Owner/Instructor/Choreographer
Angela McKinnon began Highland dance classes at nine years old under the instruction of Roberta MacIsaac of Glace Bay, she continued lessons for six years and later joined the MacArthur School of Dance, Sydney, under the direction of Kelly MacArthur in hopes of persuing her Associates membership. Angela received her Associates certification from the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dance in the fall of 2000. In 2002, Angela was accepted to Université Sainte-Anne, Church Point NS, where she began teaching her first group of Highland and Step dance students. During that time she was chosen as the Nova Scotia Dancer for the Jeux du Canada Games which took place in Bathurst New Brunswick in 2003. Angela was contacted by the Canadian Embassy of Indonesia in 2004 to perform at an International Seafood Festival. She was a guest performer/instructor at the Jakarta Institute of the Arts during her visit and performed at several other embassy organized events. Angela also had the opportunity to appear in a number of magazines including Seventeen Magazine. After her trip to Indonesia, Angela traveled to Scotland where she competed and took home a gold medal. During her six summers working for the Gaelic College in Cape Breton, Angela had the opportunity to perform with some of the World's finest celtic musicians including World champion bagpiper, Alasdair Gillies. Angela also taught Highland Dance for the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts at their Vermont location. In 2007, Angela was chosen as a member of the Canadian Highland Dance team to perform at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Edinburgh Scotland. Angela later graduated with her BA/BÉd. in French and moved to Bridgewater where she opened McKinnon Dance in the fall of 2007. Since then the school has grown to have 50 members who compete and perform regularly throughout the Maritime provinces. Angela received her Members certification from the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dance in the fall of 2010 and competed at the World Highland Dance Championships in Cowal Scotland in August 2011. In 2013, Angela completed her Masters Degree in Education from Mount Saint Vincent University. She and her husband Matthew built a new home and dance studio in Pine Grove, Nova Scotia where they reside along with their two children, Maria and Callum. |