leading through experience
my comeback story

I grew up a serious competitive dancer, training across disciplines, performing in musicals, and eventually earning a college education in Musical Theatre and Dance. This was always going to be my life—until, life got in the way.
After more than a decade living in Toronto, working full time in corporate and nonprofit roles, my husband and I moved to Northumberland County during the pandemic. We welcomed our son almost five years ago, and not long after navigating the identity shift that comes with becoming a first-time mom, I realized something was missing. I needed to come back to the place that had always felt like home: dance.
In fall 2023, I returned to the stage in Beauty and the Beast with Northumberland Players after a 10-year hiatus from dancing and performing. By spring 2024, I was invited to teach a 10-week adult tap and jazz series designed to prepare dancers for fall musical auditions. The response was overwhelming. The classes sold out almost immediately. A second night was added—and it sold out too.
With over 50 adult dancers showing up week after week, dancing their hearts out, it became clear that Northumberland County was craving something more: a safe, supportive, adult-forward dance environment where people could let loose, have fun, and experience pure joy through movement.
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By fall 2024, the program expanded to Just Dance Northumberland, where a vibrant adult dance community began to take shape. After 18 months of teaching as a contractor, Comeback Dance Collective officially launched.
Today, classes continue to sell out, program offerings are growing, and the mission remains unchanged—helping adults come back to themselves through dance.
About Holly: Holly was a competitive dancer, competing in various disciplines across North America for 12+ years; she went on to graduate from Randolph College for the Performing Arts, holding a post-secondary diploma in Musical Theatre Performance and training with some of the best dance teachers in Canada. After college, Holly taught dance and drama for Annex Children’s Theatre in Education, and Explore It!. Select theatre credits include Jesus Christ Superstar, Urinetown, Cabaret, City of Angels (TYT), Smile, Killing Game (RCPA), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, A Midsummer Nights Dream (Hart House Theatre), A Chorus Line (CCP), Beauty and the Beast, Something Rotten, Mamma Mia! (Northumberland Players).