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about us
Myles and Tessa are active in the local community, teaching private lessons, coaching performance teams, teaching group classes, school workshops, the UBC Swing Kids club, and dancing on stage and film. They are relentless in bringing authentic West Coast Swing out from underground and into the mainstream. They are fiercely committed to creating awareness of this evolved and expressive, yet sadly misunderstood form of Swing.
Myles is a natural born dancer and teacher who was fortunate to have recognized his talent at a young age and has trained and developed
it ever since. He has extensive experience and credits in Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, Martial Arts, Country, Latin, Ballroom,
and Swing. He is able to draw on multiple sources of training and experience for unique dancing and teaching strategies. Myles has
the amazing ability to observe a dance he's never seen and after only 5 minutes be able to replicate it perfectly with the technique
and style it normally would take years to develop.
Tessa has a natural kinesthetic ability and musical sense which she used in her youth through sports and music. She only recently
discovered her talent for dance and has enjoyed making up for lost time with an intense learning curve. She has 2 Bachelors degrees:
one in Human Kinetics which gives her a deep technical understanding of body movement, and one in Education which enables her to breakdown
and explain those movements to learners.
Both love the spotlight and live to perform. They are passionate about dance (Swing in particular),
improving and progressing their own dancing, and about sharing their gifts and expertise with eager spectators and learners.
Myles, youngest son of Mickey and Ian Munroe was born in Ontario and moved to Calgary shortly after. He tagged along with his parents
and brother Toby to regional country dance events and caught the dance bug. Since the age of 8, Myles has studied all forms of performing
arts, falling in love with the stage and partner dancing in particular. After winning his first World Championship title at age 14
he went on to win 5 more, the bulk of them with Lisa Richardson, now McIntyre. Teaching since age 14, he was always the youngest
instructor on staff, consistently challenging dancers' stereotypes about "age=expertise". He continutes to contribute to and
influence the state of the art.
Myles and Tessa met at a Vancouver Swing Club dance where he was hired in to teach. She and her partner at the time took privates
from him and they became fast friends. A year later and partnerless, she played host to him every time he was in town to teach. After
a few visits secretly designed to "sell" him on the idea of relocating, Myles was convinced to move to Vancouver.
They made
their debut as a partnership on home turf at the Sea to Sky Dance Convention in September 2002. Since then they have taken the West Coast
community by storm, both independently and as a team, teaching, performing, winning competitions, judging, emceeing, and coaching
choreography. They now live together in the heart of Vancouver, but travel extensively and frequently across North America and
abroad.
They are advocates for and actively pursue professional development, believing that technicians such as teachers
have a responsibility to their students to upgrade their skills. They are avid contributors to the dance community, and applaud
all efforts to expose and expand the Arts. They promote education on the history of Swing and the progression
of West Coast Swing, because you have to know where you came from in order to know where you're going.
As the youngest and most
accredited partnership in the NorthWest, they are humbly aware of the influence they have as role models. They are fiercely
committed to the improvement and expansion of West Coast Swing in their community, and are proud to put Canada on the
map in the world of Swing.
"I love that you are so FUN! You have a great rapport with each other, and that attitude is infectious- it makes for an entertaining,
relaxing class, yet we are learning so much! -B.L.
"No artist is ahead of his time. He is his time - it's just that others are behind the times." - Martha Graham
"Leadership is instilling vision in generations to follow"
This pic was taken the first time we ever competed together. Tessa was still in Novice and we won the professional division against
the Northwest Champions at the time.
Myles Munroe and Tessa Cunningham are Canada's top West Coast Swing couple, currently ranked top 5 in the world, according
to the World Swing Dance Council (WSDC) and National Association of Swing Dance Events (NASDE). Based in Vancouver, they travel
internationally, teaching, competing, performing, coaching, and judging at dance events across the globe. They are fiercely
committed to creating awareness of this evolved and expressive form of Swing. Known for their creativity and innovative
style in both improvised and choreographed competition, Myles & Tessa are two of the movers and shakers of authentic WCS . Event
promoters, please see our PRESS KIT page for print-ready bios.
myles munroe & tessa cunningham, principals
Tessa was born in Vancouver and raised in the suburb of Coquitlam. After a lifetime of competitive swimming and music, she attended
UBC to acheive her Bachelor of Human Kinetics degree. Dad, Roger, took up ballroom dancing and she would hang out at the parties and
try to follow along. She learned how to follow before she learned how to dance. Upon graduation, she was looking for a new hobby and
found 2Can Dance Company. She spent 1 year learning the basics of all the partner dances under local instructor Ian Kirkconnell.
When Ian discovered the West Coast Swing phenomenon, he convinced her to attend her first swing event, Seattle Easter Swing where
she fell in love at first sight with the dance.
when myles met tessa...
jen oleksiuk, assistant instructor
tessa
dean reimer, assistant instructor
Dean has been dancing since 2000, East Coast, Lindy Hop, Balboa, Shag, Blues and West Coast Swing. His sister got him
into dancing where he was coached by Kerry & Dawn Blouin. He competed at Camp Hollywood in 2004 in Showcase against Ben
& Sherri and Yuval & Natalie. He has competed at various events over the past 3 years, placing twice in second place in Lindy
Jack and Jill. He travels regularly to dance: Seattle, Portland, LA, Denver, and Chicago. He has been teaching
all forms of Swing for the past 3 years, under the mentorship of Myles and Tessa for West Coast Swing. He's a
Virgo and likes long walks on the beach, drinking pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.
Vancouver born and raised, Jen has trained internationally establishing her place as a top female Hip Hop choreographer, instructor,
and dancer. Her unique and creative choreography and strong and dynamic freestyle is what sets her apart and keeps her in demand.
Jen's credits include working with Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake dancers/choreographers; performing in music videos for
K-OS and Moka Only; commercials for Coca Cola, Kohl's, Z95.3FM, the television show "The Romeo Show", movies "White
Chicks", "Cinderella Story 2" and "Kickin It Old Skool". She has opened for Talib Kweli and The Roots, freestyled for Hugo Boss, and choreographed/
performed/modeled in shows for Vancouver Fashion Week, Ed Hardy, Miss Sixty, and Stella Artois. She has also founded one of Canada's
top all female dance crews, Stonefoxx. Jen's dance style can be described as diverse, energetic and fluid, her stage presence as captivating,
vibrant and expressive and her classes are entertaining, passionate and challenging. Her talents in dance not only involve Hip Hop,
Freestyle, House dance, Whacking, and Old School but also Salsa, Street Jazz, Contemporary, Lindy Hop, and West Coast Swing.