Meet the Teacher

Ashley Pattenaude

Dance Educator & VPA Dept Head. 

B.A Dance (University of Calgary)

B.Ed (Simon Fraser University)

M. Arts Ed (Simon Fraser University)

Mrs. Pattenaude has 32 years of dance training and experience. At the age of 3, she began with tap and jazz. Soon after, she added ballet, lyrical, hip hop and many other forms to her repertoire. She trained at Dancentral Studio in Red Deer, Alberta (now called Strive Academy) until the age of 18. After graduation, Ms. P went abroad and danced with Carnival Cruise Lines for three contracts. In 2008, she made it back to land and enrolled in the B.A Dance Degree Program at the University of Calgary. Her next adventure led her out to Burnaby where she was accepted into SFU’s Professional Development Program in Education. Mrs. Pattenaude graduated from the B.Ed program in 2013 with teachable subjects in both Dance and English. In 2015, she was drawn back to SFU as a Masters student in the Arts Education program where she successfully completed her degree in August 2017.

Mrs. Pattenaude has been teaching dance for 20 years for students aged 3 – 83 in various settings including; private studios, a short (but beloved) experience with Arthur Murray Studio in Vancouver, the City of Calgary’s recreation program, and the City of Burnaby’s Dance Program through the Shadbolt Center for the Arts. When Ms. P isn’t teaching, she is training. Between tap classes at The Rhythm Room, drop-in classes at both A3 District and Studio North and summer ballet training with Linda Arkelian at SFU, she consistently finds ways to continue growing her technique and historical understanding of dance while connecting with others who share her same passions.