Mandy grew up at Martin School of Dancing, a multi disciplinary studio in Saskatchewan, Canada. She was a member of the celebrated competition team at Martin, and a member of the pre-professional dance troupe ‘The Martinettes’ during her time at the studio. She loved everything about the studio, and apprenticed under her mentor, Maureen Johnson, as an assistant teacher during her years in high school.
In 1998 Mandy opened SBDC dance studio in Alberta, Canada, and quickly grew it from 7 dancers in the first year to over 500 in just three years. The studio excelled in all styles, but was especially successful in AcroDance, a genre that was fairly obscure in her province at the time. During her time as studio owner, Mandy managed a staff of ten, created the SBDC competition team, managed travel groups, and created exam experiences for her students. 10 years later, and after the brith of her 2 boys, she made the difficult decision to sell her studio, and stay home to raise her boys.
As the past owner of a highly successful dance studio, she understood the demands for an exceptional product and a well trained dance teaching staff in the studio. Mandy saw a need in the industry for a well thought out syllabus for AcroDance to promote safe practice and reduce injuries, and Acrobatic Arts was born. Seeking advice and recommendations from the best of the best, Mandy consulted with industry experts in physiotherapy, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, biomechanics, pilates, inversion, anatomy of movement, ballet, contortion, circus arts, and more to create the most comprehensive, researched syllabus and training program possible.
As the founder and CEO of Acrobatic Arts, Mandy manages the staff and delivery of all training programs, and the Acrobatic Arts syllabus in over 4500 dance studios in USA, Canada, UK, Australia and over 25 other countries. She heads the Acrobatic Arts examination program, and trains and certifies adjudicators to administer exams in studios around the world. Over 250,000 dancers participate in Acrobatic Arts classes on a weekly basis! Mandy also created the Acrobatic Arts App, My Acro App, the Acro Adjudicator App, and the AcroDance Preschool App.
A lifelong learner, Mandy has attended and achieved certification in countless courses, including contortion, hand balancing, inclusive learning, tap, jazz, gymnastics, and safe coaching, to name a few. Mandy currently sits on the advisory board for YPAD, and assists with the mission of keeping kids safe in dance through this organization. Mandy has taught thousands of dance teachers, and provided expert classes at Dance Teacher Summit (NYC), Dance Teacher Web Live (Las Vegas), Dance Teacher Summit (LA), Toronto Dance Teacher Expo, Calgary Dance Teacher Expo, Move It Dance Convention (London), Can You Dance (Liverpool), Victorian Dance Festival (Melbourne), and CLI Studios (LA). Highly sought for clinics and workshops across North America, Europe and Australia, Mandy is known for bringing passion, technique and in-depth practical knowledge to engaging classes.
Sessions
Acro Dance Curriculum For Minis
How Exams Can Fill the Competition Gap
Virtual Teaching Tips for Acro Teachers
Healthy Hips