Archive

Teaching Zumba classes at the Kerrisdale Community Centre for 13 years, Tanya Hillson draws deeply from both her Caribbean heritage and Latin dance background. “My family comes from Trinidad and Tobago, which is the birthplace of soca and calypso music, the steel drum and limbo, and home to the world’s largest Caribbean carnival,” says Hillson, who was born and raised in Vancouver but frequently visited Trinidad as a child and teen. “Latin dance is also popular on the

Julien Toscano-Saoui has entered the building as our new food services coordinator. Working in Vancouver’s restaurant scene since he was 16, he fully embarked on his culinary journey at Mahoney’s Tavern (Vancouver Convention Centre location) before moving on to help open Tap & Barrel‘s North Vancouver location, oversee Tacofino‘s food trucks, work as chef de partie at Kitsilano’s Oddfish Restaurant and, most recently, as sous chef at Yolks on W. Broadway. Only a few weeks into his new Kerrisdale Community Centre Society role, Toscano-Saoui says: “I like it, it’s exciting, it’s fun.

Music instructor Joseph Young can’t say enough about the humble ukulele. “One of my favourite things about teaching the ukulele is the community surrounding it,” says Young, who has been teaching music for almost 20 years. “The uke community in the Lower Mainland is robust and welcoming across the board, and getting to introduce people to it is a pleasure.” Skilled at playing a variety of instruments, including the guitar, piano, saxophone and, of course, ukulele, he

Say hello to Richard Pelcz! Teaching boxing at the Kerrisdale Community Centre for the last year and a half, the Hungarian-born instructor was bitten by the fitness bug early on. Moving to Canada with his family at age 10, he was first introduced to judo, then taekwondo, before running dojos in the Fraser Valley. Boxing since he was 23, Pelcz won the 1993 Golden Gloves Championship in Portland, Oregon, in the 168-pound division. He also earned his third-degree

Celebrating International Women’s Day with a shoutout to all of our female instructors, including Group Fitness teacher Nevada Banks (photo, above). Growing up dancing, Banks has worked as a fitness professional for the past 16 years. Teaching at the Kerrisdale Community Centre for over a year now, she is passionate about creating movement classes that are fun and inclusive for every kind of body. “It can be intimidating to try something new,” says Banks, adding that group settings can give