Summer camp registration opens march 1, 2023!

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About the Academy

The dance floor is a place of vulnerability, growth and acceptance. It’s a place where we can celebrate our differences with something that we all have in common, our love for dance. Whether you want to forget about your day and escape into dance, or celebrate and let it be your outlet, the dance floor will always be there. No matter where you come from or who you are, when we’re in the studio, we are all on common ground.

Common Ground provides a safe, nurturing and inclusive environment that fosters a love of dance for children and adults. We install the qualities of self-discipline, motivation and hard work into our students to promote excellence in dance. Our driving goal is to promote creativity and self-expression.

Our Family

Common Ground - Elisabet White

Elisabet White, RAD RTS

Owner & Artistic Director

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Common Ground - Madelyn Alexander RAD, RTS

Madelyn Alexander RAD, RTS

Instructor
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Common Ground - Nicole Binnington

Nicole Binnington

Instructor
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Common Ground - Taylor Maxsom

Taylor Maxsom

Instructor
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Common Ground - Anissia Nasr

Anissia Nasr

Instructor
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Common Ground - Anne-Frédérique Turbide

Victoria Fruci

Instructor

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We Believe in…

An opportunity for everyone

We all learn at different levels and in different ways. We believe that everybody deserves the opportunity to learn at a pace that works for them in a welcoming, judgement-free environment. With the right support, anyone can succeed in dance.

Progress over perfection

Perfectionism is common in the dance community. But we believe in encouraging progress and growth over perfection. Learning something new takes time, and that’s okay!

Quality dance education

Our dance curriculum was designed to offer the highest level of education in all styles of dance. Our trained instructors have extensive experience in dance and dance education.
Common Ground - Dance

The Studio

Our dance studio is located in Ottawa South, in the Findlay Creek neighbourhood. This newly renovated space is designed specifically for the best dance experience!

CGDA’s studio features Harlequin Floors, a special type of flooring that is ideal for dancing. This spring floor panel system reduces the risk of injury of dancing on a hard, unsprung floor.

By investing in Harlequin Floors, a world-leading brand in dance flooring, we are investing in the wellbeing of our dancers ensuring they can learn in an optimal and safe environment!

This prestigious flooring is used by professional dance companies and performing art companies around the world, and optimizes performance by creating an extraordinary environment for dancers.

Be a Part of Our Community

At Common Ground, dance is for everyone. We’d love to have you in the studio!

Registration
Common Ground - Anne-Frédérique Turbide

Victoria Fruci

Instructor

Originally from Brampton Ontario, Victoria began her dance training at the young age of 3 and has since been involved in the industry. She has over 20 years of dance experience in a variety of styles including Jazz and Tap (training under the ADAPT syllabus), Hiphop, Contemporary, Lyrical and Ballet. After 15 years of technical and artistic dance training in her hometown, she set out to move to Ottawa in 2017 to gain a Bachelors of Global and International Studies at Carleton University.

While attending University, Victoria continued her passion for dance through teaching youth in the Ottawa area in both competitive and recreational settings. Additionally, she continued to learn and grow as a dancer herself by joining the Ravens Dance Pak, where she had the opportunity to compete and represent Carleton University in dance competitions across the province. 

Over the years Victoria has had the pleasure of working with and learning from industry leading professionals including, Ryan Foley, Devin Perry, Mia Michaels and a number of other talented artists. She continues to take classes and attend dance workshops herself in her free time as she believes there is always space to keep learning. Victoria is excited to be apart of the Common Ground dance family and looks forward to welcoming and embracing every student that walks through the doors by empowering their passions through movement! 

Common Ground - Anissia Nasr

Anissia Nasr

Instructor
Anissia’s passion for dance started at a very young age. Like most little girls, she started with tap and ballet jazz and danced her way through high school and university. She dreamt of auditioning for So You Think you Can Dance and becoming a background dancer for Janet Jackson. She didn’t make it, but her passion for dance lives on through Zumba. Anissia discovered Zumba classes in the early 2000’s. She credits Zumba for boosting her energy and self-confidence. Today, she is spreading #ZumbaLove across the community. Join Anissia’s Zumba Party. #ForAllByAll #DoWhatMovesYou
Common Ground - Katherine Ng

Katherine Ng

Choreographer
Katherine is actively working as a professional dancer since 2014. Born and raised in Ottawa, she attended Canterbury High School Performing Arts Dance Program and later graduated from The School of Dance Contemporary Dance Diploma. Started in Montreal, Katherine had the opportunity to perform in many International dance festivals like Festival Internacional de Danza de la Ciudad de Mexico, Attakalari Dance Biennal and Ramallah International Dance Festival. While working more theatre dance, she stumbled into the world of production shows and was immediately in awe with all the possibilities. Her last contract was with MGM in Macau, where the show tested limits having Katherine dancing 15meters up from the floor! Katherine had worked with Michael Jackson’s choreographer Travis Payne, danced with Kylie Minogue for a one off event and shot a music video with Celine Dion. Katherine is very excited to start this season with Common Grounds and share her passion to the Common Ground Community!
Common Ground - Taylor Maxsom

Taylor Maxsom

Instructor

BATD (Acrobatics and Jazz)

Taylor Maxsom has been trained as a competitive dancer at a studio focused in Aerial apparatuses as well as Acrobatics. She has practiced many different styles over her dance career such as ; Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Tap and Acro. Taylor is now focused on teaching and choreographing. She has taught at various studios and community programs within the Ottawa area. She enjoys teaching children of younger ages and developing a strong connection with her students throughout the material she demonstrates in acro. Taylor has completed many examinations through the British Association Teachers of Dancing and has also achieved her associates in Jazz and Acro. In addition, Taylor is also certified under Acrobatics Arts. She graduated from a French high school in 2016 and got her diploma from Collège La Cité in Physiotherapy and Occupational therapy assistant in 2020. She is now continuing her education in Nursing.

She looks forward to working with dancers of the studio this year!

Common Ground - Nicole Binnington

Nicole Binnington

Instructor
Nicole started dancing at age 3, and never stopped! Nicole danced at I’ve Got Rhythm School of Dance in Kingston where she completed her A.D.A.P.T. Intermediate 3 Jazz and Tap, along with her B.A.T.D. Elementary Ballet. In 2010, she taught her first dance class and found her passion lay in teaching! Nicole completed a Bachelor of Arts at Dalhousie University, where she danced with and choreographed for DalDance Recreational Society and the Black and Gold Competitive Dance Team. In 2016, Nicole took on extra responsibility as a council member of the Black and Gold Competitive Dance Team, putting on the team’s first ever showcase. Nicole then moved to North Bay to complete her Bachelor of Education at Nipissing University. Nicole has been working with kids for many years, and is so excited to get the opportunity to connect with many more as part of the CGDA family. Nicole is eager to build confidence in her students through the best language, DANCE!
Common Ground - Madelyn Alexander RAD, RTS

Madelyn Alexander RAD, RTS

Instructor

Madelyn Alexander started dancing at the age of four at which time she was only focusing mainly on ballet and tap. She fell madly in love with dancing because she could express herself without the use of words. At that moment, she knew that her love for working with children and her passion for dance could propel her into becoming an amazing dance teacher with the main goal being, to let others experience the wonder of dance. As the years went on she studied many various types of dance including contemporary, modern, musical theatre, hip hop, and jazz; although she enjoyed all types of dance Madelyn’s main focus continued to be ballet. She studied the RAD method and completed her grade 1 up to her advanced exams. She has now completed her studies at Canada’s National Ballet School and is a certified RAD ballet teacher. The Teacher Training Program focused on how to teach every person no matter what their background is. During her studies she also became certified in teaching people with dementia and with Dancing with Parkinson's.

Madelyn believes that everyone should have the opportunity to experience dance and truly be able to express themselves. To become an amazing dancer you need to first be able to show great artistry and have the proper classical technique. In Madelyn’s class you will see a strong presence of technical work to achieve ballet in its purest form but also sessions of creative work where we can see the students expressing who they are and their personal interpretation of dance.

Madelyn loves working with people of all ages teaching dance. She has taught classes with dancers who are as young as two years old up to seniors which the oldest was 98. Madelyn believes that it is never too late to learn and hopes more adults learn as well and they too get to experience dance for themselves. Madelyn wants the classroom to be a diverse, fun experience for everyone.

Common Ground - Elisabet White

Elisabet White, RAD RTS

Owner & Artistic Director

Elisabet has been teaching dance for over 10 years and dancing for more than 25 years. Born and raised in Ottawa, Elisabet danced locally where she successfully completed her RAD Advanced 2 Ballet and ADAPT Advanced Jazz examinations while attending Canterbury High School - Performing Arts – Dance program. In 2012 Elisabet went on to attend the prestigious Ailey School Professional Division, NYC where she received a Certificate of Dance with Honours. After graduating she pursued a certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies through the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD). She has also trained at Alonzo King LINES, San Francisco, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Summer Professional Programs. During her dance training she had the opportunity to work with renowned choreographers such as: Alonzo King, Sidra Bell, Matthew Rushing, Darrell Moultrie, Amy Hall, Ray Mercer, and Carlos Dos Santos.

While studying dance at The Ailey School, Elisabet had the privilege of teaching children in The Ailey School First Steps Program, and travel to Florida as a guest teacher. These opportunities ignited her passion for teaching dance. After graduating from The Ailey School, she went on to expand her teaching skills in Halifax, NS and the surrounding area, teaching various methods of ballet, and jazz styles of dance, to children and adults, and choreograph for national competitions and local performances. While in Halifax she also volunteered at local schools to engage students in dance activities.

Over the years, Elisabet has had the opportunity to perform in the Tri-State area of New York, Canada and Mexico.

Elisabet has now returned home to Ottawa and in pursuing her passion for dance and vision to explore dance with children, she opened the doors to Common Ground Dance Academy in 2020.

Her passion for teaching children the art of dance is evident in her guidance and support for her students.

As Elisabet continues to pursue her passion for dance and to teach the art of dance, she now sees her vision to offer her love for dance to children of all ages and opened the doors to Common Ground Dance Academy to pass on her passion to the community.

“No matter where you come from or who you are, when we’re in the studio, we’re all on common ground” is the founding vision of Common Ground Dance Academy.