Nancy Kilgour receives Order of Canada

>> by Samantha Mehra
Nancy Kilgour, senior pedagogue at the School of Alberta Ballet, was invested into the Order of Canada in 2012 to recognize her contributions to dance in Canada as a teacher of the Cecchetti method of ballet and her fifty-year career in dance. After her early training with Betty Oliphant and Celia Franca, Kilgour taught for both the National Ballet School and the National Ballet, while also performing with the latter. In addition to being the first Canadian awarded a Canada Council grant to study educational techniques at the Bolshoi Ballet in 1967, she was one of the first Canadians to obtain the highest Cecchetti examination levels in England. Kilgour's investiture also recognizes a vast career of international teaching and professional development. In addition to teaching in China, England, Sweden and Belgium, Kilgour studied ballet education techniques at the School of American Ballet, the Kirov School in St. Petersburg, and the School of the Paris Opera. Some of her pupils include Karen Kain, Darcey Bussel and Veronica Tennant.