Like Folds On A Paper, Our Adventures Leave A Mark.

Jessalyn has had a lifelong passion for dance. She holds a B.A. in Contemporary Dance with distinction from the University of Calgary and danced with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks Professional Training Program for three seasons. Upon graduation, Jessalyn danced professionally with dance theatre company kloetzel&co. for several seasons where she performed in Professional Series, Toronto’s Dusk Dances, and in the full length work "The Alice Odyssey.” Jessalyn was also a Corps Bara company member as well as company manager. Independently, she has had the opportunity to perform and choreograph in dance events throughout Alberta and B.C, has self-produced three full length shows CrossCurrents, and co-created the dance company ESIRA.  Jessalyn is currently co-Artistic Director and General manager of Alberta Dance Theatre and teaches in YYC studios and schools. 

Conrad is a non-binary, hard-of-hearing award winning queer theatre director, actor and educator. In Calgary they’ve worked with Theatre Calgary, Ghost River Theatre, the High Performance Rodeo, Alberta Theatre Projects, Lunchbox Theatre, Stage West, Inside Out Theatre, Vertigo Theatre and many other predominant organizations. They are the creator and performer of the Instagram Livestream phenomenon MONO MAN MIA!, for which they won Broadway World’s “Vocalist of the Decade”. They are the Theatre Arts Director at Youth Singers of Calgary and also work with the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium as an Arts Education Facilitator. Much love and admiration to Alix & Clarence. PROTECT TRANS KIDS.

Megan has been teaching, choreographing and performing for many years in Calgary. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance at the University of Calgary in 2005 and has taught at the University of Calgary, Freehouse dance plus, DJD, Alberta Ballet and in the PVA program at Central Memorial High School. She has had the opportunity to travel and perform in Poland, Finland, Toronto and Montreal. Megan is looking forward to sharing her love for creation and choreography with ADT.  To find out more please see her website at www.whatmovesu.ca.

Dean Lauderdale is a Calgary-born musician with a deep passion for music. With over 15 years of experience, he excels in teaching, performing, and composing. Dean offers private voice, guitar, and piano lessons both at his home studio and Long & McQuade. He also serves as the Director of ONCUE, a professional a cappella ensemble, and as Assistant Director for the JUNIOR HI division at the Youth Singers of Calgary.

Dean holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Humber College and a Music Diploma in Classical Vocal Performance from Mount Royal University. His diverse educational background provides him with a comprehensive understanding of music composition, production, and performance.

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Over the past six seasons, Dean has composed for Alberta Dance Theatre, witnessing firsthand the profound impact of his music on young performers. His compositions span a wide range of musical styles, evoking powerful and emotive performances. Dean's ability to harness the power of imagination through music showcases his exceptional talent as a composer.

Olivia is a passionate dance artist who believes movement is more than technique, it is a powerful way to connect body, mind, and spirit. She approaches dance as both an art form and a human experience, using intentional, expressive movement to explore the space between what we feel internally and what we share outwardly. Her work is grounded in authenticity and driven by a desire to create performances that resonate deeply with audiences.

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Olivia is a Registered Teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance, holds Rambert Grades Level 1 Contemporary teacher certification, and is Kaeja Elevations certified teacher. Olivia now serves as a full-time teacher at Alberta Ballet School, where she is dedicated to fostering both strong technical foundations and artistic confidence in her ballet and contemporary students.

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Committed to continual growth, Olivia currently trains with YYC Contemporary Technique and expands her artistic perspective through ongoing auditions and by actively seeking opportunities within Calgary’s vibrant dance community. She has worked with both local and international choreographers on a variety of creative projects, broadening her versatility and collaborative experience. Her training has also included international intensives with the Joffrey Ballet School and the Martha Graham School.

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Olivia is in her third season with Corps Bara Dance Theatre where she performs as a company dancer, creating and collaborating on work that emphasizes connection and embodied storytelling. She is also the current dancer and past Artistic Director with En Corps Dance Collective in her fourth season. Through her combined work as a performer, director, and educator, Olivia remains committed to cultivating meaningful artistic experiences both on stage and in the studio.

Alicia Molinski (née Ward) is an enthusiastic human being who loves teaching, creating, promoting opportunities to engage with art experiences, and being part of community.

Alicia has been the Co-Artstic Director and General Manager of Alberta Dance Theatre since 2019. The many people that help shape and make every season possible have become incredibly dear to her and have helped shape her into the person she is both professionally and personally.

Throughout the year Alicia works as a Marketing Coordinator at Maillot Homes, instructs tap dance and drama at Kor Danceworks, and works as Program Administrator of Dancing Parkinson's YYC. Alicia is dedicated to providing children with intensely creative, safe, and positive arts experiences that ultimately encourage a life long love of curiosity and connection.

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Her coolest experience as a performer was a collaboration with local performer Mandy Morris called Colour Me Sad, which won YYC Music Awards Children's Recording Of The Year in 2022.

Working in the city primarily as a lighting technician and programmer, Kim is used to creating in front of a live audience in many YYC venues. Perhaps you have seen her “busking” lights for one of the many acts coming through the Taylor Centre of the Performing Arts! Her work is also featured in shows such as; Revv 52’s concert season (2023 - present), DJD’s Footprints (2025) or a previous ADT production (Secret Starling, Gloom town, Interstellar Cinderella). 

Beyond work, Kim fosters puppies, rock climbs, cares for an extensive collection of houseplants and raises a small human being. 

It is a joy and privilege to collaborate with ADT and the youth artists once again. Sharing the excitement and magic of supporting a story with colour, texture and light. 

Annalise Grammacione is an emerging dance artist, choreographer, and educator from Toronto, Ontario whose practice is rooted in jazz and contemporary dance. Drawn to storytelling, improvisation, and musicality, she creates and performs work that explores transformation, rhythm, and human connection.

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Annalise began her artistic training at the Etobicoke School of the Arts, working with Gabby Kamino and Colleen Friedman, before continuing her dance studies at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). In 2020, she collaborated with Hannah Keil through Kenny Pearl's Emerging Artist Residency, choreographing and performing in the dance film Together Inside Out. She later joined Frog in Hand Dance Company for its 2021 and 2022 season, expanding her practice through site specific performance, theatrical creation, and clowning dramaturgy.

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Her introduction to vernacular jazz at TMU marked a lasting commitment to the form. During three years in Decidedly Jazz Danceworks' Professional Training Program led by Jamie Freeman Cormack and Ingrid Diaz Cespedes, she developed a deep appreciation for the relationship between jazz music and movement, a foundation that continues to shape her artistic practice.

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In the summer of 2025, Annalise attended the Creating in Jazz program at Jacob's Pillow under the direction of LaTasha Barnes, alongside Natasha Powell, Lisa La Touche, and musical director Christopher McBride. She received The School at Jacob's Pillow Professional Advancement Award in Dance.

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Annalise spent her 2025/26 dance season in Toronto, working with the Ballet Creole Afro Cuban Contemporary Company as a company dancer and jazz instructor, and performed in Legacy in Motion, a tribute to former Artistic Director Patrick Parson. She also understudied Natasha Powell's Dora nominated production The Room Upstairs with Holla Jazz and collaborated with Dreyser Garcia Latin Dance Company. In 2026, Annalise worked with Dave Wilson and Viv Moore in The Parahumans Dance Collective as both performer and choreographer in Shivers Up Your Spine and Transfixation, presented at the Citadel. She also began collaborating with David Labrada More, Musical Director of the DLM Salsa Groove Collective, and continues to work as a dance collaborator and outside eye, contributing to the development of new artistic initiatives. Together, these interdisciplinary collaborations continue to deepen her artistic practice while expanding her engagement with movement, music, education, and collaborative creation.

Annalise is currently developing and producing her original work Maggot Brain, with support from Calgary Arts Development, Springboard YYC and Decidedly Jazz Danceworks. Alongside her creative practice, she continues to teach, choreograph, and collaborate with artists across Canada while deepening her ongoing exploration of jazz history, improvisation, and movement as a vehicle for storytelling.

With 17 years of experience in dance instruction and an MA in Dance Movement Therapy from the University of Auckland, Katherine Mandolidis is a dedicated educator, choreographer, and adjudicator. Specializing in the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) curriculum, she also teaches contemporary, modern (Horton and Graham), hip hop, and capoeira—integrating cross-disciplinary movement practices with a holistic, somatic approach.

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Katherine’s choreographic work is rooted in collaboration and guided by process-based research that values shared authorship, embodied exploration, and emotional truth. Her creative practice invites dancers into a dynamic exchange where improvisation, cultural context, and lived experience inform authentic movement expression.

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Her teaching journey has taken her across Alberta, British Columbia, the Yukon, and New Zealand, earning recognition for her choreography on stages across Canada and the United States. As a dance movement therapist, she supports artists, high-performance athletes, and individuals with diverse physical and neurological needs—focusing on anxiety, disordered eating, neurodivergence, burnout, grief, and nervous system regulation.

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Most recently, Katherine represented Canada as an international passista in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during a cultural dance exchange for Carnival—further deepening her commitment to global movement traditions. Passionate about cultural responsibility, artistic growth, and embodied healing, she is committed to fostering confidence, creativity, and integrity in every dancer she teaches.

Born in Syria and raised in the UAE, Rawd Almasoud is a Film and Theatre professional based in Calgary. In theatre, she stage managed a variety of plays and musicals for companies like Chromatic Theatre, Storybook Theatre, Vertigo Theatre, and the Arab Canadian Theatre, and she is a certified Audio Describer for blind theatre audiences with companies like Theatre Calgary and Inside Out Theatre. In film, her multi-award-winning documentary "Uncivilized" toured film festivals nationwide. Rawd is also a film producer, mentor, film festival programmer, and a judge for local and provincial productions and festivals, and serves on the Board of Directors of local and national film organizations. She aims to encourage women of color and faith from visible minorities to engage in the creative fields.

Mira is a dancer, choreographer, and dance educator with a strong foundation in contemporary, ballet, improvisation, and the creative process. She completed one year of study in Toronto Metropolitan University’s BFA Dance program before earning a BA in Psychology. Her additional training includes classes with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, Harbour Dance Centre, and Canada’s National Ballet School, as well as the RUBBERBAND Summer Intensive.

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Her performance and choreographic credits include Ballet Bodies’ In Motion III, The Sea, choreographed by Alexandra Contreras, En Corps Dance Collective’s FrequenSee, directed by Olivia Sengl, in which she performed and contributed choreography, and Alberta Dance Theatre’s Interstellar Cinderella, for which she served as a choreographer. She is currently a ballet instructor at Counterpoint Dance Marda Loop, a Ballet Bodies YYC member, and the 2026/27 Artistic Director of En Corps Dance Collective.

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Storytelling through dance is at the heart of her creative practice. Mira believes dance has the power to convey complex emotions, ideas and narratives, and performances have the power to connect a community under shared experiences. With a long-standing commitment to mentorship, she emphasizes the importance of building inclusive and inspiring environments for creative risk-taking in her dance practice.

Born and raised in Calgary, Leanne’s life has always been rooted in dance, movement, and community. Her early training at the International School of Ballet and with Jeunesse Classique Ballet Company led to further study at The Royal Ballet School in London, England (RBSTCDIP), where she graduated with distinction and served as Head Girl. Her training and career have taken her across North America, Europe, and West Africa, shaping a practice grounded in curiosity, collaboration, and a lifelong love of learning.

As a dancer, teacher, and choreographer, Leanne has performed with Pacific Dance Arts and Three Left Feet Movement Creations, choreographed the full-length production GLORIA for Jeunesse Classique Ballet Company, and taught and created performances in numerous studios and schools throughout B.C. and Alberta. She was also among Calgary Arts Academy's earliest artistic staff members where she worked from 2003-2020.

Leanne’s long-standing connection with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks spans over two decades, first as a Scholarship Student and later through studies in the Professional Training Program, alongside performing, teaching, and taking classes. From 2021-2026, she served as Director of DJD’s Youth Training Program, helping shape its post-pandemic evolution and directing original, full-length performances each year. She holds multiple certified teaching qualifications and continues to explore the connections between dance, conditioning, and wellness.

Since 2022, Leanne has been part of Alberta Dance Theatre as Backstage Coordinator. Drawn to ADT’s vibrant community and its spirit of creativity and collaboration, she is excited to step into the role of Artistic Associate this season. She is passionate about creating meaningful opportunities for young artists and believes deeply in the joy, connection, and possibilities that emerge when we learn, create, and grow together.

Margarita (Rita) Rebetskaia is an interdisciplinary theatre director, choreographer, and researcher based in Calgary. Born in Moscow, she trained at the Igor Moiseyev Dance Academy and performed internationally with the Igor Moiseyev Ballet. She also graduated from the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts, specializing in theatre criticism, and founded the inclusive theatre initiative InterAction in 2016.

After relocating to Canada in 2021, Rita worked as a character and ballet teacher at the Alberta Ballet School and collaborated with companies such as Dancing Monkey Laboratory and Error 404 Dance Found. She has served as a choreographer and movement director for productions including A Monster’s Call and Shakespeare in Love. Rita is the co-founder and Artistic Director of MurMur Theatre and holds an MFA from the University of Calgary, where her research focused on embodied dramaturgy and interdisciplinary performance. Her work has been presented at festivals including Fluid Festival and the Calgary Fringe Festival.