Ltsod About us

Laurie is very proud of her students accomplishments and successes over the years. Throughout the years,
students have appeared on Breakfast Television, Ricky‘s Room and have also performed at half-time shows at the
American Bowl (Skydome) and the Pro-Bowl (Hawaii). Students have also been part of the Raptors Junior Dance
Pac and the Toronto Argonaut Cheerleaders. Others have followed their dream by opening up their own dance
schools or teaching for prominent dance schools throughout North America. While many of her students come
primarily for fun and recreation, competition classes are also available for the serious and dedicated dancer.
Laurie’s competitive teams have won numerous Scholarships, Trophies and Medals throughout the years. Her
dancers have also had the opportunity to participate in dance examinations, perform at various community events,
attend dance workshops and conventions throughout Canada and the United States.

Our goal is to build self-confidence, self-esteem and poise in a caring, fun and friendly environment while receiving
high quality instruction. We take pride in our students and classes by using age appropriate Music, Choreography
and Dance Costumes. All classes are taught by qualified adult instructors.The family oriented atmosphere at The
Laurie Thacker School of Dance is very important to Laurie and her warmth and enthusiasm are trademarks of her
studio.

Thank you for your interest in The Laurie Thacker School of Dance. The School had been in
operation for 22 years in Markham, Ontario and is now in its 7th year located in Bright’s
Grove. The studio is owned and operated by Laurie (Thacker) Miller. Laurie has been a
member of the British Association Teachers of Dancing, The Professional Dance Teachers
Association and Dance Educators of America for many years and has added Dance
Competition Adjudicator to her list of credentials. Laurie has performed on stage, T.V. and
danced in the movie "Hank Williams-The Show He Never Gave". She also had the pleasure of
dancing for the late Gregory Hines at the O’Keefe Centre in Toronto. Laurie continues to train
with today’s top teachers throughout North America bringing her knowledge and gift of
dance to her students.

Carli has spent the past 10 years studying, performing and teaching circus arts with the Toronto
School of Circus Arts and the Centre of Gravity in Toronto, specializing in acrobatics, hand
balancing and aerial arts. She has performed with Cirque Sublime and Lunacy Cabaret on stages
across the country and was an award winning fitness competitor in the Fitness Canada Pageant.
An alumnus of The Second City Training Centre, she has done stand-up comedy and improvisation
on the Second City Main Stage, the John Candy Box Theatre, the Bad Dog Theatre and The
Comedy Bar among many others. She has been seen on Cosmo TV, Showcase Television, TSN
and the Comedy Network and has performed in a variety of comedy shorts and feature films that are
currently screening on the Canadian Film Festival circuit.

Tara Antle was born and raised in Sarnia. She began taking Ballet and Highland classes at the age of
four. Tara competed in many highland competitions and as a teenager went to Scotland to compete
in the World Championships. At age 16, she studied modern, lyrical and jazz. After graduating from
high school she moved off to Toronto where she attended George Brown College for three years
receiving a certificate and diploma in Performance Dance. Tara then moved to Alberta where she
started her teaching career and taught Highland, Ballet, Lyrical and Modern to children of all ages.
She loves teaching and encouraging her students to get into their creative minds and create beautiful
and fun dances to perform.

Chelsea began dancing at the age of 11 and found a passion for teaching early on. Focusing on
ballet, she has completed the Elementary level examination with the Cecchetti Society of Canada.
She has assisted children's movement classes for many years, as well as attended the Royal
Winnipeg Ballet Schools' Teacher Training Summer Program in 2007. Chelsea's future plans
include studying under the National Ballet Schools' Teacher Training Program.

Logan began dancing when he was 8 years old and competitively when he was 10 years old. He has
competed in both Canada and the USA winning numerous overall awards. At a recent competition, he
was awarded a 2011 "Be Discovered Dance in L.A. Scholarship". He recently completed his BATD
(British Association Teachers of Dancing) Tap Associate Exam. He has also had the opportunity of
studying with Shawn Byfield, Shane Sparks and Mia Michaels to name a few. We are excited to have
Logan at the Laurie Thacker School of Dance. He will be teaching recreational Hip Hop, the
Competitive Teen Hip Hop and Teen Tap Classes.

Master Holly Brown has been involved with martial arts for almost 25 years. Currently she holds
the rank of 4 degree Black belt out of a possible 10 degrees in TaeKwonDo. Master Brown
teaches tradition WTF(World TaeKwonDo) TaeKwonDo as well as some Self Defence and
kids Street Smart programs. She has competed at the provincial and nation levels and has
been teaching her love of Taekwondo to others for over 15 years.

April Winch began her dancing career training in many forms of dance including jazz, tap, ballet,
clogging and swing. She studied both in Canada and the United States. Throughout the years she
attended dance conventions and workshops training with today’s top choreographers. Many may
recognize April as she directed the YMCA dance program for 4 years. She has been with The
Laurie Thacker School of Dance for over 5 years now.