Lyza-Jane DeVera was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and after moving to Toronto, she started her dance training at the early age of 2 years old. She trained formally in many disciplines and holds certifications with The British Association of Teachers of Dancing and the Royal Academy of Dance. Lyza graduated from the University of Western Ontario with high honours, earning her Bachelors in Business and Psychology. At Western, she was also on the Upper Executive board and creative director of CAISA Fashion Show – Canada’s largest student-run fashion show to date; raising more than $260,000 for the Children’s Health Foundation in London. Lyza also graduated Magna Cum Laude from her Masters of Science Degree with a specialization in Sport Psychology. Some of her graduate research topics included: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and Suicide in pre-professional and professional athletes; Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychotherapy within Athletic Welfare Programming; Athletic Performance Enhancing Drugs; Athlete Career Transitions; Psychological Training Program Design for Injury Prevention; and Gender in Sport. She is also certified with the International Sports Sciences Association in Personal Training, Sports and Fitness Nutrition, and Post-Rehabilitation Exercise Therapy.
Lyza-Jane has had the opportunity to train, perform and teach alongside many renowned artists across North America, Europe, and Australia, with some of her credits including the Randolph Academy Triple Threat program, The National Ballet School of Canada, a National TV Promo for CTV's "So You Think You Can Dance", Toronto's RBC WinterCity Festival, the Toronto Raptors Dance Pak, and as part of Team Canada for the IDO World Dance Championships in Germany. She had also spent some time at camp in Phuket, Thailand training in mixed martial arts and fitness conditioning. Lyza has experience working on multi-sport platforms, always striving to implement creative and innovative ways of uniting both mental and physical strategies to her training techniques in order to help athletes and performers reach their peak performance levels, while also keeping them excited and engaged in new activities."