Make An Impact: Challenge Yourself

Beginning her training age of three, Juliana has studied multiple genres of dance before shifting exclusively to tap dance. In 2004, Juliana joined Downbeats Tap Company (Cathy Duncan) where she performed in the East Coast Tap Conference, Taking the Rhythm Train, Embrace the Rhythm, Toronto's Live in Culture Campaign, and many other shows across Ontario. Currently Juliana works as a contributing artist with the Toronto Rhythm Initiative (TRI), a collective of tap dancers committed to voicing the artistry of Toronto’s professional tap dance community. With TRI she has performed in seventeen TRI shows to date, has sat on the faculty for TRI's Youth Ensemble for many years, and in 2016 joined on as co-producer of the TRI Summer Youth Intensive. Juliana spent time studying abroad with Heather Cornell and performed in Walk To The Beat (New York), Rhythm Lives! (Montreal Tap Festival) alongside living legend Arthur Duncan and members of Tapestry Dance Company, as well as performing in the Inaugural Toronto Body Percussion Festival (Allison Toffan), Ron Davis' Symphronica, and The Toronto International Tap Festival (both choreographed by Dianne Montgomery) and Rhythm and Sound's Illumination (Cori Giannotta and Johnathan Morin). She performed and choreographed for Fall for Dance North's Perspective In Rhythm (curated by Allison Toffan and Michael Caldwell). Most recently, Juliana co-produced The Artist Symposium featuring Dianne Walker, Intersection 2021, and the 2022 Toronto International Tap Dance Festival alongside Allison Toffan. Juliana is also the founder and director The Rhythm Ensemble, a pre-professional tap dance company dedicated to providing unique training and performance opportunities to serious tap dancers, now in their eighth season. Her passion for education has also led her to many opportunities as an educator including guest choreography and classes, summer intensives, workshops, conventions, seminars, and adjudication. She strives to spread the love, and respect of tap dance and its community to all her dancers.