Faculty
TARYN BAIRD
Taryn Baird is the Artistic Director of Action Dance Project. She has a passion for movement and technique and is curious about how technique becomes art. She has completed advanced ballet and jazz exams as well as majored in ballet and modern dance throughout school. Taryn has been recognized across the Greater Toronto Area and the USA for her performance qualities, storytelling and refined technique. While she has training in many styles, Taryn has fallen in love with commercial jazz movement and musicality. She is currently teaching and choreographing at various dance schools and is actively performing as well. Taryn is eager to bring her knowledge to more dancers through the Action Dance Project.
jazz
Norey Lau
Ballet
Norey (she/her), is currently a second-year student in the Performance Dance program at Toronto Metropolitan University where she trains in ballet, jazz, street styles, modern and West African dance. She started her dance training at four years old and prioritized her focus on ballet. She continued to foster her technique and artistry through the summer intensives at Canada’s National Ballet School, Boston Ballet School, and Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. Norey trained in the RAD syllabus and has completed the Advanced 2 level with distinction. She values the performance aspects of dance and how that can be coordinated with the importance of technique. She continues to explore how her knowledge in ballet can be translated into other dance styles. Norey is incredibly grateful for all the opportunities dance has offered and is thrilled to be able to extend that experience to others.
ANDREW CLIFTON
Andrew Clifton is a twenty year old dancer and choreographer from Toronto, Ontario. His love for the performing arts came from musical theatre and in that, singing specifically which led him to start his dance training at the age of ten. Andrew trained competitively in ballet, contemporary, jazz, lyrical, and tap under the training of Studio P.A.V.A.S. in Mississauga, Ontario. At the age of fourteen, he was accepted into Etobicoke School of the Arts where he continued to improve his dance training with modern and ballet. During his time at the school, he began to take his dance training more seriously which led him to audition for a spot in the repertoire company at Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre. After he was accepted he began his training in repertoire and CI training, while continuing his ballet, modern, and contemporary. He has worked with many artists including Natasha Poon Woo, Alyssa Martin, Fran Chudnoff, Roderick George, Colin Connor, Ryan Lee, and Louis Laberge-Cote. Andrew is currently in the dance program in The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University where he is training in ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz, vernacular jazz, street styles, and west african. He is in his second year of the program and working towards his Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance.
MODERN FUSION
Nadia Dardano
Hip hop
Nadia is currently in their 2nd year at Toronto Metropolitan University for a Bachelor of Fine arts in the performance dance program. Studying styles of Ballet, Vernacular Jazz, Modern, West African, and street styles. Outside of school, Nadia is a part of Kode Red Academy, an adult female-identifying training academy focusing on street styles and Commercial dance. She also has been focusing outside time on project-based work and short-term training programs such as attending ProArteDanza SIP 2022. Along with dance, Nadia Has been teaching since the age of 15 and choreographing for local studios since 16.
GABI TRUDEL
Gabi Trudel was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she has been a competitive dancer since the age of nine. Gabi studies numerous styles of dance including ballet, pointe, contemporary, modern, hip hop, jazz, musical theatre/theatre jazz, tap, latin and acrobatics. Her diversity has allowed her to win numerous awards as a soloist and group dancer over the years. Some of these achievements include Limelight Dance Competition Solo Champion 2021, Millennium Dance Productions Star Soloist, Fever International Dance Championships Face of Fever, Nova Scotia Talent Trust Award recipient and many more. Her professional works include Votive Dance Company shows, ProArteDanza’s SIP Showcase and others. Alongside this, she is currently training in the prestigious Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly known as Ryerson) BFA Performance Dance Program. She also loves working for the dance competition VIEW Dance Challenge as Host allowing her to travel across Canada and experience the talent from coast to coast.
Gabi has been fortunate enough to train with world renowned dance faculty and to be represented by DaCosta Talent Management, in hopes to continue training and expand her knowledge to share with the upcoming generation of dance.
Shelby Nilsen
Shelby Nilsen is a dancer, performer, and choreographer currently working and training in Toronto, but she grew up and began her dance journey on Vancouver Island, BC. Shelby enjoys training and exploring in a multitude of styles such as contemporary, jazz, modern, ballet, and street styles. She incorporates her diverse training into her dancing to create a fusion movement style, and places emphasis on utilizing tools from other styles to enhance and excite her contemporary movement. Shelby has had the pleasure of learning from many contemporary artists that inspire her artistry, some of her favorites including workshops with Alysa Pires, Shawn Bracke, and Lukas Malkowski. Shelby is currently acquiring her BFA of Performance Dance at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly known as Ryerson University), and will graduate in 2025. Outside of her regular training and schooling, she also dances with Kode Red Academy, an all female identifying hip-hop and streetstyle training crew directed by Jac Valiquette. Shelby enjoys including voice, sound, texture, and imagery into her movement style, as well as her improv techniques where she strives to create space for a journey of personal movement exploration and embodiment.