Our Instructors
A dedicated team with dozens of years of combined experience, the Art in Motion roster of instructors share one underlying trait- a deep love of dance and the desire to help share and instil this love in every student they meet.
Rachel Chernosky, Director & Owner of Art in Motion
Rachel is committed to creating an environment that fosters creativity and provides opportunities to explore and inspire movement through dance. As the director of the school, she strives to develop each student's full potential by instilling a love for dance and a deep understanding of proper technical training. Rachel began dancing at a very young age, and her passion for the art form quickly grew into a lifelong commitment.
Rachel has extensive experience and dance training, having attended the Quinte Ballet Summer School Professional Division (2002 and 2006), the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Intensive Summer School (2003), and Sundance – Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre (2005). She was accepted into the School of Alberta Ballet Senior Summer School Session (2007) and later attended their Professional Division Full-Year Program (2007/2008). Rachel has completed numerous dance examinations, successfully passing her Advanced 1 and 2 Major Cecchetti Ballet Examinations, which require a very high level of technique and artistry. After graduating from high school, Rachel was accepted into the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) Teacher Training Program Summer School, as well as the RWB Teacher Full-Year Training Program. At RWB, Rachel gained valuable teaching experience through comprehensive classes, observing, and assisting students of various ages in Pre-Ballet, Creative Movement, Parent and Tot, as well as 6-7-year-old all-boys classes.
As an educator, Rachel is dedicated to her professional development. She has attended numerous dance workshops, lectures, and masterclasses. Notably, she participated in the Ideas Exchange (2017) at Canada’s world-renowned National Ballet School for a week of professional development, as well as a Creative Movement for Young Children workshop. she became certified in Progressing Ballet Technique (2020) and later completed the three-year Associated Dance Arts for Professional Teachers (ADAPT) syllabus Teacher Training course.
Rachel graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Education from Lakehead University (2014) and is a qualified Primary and Junior Division teacher with experience in supply teaching in London, England, and with the Lakehead Public School Board. her goal is to combine her extensive background in education and dance to provide the Thunder Bay community with exceptional and high-quality dance training.
Carla Crupi, Senior Tap & Musical Theatre Instructor
Returning to Art in Motion for our 2024/2025 Dance Season is Carla Crupi!
Carla has been teaching dance for over 40 years. Growing up in Thunder Bay, she started dancing at the age of 3. She has completed all of her exams in Ballet, Jazz and Tap. Growing up she competed both locally and out of town, but she soon found her true love was not performance but instead working with children. Teaching became her passion. As well as a dance teacher Carla graduated with
her Bachelor of Education, is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers, and is a full time teacher with the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board.
Carla is recognized for her versatility and enthusiasm with the ability to teach all different levels. Her award winning choreography has graced many competitions and festivals both locally and out of town. Students she has trained have gone on to win top titles, overall high scores, scholarships and some have pursued successful professional careers.
Her genuine love for children and dance, along with her patience and warm-hearted nature makes her a favourite among students of all ages.
Lisa Fedoruk, Senior Ballet Instructor
Lisa's journey into the world of dance began when she was just 5 years old in Thunder Bay. Under the inspiring guidance of the Silvia Horn School of Dance, she explored various dance genres, setting the stage for a lifelong passion. By 14, her talent secured her a spot at Walnut Hill School of Performing Arts, where she studied ballet and modern dance.
Returning to Thunder Bay, Lisa's love for dance continued to grow as she began teaching. With credentials as a registered ballet instructor from the Royal Academy of Dance and a Fellowship in Ballet from the British Association Teachers of Dancing, Lisa brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to her students. Her bachelor's degree in education further enhanced her teaching approach, ensuring a well-rounded learning experience for everyone she instructed.
Lisa's commitment to dance and education shines through her continuous pursuit of professional development. In 2016, she earned certification in Progressive Ballet Technique training and, in 2021, completed Pelvic Fascia Training Certification through the Franklin Method. Her passion for adult ballet instruction is evident through her accreditation as an R.A.D. Silver Swans Instructor in 2018 and her completion of the Principles of Adult Ballet program through the R.A.D. in 2020.
Dedicated to injury prevention and innovative teaching methods, Lisa has pursued extensive training programs and workshops. She completed Level I Teacher Training in 2015 and Level II Flexibility Training in 2019 with Lisa Howell of The Ballet Blog. She also participated in numerous summer intensives for teachers, including sessions at the National Ballet of Canada Ideas Exchange Program, focusing on technique refinement and injury management.
Currently, Lisa is immersed in online courses in Slings Myofascial Training with Karin Gurtner of Art of Motion, exploring fascia-focused movement. Her commitment to body-mind integration training aims to empower her students with a deep understanding of structural balance and well-being through movement.
With a celebrated career spanning over four decades, Lisa has successfully directed her own studio, nurturing generations of dancers who have achieved great acclaim. As she starts another season at Art in Motion, Lisa's dedication to sharing her love for ballet and helping her students achieve artistic excellence remains unwavering.
Hailey Grant, Jazz/Lyrical/
Contemporary & Ballet Instructor
We are thrilled to have Hailey Grant back on our team of teachers for the 2024/2025 Dance Season.
Hailey has been dancing for over 20 years. Throughout her years of dance training she completed exams in ballet, tap and jazz. She also took several opportunities to further her training which include the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Summer Program and the Mather Dance Company Trans4m Intensive in Los Angeles. As a competitive dancer, Hailey has received top scores, judges choice awards, scholarships and other awards including The Fort William Club Junior and Senior Ballet Cup, All-Around Dance Award and the Sylvia Horn Young Scholarship.
In more recent years, Hailey performed as a dancer in the 2018 Nuit Blanche Contemporary Art Festival in Toronto with Expect Theatre in the Beats and Intentions Performance Ensemble. She has also performed with Breakaway Entertainment in Toronto and performed a self-choreographed piece for the Superior Theatre Festival Undercurrents 2020 Project. In 2023 Hailey was the recipient of the Gold Cup for Choreography. This award is chosen by Dance Adjudicators and recognizes promising young independent choreographers who teach a variety of ages and styles of dance.
Over the past 10 years, Hailey’s passion for teaching has become just as strong as her passion for dancing. She is excited to continue sharing her love for dance and to grow as a teacher and choreographer.
Marnie Carello, Tap Instructor
Marnie started dancing at the age of 3 and has excelled in all forms of dance including tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop, lyrical, musical theatre, and pointe. She has spent over 20 years both on stage and in the studio dancing and, ultimately, teaching. She has completed all of her BATD exams in Ballet, Jazz, and Tap. With her extensive training, Marnie has received awards and scholarships locally and nationally.
In addition to being a dance teacher, Marnie graduated with her Bachelor of Education. She is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers and is a teacher with the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board.
Marnie has also been acknowledged for her outstanding tap choreography. Students she has trained have gone on to win top titles, overall high scores and scholarships.
While Marnie loves performing, her passion is teaching children of all ages. She is a role model for all of her students, and loves to enrich the lives of young aspiring dancers to help them reach their full potential.
Avery Marshall, Acro Instructor
Avery Marshall has been dancing for 17 years. She has been trained in numerous styles but has found her passion in acro, lyrical and jazz. She has also completed ADAPT jazz examinations and is a NCCP trained competitive gymnastics coach. Avery has completed her Acrobatic Arts training this summer for her Module One Certification. Acrobatic Arts offers a comprehensive training program for dance educators to safely teach AcroDance. She looks forward to progressing her skills and knowledge to share with Art in Motion dancers.
Avery has taken opportunities to further her dance training in Greece for the View Dance Intensive, Dance the World Broadway in New York, and has performed at Disney Springs in Florida. As a competitive dancer, Avery has received numerous top scores, judges choice awards, and scholarships. Some other prestigious awards include the Sylvia Horn Scholarship at the Lakehead Festival, Dance Canada Finals Top 10, “The Pit” winner at the Phoenix Dance Competition, and she has been invited to Dance the World Cup in Prague. Avery has been most recognized for her versatility, athleticism, and emotional execution.
Avery has also done competitive gymnastics
and is currently a Varsity Track Athlete going into her third year of Kinesiology at Lakehead University. Her cross training has positively impacted her dancing, and she is very excited to continue sharing her love for dance at Art in Motion!
Brianna DeAgazio, Tap/Jazz/
Lyrical & Musical Theatre Instructor
Brianna has been dancing for 17 years. She has completed her exams for ballet, jazz, and tap through the British Association Teachers of Dancing (BATD). She has been invited to compete at the BATD Trixie Hardy North American scholarships for all of her examinations. Once there, she received many callbacks and placed in the top 10 for jazz. As for tap, she was awarded 5th for junior tap in 2017, 2nd in 2018, and 6th for senior tap in 2019. With much recognition across her competitive dance career, she has received many judge's choice awards for various dance styles, as well as the top tap score throughout different competitions. Brianna has also been awarded first place for her performances in a handful of different improv competitions, both in and out of town. In 2018 and 2019 she was also casted as a lead role in the Nutcracker with the Minnesota Ballet.
Brianna is entering her fourth year of studies at Lakehead University for her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology. She uses the knowledge she gains through her program to guide her on better teaching techniques and exercise prescriptions. She enjoys teaching her passion for dance to her students tremendously. Brianna strives to empower her dancers while also challenging and supporting them as they grow as individuals and dancers.
Brianna loves being surrounded by her students and feels deeply lucky to be able to shape their dance experiences. She cannot wait to start a new season here at Art in Motion!
Faith Trelinski, Ballet/
Lyrical Instructor
Faith started dancing at an early age of four and quickly fell in love with the art form. Throughout her dance career, she's explored various genres, from classical ballet and pointe to contemporary, jazz, tap, and acro. Her dedication led her to excel in ballet, culminating in her Cecchetti Senior Certificate achievement in 2022. In 2019, she enriched her skills at the Quinte Ballet School Summer Intensive program.
Entering her eighth year with Art In Motion, Faith's evolution from assistant to co-teacher alongside Rachel Chernosky showcased her commitment and talent. Since 2021 Faith has been teaching at AIM specializing in ballet and jazz.
Beyond the studio, Faith pursues a BA in Psychology at Lakehead University, entering her third year. Her aspiration to join Thunder Bay's teachers college reflects her profound love for children, evident in both her teaching and academic endeavours.
Faith's enthusiasm for sharing the joy of dance is evident, and she is determined to continue nurturing that passion, knowledge, and love with the Art in Motion community.
Mackinley Harding, Hip Hop/Musical Theatre Instructor
Mackinley began dancing at the age of three and since that time has studied ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, musical theatre, song and dance, lyrical and contemporary. She began competing at age seven at both regional and national competitions. During her time as a competitive dancer, she earned many overall scores as both a soloist and a group dancer. She has been awarded such titles as Dancer of the Year, and numerous Judges Choice Awards and Scholarships. Mackinley never shied away from an opportunity to join a new group or add another dance into her competitive schedule, thus resulting in an all-time high of 23 routines in one year. Her favorite genres are Tap, Hip Hop, and Musical Theater that were always noticed by judges, and received top marks.
training locally for years, mackinley also enjoyed continuing her education in the offseason. She danced in Los Angeles with the Hollywood Summer Tour. Dancing in studios like Millenium Dance Co, IDA Hollywood, Athletic Garage and Debbie Reynolds Movement, which included an all-star faculty of teachers and styles focusing in Hip-Hop and Street Jazz that expanded her horizons. Then the following year Mackinley spent the summer in NYC, studying Musical Theater at Joffrey Ballet School and taking additional dance classes at Broadway Dance Co. During 2020, Mackinley was able to remotely attend the IAMT Bootcamp which again incorporated a variety of dance styles from highly accredited staff.
Mackinley has been running a Hip Hop program in the Lakehead Schools teaching to a variety of skill levels and loving every minute of it. Interacting with the kids and sharing her love for dance has been a very rewarding experience, making it obvious that she wants to continue on this path. Outside of the dance world Mackinley thrives on the big stage having trained vocally for years and never missing the chance to be in a musical. You may have seen her in a few of her more recent shows like the St. Patrick's High School rendition of Frozen Jr as Elsa, in Mamma Mia as Tanya, or last summer with Applauze Production’s of Mean Girls High School Edition as Cady Herron. During the summer, you can find Mack working for the City Playgrounds programs, and at Youth Move during the school year.
currently at Lakehead University in Music and Education, mackinley is expanding her true passion for sharing her love of the arts with the next generation. She is extremely excited to begin her new adventure at Art In Motion!
Gabby Carlin, Jazz/Lyrical/ Musical Theatre Instructor
Gabby’s love for dance and the performing arts started at the young age of two and has only continued to grow stronger over the years. As a competitive dancer Gabby has trained in all styles, but her favourites are Musical Theatre, Jazz and Lyrical, where she has earned multiple scholarships, judge’s choice awards and top placements. She is most recognized for her performance quality and emotional execution.
Gabby has spent many summers participating in intensives with Broadway Artist Alliance NYC, Joffrey Ballet School, Jorgen Dance, and The Institute for American Musical Theatre. She also recently completed a semester away training at JJ Dance Arts, which is a pre-professional dance program in Burlington, Ontario, where she trained under renowned industry professionals. Her favourite accomplishments include founding and being captain of St. Patrick’s High School’s first ever dance team, and being selected to be on the Canadian team, where she will be heading to Europe this summer to compete at the Dance World Cup in Prague.
The only thing Gabby enjoys more than performing is teaching. She started her teaching career as an assistant to Miss Rachel’s Creative Movement class many years ago. Teaching the littles has always been a highlight of her week. She looks forward to sharing her love of dance and performing with AIM students.
Abby Gomes, Ballet Instructor
Abby has been dancing for 14 years, starting at the age of 6. She has trained in various styles of dance such as ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, and contemporary, and also has experience in tap. Throughout her dance training, Abby has completed numerous classical ballet and pointe exams, including the Intermediate exam, a major examination in the Cecchetti syllabus.
Beginning her journey at Art in Motion in 2017, Abby has been a class assistant in many classes of various styles and age groups. She realized her love for choreography when she performed her first self-choreographed solo in 2022. She began teaching at AIM in 2023 and has found a passion for sharing her love of dance with her students.
When not teaching or dancing at the studio, Abby studies at Lakehead University in the nursing program and works at various children’s programs throughout the city. She has a passion for working with children of all ages and hopes to continue to nurture this passion through supporting the students at Art in Motion in their own dance journeys.
Abby loves watching her students find their love of dance and grow in their training. She is so excited to begin the new dance season with Art in Motion!
Lauren Kopanski, Jazz/Lyrical & Contemporary Instructor
Dancing has always been a huge part of Lauren’s life. Lauren started dancing at the age of 4, and competitively danced from the age of 10 to 18 in the styles of jazz, tap, ballet, pointe, lyrical, contemporary, and musical theatre. She has also trained in other styles of dance such as heels, jazz funk, hip hop, and modern. She trained in Cecchetti ballet and completed her exams up to the Advanced 1 level.
Throughout Lauren’s dance career she has won many awards and scholarships at competitions and workshops, both in Canada and the US. She has taken classes at Broadway Dance Centre and Steps in New York, as well as Edge Performing Arts Centre in LA. She believes in the importance of attending workshops (even as a teacher/choreographer) and has attended various workshops which include learning from some of the best like Blake McGrath and Mia Michaels, as well as various So You Think You Can Dance? contestants. Lauren owes so much to all of her previous dance teachers for helping her and supporting her along the way.
Lauren’s love for dance led her to start teaching at the age of 16. Since then, her choreography has received numerous awards and recognition for imagery, emotion, story telling and unique concepts.
Outside of the dance studio, Lauren graduated from Lakehead University with her Honours Bachelor of Education. She taught English in Reading, England for one year to students ages 10-14. She is currently working full-time as a Supervised Behaviour Therapist and is also working on her Masters in Applied Behaviour Analysis.
Lauren cannot wait to dance with everyone and is looking forward to her new journey with Art in Motion!
Gillian Sgambelluri, Tap Instructor
Gillian has been dancing for 17 years. Under the leadership of some very amazing and talented teachers, Gillian fell in love with dance from a very young age and has taken up teaching to follow in their footsteps. She attributes much of her successes in life to her dance mentors and to the time, hard work and dedication she put into her competitive dance career. Over the years, she completed ballet, jazz and tap exams through the British Association of Teachers of Dancing. She was invited many times to compete at the Trixie Hardy North American scholarships for her examinations, culminating in her last year being awarded the 5th runner up for tap.
Dance has opened many doors for Gillian, offering her opportunities to contribute to her community beyond the walls of the studio. She took part in the inaugural Dancing with the Docs fundraiser, where she felt a sense of pride in raising funds for the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Additionally, she cherishes the chance she had to choreograph and teach for the latest production of "Mamma Mia! The Musical" at St. Patrick’s High School.
Her proudest moment was receiving a judges’ choice award for her big smile and evident joy while sharing the stage with fellow AIM coworker and longtime duet partner, Brianna DeAgazio. It was when a student approached her and said, "Miss Gillian, my mom told me I should smile like you when I perform," that she realized her calling as a teacher was to instill in her students the same passion and love for dance that fuels her own spirit!
Fresh out of Lakehead University with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce, achieving First Class Standing, she's thrilled to begin her career in Thunder Bay. Amidst a busy schedule, she has always prioritized squeezing some studio time in throughout the year to get her tap shoes on, connect with her students and talk Michelle Grant’s ear off at the office!
