Meet Our Teachers
Creative Director
Aliya Clark
Alli Haab
Christian Asilo
Dance Instructor
Dance Instructor
Breakdance
Sarah Bashaw
Some local and some originating from different parts of the world- our teachers bring a diverse perspective and a unique love for dance.
Tanisha Skauge
Maya Robichaud
Lilly Ward
Ruth-Ann Dyck
Discipleship/Admin
Ballet TECH
Lifts & Tricks (Tumbling/Stunting) TECH
Hip Hop TOTS
BIOS
Aliya Clark
Originally from Kamloops, BC, Aliya started dancing since she was 2 years old and has been dancing ever since. As she grew up, her love and passion for dance continued to grow which led her to learn different styles of dance - ballet, hiphop, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, modern, acro, as well as musical theatre. Aliya has been creating dances with her friends and family since a very young age but at age 11 she began choreographing more officially and presenting her work on stage. She has continued to teach and choreograph, providing her with a lot of experience in creating beautiful and touching choreographies. Aliya spent 10 years participating and dancing with a dance company called "OneWord Tours", a social justice based dance company in which they toured the world, performing and raising awareness and money, for those in need.
Aliya teaches most of the classes we offer, such as tap, jazz, ballet, hiphop, and contemporary. Her love for Jesus and love for teaching is evident to all who have been in any of her classes. We are more than blessed to have Aliya with us in The Groove!
Sarah Bashaw
Sarah made Fort St. John her home 16 years ago when she married Nathan who scooped her off her feet, or should we say off her homeland. They are now raising 4 amazing humans aged 6-13. Though her dance journey started later in life at 16 years of age, Sarah believes it's never too late to start dancing. She taught Hip Hop at a school in Cali, Colombia for many years and has been a part of outreach focused dance crews, as well as led several discipleship ventures. Her love for Jesus, family, this generation, and storytelling through the Creative Arts, is a growing passion she seeks to keep at the forefront of everything she does.
Allison Haab
Allison was born and raised in Fort St. John and has always had a passion for teaching and all things artistic. She grew up doing ballet and, later on, branched out to hiphop, jazz, tap, lyrical, musical theatre, and contemporary. Though she is new to the team she has always been a teacher and a choreographer at heart, teaching all her sisters and friends the dances and moves she dreamed up or learned in class. Allison spent 5 years in dance, part of which was spent in competitions, helping hone and sharpen her skills and knowledge in dance and teaching. With time, Jesus has grown to be the focus, underlining message, and inspiration for all her artistic passions, and now she hopes to use that love of dance, music, connection, and God’s creation, to help nurture that same passion in her future students.
Christian Asilo
Born in Manila, Philippines, Christian took an interest in art and dance in his early years. By the age of 14 he got into breakdance and by the time he was in high school, he was performing and competing. He has been part of different dance crews and has had the opportunity to perform around his province of Laguna in the Philippines. He also acquired experience in cheer dancing, which he did all the way to college. In 2014 Christian moved to Canada where he started his own business- a tattoo shop, which allows him to use his love for art. Dancing continues to be a passion for Christian, especially involving kids and youth, and it's something he is making time for even with a growing family, (his fourth child on the way). We are so excited to have Christian as part of our team!
Lilly Ward
Lilly is originally from Saint John, New Brunswick, but moved to Fort St. John when she was four years old. She has always had a love for dance and music. As a child, she danced at a local studio in Fort St. John for a time, but eventually stopped—though her passion for dance never faded.
Lilly began dancing with us in 2023, and it was through performing the song Dead Man Walking that Lilly found her way back to Christ. At the time, she was struggling with deep depression, but something shifted during that season—she experienced freedom and healing through the power of Jesus in dance.
Since then, Lilly has continued to dance with us and loves every second of it. She has a deep passion for Hip Hop—it’s where she feels she can give her all and not be afraid. For Lilly, dance is a space of freedom, expression, and authenticity—a place where she can truly be herself. She also has a huge love for young kids, which evident to those around her. We super excited to have her leading our Hip Hop Tots class!
Maya Robichaud
Maya has been dancing since she was a little girl—whether it was in the kitchen, the living room with her family, or at church on a Sunday morning. She began cheerleading at the age of five in her hometown of Saint John, New Brunswick, where she spent two years learning stunts, jumps, tumbling, and dance.
In 2013, Maya moved to Fort St. John and spent the next five years competing with Aurora All Stars and Energetic Edge cheerleading teams. During that time, she participated in several competitions and proudly took home first place twice.
When she heard about a Christian dance group starting at her church, she couldn’t wait to be part of it. Over the past four years, Maya has trained in hip hop, lyrical, contemporary, and ballet, while also serving as a junior teacher and member of the leadership group at The Groove. This program has been a meaningful outlet for her to express her love for dance, share her faith, and grow as a mentor to younger students.
This season, Maya is stepping into a role that highlights her area of expertise, and we’re thrilled to launch this exciting new class that blends dance and cheer: the perfect combination of movement, tricks, flips, and stunts.
Ruth-Ann Dyck
Ruth-Ann and her husband celebrated 20 years of marriage this year, and share 6 beautiful
children together ranging in age from 19-3. She has had a passion for teaching, Jesus, and dance
as far back as she can remember. Although she never had the opportunity as a child to train as
a dancer, Jesus has grown her love for the beauty and significance of this form of movement in
the last decade. Dance has always fascinated her, but when she encountered worship dance in
her late 20s, something slid into place in her heart. She knew this was something to dive into.
Little by little she found freedom to move in worship with a flag in hand, not really knowing
why it felt so absolutely “right.” In recent years, she began to be pulled into spaces and
situations where the Lord was able to shine some light on the reasons why she has always been
drawn to dance, particularly forms of both spontaneous and choreographed dance as a form of
worship. Through these experiences, she has been emboldened to teach and encourage our
dancers to engage in spontaneous worship dance exercises once a month as part of our
discipleship component.
Ruth-Ann’s role of discipleship within the context of The Groove has been more rewarding than
she could have ever imagined. Her goal is to point our dancers toward Jesus, and provide
structure and direction for spiritual growth as these young people encounter new seasons. She
has loved blending dance history together with Scriptural truths whenever the Lord shows her
connections, and engaging in challenging topics with our teenagers.
More of our team
Rachel Buziak
Bookeeper
Jessica Diehl
Hair & Make Up Coordinator
Destiny Ward
Events Manager/ Musical Theatre Instructor
Evangel School of Music Director
The Story of The Groove
Check out this video where Sarah, the founder of The Groove, shares the story of where this all started when God planted a big vision in her heart. She shares about its humble beginnings in Cali, Colombia, and the amazing journey that led to what The Groove is today.
Mentorship
Here at The Groove , we highly value mentorship. We are intentional in fostering spiritual growth and see it as the core of everything we do.This video gives a quick glimpse into how we weave discipleship into our dance program.