Our Teachers/Founders

Catrina von Radecki

Catrina von Radecki has been teaching dance for more than 30 years. She is the founding partner of the Guelph Youth Dance Training Program, as well as the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Guelph Dance Festival (GDF), now in its 25th year. Catrina graduated with a BFA in dance from Concordia University (Montreal) in 1992. She has studied and taught at the innovative European Dance Development Centre in Arnhem, Holland and Düsseldorf, Germany as well as independently in Montreal, Kitchener, Waterloo and Guelph. She has danced for the internationally renowned Compagnie Marie Chouinard (Montreal), Dance Alliance (Germany) and various independent choreographers.

Catrina is a certified Open Source Forms teacher, after completing three years of summer training in Seattle, Washington with Stephanie Skura.  Open Source Forms focuses on cross-fertilizations and deep commonalities of Skinner Releasing Technique and creative process, guided by the philosophy that the source of creativity and wisdom is available in each of us.

In 2019 Catrina completed the Summer Institute for Dance Teachers at the Creative Dance Centre in Seattle, Washington, where she studied the BrainDance Methodology. In 2021 she became a certified Alixa Flexibilty teacher and in 2023 became a certified Science of Stretching coach. She continues to enjoy staying updated in current dance and body practices.

Catrina continues to co-own and operate Guelph Youth Dance and acts as Artistic Director of the Guelph Dance Festival from her new home base in Chelsea, Quebec where she hopes to fully take advantage of the incredible and inspirational nature provided by Gatineau Park and the region. Becoming part of the arts community and being asked to lead Chelsea Dance is an immense honour and privilege for her. She looks forward to meeting you all in person and dancing with you soon.

Kelsey Walsh

Kelsey Walsh is an interdisciplinary dance artist who facilitates expressive arts classes and projects in diverse community contexts. As Artistic Director of Dandelion Dance, Kelsey created and delivered programs to girls and women from equity-seeking groups across Ottawa. Now Kelsey is a proud new mama, facilitating classes in the Wakefield/Chelsea area. She trained as a modern dancer at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre before completing her BFA with Great Distinction at Concordia University. Her experiences with traditional dance and theatre forms led Kelsey to purposely create inclusive spaces for creative expression. She welcomes all of her participants into the exciting language of dance, and believes dancing and creating art together helps to build caring communities.

Elinora (Elly) Adeland- Founder/Teacher

Elly has worked for a variety of environmental and social justice organizations in the Outaouais region. Her work for a more just and equitable world is intertwined with her passion for community organizing, dance, theatre and music. Starting to dance in Chicago at the age of three, Elly has had the opportunity to train in Cecchetti ballet, jazz, tap, modern, hip hop and swing. Elly has participated in competitive swing dance and has performed in a variety of ballets in Upstate New York. Her joy for dance is rooted in the opportunity to teach and choreograph in communities ready to explore the joy of movement and creativity. Elly is a certified Progressive Ballet Technique teacher.

Andrea Hacquoil- Founder/Teacher

Originally from Ottawa, Andrea trained at Canada’s National Ballet School. After graduation, she danced with The National Ballet of Canada, Les Grands Ballets, the Berlin State Opera, and John Neumeier’s Hamburg Ballet. Andrea has taught ballet, contemporary dance and creative movement to children and adults in Ottawa-Gatineau and the Eastern Townships for the past 20 years. She is delighted to participate in the founding of a dance school in the Gatineau Hills that will allow locals of all ages access to the wonderful art of dance.

Alice Irene Whittaker- Teacher

Alice Irene Whittaker trained in ballet, modern, and contemporary dance for over twenty years, including a Bachelor or Fine Arts in Dance from Toronto Metropolitan University, supplemented by intensive training at NYU’s Tisch School for the Arts and Impulstanz in Austria. 

Alice Irene co-created, choreographed, and performed with small modern dance companies, travelling to festivals throughout North America, and performing in Toronto at the Winchester Street Theatre, Citadel, Harbourfront Theatre, Dancemakers, and more. She was selected as a choreography resident for Series 8:08 and received Toronto Arts Council funding for full-length choreography works, and was nominated as a finalist for the Soulpepper Dance Awards. 

 Alice Irene is a Chelsea-based author and environmentalist, and she is excited to return to her dance roots with Danse Chelsea Dance.

Andrea Rowe- Founder

Andrea spent her career in the arts, first as a dance reviewer for The Ottawa Citizen, then as dance officer at the Canada Council for the Arts, and finally in a variety of multi-disciplinary arts programs at Canadian Heritage. She  enjoyed taking ballet classes for many years, appreciating the artform’s discipline, musicality and complexity. She now serves as the artistic director of the TaDa! Performing Arts Festival (an event of Theatre Wakefield), and is happy to contribute in any way she can to the board of Chelsea Dance.

Cynthia Westaway- Founder

Cynthia received much of her ballet training at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and l’Ecole supérieure de ballet du Québec. She was a soloist with Ballet BC in Vancouver, then moved to New York City where she enjoyed a career as a principal dancer with the Feld Ballet and, later, the Parsons Dance Company. Cynthia’s teaching career spans four decades: she has trained dancers in Ontario, Quebec, Indiana, Vermont, Maine and New York. Nowadays, Cynthia is the Director of Westaway Law Group, where the focus is on providing legal services to First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Cynthia is delighted to be able to participate in the founding of Chelsea Dance in her local community.