BIO's
Manager and Principal: Gail Scott
Gail has a broad background in all styles of dance, Acro and Musical Theatre and has studied in Canada and the US since she began her dance career at a very young age. Gail is a diversely talented teacher and her inventive choreography has bean acknowledged through many prestigious awards and scholarships. From the classroom to the stage, Gail is able to transform dance into unique and special works of art, each displaying passion, commitment and unbelievable heart! Gail also prides herself in meticulous technique and challenges and encourages all students who come under her care to reach their personal best. Many of her former students are thriving in the professional dance world and in 2013, one of her students, Lukas McFarlane, proudly won Got Dance, UK.Gail established Danscott Studio in Calgary in 1982 and has proudly remained the director and principal teacher since it’s inception. 2022-2023, Danscott Studio proudly celebrates it’s 41st Anniversary! Gail has a special way of touching children’s lives and inspiring them to express themselves through dance and ultimately creating everlasting memories. Danscott Studio, a uniquely different and dedicated studio where the focus is on each and every dancer to be their best. Gail’s dedication to the art of dance creates a presence that is unmatched.
Aleigh Scott Ford
ARAD, RAD RTS, CERTIFIED ADAPT TEACHER
Progressing Ballet Technique Level 1, Level 2 Certified
Alixa Flexibility Certified Level 1, Level 2, Level 3
Aleigh grew up at Danscott Studio, and is honored to be carrying on her moms legacy. A registered teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance, Aleigh is passionate about the pursuit of technical excellence. Through structured class management, and a hands on approach, Aleigh enjoys watching her students improve and grow year to year. As a dancer, Aleigh completed all levels of the ADAPT Tap and Jazz Syllabus, RAD Graded Exams, and RAD Vocational Exams up to and including Advanced Two. As a dancer, she enjoyed training at summer intensive programs in LA and NYC, and is committed to continuing her dance education as a teacher. Aleigh completed the ADAPT Teaching Training school in July 2013 and has enjoyed setting yearly exam goals with her students in tap and jazz and also receiving consistently high marks. Aleigh believes in quality over quantity, and is proud to know each and every Danscott student.
Aleigh is driven by passion, and backed by experience!
Katie Smith Booth
At age seven Katie started her dance training, which began by focusing purely on ballet. In a matter of only two years she was preforming in The Nutcracker with Alberta Ballet, as well as The International School of Ballet, and earned the coveted role of The Sugar Plum Fairy at the age of 17. Katie attended many prestigious summer schools over her dance career, including National Ballet of Canada, Royal Winnipeg and The Goh. In her mid-teens she branched out to Lyrical, Jazz, contemporary, tap and musical theatre. At 18 she started her professional career dancing for Tokyo Disney's Encore!, a musical revue show choreographed by Patty Colombo. Shortly after, Katie booked an international tour which visited 14 major cities though out China, in which she was a lead dancer and featured soloist. Continuing to seek challenges, Katie moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dance career further. There she worked with Choreographers such as Andre Fuentes in the world renowned Choreographers Carnival. Katie has also appeared in the Bollywood film Blue, where she worked with Choreographer Liz Imperio. In 2008 Katie moved to Vancouver and worked with Josh Beamish in Move: The Company, for the 08/09 season. Katie has been teaching and choreographing for over 10 years, across North America and Australia. Returning to Calgary for the past five years, she continues to share her life long passion for dance with her students. Katie cherish's watching her students grow as individuals, develop as athletes and succeed as dancers. Her teaching philosophy believes that the best results come from a combination of hard work, sound technique, and most importantly, a love for dance. Katie has been blessed to work with passionate and driven dancers. Teaming up with these great athletes, who believe in the same philosophy has led to many overall awards and choreography acknowledgments.
Allison Dolan Coleman
Allison’s career in the art of dance has taken her to all corners of the globe as a performer, choreographer and instructor. Allison uncovered her passion for dance right here at Danscott Studio. She developed a love of all styles of dance tap, ballet, lyrical, open and musical theatre but ballet always stood out in her heart. Following high school graduation, Allison accepted several contracts with Princess Cruise Lines and spent the next five years travelling and performing on the seas while attending university. Allison has also performed with the En corps Collective, based here in Calgary. She graduated the University of Lethbridge with a Bachelor’s of Science in Exercise Health Science, and then the University of British Columbia with a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy. Allison has choreographed several pieces at various studios in Western Canada, most of which in ballet, lyrical and jazz disciplines. She has also done choreography for the Calgary Stampede show Spurlesque and The Christmas Special with Princess Cruise Lines. Allison recently moved back to Calgary from Vancouver with her husband and three children. She enjoys working with young dancers building a foundation and inspiring them to develop their expressions through dance. She is so excited to be back home at Danscott Studio and looks forward to working with all the DS students
Emma Lund
Emma Lund is a dance artist, choreographer, and teacher, currently based in Calgary, Alberta. She grew up training extensively and competing in ballet, jazz, contemporary, modern, tap and hip hop, winning multiple titles across North America. Emma has completed all her ADAPT syllabus Jazz and Tap exams, as well as completing her Advanced 1 RAD ballet exam with Distinction. Early in her professional career, Emma worked closely with Sarah Dolan as a company member of the O2 Dance Company in Calgary, developing a deeper appreciation for contemporary dance. Emma furthered her professional contemporary dance training in Toronto, receiving her post-secondary diploma at The Conteur Academy under the direction of Eryn Waltman. After graduating from The Conteur Academy in 2018, she has had the opportunity to work with and perform under renowned dance artists and choreographers, such as Ryan Lee, Kelly Shaw, Eryn Waltman, Roberto Campanella (ProArteDanza), and Robert Glumbek. Other credits include The Capezio A.C.E. Awards (Los Angeles), The JUNO Awards (Alessia Cara), Locke and Key (Netflix), Legends of Horror (Casa Loma - Toronto). Aside from performing, Emma has developed a passion as a dance educator, and loves to inspire and challenge the minds of the upcoming generation of young artists. She currently choreographs and teaches for multiple dance studios in Alberta, and thrives off the opportunity to create with a variety of gifted young artists. Emma is thrilled to be joining the Danscott family this season, and cannot wait to share her knowledge with all the students!
Emma Gunn
“Miss Emma grew up dancing and competing in Calgary. She trained in many styles, including jazz, lyrical, contemporary, different modern techniques, ballet and pointe, with an emphasis on ballet. She has completed her RAD Grade 8 and Advanced 1 examinations. As well as dancing at the School of Alberta Ballet, she has performed with Jeunesse Classique Ballet in their production of Coppelia, as well as with the Moscow Ballet in their productions of Romeo and Juliet and the Nutcracker. During the day you can find her working in different Nuclear Medicine and MRI departments, or outdoors enjoying the sunshine and the mountains!
Emma likes to share her knowledge of the body and how things work with her students to develop technical, knowledgeable, body-aware dancers. She believes things work better if you understand how! She loves seeing the improvements of the dancers and watching their hard work pay off and is very excited to be joining the Danscott team this season!”
Molly McFarlane
Molly has been dancing with Danscott since the age of 5. She has had the pleasure of being trained by Miss Gail in both tap and jazz following the ADAPT syllabus and has also succeeded in the RAD ballet program. Molly has been trained in every style including ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, acro, lyrical and contemporary. Molly has completed both her junior and intermediate certifications with the Acro Dance Teachers Association. She has also attended the advanced seminar and is in progress of completing her certification. In 2019, Molly graduated from St. Mary’s University with of Bachelor of Education degree. She has been working with the Calgary Board of Education ever since and is currently a full-time grade 1/2 teacher. Molly has a passion for teaching and wants to inspire younger dancers to challenge themselves and learn something new all while feeding their passion for dance. She is looking forward to this upcoming season with Danscott Studio.
Amanda Hillman
Amanda has trained at Danscott since a young age in various styles including ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, musical theatre and acro. She was an examiner and master instructor for the Acro Dance Teacher’s Association (ADTA) syllabus, previously known as Acrobatique. Amanda is also a certified module 1 and 2 Acrobatic Arts instructor. She has completed the three year ADAPT Teacher’s Training School program and is a fully qualified ADAPT teacher. Amanda has completed her Ballet Blog Teacher Training Level 1.
Amanda is also a Certified Athletic Therapist and has a bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education. Her extensive knowledge in anatomy, injury prevention, biomechanics and exercise physiology allows her to better understand how the body works in relation to dance. Amanda is passionate about teaching dance and acro and enjoys watching her students progress and achieve their goals. Amanda is always eager to learn new things and hopes to inspire young dancers to continually challenge themselves and strive to learn new things.
Nadine Roberts
Dance has given Nadine an extra family. Born and raised in Calgary, AB, Nadine started dance at age three. Training and competing in all disciplines (Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Musical Theatre, Contemporary and Partnering) ignited a passion and appreciation for the artistic expression through movement and music. When not training, competing, or teaching, Nadine was performing with Artistique Performing Arts Company, affording her amazing experiences such as dancing in the 1988 Calgary Olympics, many Calgary Stampedes, and various holiday events in Alberta. There may have been an appearance or two on the Buck Shot Show even. Having successfully completed exams with both ADAPT and RAD syllabi, she joined Calgary Dance Theatre to perform with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Disneyland. She spent high school summers demonstrating in dance workshops that took her all over Alberta and British Columbia.
Nadine has a B.Sc in Nutrition and Food Science. Upon completing her degree, Nadine traveled the globe performing first with Norwegian Cruise lines and then five years with Princess Cruise Lines. Here she married her love of dance and travel and met her husband. Settling back in Calgary, Nadine joined Encorps Dance Collective (proud local dance company) as a board member and dancer. Nadine has two children and joined the Danscott family in 2016 with her daughter in dance.
The studio has always been her second home. She is driven to inspire young dancers to learn something new, to encourage them to challenge themselves while enjoying the process and feed their passion for dance. She is blessed because of dance and looks forward to being a part of the Danscott faculty magic.
Anna Roberts
Anna has been dancing from a young age and training with Danscott since the age of 13. She has completed her RAD graded exams with exceptional marks and recently completed her Inter 3 Jazz ADAPT exam receiving a very successful, Highly Commended Plus mark. Anna has trained her whole life in many different genres including Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Lyrical, Acro, Musical Theatre, Contemporary, and Hip Hop. She has not only trained in many genres but has also been studying as an assistant teacher at Danscott for the past 4 years under Miss Gail and Miss Aleigh.
Anna is currently attending Mount Royal University to pursue a Bachelor of Communications degree. She is so excited that she is able to share her passion and training in dance with the younger students of Danscott!
Ziad Aly Mounib
Ziad Aly is an Egyptian Hip Hop dancer who established himself as one of the key pioneers of dance in the Egyptian Hip Hop & street dance Community. In order to further develop his skills, Ziad has traveled to many different countries including the United States, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Cyprus, Turkey and Lebanon. He is also the founder of Swaggers crew, which has allowed for hip hop dancers and BBoys all across Egypt to join, train and bring hip hop to mainstream culture through events, performances and workshops. His hard work and dedication landed him and his dance crew on the renowned show “Arabs got talent”. Ziad has also had several opportunities to host some of the greatest names and pioneers of hip hop and Street dance from the United States to Egypt. As a highlight in Ziad’s career, he was credited by choreographing some of the biggest celebrity names in Egypt for Vogue Arabia magazine as well as working as the dance consultant for Redbull Egypt. He worked on choreographing shows for brands like Red Bull, Nike, Intel, Samsung, Coca Cola and more.