Natasja Macdonald (she/her) discovered her love for dance at the early age of 3 and hasn’t stopped since. She trained competitively at The Dance Station in her hometown of Burlington, Ontario, competing in various styles including ballet, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, and pointe. She has completed numerous Vaganova Ballet Examinations, up to and including Pre-Elementary, awarded with Distinction. Additionally, Natasja studied Cecchetti ballet and has most recently completed the Intermediate level exam, with training completed at the Advanced 1 level as well. Now Natasja is attending Ryerson University’s Performance Dance program, on her way to earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
Natasja is often recognized by judges for her passion, storytelling and performance quality on stage with various awards and scholarships including the Total Package Award at Shock Dance Competition. She has also held two titles; Miss Junior Onstage NY and was Runner Up Miss Teen Onstage. Besides competitive dance, Natasja has trained for four summers with the ProArteDanza Summer Intensive Program, under the direction of Roberto Campanella and Robert Glumbek. Her last two summers she was the proud recipient of the Aspirante Scholarship.
Over the last few years, Natasja has had the opportunity to work with and learn from some amazing choreographers including Kelly Shaw, Jordan Clark, Evan Supple, Tiffany McLaughlin, Mitchell Jackson, Amanda Cleghorn, Alvin Collantes, Roberto Campanella, and Robert Glumbek.
Natasja believes in the importance of versatility in her dance training. For five years, Natasja trained under the guidance of Leah Totten as a member of the all-female hip-hop group called Boss Dance Company, based in Toronto. This year the training included creating music videos, offering Natasja the opportunity to explore dancing in front of a camera and being a part of video productions. Other opportunities performing in front of a camera came from being a dancer on the Hallmark Movie “A Nutcracker Christmas” and two Mini Pop Kids videos. She has also worked as a model in several catalogue shoots for Hamilton’s Theatrical Supply.
Natasja also has other interests besides dance. She used to play rep soccer, which she gave up to focus on the arts. As a student, Natasja graduated as part of the Honours Society with a Visual Arts SHSM program certificate and awards for her achievements in Visual Arts and Photography classes.