We are fortunate to have some of the most qualified teachers in the country to work with our students. Each teacher brings unique talents to the school, allowing students to receive a well-rounded dance education in many different disciplines. Parents or students who wish to meet with teachers other than at Parent/Teacher interviews, should call the office to book an appointment. Our teachers are required to have first aid training and their teaching qualifications include University degrees and teaching certificates in many different disciplines. The following teachers are currently on staff at the Edmonton School of Ballet and at Vimy Ridge Academy in the Dance Program:
Click on on a name to read a bio and see a photo.
Rhonda Baldrey | Tanya Berry | Jacques Bourgouin | Josephine Cavaco | Judy Chan
Maria Chia | Tina Covlin-Dewart | Rakiya Debaji | Shannon Delaney | Sylvia Delluniversidad
Laura Fleming | Margaret Flynn | Janet Hagisavas | Nancy Hamilton | Julie Homister
Sierra Lacombe | Erin Madsen | Terra Mahood | Reanna Maitland | Devin McFarlane
Yukie Muraoka| Jayme Tchir | Erica Torok | Linsday White | Sarah Yadlowski
Rhonda Baldrey started her training at the age 4 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
where she studied ballet, jazz, tap, baton, hip-hop and highland dancing. She
has competed in numerous competitions in Saskatchewan, British Columbia and
Alberta provinces. She realized her love for ballet at the age of 12 when she
enrolled in the professional program at the Edmonton School of Ballet. She is an
alumni member of the Edmonton Festival Ballet. While dancing with the company
she was given the chance to travel to New York to advance her training and
technique. Rhonda has completed the Edmonton School of Ballet Junior Teaching
course and now is working on her Associate qualifications in Cecchetti. Rhonda
looks forward to teaching and dancing another year at ESB.
Jacques Bourgouin
L.I.S.T.D. (Cecchetti Branch)
Born and raised in
In 1990, Jacques moved to
Now residing in
Jacques has trained in all three major ballet syllabi, Vaganova, R.A.D. and
Cecchetti.
Teaches Ballet, Pas de Deux, Repertoire and Jazz.
He is an examiner for the Edmonton School of Ballet “Junior Grades” program. He
has taught at several dances studios in
Josephine Cavaco A.I.S.T.D.(Cecchetti
Branch)
Born and raised
in Montreal, Josephine trained at L’ecole Superieur de la danse du Quebec. She
holds her Associate Diploma in Cecchetti and has been teaching in Edmonton for
the last 7 years. She also enjoys teaching modern/contemporary and has
adjudicated several dance festivals in Alberta.
Judy Chan A.I.S.T.D. (Dip)
(Cecchetti Branch), B.Com.
Judy
began her ballet training at a young age in Hong Kong and loved it ever since.
In Hong Kong, she studied under the Royal Academy system and completed her
Teacher's training in Edmonton in the Cecchetti system, when she moved to Canada
to further her studies. Over her student years at Hong Kong, with the Jean M.
Wong School of Ballet (www.jmwballet.org), Judy
performed in many
performances and festivals with the school. She continually seeks
improvements on her artistry of ballet, teaching style and dance science
knowledge through research and attending regular classes and workshops. Judy is
a graduate of the Edmonton School of Ballet's Teacher Training Program and has
been teaching at the school since 1990s. She has also taught ballet at
other local studios including Lecky School of Dancing, Dance Unlimited, and
Casey School of Dance.
Judy has 2 children, holds a full time job and is an active volunteer with the Alberta Ballet. She is the Treasurer of the Cecchetti Society of Canada, Alberta Branch.
Maria began dancing professionally in 1988 after
completing her BSc at the University of Alberta and her Diploma (Dance
Performance) at Grant MacEwan. She
performed across Canada and studied with various teachers including David Adams,
Peter Boneham, Peggy Baker, Irene Dowd, Gary Masters, Debra Shantz and Brian
Webb. Maria has taught modern dance
since 1989, in professional programs, recreational programs and summers schools
in BC and Alberta. She currently
teaches at the Edmonton School of Ballet.
Her classes blend the development of strong diverse technical skills with
a compelling personal sense of expression and artistry.
Dance is taught as a means of communication and performance as a dialogue
through movement. Maria’s students are consistently acknowledged for their
professionalism and commitment to their performances.
She has received numerous choreography awards, and her students have been
recognized with high honours and various scholarships. Many of them have
continued on to schools or professional careers in Canada, the United States and
Europe.
Tina
Covlin, B.Ed., M.A., B.P.E. (Dance) - Director of
Contemporary Dance
Ms.
Covlin-Dewart is the Director of Contemporary Dance at the Edmonton School of
Ballet and Vimy Ridge Academy. She trained in Edmonton, graduating from the
Edmonton School of Ballet and the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of
Physical Education (Dance) and Master of Arts (Dance). Ms. Covlin furthered her
dance education in New York, Los Angeles, Germany, Winnipeg and Vancouver. She
has taught students from three years to adult, including teaching at the
University of Alberta and the Kings University College. She is the recipient of
numerous teaching and choreography awards, including an Excellence in Teaching
Award and the Dorothy Harris Award, both from the University of Alberta. Her
choreography has been presented both nationally and internationally, in Germany,
Australia and at the National Cecchetti Conference in Winnipeg. She is the
founder and director of Edmonton Contemporary Dancers, a performing company for
aspiring professional dancers which has represented Canada at the Jazz Dance
World Congress. Ms. Covlin-Dewart completed her education degree with
distinction.
Rakiya began
her dance training at the Edmonton School of Ballet at the age of three. She
studied many disciplines of dance, including ballet, jazz, lyrical, modern, hip
hop, and tap. Rakiya began teaching tap in 2004 at ESB. She completed her Al
Gilbert Tap Grade Nine Examination in Spring of 2008. She is excited to begin
teaching again this season at ESB.
Shannon
grew up in
Sylvia began her ballet training at the age of 7 at the Edmonton School of Ballet and her flamenco training at the age of 4 with Conchita de Pectel. Sylvia completed her advanced Flamenco training in Spain with Berta Valencia and she completed the ESB teacher training program with RAD RTS and AISTD (National Branch). Ms. Deluniversidad has also enjoyed adjudicating Ballet in various competitions. Sylvia’s Flamenco students danced in the opening ceremonies of the IAAF World Track and Field opening games. She has taught at ESB for more than 10 years in both the after school program and the Vimy Ridge Academy dance program.
Laura Fleming started dancing as a child in the beautiful Shuswap Valley of British Columbia. She has studied jazz, tap, modern, ballet, musical theater, swing, and more. In addition to dance, Laura has a strong background in music performance and composition, as well as visual arts.
Laura has been teaching for 13 years in BC and Alberta, and has recently taken a break from her training to start her family. Laura has loved dance from an early age, but has found her passion in teaching her art.
Margaret Flynn L.I.S.T.D.
(Cecchetti Branch) - Artistic Director
Margaret is the author of the Junior Ballet Preparatory Grades and is the chief examiner of this syllabi. She often adjudicates at festivals across Western Canada, and was elected to the National Council of the Cecchetti Society of Canada for 3 terms. Her choreographic credits include opera and many full length ballets.
In recognition of her dedication to the arts and community service, Mrs. Flynn has received numerous awards including the City of Edmonton Cultural Award and the Y.W.C.A. Tribute to Women Arts Awards.
Janet Hagisavas
-
Fellow, Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, Cecchetti Faculty - Director of
Teacher Training,
ESB
Graduate, Teacher Training Program, National Ballet School; Director of Teacher Training, Edmonton School of Ballet
Janet has taught at Edmonton School of Ballet for a total of 21 years beginning back in the late '70's. She also owned and operated her own school in St. Albert for four years before returning to ESB. She enjoys teaching the challenging work of the senior Cecchetti students and working with the Student Teachers at the school continuing to develop the Teacher Training Program. Janet was the International speaker at the Australian National Cecchetti Congress in 2001 where her presentation showed how the Cecchetti principles relate to Modern Dance. The video which she made with the talents of Tina Covlin-Dewart, showing these principles, has been acclaimed by dance professionals in North America, Europe and Australia.
Nancy graduated from the
ESB professional program in 1990 and went on to Montreal to continue her
training with the school for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Upon graduation
from that program, she moved to the United States to dance professionally with
Cincinnati Ballet.
Nancy returned home in 1995 to attend the U of A, where she received her B.Ed.
in Special Education and was hired by Edmonton Public Schools. For the
next 6 years she worked as an elementary teacher at various schools around the
city, before joining the staff of Vimy Ridge's dance department.
Nancy has been Ballet Mistress for Edmonton Festival Ballet and Citie
Ballet, rehearsal assistant for Alberta Ballet’s Nutcracker children, and a
ballet teacher at various studios around the city. Currently in her fourth
year at Vimy, Nancy is teaching non-syllabus, variations, pointe and repertoire.
Julie Homister - Director of Junior Ballet
Program
Julie is the current director of the Junior Ballet Program at ESB. She teaches Ballet and Jazz and has been teaching for 11 years – the last 9 at ESB. Her accomplishments include attaining her teacher training program certificate and Junior Grades teaching certificate from ESB, as well as attending and competing at the Jazz Dance World Congress in Germany, in 1997.
In addition to being a mom to two young children, Julie has experience as a classroom assistant at Lansdowne Nursery school.
Soon, Julie hopes to continue her education in teaching young children by attaining her Early Childhood Development certification in order to teach Preschool (Nursery) and Kindergarten.
In the past, Julie has taught Ballet, Jazz, Musical theatre and Modern but she now focuses on teaching ballet to our youngest dancers, as well as technique and choreography classes to our Preparatory program dancers. Before becoming a mom she also taught within the ESBS daytime dance program.
Sierra is
a grade twelve student attending the Vimy Ridge Academy Pre-Professional Dance
Program. She trains in Cecchetti,
RAD, tap, jazz, modern, and is excited to take on a hip hop class this fall!
This is Sierra's first year teaching classes at ESB and is very excited
to instill a love of dance in the young students
attending the school. She has
completed the Edmonton School of Ballet's Junior Teacher's Course and has had
experience helping out with younger classes in the past.
This spring, Sierra hopes to challenge her Advanced Two Cecchetti
Examination as well as her Grade 8 tap exam.
She is also a part of the school's classical company, the Edmonton
Festival Ballet, and is ecstatic to be dancing her fourth year with the student
company.
Erin
Madsen, ARAD, RAD RTS
Erin Madsen has been
teaching for almost 20 years and with Edmonton School of Ballet for the past
six. She has extensive training in ballet, jazz, and modern dance, but ballet
has always been her passion. Erin has attended many summer courses and master
classes across Canada, including Banff Centre of Fine Arts, Grant MacEwan
College, Harbour Dance Centre, Edmonton School of Ballet and Alberta Ballet
School. She achieved her
Advanced RAD at the age of 15 and has
been striving for more education ever since. Some of these achievements have
been Registered Teacher status with the Royal Academy of Dance, Certificate of
Higher Education: Dance Education through the Royal Academy of Dance and
University of Durham, and most recently Graduation with Honors from Grant
MacEwan’s Arts and Cultural Management Program. Life long learning is extremely
important to her as it allows her to bring more to her students and to the
organizations she works with.
Mrs. Madsen has a strong
passion for dance and a dedication to the development of future artists. She
enjoys using her newfound skills to help her students achieve more. She truly
enjoys sharing her love of dance with her students and learns as much from them,
if not more than they do from her.
Terra Mahood, B.A. (Psych), L.I.S.T.D.
(Cecchetti), A.I.S.T.D. (National) - Production Manager
Ms. Mahood has been teaching ballet for 20 years. Terra graduated from the teacher training program at the Edmonton School of Ballet in 1991 after achieving her Associate exam in the Cecchetti method. She achieved her Advanced 2 exam in 1992 and Licentiate exam in 1993 (both in the Cecchetti Faculty). Terra teaches Cecchetti exam classes, pointe, variations, non-syllabus, pre-ballet, etc. She is a senior teacher in the dance program at Vimy Ridge Academy and at the Edmonton School of Ballet. Ms. Mahood is a Senior Examiner of Margaret Flynn’s Junior Preparatory Grades and is also the current Production Manager for the Edmonton School of Ballet and is an experienced Stage Manager for dance performances. This is also co-director of the Edmonton Festival Ballet.
In 1997 Terra graduated from the University of Alberta achieving a B.A. with Distinction with a major in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. In 2008 she also graduated with a B.Ed. from the same institution. In June 2000, Terra also achieved her Advanced 2 and Associate examinations in the I.S.T.D. National Branch. Her future goals include achieving the Diploma, Licentiate Diploma, and Fellowship examinations in the Cecchetti Faculty.
Reanna Maitland,
A.I.S.T.D. (Cecchetti)
Reanna’s dance career began at the age of 6 in Slave Lake, Alberta
where she danced non-stop in all disciplines including; Ballet, Contemporary,
Lyrical, Jazz and Tap. Upon
graduation Reanna attended Grant MacEwan College’s dance program and
then returned to Slave Lake to begin teaching.
Three years of teaching in Slave Lake and another year of teaching
in Edmonton brought Reanna to realize that she wanted to dance more herself. So
she packed up her belongings and headed to the Mayan Riviera in Mexico to dance
at an all-inclusive resort for 1 year. While there, she immersed herself in the
culture, language and dance techniques offered in the Latin rhythms.
Since returning home, Reanna has completed the ESB
Teacher Training Program and is now a qualified Associate in the
Cecchetti Method of Ballet. She was granted her Associate Diploma in Dec '08.
She has also completed the Cecchetti Advanced 2 and RAD Advanced 1 dance exams.
Reanna feels truly blessed to have found a way to make a career out
of her passion and hopes to instill that same love of dance into all of the
dancers she teaches
Devin McFarlane has danced with the Edmonton School of Ballet for 15 years, and has been teaching at the school since 2003. She enjoys working with children of all ages, in disciplines of dance including jazz, musical theatre and ballet. Devin looks forward to beginning a degree in Science at the University of Alberta in the fall of 2005, and hopes to continue teaching dance for many years to come.
Yukie was born in Japan and started classical
ballet training (Russian method) at the age of 6. She attended intensive courses
of classical ballet and character dance taught by Russian ballet teachers from
1991-1993 in Tokyo. Yukie has done most of her ballet training in Japan. After
graduating from an American college in Wisconsin, USA in 2002, she studied the
dance program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) from 2003-2004 and
also obtained her Pilates instructor certification accredited by UNLV in 2005.
Yukie has been taking the Teacher Training Program at ESB since 2008 and is
enjoying life in Edmonton very much.
Born in Ontario and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Jayme began dancing at the age of 3. At the age of 10 she began training in the professional program at the Edmonton School of Ballet and continued until graduation from the Contemporary program in 2001. Throughout her training at ESB she had the opportunity to attend the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Summer School, travel to New York, and have work directed and presented by Janet Hagisavas and choreographed by Tina Covlin-Dewart presented at the Australian National Cecchetti Congress in 2001. Jayme was a member of the Edmonton Contemporary Dancers under the direction of Tina Covlin-Dewart for five years. During her years in ECD she performed works by guest choreographers Charlie Wilson, Susan Kendall, Terri Covlin, and Laura Smythe.
After graduation she continued her training in Toronto at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and was a guest choreographer for the Edmonton Contemporary Dancers. She had the pleasure of working with Kenny Pearl, Rosemary James, Patricia Miner, Wendy Chiles, Helen Jones, Massimo Agostinelli, Kaeja d’Dance, and Risa Steinberg, while also dancing in choreography by Sharon Moore, Coralee McLaren and Susan Kendal.
Jayme returned to the Edmonton School of Ballet in 2002 as an instructor of jazz, modern and occasionally ballet, and continued as a guest choreographer for the Edmonton Contemporary Dancers. In 2006 Jayme completed her B.Sc. with distinction at the University of Alberta, with a double major in Biological and Physical Sciences. At the U of A Jayme was a member of Orchesis from 2003-2006, dancing in works choreographed by Lindsay Wolf, Krystin Clarke, Aletheia Mendes and Tina Covlin-Dewart.
Currently Jayme is completing her M.Sc. at the University of Alberta in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology while she continues to teach jazz and modern at the Edmonton School of Ballet and Co-Artistic Direct both the Edmonton Contemporary Dancers and the Edmonton School of Ballet Junior Company.
Lindsay White-Thornton
B.A. (Hist)
Returning to the Edmonton School of Ballet for an
eighth season, and teaching in the disciplines of Tap and Jazz, is Lindsay
White-Thornton. Lindsay has over twenty two years of teaching and dance
experience in the disciplines of Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, Contemporary,
Musical Theatre, Hip Hop, and Ballet.
As a dancer, Lindsay trained under some of North
America’s most well known teachers and choreographers, won numerous scholarships
and top awards for her dancing, and participated in workshops and shows around
As a teacher and choreographer, Lindsay has taught
for five studios in and around
Lindsay is well known for her high energy classes
and creative teaching methods, and loves to work with students of all ages. She
has completed her Bachelor of Arts Degree and is currently attending the
Sarah Yadlowski graduated from the
Edmonton School of Ballet’s professional program in 2008 and is also an alumni
member of the Edmonton Contemporary Dancers – performing with the company for 3
years. While dancing with ECD, Sarah was able to
travel to Los Angeles where she took classes at the EDGE and got to perform in
Disneyland. She also had the opportunity to travel around the province for
various competitions. Sarah is excited to be back teaching in the professional
program!
