Jesse Drwiega was born in Red Deer, Alberta and is no stranger to the dance competition
world. He started tap dancing at the age of 3 and grew up dancing competitively eventually
expanding his training to include jazz, ballet, contemporary, modern, musical theatre, and
commercial styles. After finishing high school Jesse trained on a scholarship, at Edge
Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles. He then moved on to graduate from the Canadian
College of Performing Arts with an Enriched Diploma in Theatre Performance and certificate in
Choreography. He is also a graduate of Sheridan College with a Bachelors Degree in Musical
Theatre Performance, and a graduate of The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with a Master of
Arts in Musical Theatre.
Jesse has worked across the globe as a dancer and choreographer. Selected credits
include Rolf in Sound of Music (Citadel/RMTC), Snoopy in You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown
(Stage West), Dancer in Mickey’s Dazzling Christmas, Mickey’s Halloween Harvest, Disney Stars on
Parade (Disneyland Paris), Choreographer of X:1969 (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Dancer in
Santa’s Post-box, Ghostship (Royal Scottish National Orchestra), Theo/Dance Captain in Pippin
(RCS), Ernst Ludwig in Cabaret, Jojo/Dance Captain in Newsies (Theatre Sheridan), Ensemble in
Sunday in the Park with George, Kiss of the Spiderwoman (Eclipse Theatre).
When not busy performing or teaching Jesse is a highly sought after dance educator and
adjudicator. For over a decade he has freelanced as a choreographer specializing in tap, jazz,
and musical theatre across Canada and the world. He is the recipient of the Queen’s Golden
Jubilee Award for Performing Arts for outstanding contributions to the arts in Alberta. Jesse is
grateful to be the Emcee of Phoenix Dance Competitions to celebrate the future of Canadian
dance talent across the country. IG: @jdrwiega