Faculty & Staff
Melanie Gillis
Studio Owner
Melanie is the founder, co-ordinator and operations manager at Studio-G Hamilton. She keeps things organized so that our instructors can focus on curriculum development and teaching.
If you are contacting the studio through email, phone or social media, you are communicating with her, and she is always there to run our social events and parties.
Cornell Mannings
Head Instructor & Artistic Director
Cornell Mannings is our Studio-G head instructor and Creative Director. Originally dancing and teaching at San Tropez in Montreal and City Dance Corps in Toronto, he has also performed and instructed at Salsa congresses in Canada, Miami and Puerto Rico. He has taught Latin dance since 2000, and his students have won a combined total of over 40 gold medals at Dancesport Canada, and several top-ten finishes in various pro-am Salsa competitions.
Most importantly, people love Cornell’s classes because they are fun. We are blessed to have him here in Hamilton. If there is one reason why people love his class, it is that he makes it fun to learn. “I don’t believe in re-inventing the wheel but in teaching students in the way that they learn best. Everyone learns in a different way.”
Rachel and Dan Dubeckyj
Salsa Instructors
This dynamic duo have been dancing and teaching in Hamilton since 2013. We are so pleased to have them with us at Studio-G. They work together as a team, which allows them to focus on the elements of lead and follow, both separately to learn the steps, and together to understand lead/follow techniques as they apply to partner dancing.
Rachel and Dan currently teach beginner salsa levels one through three, and classes are taught in 6 week sessions.
Jennifer Morgan
Bachata Instructor
Jennifer knows that there is nothing better than dance for clearing the mind, filling the heart, and exercising the body.
Jennifer teaches level 1 and 2 bachata, and has co-directed bachata performance teams. Jennifer has also taught and assisted with bachata workshops throughout our local community, including Miss Bachata in Mississauga.
Bethany Quick
Advanced Latin Instructor
Bethany Quick started dancing at age 4 and has trained in multiple dance forms since. She now lives in the world of Latin and Ballroom where grace, elegance and rhythm intertwine. She holds multiple Ontario Champion titles, and is the 2023 Canadian champion in International Latin.
In her teaching, Beth combines her experienced technical training with her creative passion for dance. At Studio-G we are blessed to have her teach us not only the important fundamentals of Latin dance, but also advanced technique, styling, partner connection and overall dance presence.
Giovanni Salgado
Salsa Instructor
Studio-G Hamilton is honoured to have Giovanni Salgado on our team. He has been dancing and teaching since 2016. He is our Rueda de Casino expert, having learned from Mexican born Ariel Leon who studied in Cuba.
Giovanni comes to us from Morelos, Mexico and is here to make Hamilton his home in Canada. He currently teaches a Rueda de Casino series, as well as a beginner Salsa course taught exclusively in Spanish.
