Professional pianists accompany all ballet classes. Our Accompanist Staff include some of the most talented and highly qualified pianists in the Edmonton area.
Click on on a name to read a bio and see a photo.
Greg Andrew (Kawaki) | Gail Berg | Ofelia Estrada | Maria J. Figueroa
Susan Koybasi | Rima Ojovan | Dina Perelman
Janice Reynolds | Lynda Stewart | Edith Vriend | Vicky Watt
Gail
Berg -
Gayle Berg was born
in Campbell, Nebraska and lived on a farm until she went to the University of
Nebraska, in Lincoln. There she
received a Bachelor of Music Education degree with a major in violin.
From there she went to New York and eventually on to Los Angeles where
she studied piano at the University of Southern California.
During that time she provided piano accompaniment for square dancing,
modern dance, exercise classes and eventually ballet with Carmelita Maracci.
Gayle and her family moved to White Rock, British Columbia, where she played
at the White Rock Academy of Dance.
After moving to Edmonton eight years later, she began playing for the Edmonton
Dance Centre and recently at Dance Unlimited, the Edmonton School of Ballet, and
the St. Albert Academy of Dance for a short time.
She has accompanied instrumental and vocal soloists as well as choral
groups. She serves as an organist
for church services, funerals, weddings and is a member of the Alberta, and
Edmonton, Alberta Registered Music Teachers Association (ARMTA).
She enjoys and appreciates the dancers and the dedicated teachers of
ballet.
Maria
J. Figueroa - Maria
is a graduate of the National Conservatory of Music (Havana, Cuba). She
holds the diplomas of Professor of Piano and Professor of Theory. Maria is a
registered teacher and member of the Conservatory of Canada.
Maria’s experience at ESB goes back almost 25 years when her daughter, Sarisa, began taking dance lessons at ESB and later became a graduate from our school and today is a professional dancer, teacher and choreographer with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks (DJD).
Maria is a Senior Accompanist and former Music Coordinator of the school. She selected and performed set music for a CD recording of the Junior Grades Program of the ESB. She has played for numerous exams in all levels in Edmonton and in the surrounding areas (Cecchetti, RAD and ISTD), as well as for workshops and summer schools for our school and for Marr-Mac School and Cecchetti Dance Theatre and so was able to broaden her knowledge through working with many distinguished ballet teachers. Maria continues to play for the Edmonton School of Ballet and also dedicates much of her time as a piano instructor at her home studio.
Susan Koybasi -
Susan Koybasi was born in Korea and began playing the piano at age 4 and
continued her studies when her family immigrated to Canada. Since then, she has
had years of private lessons and finally studied with Professor Alexsandra Munn
at the University of Alberta.
During her studies, she began to play for ballet classes at the Alberta Ballet School in 1983 and realized that she had a talent for improvisation and how much she enjoyed playing for dance. Soon after, she was asked to play for the Alberta Ballet Company. Susan continued to play for company classes until the company moved to Calgary. Thereafter, she played for the Grant MacEwan College dance program which was headed by Brian Webb. There Susan had the opportunity to play for modern classes as well as for ballet every day while continuing to play for the Alberta Ballet School. Susan was at the college for 10 years.
During this time, she was invited to play for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Summer School where she had a chance to work with Glina and play Act 1 of the Sleeping Beauty for their performance. In the summer of 2005, Susan played at the Alberta Ballet summer school in Calgary and had the pleasure of playing the ballet ‘Rendezvous’ for their performance.
Currently, Susan is playing for dance classes at Dance Alberta and the Edmonton School of Ballet. Recently Susan produced a CD for the Cecchetti Society of Canada Standard Syllabi at the Primary, Standard 1 and Standard 2 levels. This CD is tremendous for all children’s classes.
Rimma Ojovan - Rimma
Ojovan has completed University studies in piano and accordion at the
Conservatory of Moldova obtaining Bachelors degrees. She then taught both
instruments for 40 years at the Moldova School of Music. She then taught
both instruments for 40 years at the Moldova School of Music. She has
performed numerous solo accordion concerts, and has also accompanied many
singers and dancers.
Dina Perelman - Dina
Perelman has been working at ESB as an accompanist since September 1992.
After graduating from the Musical College of City of Donetsk, Ukraine, Dina
obtained a diploma of Pianist and Instructor of Theory. From 1984 to 1990,
Dina continued her education at the Conservatory of Music where she became a
fully licensed piano instructor. Starting in 1992 and going forward, Dina
continues her career as a ballet accompanist with ESB. Dina plays for
every level of classes, from beginners to the most advanced, and she accompanies
for classes such as Cecchetti and R.A.D. and personally provides a wide variety
of the best world classical music for unset ballet classes. In addition to
being an accompanist at ESB, Dina teaches piano lessons from home.
Janice has
played for the Edmonton School of Ballet since 2003.
The Bachelor of Music (Performance) is the third university degree Janice
has received. In 2009, she also
completed the Grant MacEwan College Music Diploma (Composition) with
Distinction.
She won the
Bach Division of the Edmonton Kiwanis Music Festival (2006) and the Creative
Music Open Category of the Alberta Music Festival (1992).
She has played for successful productions of “H.M.S. Pinafore” and “Lord
of the Rings”. Finally, she was the
silver medallist for Grade X Piano in 1976 for the Royal Conservatory of Music
of Toronto.
Vicky Watt -
Vicky started her music lessons in piano, violin and singing when she was four
years old. She has taken Royal Conservatory of Music Examinations in all
subjects and has won top awards in many grades. She achieved Associate of the
Royal Conservatory of Music (ARCT) in piano performance in 1994. She obtained
her Bachelor of Music Degree at the University of Toronto in 2003, majoring in
piano and in early music education. She has been a piano teacher for many
years. She started working as an accompanist at the Edmonton School of Ballet
in 2003 and is a member of the Richard Eaton Singers.
