Naomi Gilman

Naomi Gilman trained at some of the top dance schools in Vancouver, Montreal, and Ottawa in ballet, jazz, and modern, completing all the Royal Academy of Dance Ballet Examinations. At 11 years old, she started assistant teaching younger students, and was given her own class to teach two years later. By 15 years old, Naomi was highly sought after within the Christian community, teaching, choreographing, and performing across Canada and internationally. After graduation, Naomi spent 4 years training with the world’s premier Christian Ballet Company, Ballet Magnificat, after which she was hired as Road Manager for their touring company. She returned to Ottawa in 2010 and started working for Arise School of Dance as an administrator and teacher. For the next five years, Naomi’s passion for teaching grew as she saw the impact it had in the lives of her students. Not only did she see the success of her students as they received high marks on their ballet exams, but she also saw how sharing her love for the Lord and His word impacted their lives. In 2015, Naomi, along with her fellow Arise teacher Jennifer Turco, took over ownership of Arise School of Dance with the desire to see it reach its full potential in the Lord.

Jennifer Turco

Maggie Shew

Maggie Shew began dancing at Arise School of Dance at the age of 10, training in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, and Hip Hop; she was also a member of the Youth Ballet from 2015-2017. Graduating from Arise in 2017, she received Distinction in her Royal Academy of Dance Intermediate Ballet Examination. Maggie graduated from the Contemporary Dance Diploma Program at The School of Dance (Ottawa) in 2020 and was awarded the 2019 Rich Little Endowment Fund for the Performing Arts. Since then, she has had the pleasure of working with choreographers such as Jocelyn Todd (through Ottawa Dance Directive), Elizabeth Emond-Stevenson (TAKE UP SPACE), Sylvie Desrosiers (Dorsale Danse), and currently performs with company Tara Luz Danse under the direction of Anik Bouvrette. Maggie has had the opportunity to teach and choreograph for various dance schools and community events in the National Capital Region over the years. She began teaching at Arise in 2014, and loves sharing with her students her passion for movement, choreography, and how it can all be used to worship the Lord. Maggie also runs the social media accounts of Arise.

Julia Bursey

Julia Bursey began dancing at the age of five, training extensively in ballet, jazz, contemporary, and tap at the Canadian School of Dance and at Dana Hanes’ Dance Company. She was a competitive dancer for eight years, and completed her Advanced 1 Ballet RAD Exam and ADAPT Tap and Jazz exams with high scores before graduating high school in 2018. Throughout university, she has continued dancing on competitive varsity teams, and has choreographed and performed for several conferences and events with the creative arts company A Glimpse Co. Julia is passionate about glorifying God through the creative arts. With a love for dance, writing, and music, she hopes to one day bridge the gap between faith, therapy and the arts to help those who are struggling with mental health and trauma. To that end, she has completed her BSc in Cognitive Science at Carleton University. She is currently teaching ballet, jazz, and contemporary at Arise and will be helping with administration at the front desk this year.

 Noelle Bell

Noelle Bell began dancing at the age of six, but started her serious training when she moved to Ottawa and joined Arise School of Dance. Noelle trained extensively in ballet, jazz, and contemporary. She trained to the level of Advanced 2 and graduated in the spring of 2021. Noelle was part of the Arise Youth Ballet from 2016-2021 and held the peer mentorship position of Company Captain from 2019 until her graduation. Noelle has a huge heart for children and lots of experience working with them through Child Evangelism Fellowship: an organization that ministers to children in at-risk communities. Noelle has also organized and choreographed several plays and performances. With a passion for creativity and an eye for detail, Noelle graduated with a BSc in English with Honors at Liberty University. Noelle began teaching at Arise in the fall of 2019 and has also taken a second teaching position in Ottawa since then. She began working as Arise Support Staff in 2019 and took on the role of Administrator in the winter of 2020. Noelle enjoys organizing and overseeing all the everyday tasks that keep Arise running smoothly, and she can’t wait to pour into her students.

Cara Racicot

Cara Racicot graduated from McGill University with a Masters of Science in Physical Therapy and from the University of Ottawa with an Honours Bachelor in Human Kinetics. Before pursuing her post-secondary education, Cara lived and danced professionally in the States, which led her to pursue a career in physiotherapy. Since graduating, Cara has gained various qualifications and taken numerous courses in the fields of physiotherapy, exercise programming, and sports injury recovery. Cara understands that the body is a complex interworking of multiple systems, so she focuses on stepping back from the microscopic lens of an injury to look at the full picture, which allows her to properly understand and treat pain and performance issues. As a retired professional dancer and now physiotherapist, Cara has made it her mission to merge her experience as a dancer with her knowledge as a physiotherapist to educate and treat dancers. She is an advocate for proper strength training, load management, and recovery to ensure an environment of success for the dancers she treats. She will bring these skills into her work at Arise to help the students properly condition their bodies in a way that empowers them to excel and remain injury-free. Cara loves helping her clients break through barriers, discover untapped potential, and achieve personal bests, and she loves being a part of people's journey to strength and recovery.

Annalise Reader

Annalise Reader began her dance journey at the age of three. After seeing the Arise Youth Ballet performed at her elementary school when she was six, she was so inspired that she switched to Arise and has been training here ever since. Annalise trains in ballet, pointe, contemporary, and jazz - with a particular love for ballet. She has attended many summer intensive programs, completed three Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) exams, and is working towards completing her Advanced 1 RAD exam in the Fall of 2024. In 2018, Annalise was the only student selected to join the Arise Youth Ballet Company for a special solo role in their Christmas Ballet, even though she wasn't old enough to officially join. In 2019, she was thrilled to become a full company member and be able to combine her passion for ministry and dance, always remembering what a huge impact seeing the Youth Ballet perform had on her as a young child. She loves working with children and ran the Arise Thursday morning childcare throughout the 2023/2024 school year. During the summer of 2024, she directed and taught the Arise Summer Dance Camps. Annalise is passionate about sharing her love of Jesus with those around her and cannot wait to expand her ministry and dance opportunities this year on staff with Arise.

Maria Duncan-McCarthy

Maria Duncan McCarthy began her dance journey at the age of three in a recreational program at a neighbourhood community center. After hearing about Arise on the radio, she started classes at the age of seven. Since then, she has been training in ballet, jazz, and contemporary at Arise, and has completed the Royal Academy of Dance Intermediate ballet syllabus with high marks. She is currently training for her Advanced 1 ballet exam. In addition to her training, Maria has spent two years assisting senior instructors at Arise, gaining valuable experience and insight into effective teaching methods. This experience has deepened her understanding of dance and strengthened her ability to nurture and inspire students. She brings a broad range of experience to her classes, having performed in numerous productions and participated in various community events through the Arise Youth Ballet since 2020, where she discovered a love for using dance as a ministry. Maria firmly believes that dance is a powerful tool for developing physical skills and for building confidence, discipline, and a sense of community while glorifying God. She is dedicated to positively impacting the lives of her students through her passion for dance and her unwavering commitment to excellence.

Savannah Litt

Savannah Litt began dancing when she was three years old at a recreational dance program in Ottawa. Later, at the age of eleven, Savannah joined Arise School of Dance. Savannah started her Arise journey taking Hip-Hop classes before adding ballet, jazz, and contemporary. Her love of dance continued to grow and flourish at Arise as she joined the Arise Youth Ballet in 2020 years and did many years of the Arise Summer Dance and Ministry Intensive. Savannah's love of ballet came from her mother, who was also a dancer, and this has led her to successfully complete several Royal Academy of Dance ballet exams. Most recently, she completed her Advanced 1 ballet exam. At Arise, Savannah's passion for dance, and her faith and love for the Lord have grown! She is very excited to teach and share her love of dance and her love for God with all the bright, little minds at Arise.

Emma Tibbits

Emma Tibbits started out dancing as a teen in recreational classes, but after joining Arise, she decided she wanted more and switched to the intensive Junior program in ballet and jazz. Proving that dancers can start at any age, Emma worked hard and succeeded in passing both her Intermediate Foundations and Intermediate classical ballet examinations with the Royal Academy of Dance within just a few years. Determined to see how far her dance training can take her, Emma is continuing to train post-high school and is working towards her Advanced Foundations ballet examination. She is also training in Advanced contemporary dance while pursuing a degree at Algonquin College in Drawing Fundamentals of Animation and Illustration. Emma started assistant teaching at Arise in the Fall of 2023 and in the Summer of 2024, she started working as an Assistant Administrator for Arise. Emma loves helping the younger dancers at Arise and is excited to continue to grow in dance and her ministry work this year.

Sarah Gilman

Sarah Gilman trained in Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Lyrical, and Hip Hop pre-professional dance programs from the age of six, completing many of her Royal Academy of Dance ballet examinations. She started assistant teaching at an early age and very quickly was in high demand as a teacher and choreographer. She always infused her classes and choreographies with her love of God and her passion to see people thrive, which led her to be invited to numerous places to create choreographies for special events, speak on arts at conferences, coach privately, and more. Sarah's desire to serve God led her to complete several discipleship courses and serve as full-time staff with several ministries, often mixing discipleship with dance training. Most notably, she danced as a professional company member with Corps Bara Dance Theatre in Calgary for two years while also working as Corps Bara’s Youth Company rehearsal director. Most recently, she worked full-time for 11 years in Haiti and the Dominican Republic with Youth With a Mission where she taught dance in local orphanages, worked in reception and administration, and helped lead Discipleship schools and youth dance camps. Now as a mom of a little dancer herself, Sarah is excited to join the Arise as Support Staff and combine her love of dance, her love for the Lord, and her passion for everyone to know they have value and worth.