McKinlee Phillips
RAD RTS, TTP Dip (Canada's National Ballet School),
BFA Honours Dance (York University), AISTD (National Dance), PAA, CDTA (Member), First Aid/CPR Certified
Owner, Director, Lead Instructor
Ballet, Contemporary, Lyrical, Jazz, Musical Theatre, Tap, Tiny Toes, Small Steps
McKinlee Phillips is a highly trained dancer, teacher, and choreographer; specializing in Ballet and Jazz. McKinlee grew up in all aspects of the arts, taking part in acting, singing, and dancing as a child. McKinlee was represented by Colin McMurray and Associates in Toronto, where she was able to land multiple acting roles including cartoon voice-overs, commercials, and a movie. McKinlee also attended the Canadian Model and Talent convention at a young age, where she received awards for her dancing and acting out of hundreds of entries. As she grew older, McKinlee turned her focus away from acting and began to focus more on her dancing; training in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Musical Theatre. At the young age of 13, she decided she wanted to open a dance studio and offer the best possible training for young dancers wishing to make dance into a career. Throughout her high school years, McKinlee worked to take master classes with as many choreographers and teachers as possible at multiple studios in Toronto. McKinlee also took multiple acting and modeling workshops, ensuring to keep her connections in the industry strong in the hopes of helping her future students.
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McKinlee began her post-secondary dance journey at York University in Toronto, where she was accepted into the Dance Program. Through York University, McKinlee discovered her love for ballet, and decided to work towards being accepted into Canada's National Ballet School. McKinlee was accepted into the Teacher Training Program at Canada's National Ballet School in June of 2019, and began her training there full-time in September 2019. Through her time at Canada’s National Ballet School, McKinlee was training in three different methodologies of ballet, including Royal Academy of Dance, Cecchetti Ballet, and NBS Curriculum. McKinlee also took various classes in Ballet Pedagogy, Music, and Basic Anatomy for Dancers. McKinlee was also an assistant in various Certificate Level classes, helping to teach dancers at the school. Toward the end of her time at the NBS, McKinlee was given the opportunity to teach Adult Ballet classes through the school as well.
McKinlee has since completed her studies at York University in Toronto to obtain her Bachelor of Fine Arts with Specialized Honors in Dance. Here she focused on Modern and Contemporary dance training, along with choreography, performance based opportunities, and basic Dance Kinesiology to better equip her to deal with dance related injuries. She has also achieved her Diploma from Canada’s National Ballet School’s world renowned Teacher Training Program in which she graduated from in 2022. McKinlee has achieved her Registered Teacher Status with the Royal Academy of Dance, as well as her Associates Diploma with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing; Specializing in National Dance. McKinlee is also a member of the Canadian Dance Teachers Association.
McKinlee has experience teaching children from two to eighteen years old, as well as experience working as an Early Childhood Educator for children ages 6 weeks to 4 years. She uses her knowledge of Early Childhood Education in all of her preschool aged programs; including Tiny Toes and Small Steps. McKinlee has also taken courses learning how to work with older adults and adults with Parkinson’s through Canada’s National Ballet School, and aims to complete courses to assist her in learning how to more confidently work with Dancers with Special Needs.
McKinlee is constantly learning and growing; taking multiple teaching workshops each year to ensure she is always staying on-top of her craft. Her most recent workshops include “Working with Preschool Dancers” offered by the Dance Studio Owners Association, as well as her ongoing training with “Progressing Ballet Technique”, with a goal to obtain her PBT certification in 2025. McKinlee has also been taking various workshops with the Acro Dance Teachers Association, in the hopes to one day obtain her ADTA Teaching Status. McKinlee is also First Aid/CPR certified and ensures to keep her certification up to date.
Since beginning NGDC in 2021, McKinlee has received numerous Choreography Awards, Judges Choice Awards, and Top Studio Awards from an array of competitions. Her students have also successfully taken home multiple overall awards, scholarships, and special judge’s awards for their performance, technique, and overall dance ability. McKinlee's goal for Next Generation Dance Company is to provide the best possible dance training for her students; both recreational and competitive. McKinlee’s connections within the industry help her to ensure all of her dancers are given countless opportunities for growth, development, and success, so that they can follow in her footsteps and take their dance careers with them after high school if they so choose.
Kendra Perry
ARAD, AAC, AF, PBT, ADTA , PAA, NASM-CPT, First Aid/CPR Certified
Lead Acro Choreographer
Kendra has had a love of dance for over 27 years. Her experience in teaching and assisting students, in dance, began in 2002. Kendra has won many awards at competitions in Ontario and the USA. She has studied with many choreographers over the years, including Shannon Mather, Blake McGrath and Mia Michaels. She has been commended for her choreography around Barrie and the GTA receiving overall, special and choreography awards for her routines at competitions, as well as being the choreographer for productions such as “Dear Edwina” and “Alice in Wonderland” by Kempenfelt Community Players.
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Upon graduation in June 2009, she received two scholarships; one for her excellent contribution in dance and the other for the highest mark in dance. Kendra is a Level 2 NCCP Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Coach and a Level 1 NCCP Trained Trampoline Coach. She is also Acrobatic Arts (Module 2), Alixa Flexibility (Module 2), Progressing Ballet Technique and Premiere Master ADTA Certified and has been teaching students ages 2-19 for over 13 years. Kendra has also completed her Advanced 2 RAD Ballet exam and was granted ARAD status.
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Mackenzie Everson
Bachelor of Arts, B Ed. in Progress
Lead Hip-Hop and Contemporary Instructor and Choreographer
Mackenzie Everson has been a part of the dance community for 14 years. She grew up dancing at local studios, and during her time as a student, Mackenzie learned various dance styles, including ballet, contemporary, lyrical, open, jazz, and hip-hop. She started teaching dance at 16 in recreational and competitive classes and has continued teaching since. She has been a part of the Next Generation Dance Company staff for three years and is excited to continue working alongside the other excellent staff and students at Next Gen. She graduated High School in 2018 in the Dance Program at Thomas. A Stewart Secondary School, where she furthered her dance knowledge as a dancer and choreographer for five years. Since graduating, she has spent extra time working alongside Susie Clarke, the TAS dance teacher, to collaborate on dances for their semester shows.
More recently, Mackenzie completed a Degree at Trent University in 2023, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in English and specializing in the Teacher Education Stream. Today, she is in her second year of the Bachelor of Education program at Trent University to become a future educator. During her time at Trent, she devoted much of her time to the Trent Dance Team. She has been a part of the Trent Dance Team for five years. Four of those years as a team choreographer, three as a team captain, and in her final year, she has taken on the role of the team president.
Kendra is a highly sought after dancer, performing for Weddings, Bravado, Pink Floyd ‘The Wall’ Tribute Concert, and at Pearson International Airport for International Dance Day. She has enjoyed training students at Simcoe Dance Academy, Barrie Parks and Recreation, Northern Stars Gymnastics and Moving Art Centre for the Performing Arts. Kendra is looking forward to bringing her knowledge and passion for dance to the Next Generation Dance Company family!
Mackenzie has always loved and been passionate about dance and teaching in general. She has over 14 years of experience in dance and over 4 years of experience teaching children ages 3 to 24. She is excited to continue sharing her love of dance for this coming season at Next Generation Dance Company!