ZOE THEODOROU

Meet Zoe

With a stage presence both rare and unique, Zoe projects the kindred spirits of Ella, Aretha, Chaka and Whitney into a captivating and vibrant musical adventure.  From the silky smooth-jazz undertones of her debut record to the fiery and passionate spectacle of her live shows, Zoe radiates the sincerity, allure, excitement and excellence of her musical ancestors.  Soul and spirit, vibe and voice…simply Zoe.

Her current credits include being featured vocally on various commercials and jingles.  Clients include ESPN for specialty programs such as the World Cup and Monday Night Football, and Mark’s Work Wearhouse to name a few.  Zoe has also been showcased on the nationally syndicated CBC Radio Two show Disc Drive, where she performed live acoustic versions of selected material from her first album “Essence of Life”.  This album generated a song that won a Canadian Gospel Music award for Best Jazz Vocal.  Because of her natural gift to relate to people both musically and personally, Zoë was chosen to be in the fourth season of the popular award winning Canadian documentary/reality show Taking It Off which airs on the ONE Network across Canada, and on the Discovery Channel in the U.K.

KIEU GRISBY

VOCALIST

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

Meet Kieu

Kieu T. Grisby, was born and raised in California. From a very young age Kieu displayed a natural ability to perform.

At the age of 8 he began training and performing with his mother, a trained Opera scholar from the University of California in Santa Barbara. His destiny was sealed by his love to perform.

Kieu spent his youth singing in choirs and ensembles, and was accepted into the East Bay Centre of Performing Arts to continue his education in an environment where he could expand his knowledge and skills with the demand of excellence in vocals, dance and theatre.

He has since worked with Mario, Chaka Khan, Michael Jackson, and captured many leading roles starring in several off-Broadway Shows, including Smokey Joe’s Cafe, The Wiz, Brigadoon, Heaven Help Us as Sammy Davis, Oedipus, Rocky Horror, and Rent.

ASHLEY IRVIN

CANADA

Meet Ashely

Ashley Irvin is a multi-talented professional dancer / choreographer from Calgary, AB, Canada where she found her love for dance under the tutelage of Susan Mensinger and many others. Ashley has trained and performed internationally including Alvin Ailey (New York) and in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Berlin, Munich and Zurich. Currently based in Calgary as head choreographer/dancer/stage producer with ensemble Groove Academy (MYX Group/Live Music Entertainment), her camera and stage work includes work with America’s Best Dance Crew, Kanye West and The Dream (Switzerland) to name a few.  Ashley’s repertoire includes jazz, tap, contemporary, hip hop, African, Horton, ballet and modern styles.  Ashley brings passion, personality, and high production value to all her projects.

JAMIE QUIRING

KEYBOARDS

CANADA

Meet Jamie

Jamie Quiring is a musician from Calgary, AB.  Classically trained on the piano from an early age, Jamie’s skills expanded under the tutelage of a very musical family. He continued to train, play and practice well into his postsecondary education, where he began his career as a professional keyboardist. Working with various artists from all over the world and Canada, Jamie now includes programming, arranging, writing and producing in his musical arsenal. Apart from his role as keyboardist in Groove Academy, Jamie has produced and written tracks for Drumndj, DJ Kav (Calgary) as well as many other Canadian based hip-hop artists. Jamie relishes in his role with Groove Academy; creating and developing music and art with his musical family.

JASLYN READER

DANCER

AUSTRALIA

Jaslyn hails from Australia where she trained in ballet and contemporary styles of dance. She has performed for various ballet, contemporary and Dance Theatre companies including ATMA Dance Company in collaboration with the Royal Ballet, The McOnie Company in the West End and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures performing for the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
She was a performer and apprentice with Melbourne Ballet Company and Expressions Dance Company in Australia and Royal New Zealand Ballet Company. Her commercial credits include Burberry Christmas Campaign 2016 commercial, Dancing with the Stars Germany, Kanye West Concerts in
Australia, as well as events and fashion shows for Redken, Loreal, Triumph, Mercedes, Audi, Tiffany & Co., Lingerie London, John Reed Fitness, BMW, Patek Phillipe, HSBC, Telekom, VW, Cadillac. Music video credits include Apple Music, Florence and the Machine, MIKA, Miike Snow,
SKIY, The Scheme, Avec Sans, amongst others. Her broad range of performance styles has allowed her the opportunity to perform for many celebrities and prestigious events around the world.

JUAN CARLOS “CHOCOLATE”

CUBA

Meet “Choco”

This natural born performer hails from Havana City, Cuba.  Early on he understood that music would be his salvation, and Juan Carlos (“Chocolaté”) attended the prestigious Escuela Nacional de Artes, La Habana where he ranked top of his class.

His professional music career began in 1993 when he was selected to record the first album of the National Philharmonic Orchestra.  Soon he joined popular touring and recording artists “Bamboleo”, recording 5 of their CD’s and playing international festivals.

In 2001 he got the call to join Cuba’s “Cesar Pedroso” and his new band “Pupy Y Los que Son Son”, and continued to tour and record.

After his second tour in Canada in 2008, he moved to Calgary and is currently working with world music group “Los Morenos” on their new album recording both trumpet and percussion and producing several of the tracks.

Ruben Bocaranda
DRUMS
VENEZUELA
Meet Ruben

Ruben started his professional career as a musician in Venezuela. “El Sistema”, Venezuela’s world famous classical music program was where Ruben started his musical journey. His natural gift firmly established him as one the best young talents amongst his peers. This opened many doors for the young musician, and in 2009 he made the move to Canada. He soon became one of the most sought-after drummers in Western Canada due to his ability to perform several genres of music. Ruben moves freely through Jazz, Latin, Pop, R&B and is capable of embracing different styles of music and making them his own. Ruben is currently endorsed by Yamaha Drums and shares his professional career performing for several projects in Canada and Germany.

Hank Insell

CALIFORNIA

Meet Hank

Bass Player extraordinaire! At an early age Hank showed promise enough to be chosen to attend a school for gifted children at Berkeley University the California campus which has produced award winning artists, performers and teachers.

Hank followed this legacy by performing with Grammy winning award artists by the age of 20, and Carnegie Hall at 21. His inbred talent and instinct of great music has given him a unique journey. As house bassist for high end hotels in Waikiki Hawaii for 7 years,Hank became recognized for his personality as well as his playing by many celebrities. He has won two co-Junos with Greg Sczebel and is an award winning bassist for several other Juno winners. He is on speed dial for top performers and industry professionals and has been house bassist for several award shows in Canada. Hank has been chosen to endorse Dingwall basses since 1998 and has also performed for the John Lennon songwriting society winners. From coast to coast Hank is know for his dynamic playing and stage personality.

Kaela Faloon

DANCER

CANADA

Meet Kaela

Kaela is a well-recognized artist in the field of dance. Professionally trained in an elite group of dancers through Ryerson University’s dance program Kaela studied under many acclaimed faculty members from The National Ballet and The Toronto Dance Theater. After graduation from Ryserson Kaela continued to pursue dance at the professional level which lead her to work with many reputable dancers and choreographers in the dance industry.

Kaela’ s credits include; MMVA’S, TIFF, Fashion Art Toronto, Calgary Stampede, Grey Cup, Much Music’s Best Dance Crew, Luminato Festival, Summer Rush, Pan Am Games Opening ceremony, music videos – Jully Black, Nelly Furtado, Snoop Dogg, Shawn Desman, Audio Playground, Karl Wolf, Jill Barber and Bobby Bazini to name a few. She has worked with artists on numerous live and touring performances some of these artists include Estelle, The Roots, Flo Rida, Carly Rae Jepsen, Mia Martina, Hedley, Basshunter, Kreesha Turner, Anjulie, Bow Wow, Nickelback, Mariana’s Trench, Young MC, Sugar Hill Gang, Naughty by Nature, Rob Base and many more.

VINCENT “SUGARBEAR” NAIRN

GUITAR

GERMANY

Brittany Good

DANCER

CANADA

Meet Brittany

Originally from Chilliwack British Columbia Brittany trained intensively studying all styles of dance such as: Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Musical Theatre. This lead to a secondary interest in training as as a competitive gymnast which due to her natural ability took her to a level of being chosen to train with an Olympic coach. 

In 2010, She moved to Toronto Ontario to take her dance and acting career to new heights. Her talent has taken her all across Canada and the United States establishing her as a top Canadian performer and Artist. Brittany’s career highlights include: Appearances in movies such as Disney the Descendants, Frenemies, and Motion Picture Dr Cabbie. Brittany has appeared in major commercials and Television shows like Hellcats, The Next Star, Warehouse 13, Full out, Ford and Mini Cooper. Brittany has also worked with artists such as Nelly Furtado, Carley Rae Jepsen, Shawn Mendes, Keisha Chante, Serani, and Victoria Duffield. She had the pleasure of opening for Nick Carters US Tour with artist Guinevere and also Touring Canada with Anjulie, Blake Mcgrath, and Mia Martina.

KYLE SHERINGTON

GUITAR

CANADA

Canadian born Kyle Sherrington has been playing guitar for twenty years. After graduating from Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton in 2005, Kyle has been employed as an orchestra musician with various cruise lines, traveling to over fifty countries. His influences are Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Pat Metheny and Brad Paisley. Kyle has worked with such notable artists as Ruben Studdard from American Idol, and Canadian pianist and Senator Tommy Banks.

KELSEY WILLMOTT

DANCER 

CANADA

Kelsey, originally from Alberta Canada got her start in dance performing for the Young Canadians at the world famous Calgary Stampede. She began training in Ballet, Jazz and Tap before adding other dance forms to her repertoire to expand her versatility as dancer and artist. Her career progressed as she worked in various shows for Carnival Cruise Lines as an onboard performer and entertainer. Kelsey moved to Toronto, Ontario to further her dance opportunities and has performed on stage with well known Korean recording artist PSY (Gangham Style) and Canadian rock band Headly at the Much Music Video Music Awards. She has performed for recording artist Craig Smart, along with appearing on screen in music videos and national commercials. Kelsey has performed in cabaret shows and also with the Creativiva company in their stage productions of Alice In Wonderland, Cinderella, Jungle Book, Dolce Vita, and Treasure Island has her take on the pivotal role of dance captain for each show.