Deb Stachniak (B.Ed), or Miss Deb, is the Studio Owner/Director at The Heart of Dance – Preschool Ballet, Preschool Creative Movement, Preschool Tap/Hip Hop, Twistin’ Tots, Dance Party!, Ballet, Tap
For as long as she can remember, Miss Deb has been inspired by dance, music, and her love of teaching children. Miss Deb has trained in jazz, tap, R.A.D ballet, and voice, and she holds a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Alberta. Before beginning her kindergarten teaching career, Miss Deb was an educational interpreter and performer at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, where her passions for dance, singing, and teaching were combined into an incredible work and training experience. She has taught with both the Edmonton Public and Edmonton Catholic School Boards, and has also been a preschool teacher in Edmonton and in Calgary, where she headed the school’s dance and creative movement program.
Since becoming a mom, Miss Deb has completed the training to become a licensed Kindermusik instructor, teaching music and movement to young children. She received her ADAPT Teacher certification in Toronto, and has also received her certification in the Junior Grades Classical Ballet Progressions of Canada from the Edmonton School of Ballet. As well as teaching several genres of dance, she also developed and introduced a parented music and creative movement class for babies and toddlers. Before opening this studio, Miss Deb had the privilege of working in various dance schools, and she is now truly excited to have her own studio with her own, unique philosophy! She was ecstatic that, now as a studio owner, she was able to take part in Musicworks’ incredibly motivational dance teacher convention and workshop in Indianapolis with her daughter, Miss Leah. This same convention has since been offered virtually, and she has been able to “attend” more inspirational dance teacher training with two of her teaching daughters – Miss Leah and Miss Gabi. In early 2020, Miss Deb took the Level One Dance Teacher & Practitioner Training workshop offered by Lisa Howell, a physiotherapist who specializes in working with dancers. That summer, she also received her teaching certification in Acrobatic Arts for the Preschool Level.
Children have always held a special place in Miss Deb’s heart, and she truly cherishes her time spent working with them. Her goal is to inspire confidence in each of her students by providing fun, quality dance training while also building within each dancer a strong and positive foundation for a lifetime of dance enjoyment. Miss Deb is thrilled that her love of dance has been passed on to her three daughters and that the pure joy of dancing is embraced by her whole family. She can’t wait to share her excitement for dance with her students and their families, and help them embrace the true “heart of dance”!