Ballet

Stephanie Mackey

Studio Owner, L.R.A.D, A.R.A.D, A.I.S.T.D, RAD RTS

Stephanie is a graduate of the College of the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), London, England. She is among 20 students worldwide per year, who are accepted into this prestigious teacher training programme.

While attending, Stephanie studied RAD Ballet, ISTD Modern Theatre and National Dance, Character, Choreography, Pedagogy, Anatomy, Stage Production and History of Dance (Winner of the Ivor Guest History Prize 1985). During her years at the RAD, Stephanie gained her Advanced 2 Ballet (ARAD), Associateship in Modern Theatre (AISTD) and was awarded a Licentiate Diploma (LRAD) from the RAD College and
has maintained her registered teacher status to date (RAD RTS).

Upon graduation, Stephanie taught Ballet in Toronto for 2 years prior to coming to Lindsay. In 1990, she took over ownership of the Lindsay Dance Studio from Jean Muir (Founder of the LDS more than 50 years ago). Since then the Studio has flourished and grown from approximately 100 to 400 students.

During her time in Lindsay, Stephanie has watched her students grow from 4 years to adulthood. She cherishes these long-standing relationships, built on mutual respect and is extremely proud of their examination results. Some of her former students have furthered their dance training at the National Ballet School of Canada, College of the Royal Academy of Dance London, England, York University Dance programme and the Quinte Ballet School. Former student Jennifer Hale is now an International examiner and was recently appointed ‘RAD Chief Examiner’ worldwide.

In the summer of 2006, along with Alana Collver and Kate Imrie, Stephanie spearheaded the formation of the Triple Threat Theatre Company, a youth theatre company focused on all aspects of performance: acting, singing, and dancing. T3 has been a thriving contributor to the arts and culture scene in the City of Kawartha lakes and has donated over $100,000 to the Academy Theatre through various fundraisers.

In recent years, Stephanie has been the proud recipient of both the Kawartha Lakes Arts Person of the Year Award and Arts Person of the Decade Award. She was also nominated for LDCC Citizen of the Year Award in 2014 and most recently the Women’s Resources Kawartha Lakes Extraordinary Business Women of the Year Award 2017.

As we enter our 32nd season, Stephanie looks forward to watching the studio continuously evolve, she feels blessed that most of her teachers were former students, who, after post-secondary teacher training, returned to work alongside her. Their loyalty and shared joy of teaching dance in a family-friendly, non-competitive environment is a gift, not only to herself but our entire CKL community.

She currently resides in Lindsay with her husband, Linden Mackey, and their 4 children.