INSTRUCTORS

INTRODUCING OUR TEAM

ALSD is excited to introduce our team for the 2022/2023 dance season!

ALI RICARD

Principal, Director, Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical, Contemporary and Acro/Conditioning

Miss Ali Ricard started dancing at very young age at the Alison Lamont School of Dance and has accumulated over 25 years of dance experience, having been trained in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical,Hip Hop, and Contemporary. As a young student, Ali achieved high marks in RAD Ballet and
CDTA Tap exams. Her love for ballet became evident as she had the honor of being chosen to
attend summer programs at prestigious ballet schools such as the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the
National Ballet of Canada and the Banff Centre of Arts. Auditioning for these institutes and
surrounding herself with likeminded young performers, Ali quickly learned the importance of
having ballet training as the foundation for her dance career. After graduating high school, Ali
chose to spend time furthering her dance education in Toronto by taking classes with
established choreographers and later moved to Vancouver where she had the opportunity to
attend the Intensive Training Program at Harbor Dance Center. Extending her time in
Vancouver, Ali continued with her dance training and auditioning. This was a very exciting time
for Ali as she learned to connect with the professional world of dance. She landed a part in a
music video for Marianas Trench, along with other performances and video projects. During
these years, Ali found time to become a RMT (Registered Massage Therapist - 2200 Hour
Advanced Therapy Program). As an RMT, she has a better insight into a dancer’s body
mechanics giving her a greater understanding for technique and body awareness. Ali moved
back to Lloydminster and has been teaching dance along with being an RMT, for the past five
years. Ali continues to learn and look for the innovative ways to apply new ideas to her
teaching style. She has attained certification for the ADAPT syllabus and recently received
certification for the PBT (Progressive Ballet Technique) program. Most recently, Ali received her Module 1 Certification with the Acrobatic Arts.
Ali is excited for her next opportunity and to pursue one of her dreams, by taking on the
ownership role at ALSD. Her roots are strong at ALSD, where she is humbled to be able to pass
on her knowledge to dancers, young and old alike, and encourage their artistic ability.

EILA MILLER

Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical and Musical Theatre/Variety

Miss Eila grew up studying dance at the Alison Lamont School of Dance and has been teaching at ALSD for the past 14 years. Eila has her teaching certification with the Canadian Dance Teachers Association (CDTA) and numerous years of dance and teaching experience in Tap, Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical and Acro. Her passion for gymnastics outside of the studio has allowed her to receive certification in NCCP Level 2 Gymnastics (WAG) which pairs nicely with her love for teaching Acro and has given her a further understanding of athletic developmental skills. Eila has many years teaching experience in dance and gymnastics, teaching various places within Saskatchewan and Alberta as well as a season in Melbourne Australia. Most recently, Eila has furthered her education and received certification for the Acrobatic Arts and received her PBT (Progressive Ballet Technique). Your child will love Miss Eila and her warm, friendly, and creative approach to teaching. We are so blessed to have this award winning choreographer and creative teacher as part of our team.

SARAH MUTTER

Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary and Acro/Conditioning

Miss Sarah is from Lloydminster, Alberta and has been dancing since the age of two. She has received training in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip-hop, Lyrical, Contemporary and briefly Pointe. She has completed her Grade 8 RAD Ballet exams and CDTA Tap exams with high marks. Miss Sarah enjoys all the genres of dance but her love for rhythm and beats makes tap dancing her most favorite discipline! She was ecstatic when she was asked to demonstrate exam work on a CDTA tap dance instructional video. She has always loved the dance competition season and the great atmosphere around it. She has competed in many competitions excelling in tap solos and duets and group performances.

During her high school years, Miss Sarah taught pre-preliminary tap classes as well as assisted intermediate jazz classes alongside Miss Ali Ricard. Her love for teaching dance resulted in her going to university to pursue teaching education. Miss Sarah taught tap to all ages at ALSD during her fourth year in university. She has a soft spot for teaching her senior tap group as she believes dancing is a lifelong journey that does not have an expiry date! In June of 2022, she received her bachelor of education through the University of Alberta. Miss Sarah is excited to share her love for tap dancing with all ages! She is bubbly, passionate and ready to have her students make some noise! Miss Sarah is excited to be on the ALSD team and ALSD is just as excited to have her return!

ALY HARLAND

Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip Hop, and Acro/Conditioning

Miss Aly has been part of the Alison Lamont School of Dance family for many years. Her love for dance started at a very young age and this love quickly grew into a passion. She received training in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary and Hip Hop. While at ALSD she successfully completed her RAD Graded and Vocational Ballet Exams including her Advanced II, and her CDTA Tap Exams up to the Advanced Level. She was also one of the demonstrators for the CDTA Senior Tap instructional videos.

While in university Aly danced at Brenda’s School of Dance in Saskatoon and her Hip Hop group participated in the World of Dance Competition. She is also a certified Mat STOTT Pilates Instructor.

Aly’s love for movement and the human body led her to become a chiropractor. During the day you can find her treating her patients at Transition Health and Wellness.

Miss Aly loves the hard work, fun, determination, creativity, and teamwork involved with dance, and is excited to be part of the ALSD team once again. We are thrilled to have Miss Aly return to ALSD this Fall to share her passion for dance with students and establish exciting new skills in her classes.

DANECA GOLDSMITH

Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical, and Contemporary

Miss “Neca” began dancing at the age of 4, spending 11 years at Dance Impressions by Ryan. While there, she completed her Grade 5 Cecchetti ballet, Pre-Intermediate 3 ADAPT Jazz, & Intermediate 1 ADAPT Tap exams. After struggling with the diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis in her early teens, Daneca spent her high school & early college years dancing and teaching with SHAPE Art & Wellness Studio in Vermilion. There, Daneca not only renewed her passion & love for dance – but also found a power and healing quality in dance that she is excited to share with students.

Daneca’s favorite disciplines of dance are ballet and contemporary. However, she has trained & competed in a wide range of genres including ballet/pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, contemporary, hip hop, & Bollywood. In 2016, she had the opportunity to take part in the production of "Late Harvest" – a short film filmed in Lloydminster that went on to be nominated for several awards at film festivals throughout western Canada. In 2017, Daneca earned a Be Discovered scholarship to dance in LA performing at the Choreographers Carnival alongside famous dance groups including The Lab.

Daneca has taken some time away from the industry to complete her Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) Degree and get a start on her career in the banking industry. Now, she is excited to return to the dance world and spend her evenings in the studio creating a fun & energetic environment. We welcome Miss Neca to the ALSD team and look forward to the addition her kind spirit and tenacity will bring to the studio this season.

KIRSTIN STRANG

Tap, Jazz, Musical Theatre/Variety, Acro

Miss Kirstin has over 25 years of dance experience – having trained primarily in the disciplines of jazz, tap, and musical theatre. After taking a leave from dance to earn her BSc. in Human Sciences (Great Distinction), Miss Kirstin returned to dancing in the Fall of 2011 and became a member of the Canadian Dance Teachers Association’s Stage Division (Licentiate – Tap & Jazz, Associate Member – Acro). She takes pride in being an active member with the CDTA, belonging to both the Alberta and Saskatchewan branches, and served as the Secretary of the Alberta Branch for six years before taking on the positions of Vice-President and Tap & Acrobatic Dance Coordinator in 2018. As well, Miss Kirstin is a certified Master Instructor with Acrobatique, an Acrobatic Arts Modules I & II instructor and holds teaching credentials with KinderMusik, Zumba, Alixa Flexibility, Spectacle Blue, and TRX. She believes the best teachers never stop learning and her recent focus has been on furthering her acrobatic and aerial arts education. Miss Kirstin has trained extensively in aerial silks and lyra and is currently completing her Circus Arts Instructor diploma through Montreal’s prestigious Ecole National de Cirque.

As a performer, her passion is tap dancing and in 2014, she auditioned for the American Tap Dance Foundation’s “Tap City” and was selected to perform in two productions “Tap Future” and “Tap It Out” at the New York City Tap Dance Festival. She completed a week-long residency under tap dancing legend, Brenda Bufalino and ATDF Artistic Director, Tony Waag.

Miss Kirstin’s students are inspired in her classes and challenged through her intricate choreography. Her degree in Human Sciences and extensive dance training provide her with a special understanding of the human body and the mechanics of movement. As a teacher, her intention is to challenge and educate dancers; focusing on placement, correct technique, strength and agility.

KARLI MAKICHUK

Introductory Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary and Acro/Conditioning

Miss Karli has been dancing since the age of 4 enjoying ballet, tap, and jazz. Eventually she added

lyrical, modern, and hip hop to mix and found joy in performing. Along with her studio, she

danced at various events such as World Water Day in New York City, and performed in

Disneyland.

Dance gave Karli confidence, and she made lasting friendships with the people she started with

when she was little.

Karli taught dance during college and started taking drop-in classes to explore other styles in

university. She is now an elementary school teacher in Lloydminster and is excited for her love

of dance, teaching, and children to come together again. ALSD is proud to have Miss Karli and her outgoing personality on the team to inspire young minds.

MACKENZIE TAYLOR

Introductory Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary and Acro/Conditioning

Miss Mackenzie has danced since she was 4 years old with the majority of her years at ALSD. She has trained in Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary and Hip Hop. She has completed her Grade 7 RAD Ballet Examinations. Mackenzie has previously taught rec and beginner classes while being a student at ALSD. She was at the University of Alberta getting her degree in Psychology but is now back and extremely excited to be teaching dance once again. When not at the dance studio she will be teaching her daughter the basics any young dancer needs to know. Miss Mackenzie can’t wait to share her passion for dance with our younger dance community! ALSD welcomes Miss Mackenzie back to the studio where she will inspire young minds to express movement and share the love of dance!

JODI BRYAN

Hip-Hop

Jodi’s roots are in rural Alberta where she began dancing at the age of nine. Her dance interests included Ballet, Tap Jazz, Musical Theatre and Hip Hop. Jodi’s passion for hip hop has grown over time and she has accumulated over ten years of experience instructing hip hop. Starting her professional training in Vancouver, she trained and taught at Harbour Dance Centre and Drive Dance Centre. She also trained, performed, and choreographed for groups such as, Bucky Top Dancehall Crew and Kill The Lights Dance Company. Jodi’s professional career has seen her perform and appear in Final Destination 3, RV, opening for Jabbawockeez and various other dance competitions, TV shows and movies. Jodi’s dancing then took her to London, England, to live and travel for two years. While in the UK, she trained at studios such as, Pineapple Dance Studios, Studio 68, Danceworks, and Husky Studios. During this time, she also taught Hip Hop, Dancehall, and Hip Hop in heels, at Alter Ego Dance Studio, City Academy, Danceworks, and Husky Studios. After taking a few years off to start her family, Jodi’s love and passion for dance has her very excited to be back and doing what she loves. We are honored to have Jodi joining our ALSD team this year.

Miss Jodi is on maternity leave spending quality time with her family. We hope to see her in and around the studio substituting and visiting ALSD occasionally.

WARREN AGUINALDO

Hip Hop

Warren is from Toronto, Ontario where he started his dance journey through ballroom dancing at the age of 13 from which he started to transition into hip hop dance. Warren has been training in hip hop since joining the University of Waterloo Hip Hop Dance Club and has had the opportunity to perform on a variety of stages throughout Toronto. Some of these stages included several OUCH competitions in Ontario, Canada's Wonderland, and the Beatdown to name a few.

Warren is a master of none but a "Warren-of-all-trades" as he is a full-time Engineer, part time tennis coach, a part time math and science tutor, involved with the Rubik's cubers of Alberta community, among other things. Warren will also be helping with mixing the studio mix as well as engaging video projects along the way as they come up through the dance season. He is excited to bring his knowledge, experience, and energy to the studio to help positively guide the youth in any way he can.

ALISON LAMONT

Ballet

Alison Lamont has 46 years of teaching experience, 40 in Lloydminster and 6 in other
areas of the world. She has trained in dance for most of her life in places such as
Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Banff School of Fine Arts, Los Angeles,
Saskatoon, Regina and her hometown studio in Moose Jaw.
She has had the privilege of training under some of the best in the world including Eva
Von Gency, Peter George (the founder of Les Ballet Jazz Montreal), Arnold Spore of the
Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Glenn Gilmore of the National Ballet, Sonya Chamberlain, John
Marshall, Maisie McPhee, Brian and Faye Foley and 3 years with Flora Lejakova of the
Kirov Ballet.
She is a graduate of the Canadian College of Dance, Ryerson Theatre department in
Toronto, a registered teacher with the Royal Academy of Dancing and a Life Member of
Canadian Dance Teachers Association, a member of Dance Masters of America and
Associate CDTA Ballet Modern. She has extensive training in Ballet, Tap, Jazz,
Lyrical, Highland, Modern and National Dance.
Alison has been the Principal of ALSD for 40 years and will continue to mentor and
oversee the goings on at ALSD. ALSD is lucky to have Alison as a part of our dance
family.