Studio One School of Performing Arts  

Back to Staff

Tara began her dance lessons at the age of three. Her love of dance quickly led her from taking one class a week to spending most of her waking hours at a dance studio. She has a well-rounded background in dance, including studies in Jazz, Ballet, Musical Theatre, Modern, and Tap. Tara combined her dance training with artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, and distinguished herself as a member of the Manitoba Rhythmic Gymnastics Provincial Display Team. She is also an accomplished musician who is proficient on the piano, organ, baritone and tenor saxophones as well as a gifted vocalist.

TARA ROBERTS

While Tara has spent the last fifteen years taking classes from Katherine Lind, she has also studied with many other exceptional teachers. Some of her training included classes with Randy Coleman, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the School of Contemporary Dancers, the Karen Luba School of Dance, the J. Tokaryk Dance Centre, L.A. Dance Force, and most recently, with The Triple Threat Dance Company in Calgary (where she enjoyed classes taught by many internationally-known dancers, including Charles McGowan - best known for his performance in the movie "A Chorus Line").

As a performer, Tara participated in numerous musicals as a dancer and assistant choreographer and in countless music recitals as a musician and vocalist – she was once an understudy for the Manitoba Opera. She has also worked as a choreographer for Senior High Choral Group at Silver Heights Collegiate. As a workshop clinician, she has taught workshops in Jazz and Tap to elementary students in the St. James School division, and for Brownie and Girl Guide groups.

At the age of eighteen, Tara began to teach dance classes at The Karen Luba School of Dance, where she taught jazz and tap classes to students ranging from 3 to 16 years of age. Tara has also taught the Kinder Ballet program and beginner Jazz program (ages 3 – 7) for the City of Winnipeg Parks and Recreation Department. Tara started her teaching at Studio One as an assistant teacher in the pre-school program and the "This & That" program before taking on her own classes in adult tap in 1997. Formerly she was a member of the faculty of the School of Contemporary Dancers, teaching tap to students aged 6 to 12 years. Although she loves to teach young children, she has found her adult tap classes to be extremely challenging and a lot of fun!

Tara is a registered nurse and has graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a degree in Psychology. She has now completed an Occupational Therapy degree at the University of Manitoba, and works at the Grace Hospital. When she finds time in her busy academic,work and dance schedule, Tara has volunteered with Dance Manitoba, the Winnipeg Music Competition Festival, and the Pantages Playhouse Theatre. She also excels at crafts and spoiling her cats Fraggle, Footles and dog Squiggles.