has taken her all over Canada and the US. She has completed examinations from Cecchetti Ballet Syllabus, Canadian Dance Teachers Association, and International Dance Teachers Association. Her choreography has been featured in various music videos, movies, and won numerous awards at both regional and national competitions.
Carla takes great pride in sharing her knowledge and experience with her students. Seeing her students shine both in and out of the studio is hands down the best part of what she does at MDE. Providing high quality dance education, building a team of teachers dedicated to their student’s success, and creating an environment where her students feel empowered is a responsibility Carla takes very seriously. She wants her dancers to LOVE dance and love their time at her studio.
Carla opened Mellado Dance Elite at the age of 19 as the only teacher. Today, Mellado Dance Elite proudly serves roughly 500 aspiring dancers! Recently voted #1 Dance Studio in Port Coquitlam, the future is very bright for MDE. Carla looks forward to developing new programs, expanding the space, and keeping things fresh for her dance families. She recently completed Dance Studio Owners Inner Circle, an invite-only training program. With a newly discovered interest in marketing and design, she is committed to innovation.
When Carla is not dreaming about the future of Mellado Dance Elite, she is busy enjoying time with her husband Jaime, her daughter Hayden, and her fur baby Maxx. Watching her daughter discover a love for dance and seeing her create lasting friendships at MDE is a pure joy.
Owning a dance studio is Carla’s dream and what she was born to do. She wouldn’t trade it for the world. She is so proud to share MDE with the beautiful dance families at MDE and looks forward to seeing what the future holds!
MISS CHELSEA
TEACHING STAFF
From a very young age, Chelsea has always found great joy in dancing and performing. She joined Mellado Dance Elite in 2011, and quickly became very serious about pursuing dance as a career, training in styles such as ballet, pointe, contemporary, acrobatics, hip hop, stage, jazz, and lyrical. She has received recognition at many local competitions and examinations for excellence in technique and performance quality. She has participated in a number of community performances, such as the May Day and Teddy Bear Picnic parades, PNE Showcase, and Royal City Youth Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. Chelsea will continue her dance training as a member of The Dance Initiative’s pre-professional program, under the direction of Geneen Georgiev. She looks forward to taking her training to the next level in hopes of pursuing a professional career in dance. As a member of Mellado’s Mentorship Program for the past two years, Chelsea has been able to learn so much from assisting alongside the studio’s wonderful staff members. Being one of Mellado’s student teachers has really allowed her to discover her passion for teaching, and understand and develop the skills required to be a great teacher. She is is looking forward to all the new experiences this year will bring!
SARAH McEVOY
TEACHING STAFF
Sarah Lynn McEvoy, is a recent graduate of the Classical stream at George Brown Dance in Toronto, Ontario, a program in affiliation with Canada’s Ballet jörgen. Sarah currently holds her Teaching Certificate #2 through Cecchetti USA and she is also furthering her ballet education under the direction of Heidi Zolty. Sarah has extensive training in Ballet, jazz, acrobatics, lyrical, contemporary, musical theatre and modern dance, but her love for ballet will always outweigh the rest. Sarah hopes to provide a challenging, safe, and enriching learning experience for all her students and can’t wait to continue to pass on her passion and love for the art of dancing.
MISS PAIGE
TEACHING STAFF
Details Coming Soon!
