Corner Brook Dance Hub

Instructors and Staff

Candice Pike

With over 20 years of experience as a dance educator, Candice is consistently exploring new approaches to enrich her teaching and building new initiatives, like Corner Brook Dance Hub! Her approach to dance teaching aims to empower dancers of all ages and abilities to uncover their incredible potential for movement and creativity, regardless of dance genre. Rooted in experiential anatomy, developmental movement, and fundamental choreographic concepts, Candice's unique approach to movement and creativity education has been shared in various settings, including private studios, community organizations, and professional environments across Canada.

She has developed and taught integrated arts curricula in public schools and post-secondary institutions, including Memorial University where she has developed and taught dance courses in the BFA theatre program and at the graduate level in Arts Management. Candice also offers professional development for educators, advocating for the widespread benefits of quality dance education. Many of her students have pursued further dance education at renowned institutions such as York University, University of Calgary, Sheridan College, St Clair College, St. Lawrence College, and School of the Toronto Dance Theatre, among others.

Beyond teaching, Candice frequently works as a creator and collaborator in professional dance projects, develops and facilitations arts engagement and mentorship programs for provincial organizations, and is dedicated to developing a culture and community that supports the arts through her work in administration and management. You can learn more about Candice’s other pursuits here.

M.A (Dance); RSDE; n.d

Select Credentials:

  • M.A. (Dance), York University

  • ISMETA Registered Somatic Dance Educator

  • Certificate in Dance Education, National Dance Education Organization (USA)

  • Dance Education Labratory, Facilitators-in-Training Program Participant

  • Certified Teacher of Body Mind Dancing™

  • Moving for Life Certified Instructor (for those impacted by cancer and older adults)

  • Naturopathic Designation: the Academy of Naturopaths and Naturotherapists (for somatic dance therapy)

  • Ongoing participation in seminars and workshops focused on early childhood dance, accessibility, and culturally responsive dance education.

Jessicah Blanchard

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Amelia Hironaka

Originally from Calgary, Alberta she now calls Corner Brook home.  Amelia began dancing over 20 years ago, training extensively and competing in tap, jazz, ballet, musical theatre and lyrical.  She earned her Advanced 2 with Distinction from the Royal Academy of Dance.  Amelia went onto pursue dance and musical theatre at Randolph College for Performing Arts in Toronto.  After graduation she has performed, choreographed and taught both nationally and internationally.  Along with her colleague she developed and taught the inaugural year of a performing arts program for Kindergarten to Grade 3 in Amman, Jordan.  Since teaching over seas she has had the opportunity to tour North America as the dance captain and swing with shows like Disenchanted, Evil Dead: The Musical and We Will Rock You. 

In 2016 she came to Newfoundland for the first time to perform and choreograph for The Stephenville Theatre Festival and absolutely fell in love with the province that she’s returned almost every summer since.  Most recently she performed with The Charlottetown Festival as Ruby Gillis in Anne of Green Gables the Musical and Jersey Boys.  She has a passion for teaching and inspiring the next generation of dancers and performers and is so grateful and excited to be a part of the amazing arts community in Corner Brook!  Looking forward to seeing you in the studio at Corner Brook Dance Hub!

Hilary Knee

Hilary Knee is a dance artist, choreographer, and dance instructor based in Corner Brook, NL, and has a diploma in contemporary dance from Dance Arts Institute (formerly The School of Toronto Dance Theatre). She studied pedagogy and anatomy as well as Graham, Limon, and Horton techniques, ballet, improvisation, composition, and clowning as part of her post-secondary education in dance.

As a dance instructor, Hilary values healthy teaching practices, positivity, curiosity, learning through dance, building new skills, encouraging confidence in the young dancers she teaches, as well as a strong technical foundation.

Hilary has enjoyed teaching full-time since returning home to NL in 2021, teaching in Corner Brook (Dance Studio West, Graham Academy), Deer Lake (Nomad Stages) and as part of Kittiwake Dance Theatre’s Summer Intensive faculty (2022, 2023). Hilary has experience instructing students ages 2 to adult in dance styles including ballet, contemporary, modern, jazz, pre pointe, creative movement, dance fitness, and more! Knee has experience teaching private, semi-private lessons, and group classes.

Robert Azevedo

You’ll see Robert around the Dance Hub — in the office and the classroom — as a Corner Brook Dance Hub’s Office Administrator and Rotational Instructor.

Robert holds a BFA from Simon Fraser University's School of Contemporary Arts in BC. Their first dance teaching experience was as a teenaged tap instructor, but it wasn't until they started offering Zoom beginner ballet classes for adults during the Covid lockdowns that they learned to enjoy teaching. As a dancer and choreographer Robert tries to encourage pleasure, joy, and collaboration -- these values carry over into the dance classroom where curiosity and play are integrated.

Trained in ballet, jazz, musical theatre, Cunningham and Graham techniques, and contact improvisation -- Robert seamlessly integrates layers of traditions into the curriculum.  

Amy Andrews

Amy was the owner and Artistic Director of Dance Studio West from 1998-2024. Amy's work with Dance Studio West brought many projects her way. From 2001 - 2004 she worked as a Master Class Teacher at the Sir Wilfred Grenfell College Department of Fine Arts, where she taught movement and dance to acting students. In 2000, Amy began choreographing Theatre Newfoundland Labrador’s annual community musical. She has also choreographed for the Stephenville Theatre Festival, The Off-Broadway Players, and has worked with Rising Tide Theatre, The Stage West Theatre Festival, and Gros Morne Summer Music.

Amy has helped bring dance to Corner Brook audiences by creating and choreographing all-dance interpretations of The Wizard of Oz, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and Sleeping Beauty as well as producing musicals like CATS and Footloose. Other favourite projects include choreographing Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Annie, The Sound of Music, Chicago, The Rocky Horror Show, Oliver, The Fantasticks, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, which she also directed for The Off-Broadway Players.  She has also choreographed Gros Morne Summer Music’s Productions of “Splash” and “Borrowed Black” which saw dancers performing around and in Glynmill Inn Pond. “Splash” won the Achievement in Community Excellence Award for Arts Event of the Year.

Aside from dance and choreography, Amy's other interests include acting, directing, fashion, cooking and a YouTube channel along with other social media.