Margaret AustinAdministration
Assistant
Give a man a fish,
feed him for one day. Teach a man to
fish feed him for a lifetime. ~ Lao Tzu
Margaret serves as
a member of the Administration Team. She is best known for her love and helpfulness
of children, and distinct desire to see them strive, especially in the areas of
education and their overall mental and emotional health. Her training in childhood education gives her
scope in being able to provide useful support and guidance to young learners. Additionally, she hails with experience in the
area of Public Administration affording her significant knowledge in that regard
and allowing her to make valuable contribution to the administrative team.
Margaret loves working with people and has an amazing sense of humour.
Voice & Acting Tutor
Difficulties mastered are opportunities won~ Winston Churchill
Dance educator, tutor, choreographer, movement director, and performing artist.
Olivia Hall has been shaping the lives of children and adults through movement and dance for the past 15 years. When it comes to teaching no one can deny that Olivia is a natural, and her work ethic, energy, focus, dedication, and passion is limitless.
Olivia has and continues to work within the dance and performing arts community, sharing her knowledge and experience to local institutions, and after- school program organizations.
Some of her works created for various junior/ children show productions include Operation Triple Threats’ musicals- 'True Colors', 'Fame Jr', 'The Little Mermaid', 'Honk Jr’, and ‘Matilda’. Youth on Stage Productions, the Ebcci Summer Arts Programme (heading the dance section for 5 years), the Oistins Fish Festival Gospel Evening, The St. Ursuline Convent School Pantomimes- ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and ‘Enchanted Wood’. And to name a few, Mustardseed Productions'- 'Once upon a Mustardseed', 'Out of this world', 'Beautiful Creatures', 'Bridgetown Piper', and 'The Skin I'm In'.
Her dedication to youth extends to partnerships with other companies producing successful all-round summer camp programs; and her travels extend regionally and internationally to countries such as St. Kitts and Nevis, teaching workshop classes at the Children's Dance Theatre.
Olivia continues to cater to young dancers/ performers who want to further develop their experience, knowledge, dance and performance skills, by providing them with diverse platforms that they can model to reach their goals.
Janelle HeadleyCreative Director / Founder / TrusteeVoice & Acting Tutor
Fail forward. ~
As a young girl, on the island of Barbados, Janelle Headley would take every opportunity to be involved in the arts, and would display her creativity in singing, dancing, acting, painting, and drawing. For her this was the best way she could express herself. At the age of 17, music became her main focus, so she attended The King’s University College, Edmonton Alberta, where she studied classical voice, involving herself as a member of the College’s Chamber and Concert Choirs. After spending a crucial year consolidating her music skills, the young artist felt a burning desire to learn more about Jaz, so in the summer of 2001 she moved East and enrolled in York University’s (Toronto) Jazz Program. On her graduation from York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Specialised Honours Degree in Music, Janelle performed at numerous events including the Barbados Jazz Festival and the TD Toronto Jazz Festival. In addition to performing, Janelle has always been passionate about performing arts education. Her desire is for everyone to experience the joy of actively participating in the arts. In 2005 she founded Live the Music! Breathe the Music©, a company dedicated to offering exceptional training to aspiring vocalists and musicians by way of private lessons and workshops. Her expertise, particularly in vocal performance technique, is often called upon by artists to enhance their shows and studio recordings. Six years after launching Live-Breathe Music! Janelle incorporated dance and theatre through Operation Triple Threat: Sing. Dance. Act. Her goal is to use the performing arts to inspire, to question and to be a catalyst for change. She believes that the message is as critical as the medium, and hope that the opportunities she provides, will help other artists to be the best they can be.
Pamela HeadleyAdministration Assistant/Meals Programme Director
The same light you see in others is shining within you too. ~ Morgan Harper Nichols
Teisha Smith-GuthrieDance Tutor / Choreographer
Always do what makes you happy. ~ Harold Austin Smith
Teisha Smith-Guthrie began her training in Classical Ballet and Jazz at Louise Woodvine Dance Academy in Barbados. She participated in many charity shows, pantomime productions and various cultural arts festivals. In 2002, Teisha left Barbados to continue her training at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre Performance. There she had the pleasure of working with inspiring choreographers and guest teachers such as Vicki St. Denys, Kathleen Rea, Patricia Beatty, Marie José, Allen Kaeja, Kenny Pearl and Bakari E. Lindsay.
After graduating, Teisha worked for dance companies such as AfroLatino Dance Company, REAson d’etre Productions, Collective of Black Artists (COBA) and performed at numerous prestigious events such as Dance Ontario Weekend, Wedding S.O.S, a Slice Network TV series and Festival International de Danse Encore to name a few. Teisha toured Canada, Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados and England and worked with international artists like Jeanguy Saintus, Vincent Mantose, Sis Robin Hibbert, L’Antoinette Stines and Barwen Tavaziva.
Teisha Smith-Guthrie offers an insight in commercial, film, television and print work for companies like Dove, Mazda, Canadian Tire, Campbell’s Soup, Much Music, BravoFact TV and CP24 TV.
Teisha choreographed for Infinity Arts Productions ‘Mute The Musical’ written and produced by Alinka Angelova for the Toronto Fringe Festival (2014) and was dance captain for Asah Productions ‘Obeah Opera’ created and produced by Nicole Brookes in Fall for Dance North (2018) and then in Toronto’s International Arts Festival, Luminato (2019). In 2021, Teisha attained her Masters in Creative Arts with specialization in Arts Education and Entrepreneurship from the University of the West Indies.
Teisha is grateful to have had all these wonderful experiences in her career as she continues to grow artistically.
Johari TaittDance Tutor
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. ~ Edith Wharton
Johari started dancing at age 5, training in ballet, modern and jazz. A former student of the Louise Woodvine Dance Academy and Operation Triple Threat, Johari made the bold decision to forego her upper six year, and at age 16 relocated to the United States to attend Interlochen Arts Academy as a dance major. She thereafter graduated magna cum laude from the University of Arizona with a BFA in Dance Performance. Throughout her student years, she was highly recognized both academically and as a dancer being inducted into the National Association of High School & College Scholars and receiving numerous dance awards. Johari dances professionally with Norwegian Creative Studios and teaches at various studios across the island.
