INSTRUCTOR

ARGENTINE TANGO / SALSA / BALLET BOOT CAMP

Estelle Nicol is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of City Dance Corps, one of Toronto’s leading dance institutions, founded in 2001. Born and raised in Toronto, Estelle is best described as dedicated, disciplined, and passionately driven by her craft. With over three decades of professional experience in the entertainment and dance industry, she is recognized for both her artistic depth and her commitment to excellence.

Estelle has an extensive and diverse dance background, with formal training in Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, House, Afro-Cuban, Swing, Hustle, Salsa, and Argentine Tango. She has been teaching Salsa since 1997 and Argentine Tango since 2006.

Her Argentine Tango training was completed exclusively in Argentina, where she studied intensively with some of the world’s most respected masters, including Julio Balmaceda, Pablo Veron, Nito García & Elba Sottile, Sebastián Arce, Mariano “Chicho” Frumboli, Dana Frigoli, Damián Rosenthal, Fabián Salas, Horacio Godoy, Giselle Anne Naveira & Gustavo Naveira, and Christian Márquez & Virginia Gómez, among many others. This deep immersion in the culture and pedagogy of tango has profoundly shaped her teaching philosophy and artistic voice.

In 2007, Estelle began leading immersive Argentine Tango retreats to Buenos Aires, a program she successfully ran for ten years. These retreats offered dancers an authentic, in-depth experience of tango culture, training, and community, and became a defining part of her international work.

Driven by a passion to innovate and create, Estelle continually applies her knowledge and experience to develop classes that are both technically rigorous and accessible to dancers of all levels. She has choreographed for commercials, music videos, live events, and television, and her work has taken her across Canada and internationally as a mentor, coach, and master teacher. Her Argentine Tango expertise has been recognized worldwide, leading to teaching and choreography opportunities in destinations such as Bermuda, Israel, Italy, Greece, and beyond.

In 2001, Estelle also developed her own conditioning and technique programs, including Ballet Boot Camp and Power Barre, designed to support dancers’ strength, alignment, and longevity.

From studio to stage to screen, Estelle brings a refined eye, high standards, and unwavering passion to everything she does. Known as a demanding yet deeply invested mentor, she sees the details others miss—and challenges her students to rise to their fullest potential.