Despite Timothée Chalamet’s personal feelings about ballet, dance is having its moment. ESPN just bought the rights to show IDL (which came to Vancouver very recently), the NikeSKIMS Spring ’26 ad campaign is a full minute of dance ad featuring K-Pop star Jennie, Olivia Rodrigo’s Stupid Song music video with ballerinas dancing on pavement and grass, and more.
So if you’re looking to start your own dance journey in Vancouver, and specifically if you’d like to dance like Britney—allow me to introduce you to jazz funk.I had no idea what ‘jazz funk’ was until my first class about a year ago when I found my body craving a return to the dance studio. I started off with lyrical (RIP) and did heels/pole/burlesque. When I explain it to my friends what kind of dance I do now, I liken it to being a Britney Spears backup dancer.
Over the course of the last year, I tried my fair share of instructors. But to be perfectly clear I haven’t taken classes from EVERY single jazz funk instructor in the city so I can’t say these are the ones you should take. Just know that there are instructors I’ve taken who didn’t make it to this list.
Top 5 Jazz Funk Instructors in Vancouver (so far)
These are the ones that I would follow, from studio to studio.
Dustin Wolf
The first time I stepped into Dustin’s jazz funk class and saw his frosted tips, I thought, “I’m learning a Britney dance from a Backstreet Boy?!”
It’s not uncommon to find Dustin teaching in a Britney or BSB t-shirt 🙂 It’s as if he lives and breathes the pop star life.
From Waterloo, Ontario, Dustin was awarded a prestigious dance scholarship to Point Park University, but I’m most impressed that he worked on a recent instalment of Bring It On. (My teenage self will never stop thinking Bring It On was the coolest sh*t!)
What I love about Dustin’s classes is that
a) he plays Britney on regular rotation
b) his choreo is great, there’s always some overly dramatic pop start movements
c) the difficulty is at just the right level
In the last 5 months I’ve taken 16 of of his classes. That’s 3 a month, pretty much weekly aside from the times he’s away or if I have scheduling conflicts! Otherwise, I never miss this class. Never. There’s actually a group of us regulars who don’t show up when there’s someone subbing for him 🙂 that’s the kind of loyal fan base he has.
Beta Chan
She’s a Leo Award-nominated choreographer and was in Riverdale and Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies.
I fell in love with Beta’s style the minutes into the warm-up of the first class I ever took of hers. It is SO HIGH ENERGY! I felt the way she did her warm-ups were so smart, seamlessly integrating the choreo into the warm-up without making it a big deal to do across the floor *chef’s kiss*
I came across her at a Culturally Defined drop-in class and really wasn’t planning on joining their progressive performance group.
But after scouring the web for other studios she might teach at, I found none where she taught jazz funk. So I signed up for a 16-week course just so I could dance and learn from her.
I don’t have good way of describing dance, but her style is just really good. Her moves are so full of sass and her transitions are so good (compared to some other instructors where it just doesn’t click in my brain). I don’t get a pop princess feel from her class, so I’d say her style is more modern, high-energy, strong.
Anushka Kashyap
At first, I wasn’t too keen on taking Anushka’s class, mainly because it seems like she promotes her singing more (see her Ig handle below).
It wasn’t until I saw a dance friend take her classes and the choreo looked soo good. What went from “I’ll try one of her classes and I’ll go back to having my Wednesday nights with my kids” to “er, kids, mummy’s gonna do this for the next 5 weeks until the season’s over… thanks!”
What I love about Anushka’s classes is that shes *so* attentive: she gives you personalized notes and makes sure everyone’s spaced out correctly. It’s a minor detail but when you’re short and can’t see the front like me, it’s a big deal!
She radiates such good energy. If you’re starting out, definitely try her class.
Sydney Carlson
Sydney has got to me be one of my new fave instructors. It took me a class or two to get used to her style, but what I’ve come to realize is she’s one of the few instructors who really brings out the JAZZ in jazz. For example, you’ll see her adding in proper jazz tech like chaîné turns.
Without getting into a million analogies or tips, I find in her classes she gives us just enough pointers and ways to think about things in a technical way that really accelerates your growth. For example, I was doing these jazz walks but she noted that the walk would look different if you put a lot of weight into the front leg. And notes on how to transition quickly from one more to another without getting stuck (“think about building a sentence, not just a word”). Mind blown.
I also appreciate that she’ll choose repetition over choreo (vs the trend of getting a marketable choreo for promo) which allows you the time to work on certain sticky parts.
Andrew Kyrzyk
I thought it was so cool when I found out Andrew was a dancer in the Wicked movie!
So I’ve only taken only two of his classes, but even in the first class I remember feeling that he infuses classical training into his class, or at least it feels that way. To this day, out of all the classes I’ve taken, he’s still the only one who has included floor barre in the warm-up.
And the two times I’ve watched dance showcases, there’s something in his choreo stands out among the others.
I’m so tempted to sign up for his performance progressive just so, like Beta, I can dance with him. (But this time I really can’t, rehearsals and practice are too time-consuming and I’d rather focus on the technical.)
Honourable Mention
Portia Favro
I started dancing with Portia over 10 years ago through a heels performance group. Between those years, she earned the titles of Top 50 Burlesque Performer in the World and was the winner of the Burlesque Hall of Fame 2023!
It’s not due to of these accolades that I got ecstatic after finding out she’s doing her own thing now. It’s because she’s always been such a kind soul. Someone who, even after a decade of not seeing each other, remembered me.
Although not specifically jazz funk, her Slut Strut heels class is pretty much a sexy jazz funk class.
PS. Her Pinup Posse progressives sell out within an hour. That should tell you how much people love her!
Try these instructors too (even if I haven’t—yet)
on my list 👀but haven’t had the chance to take their class yet include:
- Lauren Maynard (I really want to take her Pussycat Dolls class at Tantra Fitness)
- Mari Salarda (Hailing from LA, this 23 yo’s danced with Doja Cat,Camila Cabello & more)
- Emma Stephenson (Director of @thejazzpopup—these popups look so fun)
- Brandi Turgeon (She teaches a monthly jazz funk foundations class at MoFo Studio)
- Treyvin Kinisky (will update this post after I take his class soon!)
- Connor Ferguson (After watching one of his choreo where he drops from the ceiling… oof!)
- Carlo Atienza (Founder of @quillcollective and the one all instructors seem to dance with)
xo, Miranda
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