Shanna Irwin

Shanna Irwin, grew up in New Jersey, USA where she began training as a competitive dancer. Her focus switched towards ballet when she was accepted into The New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble under the direction of Nancy Turano. Here she had the opportunity to train in Vancouver with Arts Umbrella. Shanna went on to continue her studies at Marymount Manhattan College under the direction of Katie Langan. During her senior year Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson asked her to begin touring with Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Shanna graduated with a BFA in Dance in May 2014. She continued with Complexions for five years, and then joined Ballets Jazz Montréal in June 2019. Shanna’s decade of experience with companies has lead her to perform in numerous opera houses across five continents, in the cities of over seventeen countries where she has danced the works of Crystal Pite, Juliano Nunes, Aszure Barton, Itzik Galili, Andonis Foniadakis, Ido Tadmor, Guillaume Cote, among others. Currently in her seventh season with BJM, Shanna also teaches ballet classes, coaches private lessons for young dancers, and has shared master classes at various schools, such as Steps on Broadway in NYC.

Guillaume Michaud

Guillaume Michaud has been passionate about dance since early childhood and has been studying it since the age of 6. At just 13 years old, he was recruited for an intensive training course in several dance styles in London. He then pursued full-time studies at the École supérieure de ballet du Québec (ESBQ), where he obtained a college diploma in classical dance. He refined his technique by participating in various international training workshops in New York, Los Angeles, and Vancouver, where he had the opportunity to work with several renowned choreographers. Guillaume then joined Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal (BJM), with whom he danced on a global stage for four years before signing a contract with MGM for a resident production in Macau, China. In addition to appearing as a solo competitor on the second season of Révolution, Guillaume has had the opportunity to work with numerous circus companies, including two shows in the United Arab Emirates with Les 7 doigts de la main. He will return to Andorra in June 2022 with Cirque du Soleil, this time as the main character and headliner for the show MUV. Since November 2023, Guillaume has been part of the musical Les Cowboys Fringants: Pub Royal, produced by Les 7 doigts de la main and La Tribu, which can be seen throughout Quebec and in several French-speaking European countries.

Sara Harton

Working in the professional dance world for nearly 20 years, Sara dances with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, ezdanza, Danse K par K, PPS Danse, Les 7 Doigts de la Main, Trip the Light Fantastic, Umanoove/Didy Veldman, Cirque Éloize, Le Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke, and with numerous independent choreographers. In addition to developing her own choreographic projects, she has been invited to teach at numerous schools, including the National Circus School and the École de Danse Contemporaine de Montréal.

Janick Arseneau

Je suis né au Nouveau-Brunswick, a Bathurst. J’ai commencé la danse à l’âge de 3 ans. J’ai été formé à Dance Acadie. La danse a toujours fait partie de moi et m’a aidé à surmonter les passages difficiles de ma vie. Le studio de danse était mon chez-moi. J’ai suivi les cours de jazz, lyrique, ballet, hip-hop et claquette. J’ai toujours su que je voulais danser et vivre de ma passion. Un de mes plus grands objectifs étant jeune étaient de faire partie de « So You Think You Can Dance Canada ». Je savais que les chances de réussir étaient minces, venant d’une petite ville mais je ne laissais jamais les commentaires négatifs m’atteindre. J’ai terminé mes études secondaires et déménagé à Montréal pour poursuivre ma carrière en danse. J’ai tout laissé derrière moi et je suis partie seule au jeune âge de 17 ans. Depuis mon déménagement, ma carrière en danse a débloqué et j’ai accompli beaucoup d’objectifs dont je me suis fixé. L’un d’eux était So You Think You Can Dance Canada. Non seulement j’ai atteint cet objectif, mais je me suis placé au Top 4 – finaliste. J’ai par la suite dansé dans le jeu vidéo ‘The Micheal Jackson The Experience’ d’Ubisoft pour le Kinect Xbox 360. J’ai assisté aux côtés de Megan Lawson (FanyPack) et Phil ‘Packman’ Shbeeb (IamMe) pour le Micheal Jackson The Immortal Tour du Cirque du Soleil chorégraphié par NappyTabs. J’ai dansé dans le film ‘Mirror Mirror’ avec la star Julia Roberts. J’ai dansé dans le film ‘Make your move 3D’ chorégraphié par NappyTabs, réalisé par Duane Adler et avec Derek Hough et BoA. J’étais sur America’s Best Dance Crew Saison 7 avec Irratik. J’ai dansé pour Ceelo Green, Def Leppard, Melissa Etheridge et Kelly Clarkson dans l’émission La Voix. J’ai dansé sur la scène du Centre Bell pour les artistes Marie-Mai et Matt Duff. Le dernier sera diffusé sur NETFLIX. J’ai dansé dans le film Step Up 5 : All In. À 25 ans, je suis déménagé à Los Angeles et j’ai dansé avec Jennifer Lopez pendant 3 ans à Las Vegas au théâtre Axis du Planet Hollywood comme premier emploi aux États-Unis. J’ai aussi dansé dans ses clips « Ain’t your mama », « Dinero », « El Anillo » et « Limitless ». J’ai voyagé à Qatar, New-York et autres places avec elle. J’ai dansé avec Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson et Kevin Hart aux MTV Movie Awards, chorégraphié par Janelle Ginestra. J’ai dansé avec Hailee Steinfeld aux RDMA et avec Rihanna aux VMA, les deux chorégraphié par Parris Goebel. J’ai aussi eu la chance de danser avec des artistes comme Cardi B, DJ Khaled, Pitbull, Kanye West, Teyanna Taylor, Ja Rule, et plusieurs autres. Je vis maintenant à Montréal et je possède ma compagnie professionnelle de danse Bee-Yond Belief avec ma partenaire en affaires et en amour, Hannah Pierre. Nous valorisons la croissance personnelle et l’amour de soi. Nous avons une approche holistique et fournissons un espace sain pour nos danseurs.euses à être elles.eux-mêmes, tous s’entraînant à un haut calibre. En tant que personne nonbinaire dans un couple LGBTQ+, je suis passionnée de ma communauté et je saute à toute occasion de bien représenter et être une personne saine pour tous. Je valorise l’inclusivité et la diversité. Même si j’ai réalisé tant de mes rêves, mes objectifs ne s’arrêtent pas là. Je crois qu’en tant que danseur, chorégraphe, mentor et en tant que personne, nous avons toujours plus à apprendre et à accomplir. Je suis étudiant.e de la vie, et pour la vie. Si vous pouvez le rêver, alors cela peut devenir une réalité.

Chantal Dauphinais

A 1986 graduate of the École Supérieure de Ballet du Québec professional ballet program, Chantal danced with the Anna Wyman Dance Theater and the Ballets Jazz de Montréal. She then joined Céline Dion’s The Color of My Love tour, which included a performance on The Tonight Show in Los Angeles. She has danced and choreographed several productions for the Opéra de Montréal: Aida, The Merry Widow, Rigoletto, Eugene Onegin, La belle Hélène, and Die Fledermaus. With her extensive experience in musicals, including Chicago, Singin’ in the Rain, Sweet Charity, Grease, Demain Matin Montréal m’attend, Le Big Bazar, and Anne of Green Gables, she has danced and choreographed My Fair Lady and Cabaret, played the role of the dance teacher and choreographed for the film Cruising Bar 2, and appeared on television in the popular Radio-Canada program Le Match des Étoiles for four seasons, as well as Lip Sync Battle. Passionate about Argentine tango, she perfected her skills in Buenos Aires thanks to a grant from the Conseil des Arts et Lettres du Québec. Upon her return, she played the lead role in the television movie Macadam Tango, as well as the short film Revolver Tango (winner of the Audience Award at the Montreal International Film Festival). Chantal has been sharing her passion for dance through teaching for 47 years. She teaches jazz inspired by the Luigi method, the Fosse style, and the Broadway style. She is very happy to have been part of Chicago the Musical again last summer, and she takes to the stage every year to play the role of the Candy King in Les Grands Ballets Canadiens’ The Nutcracker.

Sabrina Lonis

Sabrina Lonis is a renowned choreographer and teacher in the French dance scene. Trained in the world capitals of Paris, New York, London, and Los Angeles, and a state-certified graduate, she has been working for over 20 years in television, live performances, international events, and training young talent. On television, she has worked on more than 350 iconic shows, including The Voice, The Voice Kids, Star Academy, Eurovision Junior—for which she choreographed two opening ceremonies broadcast in 19 countries—Dancing with the Stars, Mask Singer, NRJ Music Awards, and Les Victoires de la Musique. She regularly collaborates with major artists such as Major Lazer, J Balvin, Kendji Girac, Santa, Amir, Jenifer, and Jamel Debbouze. In 2024, she brought her choreographic expertise to the Paris Olympic Games during the stadium highlights, and in 2023 she created a European capsule collection with Decathlon.
Alongside her career as a creator, Sabrina is a committed teacher. Her classes and companies, accessible only by audition, train dancers from all over Europe every year. Her students distinguish themselves on TV sets, in international competitions, and join the most prestigious companies or tours. Several have even won major competitions and embarked on brilliant professional careers. Combining high standards, creativity, and kindness, Sabrina Lonis has established herself as a leading figure in dance, capable of imparting solid technique while revealing each dancer’s artistic identity.

Malik Zaryaty

Director of The Movement Theory
Choreographer for Oscar and the Wolf – Taste Tour – Teacher in Belgium, France, Holland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovenia, UK, Greece, Norway, UAE
The Flow Dance Camp Italy – BC Ostend Belgium – Empire Dance Camp Slovenia
Wolrd Of Dance Camp Europe
– 1st World of Dance Italy 2019 – 2nd World of Dance France 2019- 1st World of Dance Spain 2022 – 1st World of Dance Switzerland 2022 – 2nd World of Dance Greece 2022 – 2nd World of Dance Poland 2022 – Finalist Belgium Got Talent 2019- Finalist The Dancer Belgium 2022 – Finalist Arab’s Got Talent 2024
– Judge for WOD Belgium 2019, 2020 and 2024 – Judge for WOD Holland 2022 – Judge for WOD Germany 2023, 2024 and 2025. – Judge for WOD Switzerland 2023 and 2024 – Judge for WOD France 2024 – Judge for WOD Ukraine 2025

Apolonia Velasquez

Recipient of the KM Hunter, Dance Ontario Innovation, Manifesto Innovation & Originality, and Soul Pepper Dance Awards ApoloniaVelasquez is a director, choreographer, actor, and educator.
Her dance company GADFLY’s work includes Dora Mavor Moore Award-winning ‘Klorofyl’. Apolonia has been commissioned to create work for Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, Ryerson Theatre School, Dusk Dances, The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, Citadel + Compagnie and the School of Dance to name a few. Her work has been presented in Festivals such as Luminato, Nuit Blanche, Festival DansEncore, 100Lux, Ontario Dance Weekend, and Manifesto.
Apolonia is also the founder of TUDS Festival of Urban Dance Culture and the Aybrid Dance Intensive.
She has acquired a considerable amount of experience in the television, entertainment and theatre dance industries. She has worked with artists such as: Katy Perry, Kiesza, Serena Ryder, Shawn Desman, Anjulie, Massari, NINEONE#, KHAY, and Jesse Cook. She has directed and choreographed for Ted Talks, Nike, Bench clothing, Make Up For Ever, American Crew, Canada Goose, Revlon, GM Canada, Manulife, Sephora, and for commercials for Pepto Bismol, Quaker, YouTube, Emergen-C, Oculus, Honda, Pizza Hut, Snapdragon, Destination Ontario, MiraLAX, and Chevrolet; as well as for tv shows such as Beauty & the Beast, Danser pour Gagner and Gwen Stefani’s Kuu Kuu Harajuku.

Valerie Taminator Chartier

Valérie Chartier has accumulated extensive experience in dance over the past 41 years. She took her first steps in dance at the age of 3. Valérie immersed herself in several styles over the years: ballet, jazz, and contemporary for 20 years, before turning to street dance styles in 2004. She started with hip hop, breakdancing, and house, and was later introduced to waacking and Krump. Valérie, aka Taminator, aka Lady Maddripp, a protégée of one of the style’s creators, Tight Eyez, is a pioneer of Krump in Canada and a globally recognized leader in the movement. She was recently invited to judge and teach at two of the world’s biggest Krump events: European Buck Session (Germany) and King of Buck (Japan). She also assisted Jaja Vankova (SYTYCD, I am me crew) in teaching workshops and performing at the renowned Fair Play Dance Camp (Poland) and in Los Angeles. Valérie is also a performer, choreographer, and artistic director. She recently performed her solo piece THIN (combining Krump and cello) at the M.A.I. She choreographed and performed a 20-minute piece, Glass House, bringing together several members of Montreal’s Krump community, presented as part of Canada’s largest Street Dance Festival: Jack of All Trades, in collaboration with Danse Danse. She then created and performed with Yannice Ouellet, a 1-hour Krump duet, Dualis, at the Maison de la Culture Mercier. Taminator also created a video project bringing together several female Krumpers from around the world under the concept of a “Flashmob” and testimonials (co-choreographed by Jaja Vankova). With Unkut Productions in the play Renézance, she performed at the Festival Vue sur la Relève, among other venues. Her involvement in Krump has also led her to participate and perform in national and international competitions (Montreal, Toronto, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Germany, France, Russia, Japan), films, videos, and commercials (Sokoloff Lingerie, Miss Me Art, Sur Le Rythme, ARTV). She is also a participant in the TV show Révolution season 3. Valérie has also been organizing The Clash since 2013: a tournament bringing together Krump and all other styles. Since 2014, she has also been the executive and artistic director of the non-profit organization Montreal Krump Alliance, which is dedicated to promoting and supporting Krump culture in Quebec and Canada by organizing events and creating platforms for Krumpers. Finally, she founded LeadHers, a program that specifically targets women through education and artistic productions such as LeadHers classes and the LeadHers Rookies Tournament event. Using Krump as a tool for exploring and expressing mental and physical strength, she inspires women to realize that there are no limits defined by gender.

Our settlement mediator judges

Janie Richard

Janie Richard is an artist from Terrebonne, Quebec, who has devoted her life to dance for over 16 years. Trained at the École supérieure de ballet du Québec, she traveled the world as a performer before turning to choreography, production, and artistic direction. Winner of the 2025 Artist of the Year award in Lanaudière from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, she has distinguished herself through the creation of memorable shows such as Syntonie—winner of the 2023 Best Touring Production Award (RIDEAU) and the Grand Prix des arts de la scène (Culture Lanaudière) — and Sans toi[T], currently touring Quebec. Grateful to the community that saw her grow up, Janie is committed to training and mentoring young dancers through workshops, master classes, and her role as a judge in various competitions in Quebec and internationally. Her generosity, rigor, and artistic vision inspire and elevate the next generation.
Always driven by the desire to promote dance, she continues her mission: to create, transmit, and bring people together around art and movement.

Marvin Baptiste

A passionate dancer since his early childhood, Marvin Baptiste has established himself as a key figure in Quebec’s urban dance scene. Teaching hip-hop since 1990, he has trained generations of dancers, passing on his knowledge, rigor, and passion for the culture. A master of several hip-hop dance styles, he has also established himself as a true ambassador for house dance in Montreal, helping to promote this discipline and anchor it in the city’s cultural landscape.
Respected by his peers both on stage and in battles, and recognized as an exceptional teacher, Marvin remains an essential link in the web that makes up the history and evolution of urban dance in Quebec.

Sandra Beaulieu

Sandra began dancing at the age of 7, starting with jazz. She then continued her training at the École de danse de Québec, where she studied contemporary dance and classical ballet and received the Lieutenant Governor’s Award. Her passion and perseverance led her to perform on television (The Magician (Netflix), Chanteurs Masqués, En Direct de l’Univers), on stage (Cirque Éloize, Cirque du Soleil), and in film (The Magician (Netflix), Chanteurs Masqués, En Direct de l’Univers). Her passion and perseverance led her to perform on television (The Magician (Netflix), Chanteurs Masqués, En Direct de l’Univers), on stage (Cirque Éloize, Cirque du Soleil event…), on cruise ships (Royal Caribbean-Symphony of the Seas) and in several other projects. Since 2006, she has also devoted herself to teaching jazz and contemporary styles in Quebec and the United States. Over the past five years, she has added a new string to her bow by perfecting her skills in aerial circus arts, specifically straps and hoops. You can now find her dancing on the ground as well as in the air!