A native of Toronto, Caitlin Lockwood began her training at the George Brown College School of Dance (academy for Ballet Jorgen) before moving to Vancouver and graduating from the Goh Ballet Academy in 2000. With the Goh Ballet, she performed in their 25th Anniversary Gala, in Las Vegas, and toured 7 cities including Shanghai and Beijing in China.
Upon graduation, Caitlin went on to perform soloist roles with Laura Alonso’s Centro Pro Danza (Cuban Ballet, Havana). Returning to Canada, Caitlin performed with the Ontario Ballet Theatre (Toronto), Ballet Kelowna, Ballet Victoria, guest soloist with Mission Dance Company, soloist with Ballet Ouest (Montreal) and appeared in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Opening Ceremony with Alberta Ballet and Ballet BC alongside Sarah McLaughlin.
Caitlin has choreographed and danced in numerous runway shows for Redken 5th Ave (Toronto), and danced on screen in CBC’s “Tonya Lee Williams Gospel Jubilee” and the feature film “Life with Mikey”. During her career, Caitlin enjoyed performing featured roles and repertoire including: Don Quioxte (Queen Dryad), Coppelia (Prayer), The Sleeping Beauty (Diamond Fairy), The Nutcracker (Rose Fairy, Arabian Princess, Candy Cane Soloist, Snow Soloist) Serenade (Balanchine- 4 Russian Girls), Grand Pas de Quatre (3rd Solo), The Four Seasons (Spring), Bird Song (Principal), La Bayadere, Swan Lake, Alice, Carmen and Paquita. She has also performed various classical, contemporary, modern and jazz works by distinguished choreographers Jean Grand-Maitre, Bengt Jorgen, Crystal Pite, Maurice Causey, Joe Laughlin, Chan Hon Goh, Choo Chiat Goh, Lynn Sheppard, Lynn Cote, Kathleen Rea, Michael Downing and Sylvie Bouchard, amoung many others.
Now retired from the stage and teaching full time, Caitlin has taught for several schools in Vancouver, Calgary and Kelowna, including the Canadian School of Ballet, Airborne Dance Centre and Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, and currently leads the Ballet Progamme at Edge School.
Originally from Lethbridge, Alberta, Melodie began dancing at the age of five under Kim Ully and RAD Examiner Jacqui Stuart. She spent numerous summers attending the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and the Banff School of Fine Arts on scholarship. Upon graduation, Melodie was invited to join The Banff Festival Ballet as an apprentice dancing George Balanchine’s Allegro Brilliante and works by Gioconda Barbuto and Joe Laughlin. She then went on to dance and tour with many professional companies over a 13 year span including the Goh Ballet, Ballet North and Alberta Ballet. Melodie has danced a wide range of Repertoire, some of her favourites being Petipa’s La Bayadere, Julie Adam’s Chameleon and Balanchine’s Tarantella and Rubies. Her career has also encompassed a 2 year Professional study with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, and many Independent works throughout Calgary finishing with Tokyo Disney Sea’s Broadway Review Encore. Upon returning from Tokyo, Japan, she was accepted into the Professional Dancer’s Teaching Diploma Program at the Royal Academy of Dance in London, England studying under Lynn Wallis and Hilary Clark. After receiving her diploma in 2007, Melodie returned to Calgary to embark on her teaching career. She now has students at the Solo Seal level and competing at the Genee International Ballet Competition, Youth America Grand Prix, and professional ballet programs and companies around the world.
Cyndi Scott has had many roles in Canada’s professional dance community. Currently she is the Artistic Director for the Edge School and the Director of Dance Development for the Calgary Stampede. With twenty five years of experience developing dancers from their first steps to the professional level Ms. Scott brings a passion and dedication to the art.
At the age of nineteen, while still an undergraduate at the University of Calgary, she founded Airborne Dance Studio where she was Artistic Director from 1996 – 2008. In that role she earned a reputation for developing dancers with strong technique and became a sought after choreographer. Her professional career as a dancer, teacher, adjudicator and choreographer has taken her throughout North America and Europe.
Her contribution to the arts community has been recognized by local and national leaders including Calgary’s Mayor Nenshi and the Governor General of Canada, Honourable David Johnston. Cyndi Scott was awarded a Global Arts award in Los Angeles in 2012.
Her choreography has been featured in the Opening Ceremonies for the Special Olympics, World Police and Fire Games, the Jimmie Slyde Institute in Barcelona Spain and professional fundraising events supported by Prince, Calvin Klein, and Wayne Gretzky.
Her students have been successful in achieving professional dance careers including SYTYCD Canada season 2 winner (Tara Jean Popowich), Odyssey Dance Theatre (Breanne Wilson), X Factor (Amy Gardner) & Kylie Minogue (Janelle Lancaster).
Current and graduated students have had acceptances and placements to summer, post graduate programs and jobs at the Royal Ballet School, The Paris Opera Ballet School, Canada’s National Ballet School, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, The University of Arizona Dance Program, Marymount Manhattan Dance Program, Joffrey Ballet School, Complexions, The Goh Ballet Academy, The Boston Ballet School, The Kirov Academy, The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, The Rock School, Ballet Arizona, Ballet Chicago and The American Ballet Theatre.
Cyndi Scott is a graduate of the University of Calgary (B.A., Dance).
Pilates Instructor
Diana is a Fully Certified STOTT PILATES® instructor, which includes graduate level Matwork®, Reformer, Cadillac, Chair, Barrels and Injuries and Special Populations coursework. Since 2007 Diana has worked at Calgary Pilates Centre, Alberta’s Licensed Training Centre, She has worked with a wide variety of body types, abilities and age groups. Calgary Pilates Centre has been a sponsor of the Health team for Alberta Ballet; this contact and experience opened the opportunity for Diana to work with the dancers at Edge School for Athletes. With a Bachelor of Arts from York University and a Master of Arts in Theatre History from the University of Alberta she understands the performance aspect of dance and the work necessary to produce a finished product.
Diana has a strong believe in the STOTT PILATES method as a way to strengthen people and help them maintain strength. The very quality of movement required in Pilates maps directly onto dance. Precision and strength, fluidity and control can be encouraged and fostered in dance through Pilates practice.
Diana has been leading an active lifestyle for the past 20 years, but is currently very active with swimming, cycling and Dressage training. She has competed in Indoor and outdoor race walk events, run marathons and completed numerous triathlons of varying distances, several Gran Fondo cycling events and finds Pilates a great help in maintaining a body that can do all of these exciting things. She enjoys leading people through new experiences and likes that Pilates makes positive changes in peoples’ lives.
Megan Daniels was born in Saskatoon and came to Calgary 7 years ago to pursue a career as a professional contemporary and ballet dancer. After dancing with several small companies throughout Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta, she decided to venture into teaching and fell in love with it right away. As a teenager, she was fortunate to train professionally at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and spent a few years in her early 20's dancing as an apprentice with the RWB company. It was during those years that she realized that movement and dance are her life and she now feels so lucky that she is able to make her living teaching these things to others. Megan fell in love with the people and energy of Calgary as soon as she got here and now works full-time as a ballet and yoga instructor in the city. She is delighted to be a part of the Edge Dance Faculty and pass along her love of ballet to the eager young dancers of Edge School!
Dancing since the age of three, Rylee trained competitively for fifteen years in numerous disciplines under the direction of Cyndi Scott. She trained in many different syllabuses including ADAPT and RAD, and held many titles from various competitions across North America. Rylee has traveled across the USA, London, and Barcelona to further her dance knowledge and learn from successful teachers in the dance community. She has performed at the Jimmy Slyde Institute, and three different shows as a member of the O2 Dance Company.
Upon graduation from the Edge School for Athletes, Rylee attended the University of Calgary in the Haskayne School of Business to obtain her Bachelor of Commerce degree, while continuing to stay involved in the dance community. Her teaching career began at Edge School in Fort McMurray and various studios in the Calgary area. She then served as a faculty member for The Young Canadians, and Dance Director of the Calgary Stampede Showband. Rylee has since found her way back to Edge as a dance instructor and choreographer.
As a native of Massachusetts, most of Christiana’s early training was along the Eastern seaboard at prestigious schools. At the recommendation of Elaine Bauer, she moved to Seattle to study at Pacific Northwest Ballet, under the direction of Francia Russell and Kent Stowell. After a year of studying and performing with PNB, she joined Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah.
During her 16 years with Ballet West, she danced the works of many of the great choreographers. Under the direction of Jonas Kage, she danced the works of Balanchine, Tudor, Stevenson, Forsythe, Nureyev, Hind, and Van Manen. With Kage, she was recognized for her “long elegant frame”, “grace”, and “emotional performance”. Particularly in the works of Tudor, and most notably at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2004. “Caroline…reveals her feelings totally thanks to the subtle way Christiana Bennett underpins expressive dancing with intelligent acting...”. As Christiana rose through the ranks of Ballet West, promoted to Soloist in 2003 and Principal in 2004, her repertory expanded to include all the classics as well as the works of Sir Fredrick Ashton. Some of Christiana’s most notable classical roles include Caroline in Lilac Garden, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Aurora and Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, and Cinderella in Cinderella.
Christiana has also had the pleasure of having several works created on her. Under Adam Sklute’s direction she worked with choreographers Val Caniparoli, Nicolo Fonte, Helen Pickett, Matthew Neenan, Jodie Gates, Garrett Smith, Charlotte Boye-Christensen, Susan Shields and Christopher Anderson. All creating roles and ballets for her. With Sklute, she was also able to dance the work of Ulysses Dove, Gerald Arpino, and expand her Balanchine repertoire. She also performed several works by Jiri Kylian, including Petit Mort, Sinfonietta and Forgotten Land.
Christiana’s career has taken her all over North America as well as Europe and Asia, repeatedly being recognized for her “brilliance’, “clarity” and “luxurious quality of dancing”. She has been fortunate to learn from, and be coached by, some of the world’s leading repetiteurs. Some of the coaches she has worked with include Cynthia Gregory, Roslyn Anderson, Kathryn Bennetts, Ben Stevenson, Bruce Marks, Stanton Welch, Maria Calegari and Elaina Kumikova.
In 2015 Christiana moved to Calgary, Alberta where she joined the second largest ballet company in Canada, the Alberta Ballet. During the 2015/2016 Season, Christiana performed in many ballets throughout Western Canada as well as worked with world renowned choreographers such as Aszure Barton and Jean Grand-Maitre. Upon her completion of that season, Christiana excitedly accepted the position of Ballet Mistress.
As Ballet Mistress of the Alberta Ballet, Christiana enjoys working closely with the Company as well as being a Faculty Member of the School of Alberta Ballet. She loves being able to be in the studio with Company members and students alike to bestow the wonderful tutelage she received during her 17 year professional career.
Nicole Caron grew up in Vancouver, B.C. and received her training at the Richmond Academy of Dance where she trained in Vaganova, RAD and the Cecchetti method. She was awarded honours in her Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced RAD exams. Nicole also trained at Canada’s National Ballet School, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, and the American Ballet Theatre, in New York City.
She danced professionally as a principal dancer for the Alberta Ballet for 16 seasons as well as for the Banff Festival Arts for several years. Nicole has toured and performed across the globe to countries including Canada, USA and 3 tours to China.
She has guest performed for several special events including the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games, the Cultural Olympiad and for Sarah Mclachlan’s School of Music, to name a few. Some of Nicole’s favourite roles include the title role in Carmen, Desdemona in Othello, Helena in A Midsummer’s Night Dream, principal dancer in Balanchine’s Rubies, Serenade, Allegro Brillante and Who Cares?, Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Kitri in Don Quixote, Stomper in In the Upper Room, and She in Balletlujah! Nicole completed her teacher training for Yoga in 2010 and for Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) in 2018.
She is now teaching ballet, pointe, yoga, PBT and adjudicating across Canada.