The Cecchetti Society of Canada presents:

Nancy
Kilgour,
OC,
CM
Originally
from
St.
Catharine’s,
Ontario,
Nancy
Kilgour
(née
Schwenker)
received
her
early
training
in
Canada
with
Betty
Oliphant
and
Celia
Franca.
Teaching
for
the
National
Ballet
School
from
its
inception,
she
also
both
performed
with
and
taught
for
the
National
Ballet
of
Canada.

In
1965,
she
was
one
of
the
first
two
Canadians
to
obtain
the
highest
Cecchetti
Examinations
in
England.
In
1967
she
was
awarded
a
Canada
Council
grant
for
study
in
Russia
at
the
Bolshoi
Ballet,
learning
methods
of
teaching
Classical
Ballet
and
also
completing
a
course
of
study
in
Character
Dance.
While
still
a
teacher
at
the
National
Ballet
School,
Nancy
was
invited
to
teach
for
the
school
in
Antwerp,
Belgium
associated
with
the
Royal
Ballet
of
Flanders,
and
in
1969,
to
teach
for
Erik
Bruhn
at
the
Royal
Swedish
Ballet.
In
1971
she
left
Canada
with
her
husband,
Murray,
to
work
in
England,
teaching
at
the
Royal
Ballet
School,
both
the
Lower
School
(White
Lodge)
and
at
the
Upper
School.
While
teaching
there
she
continued
studying
teaching
methods
at
the
School
of
the
Paris
Opera,
the
School
of
American
Ballet
and
the
Kirov
School
in
St.
Petersburg.
In
1984
she
was
invited
to
participate
in
a
cultural
exchange
with
China,
teaching
ballet
and
repertoire
at
the
Chinese
National
School
in
Beijing.
Before
returning
to
Canada,
Mrs.
Kilgour
taught
both
as
an
international
guest
teacher
and
at
the
Central
School
of
Ballet
in
London.
Former
students
include
some
of
the
world’s
leading
international
stars
such
as
Karen
Kain,
Veronica
Tennant,
Darcey
Bussell,
Viviana
Durante
and
Alessandra
Ferri.
For
the
two
years
prior
to
coming
to
Calgary,
Mrs.
Kilgour
taught
at
the
National
Ballet
School
and
Company.


She
has
recently
been
awarded
the
Order
of
Canada
for
her
contribution
to
dance.