Lisa Hart
Owner/Director

To be a well rounded teacher, Lisa studied various forms of dance, as well as child psychology, to not only teach the art, but to apply the healing power of learning an athletic skill on the level of her students. She excels in her ability to relate to her students, as well as communicate with them on a level they understand. She received her degree as a transfer student from Mount Saint Vincent to BYU Idaho. 

Lisa first toured with an American Folk Dance team to China, representing the group at festivals with other dancers from across the world whom she was also privileged to observe and befriend. The experience left a strong impression of the influence of culture imbedded in dance, on a global and personal level.

Lisa then returned to Canada, where she began her study as a competitive dance teacher / choreographer for Danceworks, an Alberta dance school. During her five year training, she achieved and maintained top scoring in competition as a dancer and a teacher. Her students won top marks and medals with pieces like Sweet Honey and Bells For Her. 

Along with her professional career, Lisa has also taken the time to further her support of the arts, and support the needs of the community, with charitable performances for organizations such as the Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Aids Connection.

Now nurturing over twenty years of training and experience, Lisa has assumed the directorship of Dartmouth Dance Academy in addition to her role as director of its competitive dance division. Each year her students feel the success of her training and her expertise with hundreds of medals won in their respective categories at festivals such as the Millennium Dance Festival and CanDance.  

Lisa Hart is currently serving as an examiner for the Atlantic Division of CDTA in the stage division, and the National Board of Directors. She is concentrated on helping her students grow and experience life through the art and education of dance, as she has had the opportunity to do.

Email Miss Lisa at director@dartmouthdance.ca

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Raven Marshall

Raven is a second-generation dancer and teacher with 20 years experience. The family-owned and operated dance studio was her second home. In later years, she was studio and the performing company’s co-director and creative advisor. Miss Raven has studied with Dance Masters of America and at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is certified by the Dance Masters of America Inc. in classical ballet and modern dance. She has also studies with the Philadanco’s Peaches and Holly Wright and has worked with Chuck Davis’ American Dance Ensemble and The Moscow State Ballet. Miss Raven’s choreography and dancing have won many awards and titles in the US and she has been a professional judge for several national dance competitions. Miss Raven has an uncanny ability to work with dancers of all ages, always keeping structure, technique and “fun” in mind. She has recently relocated to Canada and we are delighted to have her experience, talent and enthusiastic contribution to our program.

Email Miss Raven at missraven@dartmouthdance.ca

Erin Cusack, M.C.D.T.A.,
Advanced 1 R.A.D.,
Artistic Director
Erin began her dance training at the age of four in Fall River, Nova Scotia.As a child, she received a diverse dance background in ballet, jazz and tap and studied the British Association of Teachers of Dancing and the Canadian Dance Teachers’ Association syllabi. At the age of 12, she began training at Dartmouth Dance Academy where she added contemporary and hip hop dance to her training under the direction of Jacqueline Wright and Lisa Hart.

Erin is a former member of Footsteps, through which she gained much success as a performer in the local competition circuit receiving various gold medal placements, top mark awards and scholarships. In addition to her dance training Erin also studied drama and spent ten years training in classical singing under Sharon Rae DeWolfe, with whom Erin was able to expand her performance experience to include musical theatre and classical repertoire.

Erin’s post secondary pursuit of dance took place at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts (MCPA) upon acceptance into the Dance Teacher Training Program. Throughout her three years of full time study at the MCPA, Erin trained rigorously in the ballet (Royal Academy of Dancing), pilates, contemporary, jazz and tap which took her technical proficiency as a dancer to a new level. Erin’s dance teacher training includes the extensive study of dance history, pedagogy, child development, anatomy and music. Erin graduated the Teacher Training Program with honours and full teaching qualifications from the Canadian Dance Teachers’ Association.

Erin is active in the dance community as a full time dance teacher to Dartmouth Dance Academy, the Footsteps Dance Team and the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts. Erin shares her love of dance with her students through her energetic teaching style. She is committed to providing diligent instruction of dance with a focus on healthy and balanced training. Erin continues to challenge herself as a performer and choreographer of the local jazz dance company FUNKtion Dance Co. Erin is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion at Dalhousie University.

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Rebecka Smith
Rebecka began her training in dance at age 9 in classical Jazz and won numerous gold and silver medals and high mark trophy's at many dance festivals throughout her younger years. During her final year in high school, Rebecka’s dance instructor handed over the school to her and she has grown it tremendously to 2 dance locations with over 300 students annually and a very successful competitive dance program.

In 2004, Rebecka attended Winter Dance Fest at Broadway Dance Center in New York City where she danced with LA hip hop sensation Chris Moss, (assistant choreographer for the Disney movie "Hot Chicks" and was a dancer on the Jessica Simpson Dream Chaser world tour) and dance legend Frank Hatchett who has worked with Britney Spears, N-Sync & Janet Jackson. While there, she also was a part of an off Broadway Dance Show at Martin Luther King High School!

The following year, she travelled back to New Jersey to once again take part in the Pulse workshop where she danced with Mia Michaels, Brian Friedman, Wade Robson and Dave Scott. The following year, she took 10 of her dancers for a week to New York City and studied again with these amazing choreographers where she also received her teacher training program from Broadway Dance Center as well as a recognition award from Dance Teacher Magazine!

In March 2010, Rebecka took 14 of her dancers to Disney World and performed in Downtown Disney for hundreds of people as well as participated in an exciting Disney Magic Music Days workshop where her students got to learn real dances and choreography used in some of Disney’s amazing shows throughout the parks! An amazing dance venture to Hawaii is already in the works for her Dance Company as well as NYC for 2012!

Over the last 10 years as a competitive choreographer, Rebecka has won numerous dance titles including 2006 Eastern Canadian Modern Champions and Millennium Cup Gold Medal Winner for her well known choreography "Hide & Seek", 2 Eastern Canadian Dance titles for 2007 and won placings at the 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Millennium Cup Finals in Dartmouth at one of Atlantic Canada’s Largest Competitions. Her dancers have won titles allowing them to travel to World Cup Finals in both British Columbia and Florida! Along with these titles, Rebecka has received over 700 choreographic awards to date.

Her newest venture is turning her competitive dance program within the Annapolis Valley into a Non- Profit Dance Company which will house a recreational program run and taught soley by her student teachers, a full and part time competitive program and a performance company where she plans on choreographing and producing large dance productions to take on tour throughout Atlantic Canada. Her company houses 30 members this season with over 70 pieces to showcase. This upcoming season, Rebecka will be debuting 6 choreographic pieces within her Performance Company.

Rebecka is a member of Dance Nova Scotia, The Canadian Dance Assembly, Perform NS and is a faculty member of the Music Department at Acadia University in Wolfville where she teaches movement. She is also a faculty member of Dartmouth Dance Academy’s Footsteps Dance Team in Dartmouth, and has somehow found time to travel and adjudicate dance competitions all over Atlantic Canada!

A married mother of 2 boys aged 11 and 16, Rebecka strives herself on her continuing education not only for herself, but for her students and her teachers and believes her reputation for inspiring young people to be the best dancers they can be is one of the primary reasons for the success of her and her school. This July, she will begin her 3 year dance study in the ADAPT dance syllabus which she hopes will take her dancers technique and training to a whole, new level. She will be travelling to Toronto for 1 week over the next 3 years to take teaching classes in ballet, jazz, tap, modern and many others in hopes to further advance her own personal knowledge and teaching abilities as a dance teacher.

She feels a teacher's influence on the future of a student extends far beyond the obvious physical benefits and that an education in dance benefits the body, mind and soul. In addition, Rebecka strives to develop confidence, self-esteem and self-discipline. Her teaching philosophy is based on instilling passion for dance while nurturing creativity as well as encouraging teamwork and teaching life skills that will help students succeed in other aspects of their lives.

Email Miss Rebecka at precisiondance@live.ca