Meet JJ Chan | Master Trainer & Founder of EV Dance

JJ Chan founded EV Dance in 2009 and has been Singapore’s most-credentialed kids dance Master Trainer for the past 17 years. If your child enrols at EV Dance — or dances under one of our 29 named coaches at her school CCA — JJ is the person whose pedagogy and training standards shape what your child experiences.

This page is the longer version of who she is and how she got here. The short version: she’s been dancing since age 3, teaching since age 19, and built EV Dance because she wanted Singapore kids to have a dance home that takes their journey seriously.

The credentials, in brief

JJ holds 22 international dance certifications. The ones parents most often ask about:

CSTD Certified Hip Hop Teacher (highest pedagogical qualification for hip hop) — Commonwealth Society of Teachers of Dancing, Australia
Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) — Classical Ballet Grade 6 Elementary, Distinction
ATOD Affiliated Teacher — Australia Teacher of Dance, certified across Jazz, Hip Hop, Ballet, Tap, Street Beats, Russian Character
MOE Approved Instructor — Singapore Ministry of Education
NAC-AEP Approved Instructor — National Arts Council, Singapore
Certified Trainer for MOE Teachers — Teach-the-Teachers Programme for the Arts (NAC + EV Dance, 2021)
PAL & SEL Certified Instructor — MOE Singapore (2014)
Child Protection Level 2 (International School) — Council of British International Schools (2021)
First Aid, AED and CPR Certified — kept up to date

Plus certifications in dance pedagogy from LASALLE College of the Arts and NAFA, Pilates Instructor (Tirisula Yoga, India), Certified Kids Yoga Teacher, Zumba Instructor, Piloxing Instructor.

You won’t find another dance Master Trainer in Singapore with this combination of credentials covering both technical dance forms and educational pedagogy for kids.

Track record as a school coach

JJ has personally been the coach behind 52 Singapore Youth Festival Distinctions across her school CCAs — at 15 Primary Schools and 37 Secondary/JC level performances.

She is currently or has been the resident dance coach at:

Anglo-Chinese School Barker Road — since 2009
Pasir Ris Crest Secondary — since 2011
Ngee Ann Secondary — since 2016
River Valley Primary — since 2017
Ngee Ann Polytechnic NRA Hip Hop Dance Club — Principal Choreographer since 2004
Singapore Raffles Music College — Street Dance Lecturer (UK Certified) since 2018
Pasir Ris Primary — since 2023
St Joseph Institution International — since 2019
Anglo-Chinese School Barker Road — since 2009

Past clients also include Tampines Secondary, North Vista Secondary, Dunman Secondary, Park View Primary, Chongzheng Primary, Edgefield Secondary, Hillgrove Secondary, and 12+ additional schools across 2009-2025.

Awards & recognition

Most Outstanding Coach (Dance) — 17th Honours Awards, Singapore (2011)
Champion — Team Singapore — World Supremacy Battlegrounds International, Australia (2023)
Champion — Tertiary Division — WSB Singapore (2023)
3× Distinction at Singapore Youth Festival 2025 (Ngee Ann Secondary)
60+ documented SYF Distinctions and Gold Awards as a school dance coach since 2002

How she trained

JJ’s training reads like a passport stamp collection — because Singapore in the 1990s didn’t have all the dance specialists she wanted to learn from. So she went looking:

Los Angeles, USA (2008-2011) — Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio: Jazz Funk, Waacking, Modern Jazz, Hip Hop

New York City, USA (2010, 2016-2019) — Broadway Dance Center, Peridance, Imperial House of Ninja (Vogue Certification), Galen Hook Artist Programme (graduated alumna, Professional Dance Artist Program)

Osaka, Japan (2012-2015) — ASH Dance Studio, Alley Oop: Waacking, Soul Dance, Funk Style, Groove

Hong Kong (2009-2012) — Studio Danz: Girls Hip Hop, Street Jazz, Contemporary

Taiwan (2008) — Mary Monac Dance Studio: Hip Hop, Reggae, Jazz

She’s also been an invited masterclass teacher in 10+ countries including China (Chengdu, Shenzhen, Guangzhou), Hong Kong, Germany, Australia (Sydney, Perth), Indonesia (Surabaya), Korea (Seoul), New York City (Waacking Ball), Taiwan (Taipei), and Vietnam.

Notable productions and events

Swaggout Singapore — founded 2009 as Singapore’s international street dance event so local dancers wouldn’t need to travel overseas to train at international level. Still running.
National Day Parade — Choreographer 2011, 2021
Chingay Parade — Assistant Choreographer 2009-2021
President Star Charity — Choreographer & Director (2012)
Lady Gaga Concert Singapore — Flashmob Choreographer (2011)
Kobe Bryant Tour Singapore — Choreographer (2011)
FIBA Basketball Events — Choreographer (2022, 2023)
Universal Studios Singapore — Parade Dancer (2012-2013)
MOE Arts Education Conference — Invited Choreographer (2013, 2018)
Wizard of the Oz at Esplanade — Choreographer (2018)
Showtime, School of the Arts — Kids Dance Production, Creative Director (2021)

As a judge

JJ has been an invited judge at major dance competitions internationally: – Street Dance of China (Kids Prelims) — 2021 – Waack to the Future, NYC — 2017-2019 (Judge & Guest Choreographer) – World Supremacy Battleground Sydney — 2019 – KPOP Idol International — 2021 – Asia Dance Festival Singapore x China — 2021 – Bring It On — 2004-2021

Why she built EV Dance

JJ started teaching kids at age 19. She started EV Dance at age 23 — in 2009, with a single studio space at 73 Dunlop Street.

The reason has been consistent over 17 years: most dance teaching for kids in Singapore at the time was either too formal (purely ballet-grades-driven) or too informal (any-adult-who-can-dance teaching kids). She wanted something in between — a studio where kids would get serious technical training without the joy being trained out of them.

In 2026, EV Dance teaches around 1,500 kids per year across studio classes and school CCAs. Three of our school clients have been with us since 2009 — Anglo-Chinese School Barker Road, Pasir Ris Crest Secondary, and Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

What she’d want a parent to know

When parents tour our studio for the first time, JJ usually says some version of this:

“Your child doesn’t need to be a future professional dancer for dance class to matter. She just needs a place where moving her body feels good, where she’s not the only one trying, and where someone notices when she’s having a hard week. That’s what we’re trying to be.”