Artistic Leadership
Artemis Gordon
Artistic Director
An artistic and pedagogical authority in dance, Artemis Gordon was named Artistic Director of Arts Umbrella Dance in 1992. Since then, she has developed the program’s international recognition. Artemis has toured the Arts Umbrella Dance Company to Europe, Asia, and the United States, and fostered collaborations with companies around the world.
In 2015, Artemis secured an affiliation with Ballet BC, increasing opportunities for emerging artists and amplifying the impact of international choreographers in Vancouver. In 2016, Artemis won the YWCA Women of Distinction award in the Arts, Culture, and Design category. She was also awarded with the 2017 City of Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Awards in Dance.
Our Faculty
Senior Faculty
Sabra Perry
Ballet, Repetiteur
Sabra Perry began dancing under the guidance of Linda Klassen, and graduated from Canada’s National Ballet School. She has performed with companies including the National Ballet of Canada, Hartford Ballet, Merce Cunningham Repertory Group, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet, in works by choreographers such as George Balanchine, Merce Cunningham, Ulysses Dove, Martha Graham, Nicolo Fonte, William Forsythe, and Dwight Rhoden. She has been a ballet mistress with Complexions, a faculty member at Ballet Academy East, and a guest instructor across the United States and Canada. Sabra holds a BA in dance from SUNY/Empire State College, and is a certified Pilates Mat instructor. Sabra joined the Arts Umbrella faculty in 2012.
Lynn Sheppard
Company Rehearsal Director, Senior Jazz
Lynn trained at the Gladys Forrester School of Dance in Toronto and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. As a professional, Lynn danced for Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Judith Marcuse’s Repertory Dance Company of Canada, and JOE INK. Lynn has been teaching at Arts Umbrella for more than 20 years.
Katrina Cruickshank
Ballet, Repetiteur
Katrina Cruickshank has been a dance educator at Arts Umbrella since 2011. She is a graduate with honours from the three-year Teacher Training Program at Canada’s National Ballet School. Katrina has completed teaching qualifications with the Cecchetti Society of Canada, Registered Teacher Status with the Royal Academy of Dance and teaching qualification in National Dance. Throughout Katrina’s teacher training, she was under the tutelage of leading dance mentors such as Glenn Gilmour, Carina Bomers, Rosalie Deligioridis, Evelina Krasnova-Ganina, Teresa Randall, and Anushka Roes. Katrina has extensive knowledge in Ballet, Pointe, Repertoire Studies, Injury Prevention, History of Dance, Voice, Character Dance, Creative Movement, Modern (Irene Dowd) and Music. She continues to attend pedagogy workshops and master classes around the lower mainland with world-renowned dance educators and examiners.
Katrina held the position of Secretary as a member of the Cecchetti Society of Canada, B.C. branch from 2011-2014. She continues to adjudicate in the dance category for the District Authority Scholarship in British Columbia and was honoured to be Rehearsal Director for the 2023 Cecchetti Awards Celebration.
Katrina is currently on the artistic faculty at Arts Umbrella as a dance instructor where she enjoys teaching dancers of all ages and levels.
Andrea Hodge
Ballet, Repetiteur
Andrea began her dance training in her hometown of Syracuse, New York. She received her professional training with the Joffrey Ballet in NY, the School of the Pennsylvania Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet in California. Andrea spent eight years dancing in Columbus, Ohio under the direction of John McFall, during which time she worked with famed choreographers David Parsons, Lou Conte, Glen Tetley and James Kudelka, among others.
In 1994, she joined Ballet BC and was honoured and delighted to be a part of numerous creations with John Alleyne including “Sex is my Religion”, “Schubert”, “The Faerie Queen” and “Orpheus”. Other highlights of this time were creative processes with Mark Godden, Dominique Dumais, Serge Bennathan and Crystal Pite. Andrea has also spent time working with Electric Company Theatre, dancing in the film version of “The Score” and also behind the scenes in “Studies in Motion, The Hauntings of Eadweard Muybridge”.
Guest Faculty
An essential aspect of the Arts Umbrella Dance program is to work with a variety of international guest instructors and choreographers. Dancers acquire a broad movement vocabulary and learn how to understand and respond to a variety of choreographic visions. In addition to the immeasurable benefit of increasing their exposure and adaptability to the contemporary dance environment, these connections with the dance community create opportunities and open doors for our students to begin their careers as dance professionals.
Meet our Faculty
Visit artsumbrella.com/our-team to get to know our Dance instructors
Our Curriculum
Balanced Training
The Arts Umbrella Dance Program commits to every dancer, from their first class through to elementary, secondary, and post-secondary dance education. Unique, rigorous, and supportive, the program challenges its students in order to develop the tools needed for success in and out of the studio.
Our curriculum balances physical development with emotional and intellectual growth, allowing each dancer to build confidence and fully realize their own potential. We provide a life-changing dance education that has an impact long after graduation.
Support Us
Our Dance programs are supported by the tireless efforts of our fundraising committees. These parents, alumni, and others connected to Arts Umbrella Dance dedicate their time and talents to events and initiatives that bolster the financial sustainability of the Dance Company, ensuring more and more young dancers can achieve their artistic potential.