Vanda Maunder, A.I.S.T.D. (B) Owner / Teacher – Vanda Maunder Dance Studio since 1973.
At age 5, Mrs. M was lucky enough to see The New York City Rockettes at The Radio City Music and the rest, as they say, is history!
Vanda Maunder started dancing at The Sandra Casey School of Dance at the age of 5 (though her Mom said Vanda started dancing much earlier than that – she started dancing in the womb!). When Miss Casey moved to Texas, Vanda found Miss Fagan at The Judy Fagan School of Dance. Vanda went on to study with Gail Innis at The Newfoundland Dance Theatre, at The Judy Knee Dance Studio, and with Tina Phelps at The Barbara Ashley School of Dance. Though Vanda values the teachers who guided her training abroad, she treasures her Newfoundland teachers who taught her so much.
As a qualified professional Vanda holds teaching certificates in Ballroom Dance, Cecchetti Ballet, and Tap Dancing from the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance in London, England, and Latin Dancing from the Canadian Dance Teachers Association. Vanda has also studied traditional Step-Dance with the internationally-acclaimed teacher, Mary Janet MacDonald in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Vanda participated in several Cecchetti Ballet Teacher Summer Programs at The National Ballet School, Toronto. She obtained an associate in London, England under the tutorage of Eric Donaldson.
Vanda received her academic education at Prince of Wales Collegiate and Memorial University in St. John’s, NL. Along with her Dance Studio, Vanda also operates BodyActive, a small retail store dealing in dance and exercise wear.
Vanda is a member of the Newfoundland Dance Teachers’ Association.
For a number of years, Vanda was engaged by several local Elementary Schools to devise and instruct a very successful series of “Art Smart” programs, which incorporated dance as a means of augmenting instruction in the more traditional curricular subjects.