Faculty

Our dance teachers work as a team to provide the students with a solid foundation in dance technique, providing inspiration through our own love of dance.  All teachers are qualified and certified through the RAD and/or ISTD, and are dedicated to their dance teaching careers.

Cheryl Geddert, ARAD (RTS), LISTD

Studio Owner, Instructor & Lead Choreographer

Cheryl Geddert, owner and teacher at Mi-Cher Dance Academy, is an experienced dancer, teacher and choreographer. She has trained in Cloverdale, White Rock and Vancouver, BC, Toronto, ON, as well as London, England.

Cheryl’s love for dance began in her first ballet classes where her teacher, Mrs. Caplette, would encourage everyone to “dance like no one is watching”.

Cheryl describes dance and the ballet studio as “a magical place – a place where I continue to find peace, no matter what my day has been like. A wonderful calm comes over me while doing my barre warm-up routine. As a young dancer and to this day, dance has allowed me to get into myself and enjoy and embrace movement through space, emotionally as well as physically”.

Cheryl holds certificates for Advanced RAD, Advanced ISTD (Ballet), Intermediate ISTD (Modern and National), is a registered teacher with both the Royal Academy of Dance (ARAD) and Imperial Society Teachers of Dancing (LISTD) and continues to pursue her goal of becoming an examiner for the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) and the Imperial Society Teachers of Dancing (ISTD).

Bethany McKeever, ARAD, RAD RTS

Ballet Instructor & Choreographer

Bethany has been dancing since she was 3. Her true love for ballet inspired her to pursue becoming a registered teacher with the RAD (Royal Academy of Dance) through the CBTS (Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies) program. She finished the CBTS program in October 2017, and, as of January 2018, holds her RAD Registered Teacher Status.  She is excited to combine her personal ballet experience with this formal teaching to give her students the best possible instruction.

Bethany is a very experienced dancer herself, having successfully completed her Advanced 2 level ballet exam, among many others. She is also an experienced competitor, having competed in many different festivals in the Lower Mainland Area. Through this experience, she learned the importance of working with others to achieve a common goal and appreciating other’s strengths as well as her own. She enjoyed assisting and receiving her first experience teaching at McBride School of Dancing, where she danced for 11 years. She is very happy to be a part of Mi-Cher Dance Academy and share her love of dance with all her students!

Karrie Hill,  ISTD

Ballet & Modern Instructor & Choreographer 

Karrie Hill received her dance training from Stonelands Vocational School of Dance in England. During that period, Karrie was also a member of the National Youth Ballet, performing at many theatres within London as well as training and performing alongside future Royal Ballet Company member Francesa Filpi.  In 2004, Karrie gained her Bachelor of Education in Elementary School teaching, specializing in Physical Education.

Karrie achieved her I.S.T.D. Licentiates in ballet, modern, and tap before moving to Canada in 2007.

Since her dance career began, Karrie has entered many students for exams from Primary to Advanced 2 levels as well as entered teachers for their teaching exam, most gaining high marks.

Karrie is a mother of two boys and enjoys the challenge of juggling the love of teaching and family life. 

Karrie has had almost 20 years of teaching experience and has been lucky enough teach in many school across the lower mainland since moving to Canada.

Ms. Hill will continue to share her dance knowledge, experience and teaching expertise with Mi-Cher Dance Academy and aims to enhance every students love of dance and technique in modern and ballet.

Amy Burns

Tap Instructor & Choreographer 

Amy has trained and performed extensively in Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Modern Contemporary & Lyrical Jazz from a very young age, and has been teaching and choreographing Tap full-time for 26 years throughout the Lower Mainland, Northern B.C. (Smithers) and annual Summer School programs on Vancouver Island.  

That same evening Amy was honoured with being chosen as the recipient of the “2009 NYC Tap Festival Outstanding Teacher/Choreographer Award” for her “Outstanding Dedication and Commitment to the Art of Tap Dancing”.  It is with great joy and pride that Amy was able to nourish her own heartfelt passion and love of Tap for many years amid her hectic schedule, to perform professionally as a member of Vancouver’s “Urban Tap Squad Company”, throughout British Columbia and beyond.  In September 2006 they showcased part of their tour show, “Urban Interludes” to sold-out audiences at The Vancouver Roundhouse. 

Her “passion” for Tap leads her to train extensively each year (for the past 28 years) in advanced/accelerated workshops and festivals throughout the U.S. and Canada, attending “Tappin With The Masters 1993” in Portland Oregon, “The Seattle Tap Festival” – 1994, 1995, “Minneapolis Tap Festival” – 1998, successfully auditioned and was chosen to attend an exclusive Residency Workshop in NYC in 1999 with Heather Cornell Manhattan Tap,
 “Minneapolis Legends of Tap” – 2000,  “The Edge” in Los Angeles – 2002, “The New York City Tap Festival”/NY City – 2004, “Edmonton Tap Giants Festival” – 2005,  “Maui Tap Festival” – 2006 & 2007, “The Chicago Human Rhythm Project” – 2007,  “Tap City Tap Festival in NYC” – 2009, “Third Coast Rhythm Project in Texas” – 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, and 2017, “Tappin in the Twin Cities” (Minneapolis) – 2015, 2016,2017,2018 & 2019.  In August of 2016 and June of 2019, she took the opportunity to travel to New York City, where she trained at Broadway Dance Centre and Steps on Broadway! 

All of these festivals have given her the priceless privilege to train with extraordinary historical world-renowned Tap Masters such as the late amazing legends of Tap – Jimmy Slyde, Harold Cromer, Cholly Atkins (Motown Choreographer), Robert Reed and Vancouver’s own, Jeni Legon.   Amy has also been privileged to train numerous times with  Heather Cornell (Manhattan Tap), Brenda Bufalino (American Tap Dance Orchestra), Dianne Walker (“Lady Di”), Skip Cunningham, Lane Alexander, Terry Brock, Jason Samuels, Lisa LaTouche, , Bruce Stegman,  Chester Whitmore, Leelah Petronio, Mark Mendonca, Johnson & Peters, Lynn Dally, Chloe Arnold, Grant Swift, Mark Yonally, Yukiko Sashimi (“Smiley”), Jimmy Payne, Acia Gray, Derick Grant, Tre Dumas and Nicole Hockenberry among many, many others.   

In addition to her own passion for and dedication to ongoing training, Amy takes many of her students each year to Tap Festivals throughout the U.S. to experience and learn from the same historical Tap Masters and meet  other students from around the world who share the same passion.

In 1998, Amy had the thrill of a lifetime, when she trained at the Minneapolis Tap Festival with “legend extraordinaire” Savion Glover and his brother Abron Glover (then performing on Broadway in “Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk”). She has also participated in the VTDS Tap Festival in Vancouver for 13 years and was privileged to perform in the 2003 VTDS Festival finale at the Vancouver Playhouse, “It’s About Time, It’s About Tap”.  Since its inception Amy’s students are so honoured to perform in the International Tap Day celebration in honour of the birthday of the legendary “Father of Tap”,  Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.

It is Amy’s desire to share with her students of all ages, her diversified training, technique, musicality and rhythm, and most of all, her genuine love and passion for Tap Dance.  Her renowned and unique choreography comes from within her soul and captures the very essence of “Tap” and its beautiful rhythms speak to this beautiful and historical language. With her love of teaching children of all ages and adults, she foremost encourages fun and embracing the love and joy of “Tap”, with patience and positivity.  She teaches and encourages her students to “un-tap” the joy of this wonderful instrument and music within them and to truly hear and articulate their own “joyful noise”.