Faculty

Monica has been teaching in the Ottawa area since 1980. Before opening the Canadian School of Dance in 1986, Monica performed with the Ottawa Dance Theatre, Ontario Ballet Theatre and in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of ‘The Merry Widow” and “Rinaldo” with Marilyn Horne. Monica’s formal dance training was with the National Ballet School, The Canadian School of Ballet, and the Canadian College of Dance at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute. Monica attended summer schools at Les Grands Ballet Canadien and the Banff School of Fine Arts. She was instrumental in the Canadian School of Dance receiving the Youth Achievement Award in 1988.

Fran has been teaching in the Ottawa area for over 30 years. Her early training with the founders of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) prepared her to attend renowned summer schools at the RWB and The Banff School of Fine Arts before graduating from the Canadian College of Dance at Ryerson Theatre School. Having danced professionally for several years she decided to open the Canadian School of Dance to pursue teaching and pass on the passion for dance she herself enjoyed as a child. Her love for technical precision in training has pushed many of her students to reach the highest of achievements in their careers. Ms. Coyle’s award winning choreography has received many accolades and she was a recipient of the ‘Gloria Jean Cuming Award of Excellence’ at the 2011 American Dance Awards National competition in Boston for the Junior level (10-12), as well as a nomination for the ‘Choreographer of the Year’. Through Fran, CSD has bragging rights as the only Ottawa dance studio with three successful RAD Solo Seal Award candidates.

Nancy Pidgeon’s early training was in the method of the Royal Academy of Dance. She completed her intermediate Executant Examination and later went on to achieve her RAD Teaching Diploma. She graduated from the Teacher Training Program of the National Ballet School in 1983 after completing the National Dance Branch Elementary and intermediate with Honours (ISTD), the Intermediate Cecchetti Ballet Exam and the Associate Level Teaching Exam with Distinction (ISTD). Nancy spent another year at the National Ballet School working as an Assistant Teacher and completed her Licentiate Level Teaching Exam. Since her return to Ottawa, her teaching experience has been diverse and extensive. In 1986 she and three partners established National Capital Dance Educators and she worked there for fifteen years as well as in a variety of other dance schools in the Ottawa area. In addition, Nancy has examined at Canterbury High School and at l’École Secondaire de la Salle. She is a frequent guest teacher at the Cecchetti Seminars offered in Toronto on a bi-annual basis and she regularly attends the NBS Teaching Seminars featuring the work of Irene Dowd.

Jennifer studied Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop and Ballet at Canadian School of Dance for 12 years, including being a Senior member of the CSD Performing Ensemble and the CSD Competitive Team before becoming a dance teacher and choreographer with CSD. Jennifer has taken workshops with Tap Dogs, Riverdance, The Radio City Rockettes and in 2000 appeared in a music video for a Canadian singer for the song “Lately”. In 2002, she danced in Las Vegas with the CSD Competitive team and was the Captain of the Canadian Dance Team at Footloose International Dance Championships. In 2010, Jennifer became a certified dance teacher under the Associated Dance Arts for Professional Teachers (ADAPT) and since then has entered countless successful dancers to complete their ADAPT exams, including Advanced candidates. Jennifer is proud to choreograph for CSD’s full-time and part-time competitive teams. Jennifer’s work has been seen on regional and national competition stages and has won several high score overall awards at the American Dance Awards, CanDance, Onstage, Believe, Move and Thunderstruck, including High Score Junior Small Group at the American Dance Awards National Championship. Jennifer has had the opportunity to work with exceptional guest choreographers and teachers from throughout Canada and the United States. Several of her students have gone on to train and work professionally in the dance industry. In 2004, Jennifer obtained a BA Honours in Communication from the University of Ottawa. Jennifer has been a teacher with Canadian School of Dance for 20 years and enjoys teaching all ages. Jennifer believes that the bonds, friendships, and memories that are created through dance will last forever and her passion for dance will continue to shine through her students.

Jessica is ADAPT (Associated Dance Arts for Professional Teachers) certified. Jessica trained in Ballet, Tap and Jazz for eleven years at the Canadian School of Dance (CSD) and was a teaching assistant in all disciplines for seven years before becoming a teacher with CSD. She was a member of the CSD Performing Ensemble and a senior member of the Competitive dance team. As a student and assistant teacher, Jessica attended CSD’s intensive Summer Convention, working with many guest teachers and choreographers. Jessica has also assisted with and taught at CSD’s Summer Camp and March Break Recreational Camp. Jessica has participated in many regional and international dance competitions, performed in Ballet Jorgen’s “The Nutcracker” at Centrepointe Theatre for four years, and participated in Project Hellas, a fundraiser for CHEO also held at Centrepointe Theatre. One of her adventures was starting a dance team at Monsignor Paul Baxter Elementary School in Barrhaven where Jessica, along with two other dancers, taught over 50 students aged 10 to 12 years old. Jessica has also obtained a B.Soc Bachelor of Sociology at the University of Ottawa.

Lauren Midali is Acrobatic Arts Certified (ACRO) and is trained in the Royal Academy of Dance Syllabus as well as in A.D.A.P.T. Jazz and Tap; completing the advanced levels in both syllabuses. She grew up training at the Canadian School of Dance and started her journey in dance at the age of 4. Over those years she had the opportunity to train at the National Ballet School of Canada in their full-time professional program, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s summer school program, perform with Les Grands Ballet Canadiens in “The Nutcracker“ as well as perform the role of Clara in Ballet Jorgen’s “The Nutcracker“. More recently Lauren worked professionally as a Dancer/Dance Captain for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Dancer/Aerialist/ Character Performer for Disney Cruise Line travelling the world for over seven years. Lauren was a member of the Canadian School of Dance Competitive Team and has received awards such as American Dance Awards Regional Dancer of the Year, and Senior Miss CanDance. Lauren also completed her studies to be an Early Childhood Educator.

Emily Missios has 17 years of experience and will continue to grow and flourish with the determination her personality holds. Emily is Acrobatic Arts Certified (ACRO) and is trained in the Royal Academy of Dance Syllabus, along with the A.D.A.P.T Syllabus for Jazz and Tap. She successfully completed all levels of A.D.A.P.T and completed her Advanced 2 Ballet examination. She is trained and knowledgeable in the following styles; Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Acro. In 2017, Emily performed in a Toronto Based Tap Company entitled “Rhythm and Sound”. Her knowledge of Tap has grown over the years, enabling her to offer a unique class by providing a diverse understanding of Tap. Emily competed on the CSD competitive team for many years, and has been awarded with eight regional titles, and has also won multiple high score choreography awards for the work that she has created over the past few years! Emily’s goal is to spread love through dance, she works with every dancer’s learning style to create a passion and drive that will never weaken.

Xander Sen started dancing when he was 5 years old with the Ukrainian School of Dance. He then went on to study Ballet, Modern, Jazz with his primary focus towards Contemporary and Hip Hop. He was awarded scholarships to attend both The Alberta Ballet Summer Program in Calgary, Alberta and the Joffrey Experience at the Joffrey Ballet in NYC. He is a recent graduate of Canterbury High School Dance Program. He has trained and collaborated with several noted choreographers including Jeff Dimitriou, Fefe Burgos and Cat Cagliandro among others. His performance experience has varied having been cast most recently as the Mouse King and the Arabian in the Nutcracker as well as musicals and music videos. He was the featured soloist for the grand opening ceremonies at the National Arts Centre for Dignitaries including Prince Charles and the Governor General.  As a choreographer Xander has had the opportunity to teach hip hop classes in the city as well as choreographing for events such as Future Shock Dance Showcase and Dancers Give Back 2020. Xander’s goal is to grow and offer his knowledge of dance to his students, hopefully inspiring and fueling their love of dance.

Samantha was trained in ballet, jazz, and contemporary for twelve years at Canadian School of Dance (CSD) in Ottawa, ON and taught there for seven years following her graduation. She has successfully completed numerous exams including her RAD Advanced II Ballet and ADAPT Advanced Jazz exams. Over the course of her training she has participated in Ballet Jorgen’s, “The Nutcracker”, attended many workshops, and competed regionally and nationally with CSDs competitive team. Samantha has won “America’s Dancer of the Year” in five regional competition, placed 3rd runner up in Candance’s national “Dancer of the Year” competition in 2009, and in the top ten of American Dance Awards national “Dancer of the Year” competition in 2010. Samantha is passionate about health and fitness and spent 5 years in the fitness industry following graduation. When she’s not at her full time job or at the gym, she can be found hanging out with her dog, Koda, and her husband, Brad

Rachel Adjeleian quite literally grew up within the doors of CSD, dancing at the studio for 15 years before taking on a teacher role in 2016. She danced competitively at CSD for 12 years, and completed both ADAPT Jazz and Tap exams and RAD Ballet exams throughout her tenure at the studio. She has been part of winning numbers at both the regional and national levels, most notably winning the Gloria Jean Cuming Award of Excellence for ages 12 & Under at American Dance Award’s National Championships in 2011, and the George Lon Memorial Award for ages 13 & Over in 2016. Since completing her competitive dance career, she has continued her dance education by becoming a Certified Acro Dance Teacher with Acrobatic Arts, as well as a Certified Flexibility Instructor with Alixa Flexibility. In her teaching, Rachel maintains a commitment to a high-level of dance training, through an emphasis on proper technical execution with the use of safe teaching methods. She strives to help her students develop their dance technique by following systems of progressions that focus on injury prevention and will foster longevity in her students dance careers.

Kathleen began her dance career as a student at the Canadian School of Dance. Over the 12 years she spent there, she studied many dance styles, including Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Lyrical, Contemporary and Hip Hop. She also completed both the graded and vocational streams of R.A.D. Ballet examinations, as well as the A.D.A.P.T. Jazz and Tap exams. Kathleen was also a member of the CSD competitive team throughout most of her years there. After graduating from High School, Kathleen moved to Toronto to continue her dance studies through Ryerson University’s Performance: Dance Program. At Ryerson, Kathleen furthered her Ballet, Jazz and Contemporary studies, and trained in additional dance styles such as Modern Dance, Cuban Modern, Urban, Partnering and Improv. In addition to her dance classes, Kathleen also took courses in Acting, Singing, Musical Theatre, Creative Performance and Anatomy. Throughout her schooling, she performed in many dance shows, including in the piece FIDDLE EMBRACE, choreographed by Anne Plamondon and performed for Fall For Dance North in 2019. She also performed the lead role in the piece To Be Determined, choreographed by her peer Joel Taylor. Aside from dance, Kathleen also has interests in singing, visual art, Physics and Biology. Kathleen has always had a profound love for musically driven physicality and intends to further explore the connection between movement and music through her work. 

Kailey Sanford is from Middle Sackville, Nova Scotia, where she first started dancing at the age of 5 and grew a passion and love for the art form. She has trained in various styles at the Maritime Dance Academy and Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts, as well as a Private Career College where she graduated with a diploma in their teacher training program. There she became certified in the Canadian Dance Teachers Association in Ballet, Tap and jazz. Kailey has been studying in Toronto for the past 4 years at Canada’s National Ballet School and has recently graduated from their Teacher Training Diploma Program, where she has furthered her studies in music and teaching Ballet. There she also trained in the ballet syllabi, Vaganova, Royal Academy of Dance and the Cecchetti Society of Canada.