Our Faculty

Rebecca Middleton

Artistic Director

Originally from North Lincolnshire, England, Rebecca began her professional ballet training at the prestigious Academy of Northern Ballet (ANB) in Leeds under the renowned direction of Yoko Ichino. The rigorous training program at ANB emphasised classical technique and artistry, preparing Rebecca for a professional career in ballet. During her time at ANB, she performed in several productions, including an opportunity to appear in Northern Ballet’s Giselle, directed by David Nixon, where she gained valuable experience performing alongside a professional company.

At the age of 17, Rebecca advanced her training at Northern Ballet School (NBS) in Manchester. While studying at NBS, she danced her first soloist role as Big Swan in Swan Lake and performed a variety of roles with the school’s company, Manchester City Ballet. These experiences honed her skills in performance and versatility. Rebecca graduated from NBS with an NVQ Level 6 Diploma in Professional Dance, a qualification equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in the UK, solidifying her technical and artistic foundations.

In 2015, Rebecca moved to Canada to join Coastal City Ballet (CCB) in Vancouver, BC. With CCB, she performed prominent soloist roles, including Myrtha in Giselle, Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Big Swan in Swan Lake. Rebecca also collaborated with celebrated choreographers such as Wen Wei Wang, Joshua Beamish, Li Yaming, and Irene Schneider, enriching her repertoire with contemporary and classical works.

Rebecca’s teaching career began in 2016 while still performing with CCB, allowing her to cultivate a passion for teaching and education. She gained extensive experience teaching across multiple Vancouver ballet schools, working with students of various ages and abilities, and developing her approach to inclusive and effective teaching.

Upon returning to the UK, Rebecca further pursued her teaching ambitions. She earned a degree in Dance Education with 1st Class Honours from the University of Bath and Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), becoming a Registered RAD Teacher. Rebecca’s students consistently achieve a 100% pass rate in RAD ballet exams, reflecting her dedication to high standards and student success. She also became a certified Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) teacher, integrating this innovative training method into her classes to enhance students’ strength, stability, and understanding of movement.

During her time in the UK, Rebecca worked with the charity Active Fusion as their sole dance educator. She launched Fusion Youth, an extra-curricular program providing free after-school dance classes to children in low-income areas of Doncaster. The program continues to thrive, offering young people the opportunity to experience the transformative power of dance.

In 2022, Rebecca returned to Canada, settling in the Gatineau/Ottawa region to advance her teaching career. She teaches classical ballet, pointe work, repertoire, Progressing Ballet Technique, jazz, and body conditioning. Rebecca’s teaching philosophy emphasises strong technique, a comprehensive understanding of movement, and fostering collaboration between teacher and student. Drawing on her international experiences, she blends classical ballet training with creativity and strength-building to inspire her students to reach their fullest potential.

Judith Davies

Founder/Director Emerita

Ms. Davies began her dance training in Toronto, under the direction of Bettina Byers and Marjorie Haskins. Moving to Montreal, she continued her ballet training with Joyce Lewis Cloutier, Sonja Chamberlain, Maisie Macphee and Yvonne Oldaker (nee grey). At age 14, she received a scholarship to attend the Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, studying under Ted Shawn, Peggy van Praagh, Robert Abramson, and Matteo and Goya, among others. At age 17, she trained as a student apprentice with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens.

After graduating from university into contemporary dance, Ms. Davies trained with the Martha Graham School and went on to Toronto to perform with the Judy Jarvis Dance Theatre Company. Ms. Davies continued to use a background in Fine Arts to design costumes for the Judy Jarvis Dance Theatre Company.

Moving to Ottawa, Ms. Davies founded both the Ottawa Dance Theatre and ODCS.

As Artistic Director of Ottawa Dance Theatre, her choreographic credits include recipient of two Ontario Arts Council Choreographic Awards, and the choreography of a full-length Ballet “Alice Through the Looking Glass” to an original score by Peter Landey. Former students of Ms. Davies have been accepted by the National Ballet School, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Toronto Dance Theatre and Alberta Ballet.

Ms. Davies taught the extra-curricular Dance Program for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, from 1991 to 2006. She has been Artist in Residence at Danceworks, Dancers, Inc. & Dance Scholars, Memphis, TN, USA from 1990 to 2016 developing student choreography and teaching both classical and contemporary techniques.

Upon retirement, Ms. Davies now acts as Director Emerita for ODCS, providing guidance and coaching alongside the current ODCS faculty.

Igor Chornovol

Classical Ballet Teacher

Igor trained in the professional program of the Ukrainian National Ballet Academy in Kharkiv, Ukraine. He was mentored by an elite generation of teachers and dancers and performed principal roles at the Kharkiv Opera Theatre and the Kiev National Ballet.

Igor emigrated to Canada joining the Alberta Ballet Company as soloist where he continued to perform a number of principal roles. Igor retired to Ottawa to study and to assume a teaching position with Dance Educators, under the direction of Merle Adam.

Following this, Igor joined the ODCS faculty and teaches classical ballet for student and adult dancers.

Emily Rudenberg

Classical Ballet Teacher

Emily Rudenberg is a dance artist who works in stage, film, and photography. She has had a lifelong career in classical ballet as a performer, instructor, and choreographer. Emily trained in Ottawa at Arise School of Dance, where she completed her Intermediate and Advanced Royal Academy of Dance exams. After graduation, she danced and toured with Ballet 5:8 in Chicago, performing in original neoclassical ballets and teaching in the pre-professional children’s program. Since returning to
Ottawa, Emily has taught at Studio Danse Danielle, Danse Chelsea Dance, and privately coached students for successful exams and auditions. She also attended teacher training at The School of Dance in the Cecchetti syllabus with Suzanne
Plante, Examiner CSC-CICB. In 2018, Emily joined Les Petits Ballets as Choreographer, where she created, rehearsed, and directed The Nutcracker in 2019 and Alice in Wonderland in 2020.

Upon returning to Les Petits Ballets in 2021/2022 following lockdowns, Emily taught the intermediate and advanced students while continuing to re-stage her original works, Alice and The Nutcracker. Since 2023, she has focused on growing her small dance school, Ballet du Village, in her hometown of Rupert, Quebec, which now has over 50 children.

In the summer of 2024, Emily taught at the ODCS Summer Intensive and is delighted to be joining the faculty for the 2024/2025 school year.

Sydney Trowell-Whitaker

Ballet Teacher

Sydney grew up dancing in her hometown of Orangeville Ontario, primarily training in ballet under the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus. In 2018-2019 she completed her British Association of Teachers of Dancing associate exam and began teaching at her home studio. Sydney taught a variety of both recreational and competitive classes from 2019-2022 before moving to Ottawa to attend Carleton University. At university she has continued to share her love of dance through taking on an executive role with the club Carleton Dancelab. Sydney is thrilled to be joining ODCS as a primary ballet teacher!

Zina Richard

Ballet Teacher

Zina Richard is a classically trained dancer and accomplished ballet teacher with over 30 years of experience instructing students of all ages. She received her formal training in St. Petersburg, Russia, and graduated from the Institute of Culture. Before relocating to Canada, she served as the Director of a dance studio. Zina’s dedication to teaching and choreography has consistently prepared her students for success in examinations, competitions, and performances.

Kendra Guidolin

Ballet Teacher

Kendra Guidolin is a Ph.D. candidate, writer, educator, and dance artist living gratefully on the unsurrendered territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation.

She is a graduate of York University’s BFA dance program (pedagogy stream), where she trained predominantly in modern dance and classical and contemporary ballet forms. Her movement and pedagogical approaches are largely informed by anatomical safety and accessibility. Since graduating from York, Kendra has taught a variety of dance and movement classes to students ranging in age from 18 months to 90 years old; she’s a firm believer in making dance accessible for everyone.

Throughout her career, Kendra has been fortunate enough to have trained under the guidance of Mercedes Bernardez, Catherine Glasser, Helen Jones, Tracey Norman, John Ottmann, Julia Sasso, and Claire Wootten.

In 2019 and 2021, she performed with the Ismailova Theatre of Dance in Toronto, and since moving to the National Capital Region, has performed with Ballet Reveries and the Voices Dance Project. With Voices, she has performed in the Pique festival presented by Debaser, as well as in events with the Ottawa Pops Orchestra and The Desert Island Big Band.

She is honoured to be instructing the intermediate-level ballet students at ODCS.

MacKenzie Rombouts

Contemporary and Jazz Teacher

Mackenzie began dancing at the age of two and a half and trained both competitively and within a ballet school program, building a strong foundation in ballet, jazz, tap, musical theatre, contemporary, lyrical, and jazz funk.

With over three years of teaching experience, she is passionate about developing strong, technically sound dancers in a positive and supportive environment. Mackenzie specializes in technique and injury prevention, placing a strong emphasis on proper alignment, strength, and safe training practices.

She has completed all ADAPT and RAD examinations, is currently halfway through her ADAPT teaching certification, and holds her RADAR Technique Certification. Mackenzie is committed to continuing her professional development while inspiring a lifelong love of dance in her students.