Ian Parsons is the Exchange Program Manager at Canada’s National Ballet School, in addition to being a member of the Artistic Staff teaching Ballet, Partnering, Variations, Men’s Work, Pointe, and choreographing for the Company Life Program. He is a double graduate of the ballet school: from both the Professional Ballet Program, as well as the Teacher Training Program for Former Professional Dancers, where he received the prestigious Betty Oliphant Award upon graduation as a teacher.

As a professional dancer, Ian has danced with The National Ballet of Canada and Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, working with choreographers such as James Kudelka, John Neumeier, Jiri Kylian, and Jean-Christophe Maillot. He also appeared in the feature film of Les Misérables, as Hans in the Olivier Award nominated revival of Cabaret in London’s West End, as Assistant Dance Captain/Swing in the UK/European tour of Cats, and in various productions for Wavestage Theatre Company: including Chicago, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, and as Britt Craig in Parade.

As a teacher prior to moving back to Canada, Ian has been a faculty member of Performers College (London), as well as the School of Ballet Theatre UK. He has also been a guest teacher at The London Studio Centre, The Chantry School of Contemporary and Balletic Arts, and at the famed Danceworks and Pineapple Studios in London, England.

Raised by the sea in Kjipuktuk (Halifax), Emma Kerson is a dance artist drawn to making as a means to understand one another through collaborative experiences. She has taught at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre (Professional Training Program, Young Dancers' Program, Adult Program, and co-Directer of Summer Dance!), Quinte Ballet School of Canada, Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre, and as a guest teacher with the National Ballet of Canada, Canada’s National Ballet School, the Toronto District School Board, and the Maritime Conservatory (amongst others). She teaches regularly for Mocean and Halifax Dance. Emma has interpreted works of artists including Julia Aplin, Patricia Beatty, Jennifer Dallas, Robert Desrosiers, David Earle, Sylvain Émard, Lisa Phinney-Langley, Alyssa Martin, Michael Sean Marye, Sharon B. Moore, Peter Randazzo, Simon Renaud, and Tedd Robinson. Emma is a graduate of the University of Toronto, The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, and Dalhousie University. She is the current co-Artistic Director of Kinetic.

A native of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Hannah Mae began her dance training at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts School of Dance and the Leica Hardy School of Dance before joining Canada’s National Ballet School. While training, she was fortunate to receive various awards and scholarships, many of which were through the Nova Scotia Talent Trust. Hannah Mae is currently in her 11th season with Ballet Jörgen and has danced in many of Jörgen’s works including Anastasia and Coppélia (in the title roles), Romeo and Juliet (Juliet, Lady Capulet), Swan Lake (Pas de Trois), Cinderella (Lead Fairy), and had the opportunity to create the role of the Lilac Fairy in Jörgen’s Sleeping Beauty. In 2019, the title role of Anne of Green Gables – The Ballet® was created for Hannah Mae by Bengt Jörgen, C.M.. Hannah Mae has taught for Ballet Jörgen, Mocean Dance Company, DAREarts, and numerous dance schools across North and South America. She also acts as an ambassador of community engagement for Ballet Jörgen, running outreach programs for the Art Gallery of Ontario, Sick Kids, St. Michael’s Hospital, and more. For the past decade, she has toured with Ballet Jörgen, bringing dance to all corners of North America through outreach, masterclasses, and performances. 

Kathleen Doherty (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer, and dance educator based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. After completing her Bachelor of Commerce degree at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Kathleen moved to Calgary to attend Decidedly Jazz Danceworks’ Professional Training Program. Upon returning to Halifax in 2012, Kathleen co-founded Votive Dance, and has worked as Artistic Director since the company’s inception.

Kathleen has enjoyed creative and performance opportunities with Votive Dance, Mocean Dance, Kinetic Studio, FoDAR, Connection Dance Works, Alberta Dance Festival, the Me, Myself and Her Residency Project, and The Tyrone Guthrie Centre (Ireland), among others. Kathleen is a dance instructor with Halifax Dance and The Maritime Conservatory, and as well as Artistic Director of the Young Company of Halifax Dance. She is honoured and excited to be a part of The Dance Institute; as a way to share her passion and knowledge of Jazz dance, and by using her financial and administrative skills behind the scenes. Kathleen is proud to be a working artist mom to her 3 year old son, Cillian.

Esther began her training at Escuela Nacional Superior de Ballet in Lima, Perú, where she got to represent the school in several international competitions and festivals in Mexico, Poland and the USA. After graduating from ENSB, in 2014, she was hired as a dancer with Ballet Municipal de Lima, Perú. During her years in the company, she received a scholarship to study in the Joffrey Ballet School in NYC and studied with recognized teachers such as ms. Gaiane Akopian and ms. Era Jouralev. She then came back to Lima and continued dancing with Ballet Municipal de Lima. She performed in all big classical productions, some of the most recognized being: Swan Lake (big swans, Russian dance), Romeo and Juliet (Lady Capulet), Nutcracker (snow queen), Don Quixote (Mercedes), Giselle (Myrtha, Bathilde), among others. In 2021 she joined Ballet Jorgen and has danced in many stages all across Canada performing several roles with the company. Some of the most recognized being, Lady Capulet (Romeo and Juliet), Stepsister and Lead Fairy (Cinderella) and Josie Pye and Marilla (Anne of Green Gables) among others.

Based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, Diana Rutherford is a passionate teacher, invested arts administrator and advocate for the arts sector. Originally from Owen Sound, Ontario, Diana began her dancing career in both ballet and highland dance. As a highland competitor, she represented Canada across North America and Scotland. She is a scholarship recipient and award winner in both ballet and highland dance. After a short preforming career, Diana aligned her performing and pedagogical interests together focusing her studies on dance education and cultivating future generations of art advocators. As a graduate of the Teacher Training Program at Canada’s National Ballet School as well as a graduate from York University, Honours BFA in Dance, Diana built the foundations of her teaching career. She holds an esteemed teaching qualification at the Licentiate level within Cecchetti Canada and has been certified at the highest level with both Cecchetti Canada and the Royal Academy of Dance for dance examinations. Diana currently sits on the Board of Governors for Cecchetti Canada. 



Diana’s lengthy career as a dance educator brought her from Toronto, Ontario to Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has had the opportunity to deliver dance education to students and instructors across Atlantic Canada and southern Ontario, as a guest artist, choreographer and private coach. In recent years, Diana has expanded her experience and knowledge to arts administration as Dean of Dance for a not-for-profit organization, located in Halifax, NS. While in this role, Diana produced two full length ballets, implemented an accredited Dance Teacher Training program at the diploma level, as well as further developed a pre-professional ballet program, encouraging continued education for dance instructors and emerging artists. She has had the opportunity to work with many not-forprofit arts organizations including the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra, Votive Dance, Mocean Dance, Nova Scotia Talent Trust, Canada’s Ballet Jorgen - Atlantic Council and Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal.

Description goes hereLydia Zimmer is a graduate of Walnut Hill School for the Arts (’07) and The Boston Conservatory (BFA ‘11). Since returning to her home city of Halifax, Lydia has created several works supported by Canada Council for the Arts and Arts Nova Scotia. These include Bonne Nuit (2016), presented through Live Art Dance; Embankment, commissioned (2017) and remounted (2021) by Votive Dance; Sonderlings (2018), commissioned by Nostos Dance Collectives, and Sonderling (2019) & EXTREMOPHILE (2021), both presented by Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal (FODAR). Her most recent creations include Mercurials (2022), a new work to mark Mocean Dance’s 20th Season Anniversary, a dance film duet for Little Pear Garden Dance Company (2022), and a work for The Boston Conservatory’s First Year students (2023). Lydia is currently a guest choreographer for Atlantic Ballet Theatre (ImpactFest 2023), collaborator for Rebecca Lazier’s Noli Timere (2024), and is working on her new full-length show, The Devil’s Intervals, to premiere December 2023 presented by Live Art Dance in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Photo credit: Cooked Photography

Kate Yeomans is a Halifax Dance alumni. She graduated from Alberta Ballet School in 2021 where she studied the checetti style. Now Kate is working at Brussels International Ballet and training in the vaganova style. Kate currently works under the direction of Anderson Santana and has worked with many well known artistic directors and teachers such as Nina Ananiashvili director of State Ballet Georgia, Denis Matvienko director of Ballet Stage, Olga Iakovlevskaya of Brussels International Ballet, Claire Bayliss director of Israel Ballet, Chase Johnsey director of Ballet de Barcelona, Mariana Krancheva director of State Opera Plovdiv, Diana Rutherford director of the Dance Institute, and many more.

A native of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Hannah Mae began her dance training at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts School of Dance and the Leica Hardy School of Dance before joining Canada’s National Ballet School. While training, she was fortunate to receive various awards and scholarships, many of which were through the Nova Scotia Talent Trust. Hannah Mae is currently in her 11th season with Ballet Jörgen and has danced in many of Jörgen’s works including Anastasia and Coppélia (in the title roles), Romeo and Juliet (Juliet, Lady Capulet), Swan Lake (Pas de Trois), Cinderella (Lead Fairy), and had the opportunity to create the role of the Lilac Fairy in Jörgen’s Sleeping Beauty. In 2019, the title role of Anne of Green Gables – The Ballet® was created for Hannah Mae by Bengt Jörgen, C.M.. Hannah Mae has taught for Ballet Jörgen, Mocean Dance Company, DAREarts, and numerous dance schools across North and South America. She also acts as an ambassador of community engagement for Ballet Jörgen, running outreach programs for the Art Gallery of Ontario, Sick Kids, St. Michael’s Hospital, and more. For the past decade, she has toured with Ballet Jörgen, bringing dance to all corners of North America through outreach, masterclasses, and performances.