Nora Oakey trained under Lusia Pavlychenko in Saskatoon and Celia Franca at the National Ballet School. She performed with the Banff Centre Opera. She holds her RAD Advanced Certificate as well as her RAD Teaching Diploma. An Associate of the Royal Academy of Dance, she directed Scotia Ballet Studio from 1982-1992 before becoming Artistic Advisor for Coastal Dance in 1994.
Robyn Zwicker BPE, BEd, MEd, CYT
Yoga
Robyn is passionate about sharing her love of yoga with children. She has been teaching children for over 20 years as she is also a Physical Eduycation teacher with the Halifax Regional School Board. Robyn is a Certified 200 hour Adult yoga teacher as well as 95 hour certified Children’s yoga teacher.
Modern, Hip Hop
Georgia Skinner trained in classical dance since age three at Coastal Dance and continued to train in contemporary, modern, ballet (RAD) and hip hop through high school. She graduated from The School of Toronto Dance Theatre’s Professional Training Program. She has worked with many esteemed dance artists such as Christopher House, Darryl Tracy, Robert Desrosiers, and Ted Robinson. She has attended ImPulsTanz International Dance Festival in Vienna, Austria.
She is currently working with professional Modern company Mocean Dance as well as attending Paramedic School.
Ballet, Modern, Jazz
Julia has trained at Coastal Dance where she has studied many styles of dance including ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary and lyrical. At age 13 Julia became a full member of Coastal Dance Theatre Society performing many lead roles in productions such as Clara in the “The Nutcracker”, Alice in “Alice in Winterland”, and Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol”. Julia holds her Royal Academy of Dance Advanced 2 certificate.
A 2020 Graduate of Dalhousie University and 2022 a graduate of Mount St.Vincent in education.
Julia is also rehearsal Mistress for Coastal Dance Theatre Society.
Jazz
Karla Hodge is a Contemporary Jazz and Musical Theatre Choreographer/Teacher who has worked professionally in both theatre and dance for over twenty years. Karla has choreographed many full length productions including; Grease, Hair, Urine town and most recently Bare. Her contemporary work has been performed by many local pre-professional dance and theatre companies in the city. Karla has donated her time to the arts community by sitting on many Board of Directors. Karla has trained in Royal Academy of Dance for over twenty years under Micaela Archer-Shee & Nora Oakey and had muliti-discipline modern, jazz and hip hop training from Peggy Baker, Jayson Wright, and Lenny de la Pena.
Ballet, Body Conditioning(PBT)
Carol trained in England at the Westbury School of Dance and Drama and the Urdang Academy of Performing Arts in Covent Garden, London. Professionally performing in Tunisia , North Africa. where she settled and ran her own RAD school for many years. After moving to Nova Scotia she taught at several local schools.
She is an Associate of The Society of Russian Ballet as well as an RAD registered teacher and has her Certification in Progressive Ballet Technique. She also acts as Rehearsal Mistress for Coastal Dance Theatre Society.
OWNER
Certified in Royal Academy Dance , PBT body conditioning
Director/Owner since 1994. Micaela trained at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, Banff Centre for the Arts and graduated from École Supérieure de Danse du Québec. She has studied in Germany, Toronto, Pennsylvania & New York. She holds her Royal Academy of Dance Advanced 2 & her Russian Advanced certificate.
Micaela has performed professionally with Les Grands Ballet Canadiens, Les Jeune Ballets de Quebec and at the Toronto Fringe Festival of Independent Artists (Ffida), Halifax Live Art & the Atlantic Fringe Festival . She has been awarded Nova Scotia Talent Trust Awards, The Banff Centre for the Arts Scholarship, and the Canada Council Emerging Artist award.
She is an elected Associate of the Royal Academy of Dance(ARAD) and is a Royal Academy of Dance Registered Teacher(RTS). And is certified in the Progressive Ballet Technique.
Her students have attended some of the most prestigious schools and professional companies in the world such as The Juilliard School, Joffery Ballet School, Boston Ballet School, The National Ballet school of Canada, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, Toronto Dance Theatre and Netherlands Dance Theatre II, Albert Ballet II, Ballet B.C.