A Fractal Chorus
Choreographer
Tara Williamson Campbell
Tara was born in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, where she began her training at the Richmond Academy of Dance and received scholarships such as the Vancouver Ballet Society's Memorial Scholarship presented by Karen Kain and Peggy Baker and to train at the Joffrey Ballet School, the National Ballet School of Canada and the Banff Centre of Performing Arts. After graduating with distinction from the RAD program, she started her professional dance career with The Alberta Ballet in 2006. She performed principal roles such as Juliet in Jean Grande-Maître’s Romeo and Juliet, Carabosse in Kirk Peterson’s Sleeping Beauty and Choleric in Goerge Balanchine’s Four Temperaments. Tara also had the opportunity to perform in the 2010 Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a highlight of her career. After 8 years at Alberta Ballet, she worked with Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, touring all across the world, with works by Cayetano Soto and Wen Wei Wang, to name a few. She then moved on to work with Ballet BC in Vancouver, having the privilege to dance under the directorship of Emily Molnar, performing her works as well as choreographers Medhi Walerski, Jorma Elo, William Forsythe, Johan Inger, Jacopo Godani, Fernando Hernando Magadan, Stijn Celis and Sharon Eyal. After a wonderful and fulfilling career, she retired from Ballet BC in June 2016, and co-founded ballet and contemporary school "H/W School of Ballet" here in Calgary, AB, in partnership with principal dancers, Yukichi Hattori and Galien Johnston Hattori. Tara has guest performed with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Fluid Festival, Luminous Voices and various other solo projects. By accepting changes, frustrations and love, Tara has allowed those things to influence her approach to dancing, teaching and choreography.
Performers
Heidi Schmidtke
(She/Her)
Heidi Schmidtke, professional contemporary dancer, began training at Crossings Dance, Calgary, in ballet, contemporary and modern styles, performing eight seasons with their affiliated youth dance company. Heidi achieved her Advanced II RAD ballet exam and has competed in the Genée International Ballet Competition (2015). Looking to study ballet full time, she joined the Goh Ballet Academy’s youth company and spent a summer with Ballet Jorgen's junior company. Returning to Calgary, Heidi trained contemporary dance with O2 Dance Company (2017), and later joined Corps Bara Dance Theatre, performing professionally for the company and for various Calgary dance projects since 2018.
Izél Pienaar
(She/Her)
Dancer, Choreographer, Instructor, Creative
Izél Pienaar has been dancing since a young age and during her years of training she has studied a wide variety of disciplines including Contemporary, Modern, Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Musical Theatre, Hip Hop, and Lyrical. She has been frequently celebrated as a versatile dance artist and performer. Throughout her training she has attended numerous conventions and intensives working with brilliant artists such as the Arts Umbrella International Intensive, Camp Protege, Springboard Danse, OutInnerSpace Summer Intensive, Ballet Edmonton SDI, YYDC to only name a few. She also had the privilege of competing with Team Canada West at the IDO World Champions in Poland. After graduating she has delved into the world of contemporary dance and dance creation through The Bridge Movement, Modus Operandi Link, and Lamon. Through these programs her passion for choreography, creation, exploration, and collaboration flourished leading her to choreograph on the short film “Skin Within” and creating a full length piece titled “Your Face With Mine” apart of the Contemporary Dance Collective. She currently resides in Calgary sharing and bringing her passion through freelance wherever it takes her.
Valentina Calderon
(She/Her)
Valentina is originally from Medellin, Colombia, where she began dancing Colombian folklore at a young age. She started classical ballet training at the Ballet Folklorico de Antioquia at age nine. At thirteen, she moved to Canada to continue her training and has studied under renowned former principal dancers Galien Johnston Hattori, Yukichi Hattori, Tara Campbell, and Hayna Gutierrez. She has also attended summer intensives, working with artists including Lorna Feijoo, Lorena Feijoo, Rolando Sarabia, Wilfried Jacobs, Abigail Sheppard, Petrusjka Broholm, Laurence De Sloovere, and Nancy Euverink. Valentina is passionate about dance and expressing emotions through movement.
Beth Durnie
(She/Her)
Originally from Calgary, Alberta Beth is a graduate of the Arts Umbrella Dance Diploma Program in Vancouver, BC. While an active part of the Vancouver dance scene, Beth had the opportunity to work with and perform works by various renowned artists including Crystal Pite, Emily Molnar, and Michael Schumacher, amongst others. Beth has performed internationally with Ballet BC, and locally with Inverso Productions, Calgary Opera, and as a company dancer and choreographer with Corps Bara Dance Theatre. Currently a student of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary, Beth is incredibly excited to collaborate with Ballet Bodies YYC for a fourth season.
Serenella Sol
(She/Her)
Serenella Sol is a Calgary-based dancer, choreographer and the Artistic Director of Ballet Bodies YYC. Sol started dancing ballet at the age of three in Maracaibo, Venezuela. In 2007, she moved to Canada, where she studied ballet and contemporary dance in Vancouver and Calgary. She holds a BA in Political Science and a Minor in Dance from the University of Calgary. Serenella participated in numerous summer intensives worldwide, including Spain, USA, Salzburg, The Netherlands and France. She danced for La Caravan Company (2011), Jeunesse Company (2012) and W&M Physical Theatre (2013-2019). Serenella has presented her choreographic work at the Alberta Dance Festival (Dancers’ Studio West), Fluid Festival, and Montage and produced/choreographed her show Coming of Age in 2016. Serenella has been actively exploring contemporary dance alongside other art forms including, photography, theatre and film, engaging with diverse collaborators. Early this year, she danced and acted for Sublimity, a theatrical/dance piece directed and choreographed by Mike Czuba and Melissa Tuplin. In 2022, she received two grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Calgary Arts Development, which allowed her to look back at her journey as an immigrant, artist and woman. This intimate exploration resulted in a short film, SALOPICA, which she co-directed with Callum McCormack; it was showcased this year at CIFF and WildDogs International Screendance Festival, among other festivals. In 2021, Serenella founded Ballet Bodies YYC, a non-profit organization focused on making ballet more accessible, inclusive and positive not only for its participating dancers, teachers and choreographers but also for the diverse audiences in Calgary.
