Dawn Moss – SDTA
Celtic Ceilidh Director, Highland

Dawn founded Celtic Ceilidh and is our Principal Director. She has ample experience working with children of all ages through teaching dance and as a teacher in the public school system. Her love of dance began at the age of 3 with Highland and continued with training in Irish, Tap, Jazz and Ballet. She fosters a passion and appreciation of the Celtic World in each one of her students.

Aurora Pachkowski
RAD Ballet

Aurora’s passion for dance began at 3 years old when she first stepped into a ballet class. Over the years, she expanded her training to include a wide range of styles, such as R.A.D. ballet, acro, jazz, contemporary, modern, and lyrical. A dedicated and accomplished dancer, Aurora completed all her R.A.D. ballet exams up to Advanced 2 and Level 4 Repertoire, as well as several Acrobatic Arts exams.

Her love for dance led her to pursue a career in teaching, where she has been inspiring students for the past five years. Aurora holds a Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies and is certified in Acrobatic Arts Module 1. She brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to her students, aiming to foster a love of dance in each of them.

For Aurora, the dance studio has always been more than just a place to train—it’s a second home and a family, where she has experienced growth, joy, and a shared passion for dance.

Katalin Bihari
RAD Ballet

Miss Kati is a dedicated choreographer, educator, and evaluator with a degree from the prestigious Hungarian Dance University in Budapest. Trained in the Russian Vaganova technique, character/folk dance, pointe, pas de deux, and acting, she also studied music, choreography, and the history of art. As a member of the Hungarian State Opera, she performed a wide range of classical and contemporary works.
After moving to Edmonton, AB, Canada, Miss Kati became a sought-after teacher and choreographer, working with various schools in Edmonton and Vancouver, BC. She specializes in audition preparation and teaches pointe, modern dance, and flexibility techniques. Her work has earned high scores and awards in competitions. She is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) from P&M Mahon Pty Ltd, Australia, and is excited to incorporate this methodology into her students’ training.
Miss Kati’s philosophy, “You Should Never Stop Learning,” guides her teaching approach, emphasizing growth in arm coordination, presentation, dance styles, characterization, and more.  She also offers educational trips to Budapest, Hungary, during Spring Break. Miss Kati is excited to start the new season at Celtic Ceilidh Dance Academy and looks forward to a successful year.

Camille Ensminger
Jazz, Lyrical

Camille Ensminger has trained and performed for many years in ballet, jazz, tap, flamenco and contemporary dance. Camille is a company member of Synaethesis Dance Theatre, performing at the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival in Letters and Words (Sterling Award nominated for Outstanding Fringe production), Self(ish), Felix Checks Out and SWIPE (Sterling Award nominated) as well as other company productions including The Heliotrope. Other select performances include The Yellow Wallpaper (Chinook Series festival), The Soldier’s Tale, accompanied by members of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (Edmonton Fringe) and Plain Jane Theatre’s Get Happy. She was most recently involved in dance projects including a live-streamed performance, Iterate (Mile Zero Dance) and a Canada-wide theatre collaboration with Catalyst Theatre, until the next breath. Camille teaches jazz classes at the U of A Orchesis Dance Program and contemporary, jazz, ballet, lyrical and dance conditioning classes throughout the city. She is a certified Xtend Barre instructor. Camille has a B.A. degree in Modern Languages from the University of Alberta.

Danielle Ganz
Irish, Tap, Ballet

Danielle has studied, competed and performed in dance for 20+ years, training and completing exams in RAD Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Highland, Musical Theater, piano and voice. Her teaching experience includes Tap, Ballet, Highland and Irish over the past 10 years. Danielle has trained with highly respected teachers and adjudicators in Dublin, Glasgow, the Edge in L.A, and across Canada. She has also performed with Natalie MacMaster, the McCuaigs, in the Alberta Tattoos, Disneyland and hundreds of other events.

Jesie Laguitao
Kpop

Jesie is a kpop dancer who dances with the Edmonton dance group Mimyu. His group members are passionate about dancing to kpop music and creating dance cover videos that they post on social media. You can follow them on YouTube (Mimyu Dance), Instagram (@mimyudance), TikTok (@mimyudance) and Twitter (@mimyudance). Jesie has been dancing to Kpop since 2016 and participated in many Kpop competitions.  He has also performed Kpop at Animethon, Heritage Days and various dance showcases here in Edmonton. Jesie graduated in Early Child Care at MacEwan and is currently a full time preschool teacher at the Orange Hub.

Jeanette Puttick
Barre

Jeanette’s love for dance began at the age of three when her mom enrolled her in Highland Dancing and has continued throughout her life.  Shortly after the birth of her first child, joining fitness organized fitness classes sparked Jeanette to pursue certification as an AFLCA Group Fitness Instructor with designations in portable equipment, indoor cycling, pre and post-natal fitness, TRX, and NASM Personal Trainer among others. During her time as a fitness professional, Jeanette discovered Xtend Barre. From that moment she was hooked and knew she discovered what she was passionate about! Xtend Barre was the most innovative and comprehensive barre method she had experienced. Not only is it challenging, but safe, and the choreography is constantly changing. Jeanette loves that the workout is for every fitness ability and there are several class modalities to choose from. Jeanette is a proud mother of 3 beautiful sweethearts and also teaches Junior High in Sherwood Park.

Kennedy Wilson
Musical Theatre

Kennedy has trained in dance for over 15 years, focusing on musical theatre, ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, modern, and hip-hop. Her training includes classes around North America, including Broadway Dance Centre, The Ailey Studios, Steps on Broadway, and The Edge LA.

Kennedy’s passion for the theatre led her to perform in several musicals during her junior and high school years, including Legally Blonde, Hairspray, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. She later choreographed numbers for school musicals across the Edmonton Metro area.

Kennedy continues to take theatre classes while completing a university business degree. She is so excited for this upcoming season and cannot wait to share her love for the arts.

Lea Payne
Office Administration

Bio Coming Soon!

Lindsay Gray
SDTA Highland

Lindsay’s love for dance began at Celtic Ceilidh when she was 4 years old. Since then she has trained in many styles including Highland, Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, and Irish. Lindsay has completed exams in ISTD Ballet, Irish, as well as her SDTA Highland Members exam. Her years of dance have allowed her the opportunity to perform across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, including performances at Disney World (2013), Disneyland (2016), and the Okanagan Military Tattoo (2019).

She is also very grateful for the opportunities she’s had to train in programs such as Motives pre-professional group, and the UofA’s MOD contemporary group.

Aside from dance, Lindsay is a certified first responder and currently completing her final year of Kinesiology at the University of Alberta. She has a passion for heath and fitness across all ages.

Makayla Mills
Irish

Dance has been a foundational component in the fusion of Makayla’s identity since the age of 6 years old when she became a member of the Celtic Ceilidh family. Throughout her years at Celtic Ceilidh, Makayla has had the opportunity to establish a unique dance background through learning numerous styles including Irish, Highland, Ballet, Jazz, and Lyrical.
Makayla has always had a strong passion for Irish dancing which has made it her primary discipline and central focus for dance. She has also had the privilege to compete and perform in locations all over the world such as in Ireland, Scotland, Seattle, and Toronto as well as locally here in Edmonton.

Makayla was a teacher assistant with Celtic Ceilidh for 2 years and is honored to now be an official member of the Celtic Ceilidh faculty. Through teaching Irish dance technique and skills, Makayla instantly fell in love with the art of teaching and being able to share her adoration and admiration for dance with her students. Makayla’s students are the reason why she is infinitely proud to be a teacher. Aside from dance, Makayla is currently completing a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Physics at the University of Alberta.