About Spark
We believe that art powerfully impacts culture. The mission of Spark is to gather, support, train, and empower artists to use their gifts as a blessing to others. At our Christ-inspired classes and events, you will be hosted in a positive, professional, and creative atmosphere. A place to learn a new skill, go deeper with your art form, collaborate with other artists, or enjoy a creative community event. Spark offers a variety of classes for every age and level. All are welcome.
Meet our Team
Spark is blessed with a group of instructors who have a wide array of experience and qualifications. All are focused on teaching exceptional technique while inspiring creativity.
Our team is committed to meeting you where you are and to helping you progress to new levels.
Remiah Towns
Creative Director
Dance & Pilates Instructor
Remiah put on her first pair of ballet shoes a month before her third birthday and has been in love with ballet ever since! Remiah trained under world-renowned teachers at Goh Ballet, Vancouver, and Ballet Magnificat, a Christian ballet Company in Jackson, Mississippi. She has trained in both RAD and Vaganova technique and has experience performing and teaching throughout Canada, the U.S., as well as internationally.
With more than 20 years of teaching experience, she is passionate about creating a healthy dance experience for all her students which has led her to recently getting her Pilates and PBT certificates. Remiah's love for Jesus and her students is evident as she teaches excellence in technique within an encouraging environment. She is dedicated to raising up and pouring into the next generation of dance teachers. Remiah lives in Elmira with her husband and four beautiful children.
Kemahee Baker
Art and Hip Hop Instructor
Kemahee is an alumni from the University of Waterloo, receiving an Honours B.A. in Spanish, with a Specialization in Latin American Literatures and Culture and completed her Fine Arts Milestone. With over 10 years teaching experience, Kemahee is passionate about cultivating an encouraging classroom environment in which students can grow in confidence and in their identity in Christ.
Kemahee developed a love for Hip Hop in her early teens, and in her early 20s, she gravitated towards dance improvisation and dance style fusions. Kemahee has taught dance workshops at local churches, the University of Waterloo and local women's conferences in Ontario.
As a form of therapy, Kemahee began painting after a car collision left her in chronic pain. It was then she realised that she was blessed with the gift of painting and decided to pursue teaching art. Kemahee has a particular interest in painting animals, landscapes, and abstract using acrylics as her medium of preference. Kemahee believes that painting is both cathartic and therapeutic.
Kemahee's main priority is to help build and nurture her students self-esteem, encourage creative expression and inspire others to use their gifts for the glory of God.
AmyBeth Brubacher
Piano Instructor
AmyBeth fell in love with music at an early age. Her musical journey has included violin and piano lessons, dance, choirs, musical theatre and worship teams. Piano quickly became her focus and led her to pursue an Honours B.Mus from Wilfrid Laurier University.
When she formed a private piano studio during university, AmyBeth discovered the joy of teaching. She completed a B.Ed from York University and went on to teach public school for several years before deciding to homeschool her children. AmyBeth and her family immersed themselves in the vibrant homeschooling community in KW region for many years until they joined Foundation Christian School where AmyBeth volunteers in the classroom, on the board and with event planning.
In addition to family time or farm activities, you can find AmyBeth reading, spending time in nature, involved in grassroots community initiatives or having people over to hang out around the fire.
AmyBeth is excited to join the Spark team to share music-making as a form of community building, creative expression and worship.
Danielle Brubacher
Acro Instructor
Danielle has a love for movement. For Danielle, gymnastics was a fun, challenging and creative outlet for movement. Although she loved to train as a gymnast, she quickly discovered one of her passions was coaching. Building relationships and community while reaching goals was fulfilling, so much so that she did it for 20+ years.
Her studies and work in Kinesiology (the study of human movement) continued to develop her love for movement as she assisted those in need of neurological rehabilitation. She has developed a keen awareness of appropriate movement patterns and strives to create healthy movement for those she works with. Danielle has 21 years’ experience as a Kinesiologist and belongs to the Canadian Kinesiology Association (currently on a leave and registered as inactive).
She is excited to bring her love for gymnastics, strong bodies, and healthy movement patterns to Spark.
Brooklyn Churchill
Dance Instructor
We are so excited to introduce Brooklyn to our dance teaching team! She is joining our teacher training program this summer and will be helping out in our Jr. Program this year. She brings contageous joy and kindness to classes at Spark.
Jackie Fast
Violin Instructor
Jackie is a violin teacher and music therapist. She has been studying violin for most of her life and is a recent graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, having received a bachelor of music therapy with a minor in psychology. Jackie has spent her life passionately pursuing music with the goal of teaching violin alongside her music therapy work. She believes that music is a universal language that can bring people together, and that learning to read and play music is an invaluable experience that can benefit many aspects of one’s life. Lessons with Jackie are suited for all ages, levels, and styles. She teaches a range of genres including classical, fiddle, contemporary, and improvisation techniques.
Amelia Lautenbach
Dance Instructor
Miss Amelia has been dancing with Miss Miah for five years. Her hard work and discipline has resulted in accelerated growth in her dance technique. She has strong leadership skill, character, and a passion for dancing for Jesus that inspires our young Spark dancers.
Miss Amelia teaches jazz, hip hop, and ballet.
Krystle Morris
Drama Instructor
Krystle has a love for all things theatre. Whether she is on stage as an actor, or behind the scenes designing costumes, she loves to bring stories to life. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from the University of Windsor, where she focused on video & audio editing, script analysis & costume design for theatre, and the creative process. She is a small business owner, homeschool mom, and loves speaking & writing about the freedom found in God's grace on her blog.
Mark Robbins
Piano Instructor
Mark Robbins has been involved in music for most of his life. He studied music education at Tyndale University, Wilfrid Laurier University and The University of Toronto. He has over thirty years of experience as a Music Educator both privately and in high schools. He has also spent much of his life in musical ministry leadership positions at various churches. Mark is honoured to be a recipient of the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence for his work as the Head of the Arts Department at Madawaska Valley District High School in Renfrew County, Ontario.
He clearly has a passion for sharing the blessing of the wonderful gift of music with his students. He has a particular joy in coaching his students to explore their own creativity through original musical arrangement and composition.
Mark is thrilled to continue sharing this love of creative music making by teaching piano at Spark.
Emily Rutledge
Photography Instructor
Emily fell in love with the art of photography at a young age. At just three years old, as a flower girl in a wedding, she approached the photographer and declared she too would one day be a photographer.
At fourteen years old, she began her own photography business and has spent the last fifteen years photographing couples, families and weddings. Throughout those years, she pursued the incredible opportunity of learning from some of the finest photographers in the region.
Alongside her business, she has had the privilege of working as an associate for fine art photography studios based in the GTA and Niagara Region. Her work has been published both in print and online on several wedding blogs.
One of her greatest passions is cultivating a desire within the next generation to know, love and serve Jesus. She has spent the last eight years pastoring alongside her husband and is now homeschooling her three children. She is excited to spend this next season at Spark teaching and sharing her love of photography!
Through this class she hopes to instil within her students a love for this art and a knowledge that gives them the confidence to authentically convey and capture their God given artistic vision.
Catherine Serez
Vocal Coach
Catherine is an enthusiastic vocal coach who is passionate about equipping singers and speakers with the tools for producing and maintaining a strong, healthy instrument. Catherine emphasizes the strengthening and healing connection between the body and the voice.
She has travelled extensively across the globe on music teams and as a soloist and has been teaching music for all ages as well as leading teams and organizing community events for over thirty years. Catherine attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, received her BMus degree in Voice from Wilfrid Laurier University. She received her TESOL accreditation from University of Waterloo and enjoys writing as well as performing music.
Scott Simon
Piano, Guitar, and Ukulele Instructor
Scott has been passionate about making music for most of his life, and loves helping others find and pursue that passion. He began his music education by learning piano through the Royal Conservatory and spent 8 years studying classical music. Along the way his love for music has led him to learn to play many different instruments and styles. He has experience with piano, acoustic and electric guitar performance, as well as with songwriting and composition. Since 2015 he has also been heavily involved with musical ministry in churches he’s been a part of.
He discovered his passion for teaching in 2016 when he spent 18 months on a missionary apprenticeship with Pais USA, where the primary focus of the ministry was on mentoring children and youth. His experience there had him instructing different principles and skills, including music, to people of all ages.
Scott is excited for this new opportunity to teach with Spark and is looking forward to helping people discover their love for music.
Melody Thorne
Dance Instructor
Miss Melody has been dancing with Miss Miah for five years. Her hard work and discipline has resulted in accelerated growth in her dance technique. She has strong leadership skill, character, and a passion for dancing for Jesus that inspires our young Spark dancers.
Miss Melody teaches ballet.
Curtis Towns
Administrator
We have many incredible parents who volunteer in different ways to make Spark possible. However, this parent volunteer (and Miss Miah's husband) deserves special mention. Curtis helps behind the scenes all year to help us stay organized by assisting with registration and communications.
Michelle Vanlochem
Piano Instructor
For as long as Michelle can remember, music has been a part of her life. Piano lessons started when her uncle offered to pay for them. As she got older, she studied voice and taught herself guitar. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a music major, from Redeemer University in Ancaster, ON and then returned a few years later to earn a Bachelor of Education degree.
She has taught music in the classroom and privately. Since her teen years she has served in music ministry whether playing piano, singing, or playing guitar. She believes that music should be shared and ultimately is all for the glory of God. To use the words of J.S. Bach, “The final aim and reason of all music is nothing other than the glorification of God and the refreshment of the soul.”
Michelle is the home educating mom to four, since the birth of her oldest, and a wife to Marcel for close to 18 years. Besides enjoying music, you might be able to find Michelle gardening, handcrafting, reading, or exploring God's creation.
Jericco Vera
DJ & Music Production Instructor
Over the past decade, Jericco has been learning, teaching, practicing and performing various skills within the audio industry. From producing and publishing his own music, collaborating and mixing with other artists, to DJing and running sound for churches & concerts, he has had many experiences that led him to attain a depth of knowledge within the music industry. He is a graduate from the Metalworks Music Institute in Mississauga, and now has his own company that deals in all types of audio services from the Studio to the Stage.
In Jericco's career, his main focus is creating Electronic and Pop inspired music but loves collaborating in all genres. While these concepts seem complex, Jericco's classes will be accessible for any student of any age!
