Meet the Performers & Designers
York Harmony Chorus
York Harmony Chorus (YHC) is an award-winning, a cappella ensemble dedicated to promoting and celebrating the Barbershop style of music. We are a vibrant group of women (there are over 50 of us!) who meet once a week in Sharon, Ontario to rehearse and share in the art of four part harmony.
York Harmony Chorus was chartered in 1970 and is currently, under the direction of Martha DeClerq. We are one of over 500 choruses that comprise Sweet Adelines International, a highly respected, worldwide organization of women singers that consists of show choruses and quartets across the globe. Sweet Adelines International has over 30,000 members extending five continents and is dedicated to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education, competition and performance. This independent, nonprofit music education association is one of the world's largest singing organizations for women!
YHC is a part of Region 16 which includes over 20 choruses along the shores of Lake Ontario. Once a year our chorus competes in our Annual Regional Competition in Syracuse, NY and we are proud to say that this year we placed 3rd overall and 2nd in our division!
YHC is available for performances in a variety of venues. Our eclectic and large repertoire includes contemporary, jazz, swing, broadway and Christmas arrangements sure to please music lovers of all ages. We also have quartets and double quartets available for performances in smaller venues.
Jewell Cormier Choreographer - Dancer
Jewell began dancing at the age of eight at In Harmony Dance in Newmarket, ON and had a very successful competitive career, being recognized for her performances and choreography with many overall awards and scholarships. In addition, she completed the P.A.E.C. acrobatics examinations up to the pre-professional level and the R.A.D. ballet exams up to the Advanced 2 level. She has taught dance in a variety of styles for the Town of Newmarket and East Gwillimbury, as well as at In Harmony. She has also had the opportunity to perform in many community events across the GTA including Bradford Fine Artists in 2015 and Dusk Dances Barrie in 2018. In 2015, Jewell became an apprentice with Simcoe Contemporary Dancers, a professional dance company where she performed and worked among professional dancers, including the opportunity to perform in Susan Kendal’s full length work, Cumulonimbus and the Fable Keepers. She is now a guest artist with the company. Last summer Jewell trained at The National Ballet of Canada’s intensive as well as Ryerson University’s two week dance intensive. She continues to attend conventions and workshops to further develop herself as an artist. Jewell is now attending Ryerson University’s Performance Dance program. She is thrilled to be a part of Inception High Tea event and hopes you enjoy the show!
Erika MacNeil - Model
Dancer by training, teacher by trade, writer by choice. Mother of teens, owner of mutts, member at large. Ukulele student, art enthusiast, karaoke fan. Happy to be back on the boards! Much love to Shirin and Jody, special thanks to Jewell and my tribe for sharing the stage.
Bethany Heemskerk - Model
Since receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria, Bethany has loved working as a Front of House Coordinator for the Newmarket Theatre, and taking on various acting gigs. She has been acting with Strutt Central agency for three years. Bethany has also worked as a director with children and special needs adults. She is a circus arts enthusiast, an avid writer, and a sucker for community events. It has been a joy for Bethany to be part of Inception this year, having met such wonderful ladies, and raising support for a worthy organization.
Jennelle Dickson - Model
Jennelle is presently in Grade 8 and enjoys a variety of extra-curricular activities including Rep Volleyball, Music, Skiing and Dance. She has participated in a variety of dance forms including; contemporary, acro, jazz and ballet. Jennelle is interested in modelling and this year she will also be training as an assistant Ski Instructor. When she’s not busy with her extra-curricular activities, she enjoys playing with her dog, Toby. Jennelle is very excited and proud to part of the Inception High Tea and Fashion Show to raise money for Inn From the Cold. She wants to share her love of dance and fashion to give back to the
community.
Alyza Reyes- Model
Alyza Reyes is is a artistically involved student. Over her last few years in high school, she had become majorly involved in many different strands of art including drama, visual art, music and dance. This attribution has given her a position as a dance teacher in Newmarket working with young children. Her dedication to the arts at her high school and outside of school strongly displays her overall work ethic and reliability she puts forth to everything she part takes in. She is so thankful to have met such wonderful people while helping out with a very important cause.
Ashley Romano - Model
Jennelle is presently in Grade 8 and enjoys a variety of extra-curricular activities including Rep Volleyball, Music, Skiing and Dance. She has participated in a variety of dance forms including; contemporary, acro, jazz and ballet. Jennelle is interested in modelling and this year she will also be training as an assistant Ski Instructor. When she’s not busy with her extra-curricular activities, she enjoys playing with her dog, Toby. Jennelle is very excited and proud to part of the Inception High Tea and Fashion Show to raise money for Inn From the Cold. She wants to share her love of dance and fashion to give back to the
community.
Erin McKinlay - Model
Erin is a mental health child and youth worker with a diploma from Fanshawe college. She’s been involved with AOS Newmarket since February of 2017. What she loves most about it is the community of empowered women it has introduced her to and that it is such a warm, positive, encouraging environment she feels that every woman should experience. As a team member she hopes to pass this experience on to our new recruits. She also loves the outside experiences being a part of this group allows her to do such as this charity event.
Grace Fisher - Model
Grace has been dancing with AOS for 2 seasons now and has loved everything about the heels dance community since. Grace is a paediatric nurse, lifelong learner, yogi, dancer, health enthusiast, older sister and volunteer traveler. Grace is driven, positive and passionate about all that she does. She couldn’t think of a better opportunity to combine her love of dance and performance with raising money for an incredible cause that is Inn from the Cold.
Holly Wrathall - Model
At a young age Holly found her passion for dance at the Stephan Leacok Theatre! She grew up taking Ballet and Jazz classes with the occasional Hip Hop class. Holly attended UOIT and obtained a Bachelor of Science Honours degree in Chemistry. It was at university that Holly first danced competitively! After
leaving university she found a very limited number of adult dance classes until stumbling across a former UOIT dancer’s video taken at AOS. Holly was ecstatic to see there was an Army of Sass location in Newmarket and stepped out of her comfort zone in August of 2017. She’s been with AOS ever since and loves everything about it! She looks forward to being a part of this fundraiser.
Kaitlyn O'Brien - Model
Kaitlyn is a Health Studies graduate from York University with a dream to work at SickKids. Growing up with a rare medical condition was challenging but she become a child philanthropist at the age of 8 and has always had a strong desire to give back to the community and to this day is still striving to make a difference. Kait was a ballet dancer for 16 years but it wasn’t until she joined AOS Newmarket in the spring of 2017 where she found her love for dancing in heels.
Karen Williamson - Model
Karen Williamson is 37 years old and is an Optician by trade. Owner of an Optical store in Newmarket. She graduated from Opticianry in 2004. She loves to travel and experience new cultures and food. She loves crafts of all kinds and can sew, know, crochet, embroider, rug hook, make bobbin lace, paint and pretty much anything else. Karen is fiercely independent and a bit of a free spirit. She's been known to just throw herself into new projects without too much thought. Learning as she goes and pushing herself to learn new skills. She loves the outdoors and animals and often tries to come home with new pets, much to the chagrin of her husband. Karen was excited to get involved with Inn from the cold as a way to give back to the community and those who need it most. And it's a fun way to meet new and interesting people. Karen has been dancing with AOS Newmarket since the beginning and has not only benefited from the program herself immensely, but has loved seeing other women grow and flourish thanks to the program.
Victoria Pearson - Model
Victoria joined AOS last year after a six year break from dance, and hasn’t looked back. She loves her job in the restaurant industry and is a passionate dog mom. She enjoys photography, cooking, and a variety of outdoor activities. Victoria lives by the philosophy of “leave things better than you found them.” She tries to live a vegan and environmentally aware lifestyle and is proud to support a community improvement project like “Inn From the Cold.”
Charlotte Anketell - Model
Charlotte is a freelance journalist who has found her passion in dance.
After graduating Humber College’s Journalism and Broadcasting program, Charlotte played an integral role in the high-profile launch of Bell Media’s video on demand service, CraveTV. She now works for CTVNews.ca, as a part of their digital team writing, editing and publishing social media content.
Army of Sass has awoken her lifelong love for the art of dance and practicing choreography. Here she has not only found her confidence again, but a warm community she can relate to.
Her other passions include exploring the outdoors, gardening and reading new books.
Brittanie Jackson
Model
Melaine Hicks
Model
Jessica Halder
Model
Performers:
Mackenzie Bagdon
Brenna Barton
Vaelen Field
Lauren Grimaldi
Lily Kerr
Ava Macgillivray
Kate McKnight
Alexis Meers
Danielle Pilkington
Michelle Pilkington
Ivana Stojanovski
Lillian Thomas
Since its inception in 1993, the Stouffville Academy of Music and Dance has been setting the standard of performing arts education in Stouffville, Ontario. Music, Dance and Drama classes are offered in one convenient location in quality facilities by post secondary-educated faculty.
As the largest performing arts facility in Stouffville, The Stouffville Academy of Music and Dance remains located and committed exclusively to its hometown.
We recognize that there are several options for parents to choose from for performing arts education. We invite you to compare all of the features and options to see why we have become Stouffville's performing arts school of choice.
Jane Jacobs - Fashion Designer
"Jane Jacobs is a textile artist living in Newmarket, just north of Toronto, Canada. Her practice focuses on creating one-of-a-kind textiles with silk, wool, and handmade felt. Using plant matter, minerals, metals and food waste, her various dye techniques give each garment a unique story.
Jane has always been drawn to texture and textiles, and founded her Newmarket studio in 2012. She loves sharing her passion with others, and hosts felting, indigo, and eco printing workshops around Southern Ontario.
Dee Silkie - Fashion Designer
Dee Wilkie graduated from NBCCD in 2012 with a diploma in surface design/textiles. After graduating from school Dee started dying yards of silk fabric and collaborating with dancers, models, photographers and stylists to create gorgeous imagery. One day a photographer who Dee had worked with said to her, "Dee, guess what my boyfriend calls you? Dee Silkie." After that the name stuck and the brand Dee Silkie was born. Dee prefers to work with silks and silk blends over other fabrics because of the amazing qualities of silk. It is not only one of the oldest and luxurious fabrics of the world but it is sustainable, eco friendly, and great for your skin!
Dee Silkie is made for Silkie Girls everywhere. A Silkie girl is able to seamlessly transition from dinner at the Ritz to drinks at a funky dive bar downtown. She dresses with expensive taste, but has a disheveled unpolished look to her (think Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and The City, or Serena from Gossip Girl). Messy hair with a silk top, she is curious, playful, young at heart and slightly sensual. She smells like cherries and almonds and makes everyone at the party laugh and feel as if she has known them for years.
Elizabeth Aguilar - Fashion Designer
Elizabeth is a graduate of OCAD University specializing in painting and drawing. Her artistic approach and techniques for her paintings are inspired by textiles, especially embroidery and weaving.
Designing has been a passion she explored at a very young age and like her paintings her garments embody a lot of texture and colour. Elizabeth loves making clothes that makes people feel beautiful and powerful.
Jeff Marchment - Fashion Designer
I first began creating costumes for myself to wear to various fandom conventions almost 3 years ago. Since then I've been developing my technique in the process of creating the costume piece displayed at Inception.
Annemarie Lourenco- Fashion Designer
Annemarie Lourenco is a theatre arts performance graduate of Humber and the Second City conservatory, as well as a trained circus performer and costumer. Her love of fashion started young, designing clothes for her dolls with her mother, a seamstress, putting on fashion shows and later designing costumes for roles. Using recycled fabrics and materials, Annemarie loves expressing through fashion while finding the humour in everyday. Evoking the essence of playfulness and storytelling, she makes each piece original and unique as the people who wear them.
Ryan Duane - Musician
Hailing from Aurora, ON, singer-songwriter Ryan Duane has been performing since his youth. His passion for music began when he auditioned for the lead in a school musical, and landed the role. Fast-forward thirteen years later, and Ryan Duane has performed in several venues throughout Toronto, including The Rivoli, Burdock Music Hall and Free Times Cafe. He also recently wrapped a production with a local theatre company. With his eclectic indie-pop sound, Ryan Duane pulls influences from some of his favourite artists including Christina Aguilera, Sam Smith, Jennifer Hudson, and Adele. His debut single, Dear Mama, was released in May and his EP is set to release mid-2019. Using songwriting as an emotional outlet for his life experiences, expect no less than real and raw emotions from the tracks.
Follow Ryan Duane’s musical journey on Instagram, @RyanDuaneMusic.
The Jay Dee Band- Musician
Jay Dee is an indie/folk singer/songwriter from Richmond Hill as well as an elementary school teacher. The Jay Dee Band won first place for the 2016 Toronto Open Mic Contest and have done a variety of concerts and events in Toronto, Richmond Hill, Markham, and Stouffville. She met Todd, John, Kevin, Peter, Steve, and other incredible musicians that have helped her for a variety of events at open mics in Markham and Stouffville hosted by Kevin Ker.
Jay Dee is in the process of completing her EP with Epidemic Music.
Steve Larouche- Musician
Newmarket has been my home for 15 years, but it’s in the heart of Quebec in beautiful region of Saguenay that my life rooted itself. Raised in the Northern Canadian landscape and having some native American background inspired me to develop a strong sense of belonging and understanding of my natural surroundings. At an early age through creativity, I ‘ve learned to expand my thoughts in an artistic way. In the first part of my life I did not play any music. It’s not until my parents bought me a harmonica as a gift some 15 years ago that I develop a love for shaping sounds. Along the way, about 4 years ago, I started play this fascinating instrument which is the native American flute. I am entirely self taught and I do not read music, I feel it. I think that music is the most interesting aspect of human creativity, I now believe that art expression of all forms have the power to unify us and give us a chance to make a difference. That is why I’m always delighted to share my music for the benefit of our community and our world.