Meet The Summer Intensive Coaching Team

AcroDance

Joey Arrigo

Joey Arrigo is a dancer, acrobat, actor, and teacher currently residing downtown Toronto, ON. Joey was on tour with Cirque du Soleil’s VOLTA as the principal character of “Waz”. He was also part of Cirque du Soleil’s KOOZA as “The Trickster”. Joey was featured on 90.7 FM Los Angeles IMRU Radio with Michael Taylor Gray on his segment “Storytellers”. Joey was on faculty with JUMP Dance Convention and was a member of Shaping Sound Dance Company’s first national tour in 2013. Since 2015, Joey has worked with Acrobatic Arts in creating tutorials for Acrobatic Dance found on YouTube, Instagram and for The Acrobatics Arts Training Program. On top of many film and television credits, Joey was one of Canada’s Top 20 dancers on CTV’s “So You Think You Can Dance Canada”, and soon after, went on to perform for Ukraine’s “Everybody Dance”. Joey was a choreographer’s assistant to Mia Michaels on So You Think You Can Dance Canada, seasons 1, 2, and 3. In 2012, Joey was on a world tour with Rasta Thomas and The Bad Boys of Dance where he began his career dancing, choreographing, and teaching worldwide. This past summer, Joey was one of 5 dancers to be featured in the work of Jera Wolfe at “Festival Des Artes” in Saint-Saveur, QC under the direction of Guillaume Côté. Joey is currently working with Red Sky Performance and was seen featured in their work entitled “The Clan” as a part of CBC Gem’s art special “New Monuments (Luminato Project),” and on David Suzuki’s “The Nature of Things''. He was recently seen as “Jerry, The Aerobic Vampire” In season 3 of “What We Do in The Shadows.” Joey is now also known as “Vita Love”, The newest member of the Toronto Drag family, “The Haus of Love.” Vita has just premiered her first acrobatic short film alongside Woody Fox and Director, Francis Luta. The Youtube video can also be seen in five film festivals worldwide in 2022

Dance Medecine, Anatomy, Injury Prevention, Contrast Therapy 

Tim Buckley

Tim Buckley is a Physiotherapist from Melbourne, Australia.  He has worked exclusively with elite ballet dancers, circus artists and orchestral musicians during his 15 year career and has spoken twice at IADMS conferences in Australia and the USA. He was one of two full time physios with The Australian Ballet from 2006-2008 and toured Australia, China, England and France. He joined Cirque du Soleil in 2009 and toured Japan, South America and North America with ‘Corteo’ and ‘Quidam’, before settling in Montréal to work at Cirque’s international headquarters as the Supervisor of Performance Medicine. Tim then toured again as the Head Physiotherapist on Cirque du Soleil’s production, ‘Kurios – Cabinet of Curiosities’ in 2014-15, before moving back to Melbourne in 2016. After another year at The Australian Ballet and completing a Masters of Sports Physiotherapy, Tim re-joined Cirque du Soleil where he worked as a ‘fly-in’ Head Physiotherapist on several touring shows including Amaluna, Volta and Crystal as well as in Montreal  on various creation projects, until March 2020. Tim now co-manages the Australia / New Zealand / Asia divisions of Acrobatic Arts as well as Aerial Arts. He is our consultant Physiotherapist, providing input on the continuing development of our syllabus and programs. Now based in London, Ontario, Tim and his wife Meaghan own/operate ‘The Academy’ - an aerial and acrobatic studio with two locations. 

Acro Technique, Tumbling

Trish Thompson Creamer

Trish Thompson-Creamer started her training in competitive artistic gymnastics.  After much practice and years of hard work, Trish became well-established in the gymnastics community as a coach and judge for the Ontario Gymnastics Federation.  During this time, Trish also explored the world of dance which soon became her true passion.  She eventually chose to stay in the dance world, building a reputation as a talented and creative teacher/choreographer with her forte being acrobatics.

In 1992 Trish opened the doors to Rythum Plus Dance Company which is now celebrating 25 years in Stoney Creek, Ontario.  Since that time, Trish has become a nationally-renowned teacher, choreographer and adjudicator, achieving much recognition and acclaim in the dance community.  Trish is a member of Dance Masters of America Chapter #38 where she is a certified acrobatics examiner and is currently the president of the chapter.  Most recently, Trish has also become a member of the Acrobatic Arts faculty where she is involved in the discussion of the syllabus, running modules, and travelling across North America to teach acrobatic workshops.

Trish's dancers have attained a high level of prestige on the competitive dance circuit.  Many of her students have held regional and national titles including Miss Dance of America 2008, Junior Mister Dance of America 2010, Teen Miss Dance of America 2011, Teen Mister Dance of America 2013, and Miss Dance of America 2013, for all of Dance Masters of America.  Trish has also had dancers achieve Junior Dancer of the Year and Young Dancer of the Year for American Dance Awards.  Her students have seen much professional success performing on cruise ships, stage, television and film as dancers, actors, singers, and circus artists.  Most recently, her choreography and students have been featured on various seasons of the Family Channel's hit TV show, The Next Step.  Trish’s passion to educate, create, and inspire young dancers also led her to co-own the dance competition, Dance Odyssey, in the year 2000.

Contortion, Hand Balancing, Aerial Hoop, Aerial Silks

Emily Torres

Emily Torres is an Aerialist/Contortionist from Clearwater Florida. Emily has been training in circus arts for over 10 years in Florida, New York and Montreal and has been fortunate enough to be trained under former cirque du Soleil performer and world renowned coach Meaghan Wegg. Emily has gone on to help many of her own students of all ages and skill levels reach their goals. When not teaching Emily can be found performing aerial and contortion acts all around the world in America, Montreal and Macau China, with companies such as Moving Arts of Tampa bay, Stufish Asia, Creativiva, and quixotic fusion.

Acro Technique, Tumbling

Vicki Fletcher

Vicki Fletcher was born and currently lives in Ontario Canada and has been dancing since the age of 2. She soon realized that her love for all forms of dance was something she wanted to share with others through teaching. She began teaching at the age of 17 and has been doing it ever since. Vicki brings 25 years of teaching experience in jazz,tap,acro,lyrical, stretch and conditioning and musical theatre. 

Vicki graduated from Dance Masters of America's Teacher's Training School at Kent State University and the University of New York in Buffalo and is also certified through the Ontario's Gymnastics Federation.

Vicki has adjudicated dance competitions and has taught workshops at many studios in Canada. She feels it is very important to stay current with your training so attends workshops and conventions  whenever she can. She has won many awards for her creative and innovative choreography and her students have won numerous awards,scholarships and titles. Many have gone on to pursue their own careers in dance whether it be performing in companies or on cruise ships, studying dance in University and becoming teachers themselves. 

Through her years of teaching Vicki has become more and more passionate  towards the acro aspect of dance and has had great success in building a strong acro studio. This love for acro and the desire to see it done safely by teachers and students is what makes being a part of Acrobatic Arts so exciting for her.

She is looking forward to working with students and teachers from all over the world who share her passion for acro.

Aerial Straps, AcroDance

Dean Murrell

Coming Soon!

Forest City First Aid

Brandon Ryu

Brandon is the owner of Forest City First Aid Inc providing first aid & CPR training to health care workers, corporations and our community to better prepare them for emergencies. His company provides a better learning experience for his students and has the highest rating in London, ON according to Google reviews. He is also a pool manager with the city of London aquatics and is a former national-level swimmer. 

Aerial Pole, Flying Pole, Strength + Conditioning

Suzy Giannakopoulos

Suzy is a CPFA certified Multi award winning professional pole dancer from London Ontario. Over the years she was blessed to competed, teach and perform internationally. Suzy began her pole journey in 2011 and began teaching and performing in 2015. She is known for her power tricks! Suzy will do anything for her students and loves watching them grow into their own.

Roller Skating

Kelly Swain

Kelly brings fun to her classes right from the start! Her classes are always upbeat and she treats everyone like family.

Kelly took on roller skating from a very young age and grew to a professional level with competitions and now performing. She will make you feel safe have fun while learning new skills! 

In Mid 2008 she became a certified pole fitness instructor and has since shared her love of pole with 1000’s of students. Kelly is also certified in Cardio Hula hoop (2009) and Aerial Arts (2019).

​

Baton Twirling, Balancing, Flexibility 

Jill Ford

Jill was originally from Regina, Saskatchewan where she danced competitively in the areas of ballet, jazz, tap, acrobatics and baton twirling for 17 years. She went on to teaching  dance, baton and acrobatics  in her home city  and now resides in Edmonton, Alberta where she has opened her own studio specializing in Acrobatics and Baton Twirling.  She completed  her  bachelor of Education (k-5) at the University of Regina  which has furthered her expertise as an acrobatic and dance  teacher. Jill has travelled the  world  as an athlete and coach representing Canada at 8 World Baton Twirling Championships and now continually is committed to keeping young children involved in the areas of acrobatics, dance and baton twirling.  She is very happy and honoured to be part of the Acrobatic Arts staff and loves sharing her passion and knowledge with students and teachers!

 Jill's credentials include: Bachelor of Education,  Canadian Dance Teachers Association  Certified Teacher, Canadian Baton Twirling Association Level 2 Coach, Inductee of the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.

Nutrition management, Mental Health, Aerial + Acro Assistant

Glynnis Pardo

Glynnis began dancing at the age of 6. She is accomplished in Acrobatic, Jazz, Contemporary, Tap, Ballet & Hip Hop dance

disciplines, competing at provincial and national levels. She has

received multiple awards and special recognitions by judges for

her performances. She received

her Associate Teaching level From BATD in 2008. Glvnnis' love for dance lead her to complete a Bachelor of Science in Honours Kinesiology, from University of Waterloo in 2013, Glynnis chose to continue her education and earned a Master's of Science in Biomechanics from the University of Waterloo in 2016. She then broadened her focus to include American Ballroom Smooth and Rhythm: Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango, Rumba,

Cha Cha, Swing (East and West Coast), Merengue, Samba, Mambo, and Theatre Arts. She earned a Double Honours Bronze

Teaching Certification in 2018 while coaching and competing in American Ballroom. She was featured in showcase performances for national audiences.

Glynnis returned to her first love; teaching, after the birth of her son. She looks forward to combining her training, expertise, and research acumen to bring a unique scientific

approach to dancer development. Glynnis is thrilled to be part of an elite team of coaches focused on student goals and development.

Aerial Hoop, Contortion, Hand Balancing

Meaghan Wegg

Meaghan grew up dancing where she studied Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop and Acro. In 2001, Meaghan was accepted in to L’Ecole Nationale de Cirque in Montreal where she specialized in aerial hoop and contortion with additional training in Ballet, Contemporary and Modern. Upon graduation in 2005, Meaghan performed professionally as a principal dancer in many roles, including the cast of ‘Tomorrow’ (Pigeons, International) and the cast of ‘Loft’ (7 Fingers). From 2009 – 2012, Meaghan performed on tour globally with Cirque Du Soleil’s ‘Quidam’ as a feature aerialist.

Following an extremely successful performance career, Meaghan shifted her focus to coaching and choreography. In 2013 Meaghan graduated with a diploma from L’Ecole Nationale de Cirque (Montreal, Canada) with a major in Research of Acrobatics, and a minor in Hand to Hand partnering for dancers.

Currently she works as a private acrobatic coach and choreographer, and attracts students from around the world with a focus on career development, choreography and professional stage preparation. Meaghan founded Move With The Beat dance competitions in 2013. She is the Australia, New Zealand and Singapore Division manager for Acrobatic Arts since 2015. Most recently she has launched her Aerial Arts Online syllabus guiding teachers with her course for their students and class preparations. Meaghan started The Academy Circus as a local London, Ontario circus and acrobatic facility in 2017. The Academy now has 2 locations, London and Clinton Ontario. We strive on safety, education and performance opportunities!

Meaghan recently has been hired for global choreographic projects in Australia, Montreal, France, China and India creating large scale shows for special events, Casino shows and year end performance university shows. She is passionate about welcoming everyone into the performance industry while sharing tips and tools about making it a reality. She is now an on call Artistic Coach with Cirque du Soleil. Meaghan is very happy to be settled in her home town of London Ontario with her small family!