Theresa is the owner of Free Spirit Dance and co-founder of Calgary Roller Skate. She is a dancer, instructor and choreographer that began her dance journey 19 years ago. She started dancing from the first time her mother put her on a pair of roller skates when she was two. She has many a memory of spending countless hours in her room creating dance routines inspired by Solid Gold Dancers, MuchMusic and In Living Color; and learning moves at the Friday night community hall teen dances back in the day. The funk, groove and need to move have long been a family tradition as she comes from a bunch of crazy-musical-fun-loving East Coasters. Theresa took her first actual dance class in her early 20’s and she has never looked back. With the exception of the jazz classes she took as a kid but she mostly only really remembers the awful green outfits they made her wear 😉
Theresa’s long-time love and dance focus has been salsa. She has also trained in other Latin styles such as Cha Cha Cha and Afro-Cuban, West African, ballroom, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, funk styles and house. She has traveled to Cuba, Costa Rica, Croatia, Los Angeles, Mexico, Miami, New York, Boston and across Canada to pursue her love of dance. She has performed with Latin artists such as Puerto Rican Power, Oscar de Leon, Mendez and Eddy K. Theresa has presented her own choreographic work for Mpact: Invisible, The Cypher and Motion.
Theresa’s three loves are: dance/fitness, the arts and empowering others to love the skin they are in. As the owner and creative director of Free Spirit Dance, she is excited to share her love of dance and the arts. Theresa is also the artistic director of Pretty Girl Swag Dance Crew which came out of a desire to mix her two favorite dance loves: Latin & Hip Hop.
Theresa is known for her high energy classes and creating a safe environment where students are not restricted by the opinions of others or weighed down by the troubles of everyday life. She continues to inspire others by encouraging everyone that “it’s never too late to start” because she too started later in life. She can also still rock it out like nobody’s business on a pair of roller skates. 😉
Live life outside of your comfort zone, because that is where the magic happens!
Live. Love. Dance. BE FREE.
