Meet our Educators
Amanda Nuttall- Director
Amanda grew up as a competitive dancer in Winnipeg, Manitoba; and trained extensively on scholarship at the Edge Performing Arts Centre in Los Angeles. Over the past decade, Amanda has worked as a dancer, performer, and choreographer in Toronto’s performing arts industries. Most notably, Amanda has choreographed dance numbers for national commercial campaigns and several equity house musicals across Toronto and Eastern Canada.
Amanda brings to Groundwork Dance Studio 30 years of dance training and 17 years of dance instruction in various styles such as Jazz, Acrobatics, Tap, Musical Theatre, Lyrical, Hip-hop, and Ballet. She is a graduate of the Randolph College for the Performing Arts in Toronto. Amanda is also a certified instructor with the Acro Dance Teacher’s Association of Canada, Rhythm Works Integrated Dance, as well as a founding member of and certified Acro Dance Adjudicator.
Finally, Amanda is a proud member of Youth Protection Advocates in Dance.
Shaye Firer- Ballet
Shaye Firer was born in Cape Town, South Africa and began ballet lessons at age three. At age twelve, Shaye auditioned for, and was accepted into, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division, where she trained for another six years. Upon completion of the ballet program at RWB, Shaye joined the trainee program with American Repertory Ballet in Princeton, New Jersey. After a year as a trainee, Shaye was offered a company position. As a company member with American Repertory Ballet, Shaye performed various principal, lead, and soloist roles by many diverse choreographers including Kirk Peterson, José Limón, Gerald Arpino, Paul Taylor, Douglas Martin, Mary Barton, and Septime Webre. Some of the roles she performed include the Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen, and Dewdrop Fairy in The Nutcracker; Swanhilda in Coppélia; The Chosen One in Douglas Martin’s Rite of Spring and Titania in his A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Doe/Duchess in Kirk Peterson’s Beauty and the Beast. While working as a professional ballet dancer, Shaye also had the opportunity to spread her love of dance by teaching with American Repertory Ballet’s affiliate school, Princeton Ballet School. Here, she taught a variety of different ages and levels, from beginner to advanced, for over nine years. She loves sharing the joys of dance with her students and watching them learn, grow, and find ways they can express themselves through the wonderful art of dance.
Raina DeGroot- Hiphop & Jazz
Raina has extensive training in jazz, hiphop and lyrical and is a current member of the Winnipeg Sea Bears cheer and dance team. Raina has performed as a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Gold Cheer and Dance team and is the provincial champion coach for Oak Park High School's pom team.
Emma Pfaff
Emma is a dancer, reader and an avid baker. She has been dancing since she was 5 years old and has assistant taught in every moment she could. When she’s not working at a daycare, she’s experimenting recipes in the kitchen. Another one of her favourite pass times is spending time with family and friends at the cabin. Emma is so excited to see dance season is in full swing!
Teagan McMahon
Teagan started dancing at age 3 when she did a toddler ballet class through the leisure guide. After one class she was hooked! In the summer of 2019, she attended the intensive dance program at RWB. During her four years at Westwood Collegiate, Teagan participated in their dance program where she honed her technique and knowledge of dance; and in June 2023 she won a choreography award of excellence for her student choreography piece. Teagan also has a love for musical theater and singing and was selected in 2019 to compete in the Ladies Orange Benevolent Association Trophy at the Winnipeg Music Festival.
Teagan is now studying education at the University of Winnipeg and is excited to join the Groundwork team. She looks forward to working with your child(ren) and sharing her love of dance with them.
Neelima Dunku Sukumar-
Kids Art Classes
My name is Neelima Dunku Sukumar. I have a deep passion for art. Over the years, I've dedicated myself to exploring and mastering various artistic mediums, including oil painting, watercolor and sculpture painting. I'm always excited to share my knowledge on these art forms with others, especially little ones.
Growing up in a family of artists, with me, my brothers and cousins gathering every weekend for private art tuition, has been a truly exceptional and treasured part of my childhood. This unique upbringing has provided me with a wealth of experiences, deep appreciation for art and a strong foundation for my artistic journey that I am profoundly grateful for.
Although my professional journey led me into the field of software, I continued to paint primarily in water colors and oil as a hobby. I am also grateful to have been part of an online course from Old Masters Academy by Natalie Richie and online oil painting lessons by Andrew Tischler.
It was when I began to receive requests from friends and acquaintances to create portrait paintings that I ventured into the world of commissioned portraits. The act of capturing a person's essence and emotions on canvas in oils became a deeply gratifying experience, almost as if I had discovered my true calling.
Instagram profile : @palettes_of_blue
A Message From Amanda
Thank you for visiting our site and for your interest in giving your child the gift of dance. It’s the gift that will nurture their creativity, give them confidence, and most importantly, happiness. That is exactly what I wish for my two girls, and that is why Groundwork was created. See you in the studio!
“Before you can think out of the box, you have to start with a box”
— Twyla Tharp