It won't matter to Chanda Gibson if December 28 is extremely cold or very mild, as the stepdancing champion heats up the stage with her energetic and enthusiastic performance. Chanda and her students will be performing at Orangeville's Olympic Torch Relay celebration on the outdoor stage at the Tony Rose Memorial Sports Centre.

She is excited about the Torch Relay celebration performance because she will work with Canadian choreographer Roland Kirouac, producer of the Orangeville show. "I have worked with Roland before and he doesn't do anything small. It's a great opportunity for people to see what stepdancing is and it's wonderful for my dancers to participate in a large-scale show."

Chanda still remembers the moment when her interest turned to stepdancing. "I was in junior kindergarten in Cobden (in the Ottawa Valley), waiting on the bus, when I saw a teacher instructing stepdancing in the gym. I went home and said I wanted to do that … and I've never quit." She started competing at the age of six and has won several Canadian stepdancing championships.

In 1998, Chanda was the principal Stepdancer in Needfire, a Mirvish Production presented at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto.

She travelled to Edinburgh in July that year to star as the principal stepdancer in a large production, Rhythms of the Celts.

Chanda's furious musical feet and brilliant smile are her trademarks. Chanda conducted workshops for three consecutive years at the Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp in Nashville, Tennessee, and she is a stepdance instructor at the Orangeville Fiddle and Step Dance Camp and the Leahy Music Camp. She has also been featured in John McDermott's PBS special "A Time To Remember" and in Leahy's PBS special.

Following graduation from the University of Waterloo (in recreation and business), Chanda established Chanda's School of Dance in 1997 when she moved to Orangeville. She has about 100 students at the present time.

At Orangeville's Torch Relay celebration, Chanda will be performing a compilation, escalating from slower movements to fast steps. About 10 of her stepdancers will be featured in the performance, along with her son Xavier, 6.

Chanda is married to Frank Leahy, the drummer for Leahy and they have four children - Xavier, Aliyah, 4, Mariah, 21 months, and Savannah, six months.

"We love Orangeville; it has a lot to offer," says Chanda. "The arts community is strong and there is still that small town feel."