Dancing Through Time: A Retrospective of the Last Two Years
Take a look through a timeline of impactful moments Studio North Toronto experienced that makes it what it is today.
Faster than we can say ‘5,6,7,8’, two years have flown by. Studio North was founded by Scott and Carmen Forsyth in 2019 upon the opening of their first studio in Vancouver, BC to provide a home for the dance community where dancers are loved, supported, and pushed to their greatest potential through a world-class experience.
Studio North generates a hub for dancers to train and experience community through a drop-in style environment. The decision to expand came into fruition on July 31st, 2021 when Toronto’s very own location opened up on Dupont Street.
“Opening Studio North in Toronto was a combination of recognizing a need within the community and having a genuine desire to help. As dancers, we knew the amazing talent in Toronto and that just needed a platform to be seen and recognized. After consulting with some of the leaders from the Toronto dance community and receiving their encouragement, we decided to take a risk and it paid off!”, says Carmen.
As 2023 marks our second anniversary of sharing and exchanging energy with the Toronto dance community, Scott and Carmen can only hope to continue to push the Canadian dance scene forward and to help the next generation of leaders to put the Toronto dance community on the map.
We invite you to join us and take this time to look back and celebrate the moments that have impacted our Toronto North family in the last two years.
July 31st, 2021: Opening Day
To celebrate our grand opening we invited the entire community to join us for a block party where music, food and laughs filled the rooms that were just waiting to be danced in, and let us just say - we had a blast!
October 7th, 2021: The Shane Tubog Impact
On October 7th, 2021 Shane Tubog’s choreography to Sad Girls Luv Money (Remix) ft. Kali Uchis by Amaarae was posted to our YouTube channel. On this day it has amassed a total of 128,274 viewsbecoming our most-viewed video ever posted to YouTube on both Studio North Toronto and Vancouver’s Youtube channels. That’s just the Shane Tubog impact.
October 12th, 2021: Memberships introduced
Introducing our first adaptation of studio memberships was a huge moment as it allowed dancers to receive deals on class prices as well as create a baseline for a training regime. Since our initial launch memberships have evolved with feedback and what we believe best suits the students of Toronto to bring them affordable, progressive, and improving memberships. Since the launch of memberships, we are always finding ways to share our thanks to those who invest in their training with us.
November 4th, 2021: The Next Generation of Teachers
The introduction of our ‘Freshman Class’ is a favourite to Toronto class takers. A nod to the XXL Freshman Class, our Freshman classes spotlight the upcoming talents the city has to offer through paid opportunity & experience teaching in a drop-in setting.
Since the launch of this program we’ve had freshman teachers from all different styles and ages take the opportunity to show the city all the talent they have to offer.
And let’s be honest, what’s more fun than taking a class from your best friend in a room full of all your other friends?!
March 18th/20th, 2022: The Northern Exchange
The Northern Exchange is a program that was launched to exchange choreographers between both the Vancouver and Toronto locations. The program provides both studios with the opportunity to explore different styles and learn from teachers outside of dancers' regular training. Jac Valiquette started off the program by heading up to Vancouver to teach two advanced choreography classes. Since the program started, choreographers like Paul Mula and Angela Mendoza have participated. This program has been so much fun and we’re excited to host more amazing choreographers in the future!
March 21st, 2022: Justice Tour
Studio North Toronto had the opportunity to host choreographers Johnny ‘JBLAZE’ Erasme, Julien Chinchilla and Dom Lashawn for three back-to-back workshops during their time in Toronto while they worked on Canada’s very own Justin Bieber’s ‘Justice Tour’. Their classes were filled with new styles, energy exchange, and all-around good vibes.
Opportunities like this are something the studio is always proud to host and we can’t wait to host more for you in the future.
July 30th, 2022: Workshop of the Year
The day before our one-year anniversary a workshop was hosted to celebrate the teachers, staff, and students who had supported the studio's growth from the beginning. A fun-filled day of classes from Shane Tubog & Jac Valiquette, Paul Mula, and Scott & Carmen Forsyth had us all sweating and smiling as we danced together to celebrate a successful year.
Fun fact: Carmen says this is one of her favourite Studio North Toronto memories. Not only was it her first time teaching with Scott in Toronto but at the end while they were dancing together… her pants fell off (well maybe not her favourite, but definitely her most memorable)!
July 31st, 2022: Happy One Year
To celebrate our one-year anniversary, an open house party was hosted at the studio to show gratitude and thanks to all those who supported the studio in any capacity throughout its first year. While organizing this community event, local small Toronto businesses participated. Food, vendors, music, and massages were offered to anyone who would like to partake.
The introduction of our studio's 1-year anniversary T-shirts was also presented as a physical form of achievement that can still be seen worn by weekly class-takers a year later.
August 31st, 2022: She Moves With Us
Another amazing opportunity landed in the laps of the Toronto dance community with the announcement of the PUMA x Studio North collab that happened at the end of August.
Celebrating women everywhere and raising funds for the Jessie’s Center in Toronto, a workshop with choreographers Shane Tubog, Elisha Ladeza, and Amanda May took place with the entire workshop being donation based and all proceeds going to the Jessie’s Center.
Dancers took home a PUMA gift bag which included PUMA swag and items from local women-owned Toronto businesses.
December 30th, 2022: 2022 Wrapped
To welcome in the new year we celebrated dancers who took their training to a whole other level during the 2022 year.
At the top of the list, long-time member, Yuan Sui, took a total of 331 classes, danced a total of 429 hours, and learned from a total of 44 different teachers.
March 19th, 2023: Community Growth
On March 19th we were lucky enough to celebrate our Instagram followers surpassing a total of ten thousand. As we continue to watch our community grow and expand over the years we never forget how grateful we are to all the people who support us.
May 25th, 2023: The Fun and Silly Moments
We always strive to not only generate a productive and creative environment but also one that is fun and welcoming. Throughout the summer members have participated in challenges for the chance to win free merch. Let us put on record, you guys did not disappoint!
June 17th, 2023: Honouring You
For the first time ever Studio North hosted a member's lunch. Membership holders were invited to eat and celebrate all the work they had put in throughout the year. This event was organized to show our appreciation for our friends who constantly show us their support.
July 31st, 2023: 2 Years Around the Sun
As Studio North Toronto turns two, we extend our gratitude to anyone who’s ever stepped foot in our studio and shown us support from afar. Throughout the past few years, we have seen many changes from dancing in masks, to new styles added to our weekly drop-in schedules, and community growth.
To our teachers, whether a weekly class, freshman class, pop-up, or progressive, your creativity continues to inspire the community you pour your heart and soul into. Thank you for your vulnerability in sharing and your willingness to allow others into your world of dance, for this we are grateful and can’t wait for the opportunity to dance with you once again.
To our staff, managers, social media, videographers, FDA’s and more. Without you, our studio wouldn’t be able to run as smoothly as it does. It brings us joy to know that whenever someone steps foot into our studio they are welcomed with a warm smile from you.
To Scott and Carmen, without you, there would be no Studio North! Thank you for cultivating a space free of judgment and providing Toronto with a home to simply dance and have fun.
Most of all, thank you to our community members. If you’ve been to one class, 100, or support from afar, it does not go unnoticed. Your love for this art form is what helps us to continue to develop. Knowing we have a community as kind, passionate, and driven as Toronto always reminds us of why we started this in the first place.
Here is to the next year of dancing for ourselves and our community.
