Dance @ Masquerade

As a young dancer, she started her training in 1996 at The Alison White Dance Studio at the age of 6 where she studied BTDA Classical Ballet, Tap and Modern Jazz. In 2010 she was awarded a scholarship to further her training at Leicester School of Performing Arts in the UK, where she trained for 2 years and gained her Trinity Diploma in Dance and Musical Theatre. Whilst in the UK Valerie performed in several musical productions such as A Chorus Line and How to Succeed without Really Trying at the Peepul’s Theatre in Leicester. After graduating she moved back to Malta and started her dance teaching career. Valerie teaches Modern Jazz, Hip-hop, Ballet and tap in several schools around the island such as The Alison White Dance Studio, School Of Performing Arts by Drama Troupe, Pauleen’s Dance Studio, Johane Casabene Dance Conservatore, Centre Stage Academy in Gozo, besides Masquerade. In Malta Valerie took part in several productions such as Gensna, Eurovision song contest, St. Helena the musical, Ghanja tal poplu, Bay Music Awards, Malta Sports awards and in openng ceremony of CHOGM (2015). Valerie was a resident dancer in several TV shows such as Pjazza and Hadd Ghalik on TVM. She performed in various Cabaret productions and weekly shows in several hotels and venues around Malta such as The Corinthia Hotel, Sea Bank Hotel, The Mellieha Bay Hotel and Casino Malta. She currently also forms part of The Alison White Dancers. Besides her performing and teaching skills Valerie is also a choreographer and her work ranges from dance shows, song festivals, musicals and other corporate events.

Shanon started her dance training in Tap, Modern Jazz, Classical Ballet, Spanish and contemporary dance at the age of 4 at the Alison White Dance Studio (Malta). In 2003, she participated in the opening ceremony for the Games of the Small States of Europe and was awarded a scholarship to the Leicester College of Performing Arts at the age of 11. In Summer 2014, Shanon represented Malta and its culture in the Commonwealth Youth Dance Festival in Glasgow. She graduated with a Bachelor in Dance Studies (Honours) from the University of Malta in 2015 where she formed part of the University dance cohort touring Malta and Spain performing choreographies by Dorian Mallia (Malta), Yoshua Cienfuegos (Spain) and Athanasia Kanellopoulou (Greece). Shanon was awarded a place on the Kibbutz Dance Journey program in Israel and performed for her Majesty the Queen during the CHOGM opening ceremony in November 2015. She is frequently given the opportunity to perform in National projects and festivals such as Notte Bianca and Science in the City, both considered as important spectacles for Malta. As a freelance dance artist, she teaches in various dance schools around the island. Shanon is currently reading for a Master in Education degree, through which she aims to broaden her understanding of how to best assist students with cultivating their creativity whilst refining their dance technique.

Colette started her dance training at Olivia Dow’s School of Russian Ballet at the age of 3 and in 2009 she attained the certificate of Soloist – the highest that can be achieved in the Legat style of classical ballet. Over the 21 years that she has been dancing she has gained experience in various different styles and is competent in classical character, lyrical, hip hop, contemporary and jazz. Colette also loves musical theatre and has been a main dancer in various musicals, including Aladdin the Pantomime (Masquerade, 2009/2010) where she was Dance Captain. She has also gained experience in choreography over the years, most notably having choreographed R&J Forever: A Mash Up Musical for Masquerade in 2012. She looks forward to another year gaining new experiences in dance and learning from the children who she teaches.

Kayleigh has been active in the dance-world since the age of three, starting with ballet at Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Dance, and eventually opened up to various other dance styles, including Contemporary, Jazz, and Modern Dance. She has along the years performed in numerous concerts, shows, TV programmes, international events, and competitions. In 2012, she decided to pursue her passion in dance by enrolling for the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Dance Studies course, conducted by the University of Malta. She was trained by internationally renowned dance teachers and mentors, including Jo Butterworth, Mavin Khoo, Francesca Tranter, Lucia Piquero, Sara Accettura, and Dorian Mallia, and had the opportunity to learn both the practical and the theoretical sides of dance. Following her successful completion of the degree, she was chosen as a choreographer for the School of Performing Arts’ Dance Tour in 2013. One of her most prestigious performances to date is when she was part of a dance group that joined the Band of the Armed Forces of Malta in the 2014 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, where they performed daily for a month, to an audience of over eight thousand per performance, who also included royal personalities. Kayleigh continued her studies in dance, having successfully graduated with a Masters of Arts in Performing Arts, from the University of Malta, in 2020. Her research was based on the similarity in training between classical ballet and military drill, with the use of discipline, aiming to reach the idea of a perfect body. In addition to her formal education and training, Kayleigh’s experiences as a dance practitioner include: teaching ballet and contemporary classes, choreographing and directing performances (including a performance for ŻiguŻajg in collaboration with ŻfinMalta), and performing in a number of events both locally and overseas. She also currently forms part of DanceLabMT, as a teacher, performer, mentor and student, and has participated in Malta’s Got Talent in 2020. Kayleigh is also a Dance Education lecturer at the Institute for Education. Kayleigh believes that dance is a way of expressing the soul through the body. It's like opening a door to a different world. Every challenge and experience has led Kayleigh to where she is today, and she is always seen with her chin up, ready for whatever is to come next.

A 25-year-old full-time graphic designer with a huge passion for dance. Cheyenne has been dancing since the age of 4. She first started by practicing ballroom and then moved on to performing arts at Masquerade Malta for 8 years. Gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics were also a huge part of her life as she trained for 5 years at DeGymnastics Club. Since the age of 16 her interest focused primarily on dance, and she trained hip-hop for 3 years with Warren Bonello. For the last 6 years, Cheyenne has been training Urban dance/hip hop at DanceLab by Luke Brincat. Cheyenne has also attended several workshops from local and international dancers and got to train in various different dance styles such as Hip Hop, Commercial, Latin American, Jazz, Latin Funk, and Contemporary Fusion. “In my view, dance is a form of expression which transcends other forms of communication and through movement, one can express their true feelings which otherwise would have been left unsaid”.