Photo by Nicole Richard
My name is Danté Grootjes, and I am a seventeen year old professional ballet student. I was born in Grand Forks, BC, where I discovered my love for dance while growing up in the dance studio where my mother taught. And at the age of 5, I was already learning tap, musical theatre, hip-hop and Irish dance on top of playing hockey and swimming competitively. In 2013, my family moved to Kelowna where I continued to be a competitive swimmer but would discover competitive dance.
I soon went on to become a world-class champion Irish dancer, with regional & national titles, including notable world placements. In 2021, I fell in love with the world of ballet after watching Mission Dance Company’s ‘The Nutcracker’, and quickly joined the company training both Irish dance and Ballet while playing competitive volleyball. When my Irish dance school closed in spring of 2022, I took the opportunity to completely put my full focus on training ballet, leaving my Irish Dancing career behind. I have worked my way up within the Mission Dance Company and am currently a Senior Company member. I have performed notable roles such as The Nutcracker ('22/23), Swan Lake Pas de Trois in ('23 /24,) Albrecht ('23/24), Siegfried ('23/24), Mad Hatter and the King of Hearts ('24). I have attended Summer Sessions at Mission Dance Company and will be attending the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School's summer session this season. I have also attended masterclasses with Mission Dance Company as well as Goh Ballet. Currently, I am an Ambassador for Goh Ballet's Canadian Masterclass Series. Throughout my journey I have amazing opportunities to work with renowned principal artists including Kealan McLaughlin, Zachary Rogers, Cecilia Ilisiu, Igor Taranushchenko, and Evelyn Hart.
Alongside my own dancing career, I am a very passionate teacher who has been teaching dance since 2018 and started teaching for Mission Dance Centre in 2022. Currently I teach ballet, flamenco and mixed Repertoire. Through teaching, I hope to one day create a safe place for men and boys alike to study dance.