Administrator

Miss Stephanie has a passion for creating safe and respectful learning environments where children, youth and their families can experience the joy and connection that dance brings!

She began her dance journey over 3 decades ago, focusing on both ballet (Vaganova), and Ukrainian dance. A lifelong learner, Miss Stephanie completed her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees at the University of Calgary. Social justice issues in education and human rights education have always been important to her philosophy as an educator. She has taught at various local public and private schools, both as a classroom teacher and in leadership roles. She completed her Master of Arts Degree in Educational Research in 2017 with a focus on social justice issues in education.  

Owner and Studio Director, Vanessa Wright is a dance educator, choreographer and life long learner.  Vanessa sought out dance at a young age and continues to be a dedicated ambassador for the art. As a student of dance, she trained extensively in ballet (RAD, ISTD, Cecchetti, Vaganova) and modern dance techniques as well as studied lyrical, jazz, contemporary and more. Miss Vanessa completed her BA in Contemporary Dance and Ballet at the University of Calgary and School of Alberta Ballet.  

In her dance journey, she has performed as both a freelance artist, and with several dance companies such as Encorps Dance Collective, Trip the Light Dance Company, and Three Left Feet Movement Creations.

Vanessa furthered her academic pursuits by completing her B.Ed at the University of Calgary. Her philosophy of teaching is what drives her both at the studio and as an educator. Vanessa takes pride in her role as a teacher with the Calgary Board of Education.  

Dance School Director & Owner

Dance School Director & Owner

Miss Vanessa (BA Dance, BEd.)

Miss Jenna (RN)

Operations Assistant

Miss Jenna has over 20 years of dance experience. She grew up dancing and competing in Calgary and has a vast knowledge of ballet, lyrical, and Ukrainian dance.

Miss Jenna has worked closely with children of all ages as a dance teacher, nanny, and day camp leader. She has been with ESD since its inception and has taken on many leadership roles as well as instructing students over the past few years.

When she is not in the office, you will find her delivering babies as a Labour & Delivery nurse at Foothills Medical Centre.

Throughout her dance life, Kyla has enjoyed teaching dancers of all ages. She is able to say that she has taught dancers from 6 weeks old (Mommy & Me right here at ESD) all the way up to professional company classes. While she enjoys the challenge and complexity of teaching senior level dancers, working with our youngest dancers and those just starting their dance journey is where Kyla really shines.

Another aspect of teaching that Kyla is passionate about, is fostering the joy of teaching in the next generation. Kyla has very much enjoys working with ESD’s INSPIRE program students in their journey to becoming dance teachers. Kyla is excited to be taking on the role as Inspire Program Lead going forward.

Kyla is proud to be a part of such an amazing dance studio that focuses on the whole dancer and really fosters a supportive environment. Not only that, she loves that her own son and daughter are able to dance here and experience the love and passion ESD has to offer!

Miss Kyla began her dance career with Highland dance at the age of 2. From there, she went on to add Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Contemporary, Tap and Musical Theatre. Knowing that dance was her passion, Kyla moved to Winnipeg for her post-secondary training. Attending the Professional Program of the School of Contemporary Dancers, in affiliation with the University of Winnipeg, Kyla earned her BA(Hons) in Dance. While in Winnipeg, Kyla danced professionally with several companies and performed throughout Canada and the United States for the better part of a decade.

Making the difficult decision to leave Winnipeg in search of new opportunities, Kyla moved to Calgary and immediately found a home at ESD! Since making Calgary her home, Kyla has taught at several studios around the city, as well as for the Calgary Board of Education, and both Youth and Professional Dance Companies.

Dance Educator

Miss Kyla (BA Dance)

Miss Stephanie

Stephanie began dancing at 4 yrs old with the former Hanson School of Dance in Kindersley, SK.  She achieved her ADAPT Advanced Jazz, RAD Intermediate Ballet, RAD Gr. 8 Ballet, CDTA Advanced Tap and CDTA Advanced Jazz.  She also studied voice and piano and achieved her RCM Gr. 8 Piano and RCM Gr. 7 Voice.Stephanie attended Grant MacEwan’s Theatre Arts program in Edmonton and received a Diploma in Musical Theatre studies.  After completing college she moved to Calgary to study for a year under the jazz style instruction of Decidedly Jazz Danceworks in their Pre-Professional Program.  After her training with DJD she went on to achieve her ADAPT Teachers Certification in Jazz and Tap.

Stephanie has had the joy of dancing and performing with many dance groups and events over the past few years in Calgary. Some of the groups she has performed with are En Corps Dance Collective, Wild Aces, Army of Sass and, Outriders - the Stampeders CFL Dance Cheer Team.

Stephanie hopes to share her passion of dance and performing with the students while they have fun learning.  She is proud to be part of the faculty at Evolutions School of Dance.

Miss. Karissa began her dance training in Ukrainian dance, but expanded her focus to include ballet (both ISTD and Cecchetti), Jazz, Lyrical and Contemporary dance. She has since completed her Standard 6 and Senior Certificate Cecchetti examinations. Her love for teaching began when she joined the ESD Inspire Program and became a Junior Instructor at Evolutions. This program sparked her passion for teaching and learning and cultivated her love for education, exploration, and developmentally appropriate practices.

Miss Karissa is a recent graduate from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and a Bachelor of Education degree with a concentration in early childhool eduaction.

Miss Karissa is excited and privileged to be able to be teaching in such an inspiring and enthusiastic studio that focuses on the whole child. She cannot wait to share her love and passion of dance with her students in the creative, caring, and educational environment of ESD.

Miss Karissa (BA, BEd.)

Miss. Melissa was born and raised in Invermere, British Columbia. Growing up she trained andcompeted in various styles of dance, specializing in; Jazz, Tap, and Ballet. After graduating highschool in 2013, she travelled to Toronto to begin working on her Associated Dance Arts forProfessional Teachers Certification (ADAPT), which she graduated from in July 2015.

Melissa completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in dance with a concentration in pedagogy inJune of 2019. During her university career, she has performed with the Young Canadians of theCalgary Stampede, the University of Calgary Cheerleaders, The Show Company, Illfx Education,Flomatk at Pulse Studios, and most recently the Calgary Stampeder Outriders. Melissa has alsohad the opportunity to perform in music videos. Having the privilege to work with artist’s suchas; Leaving Thomas, Souls in Rhythm, and Mak London. Currently, Miss Melissa is workingtowards her Bachelor of Education. She would like to one day teach dance in the educationsystem and implement dance into other school subjects at the elementary level.

Dance Educator

Miss Melissa (BA Dance)

Natalka is grateful to have enjoyed her own professional career as a performer & choreographer for over a decade. She performed as both a freelance artist and has also been a company member with several dance companies. Natalka is proud to have founded and directed the Trip the Light Dance Company.

In addition to her dance qualifications, Natalka holds her MA in Counselling Psychology & is a Canadian Certified Counsellor. When she is not at the studio she works as a therapist for youth & adults at Therapy Collective. She is Mama to a beautiful little boy (& a fur baby too!). 2024-25 will be Natalka’s 18th season with Evolutions!

Miss Natalka is a dance artist, educator, and choreographer based out of Calgary, AB. Natalka has an extensive background in ballet and contemporary/modern dance, as well as jazz, lyrical, national etc.  She has enjoyed nearly 20 years of teaching dancers of all ages!

Natalka has completed ballet & modern exams in Cecchetti, RAD and ISTD. She received her BA in Contemporary Dance & Ballet at the University of Calgary while simultaneously training in the School of Alberta Ballet’s professional division. Natalka holds her Associate Diploma teaching qualifications granted by Cecchetti Canada and is working towards her Licentiate qualifications. Natalka served as a volunteer on the Alberta committee for Cecchetti Canada for many years, has represented Alberta for two years at the National Conference / AGM & continues to be an active member in the organization. Natalka’s students excel in their Cecchetti ballet examinations and many of them are working towards or have professional dance careers.

Ballet Director, Dance Educator

Miss Natalka (BA Dance, Associate Diploma CC-CICB, MA Counseling Psychology)

Dance Educator

Miss Stephanie (BA, BEd., MA Educational Research)

Melissa’s teaching style focuses on foundational technique and terminology, with an emphasis on strength and flexibility training. She always encourages students to explore their own creativity and have fun. Melissa continues to grow as a performer and teacher. She will always continue to train and educate herself, providing the best education for her students.

Ms. Walker is a senior ballet instructor with an extensive dance background. Her formative training was at Ecole Superieure de Danse du Québec. She danced professionally with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Festival Ballet and Calgary City Ballet. Catherine uses her expertise to train and coach students in ballet at all levels from beginners to pre professional. With her keen eye and attention to detail she is able to help all her students understand the essence of ballet and movement. Catherine brings enthusiasm, a love of movement and a profound respect for the body to her work and looks forward to sharing this love of dance and movement with her students.

Ms Walker (Licentiate CC-CICB)

Miss Stephanie believes play and exploration are the foundation for skill building for the littlest dancers, and emphasizes the importance of a proper dance education that is age and developmentally appropriate. For this reason, she has researched, attended various professional development courses, and developed the "Play Inspired Framework for Teaching Preschool Dance", which truly makes the Preschool Dance Program at ESD unique from all other dance studios in the city of Calgary. It is her goal to create a dance school where all dancers feel valued, respected and safe.

Miss Stephanie is also a mom to 4 children, ages 5, 8, 8 & 11 - and 50% of them are dedicated ESD dancers.

Miss Leah (Associate Diploma CC - CICB, AISTD, TTP Dip (NBS), BFA Dance, PBT)

Miss Leah began her dance career at a young age competing extensively in ballet and pointe. She completed all of the Advanced Cecchetti exams as well as advanced exams in RAD ballet and ISTD for National Dance. In 2015, Leah graduated from Canada’s National Ballet School’s Teacher Training Program in Toronto where she attained her teaching diploma, her Associate with Cecchetti Canada and her Associate with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. In 2016, Leah completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University where she specialized in dance education. As her Senior Project in her final year at York U, she completed a two hundred page booklet focusing on training elements that dancers require to successfully complete all of their Cecchetti examinations. Leah was a member of the Ontario Cecchetti Canada Committee for eight years before her move to Calgary.   Leah has spent the last fifteen years preparing her dancers to perform award winning ballet and pointe choreography at competitions across North America.

Miss Alia

{Bio to come}

Miss Remy

Dance Educator

Remy was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia, and began dancing there at the age of 2. She fell in love with it, and has been pursuing dance ever since. Remy has extensively trained in many genres, including jazz, lyrical, contemporary, acro, tap, ballet, musical theatre, and pointe. Remy grew up learning alongside her mom, who was the acro teacher at the studio she attended. At a young age, she started to assist her mom in classes, and started to realize she had a deep passion for dance, specifically acrobatics.

Remy just finished her second season as the Vice President and head choreographer of the MRU Cubs Competition Team. Remy assisted in the cleaning of dances for Team Canada Acro, and ran acro privates through the summer. Remy has completed Advanced 2 RAD ballet, trained intensely alongside Acrobatic Arts, and completed multiple ADAPT jazz exams. She has been featured in a variety of short films throughout Calgary, all featuring her as a dancer. She loves taking drop in classes throughout the year to learn more from other instructors from all over Canada!

Miss Alessia

Dance Educator

Miss Alessia began her dance journey at the age of two, captivated by the beauty of movement and rhythm. Trained extensively in ballet, hip hop, tap, jazz, acro, modern, lyrical,and musical theatre, she's embraced a wide range of styles. Early on in her career, she had the incredible opportunity to dance in the Moscow Ballet's Nutcracker! A few years ago, Miss Alessia made the exciting decision to specialize in hip hop with Illfx Education. This journey has led her to perform at Toronto Kids Fashion Week and at a Stampeders game. Beyond the stage, Miss Alessia is deeply passionate about teaching. With experience in ballet, jazz, and hip hop instruction, along with summers spent as a camp counselor, she's dedicated to helping children discover their love for dance and creating a welcoming studio environment.

Currently pursuing a degree in psychology with a minor in early learning & childcare at Mount Royal University, Miss Alessia seeks to deepen her understanding of children to enhance her teaching skills further.

Miss Emma

Dance Educator

Born in Edmonton, Alberta and raised in Red Deer, Alberta, Emma’s journey with dance began at the age of three. She began Ukrainian dancing, however; her love for dance transcended boundaries, leading her to explore other styles such as jazz, tap and ballet. She then moved on to compete in those styles as well as contemporary, hip hop, lyrical, musical theatre and pointe. She has competed in competitions around Canada since the age of 4. She has studied the RAD syllabus as well as the Cecchetti Method and has completed exams in both. Emma has had many amazing opportunities in her dance career by working with choreographers from Harbour Dance Centre as well as performing in the opening ceremonies of The 2019 Canada Winter Games.

When her competitive career came to an end, she decided to continue studying dance at the University of Calgary. She has recently completed her second year of a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and will be entering her third year this upcoming fall.

Miss Kaitlyn

Dance Educator

Miss Kaitlyn began dancing at the age of 7 and trained intensively in a variety of dance styles including ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, hip hop, acro, lyrical, contemporary, and musical theatre. She found her passion and love for the art very early on in her dance years and was highly motivated and determined to realize her self-potential. Miss Kaitlyn also participated in gymnastics and competitive cheerleading, which sparked her drive for success.        

Miss Kaitlyn became interested in teaching at the age of 12 when she began assisting and student teaching classes of many different ages and genres multiple times a week. In her graduating year of high school, Miss Kaitlyn started teaching classes independently and has since become extremely passionate and dedicated to teaching children and sharing her immense love of dance. Miss Kaitlyn has experience teaching a diverse range of recreational and competitive classes, primarily in the styles of jazz, tap, and lyrical, as well as preschool/kinder classes as young as 1.5 years.