Artistic Team
Our artistic team is a group of highly skilled professionals dedicated to bringing
the art of ballet to life. With extensive training in many different syllabi, as well as
many years of professional performance experience, our team provides a balance
between technique and performance, helping our students transition from studio
to stage.
Ida Gerasolo Zucchet
Artistic Director and CEO
B.F.A. Honours Dance, TTP-DIP,
ACSC-CICB, RAD-RTS, IDA-ATC
Ida Dance and Trained at Christina Pora’s Classical Ballet School, Hamilton City Ballet, Quinte Ballet School and The National Ballet School of Canada.
She Also holds a Bachlor of Fine Arts in Dance from York University with Honours, specialized in Dance Kinesiology and her Associate Teaching Qualification from the Checchetti Society and The Royal Academy of Dance. As a graduate from Canada’s National Ballet School’s Teacher Training Program, Ida instills in her students strong technical training, as well as a healthy approach to dance mentally and physically.
Martha Hart
Associate Director
IDA-ATC
Martha Hart began dancing at the age of 14 after a childhood of playing competitive hockey and playing piano.
She has trained in numerous schools including Canadas National Ballet School, Palucca Schule Dresden, Ecole Superieure de Ballet du Quebec and Arts Umbrella Dance.
When she is not teaching at I.D.A., she is performing and choreographing with her company hART dance. Martha is dedicated to helping young dancers find a balance of confidence, passion and determination in their work.
Anna Elena
Ballet and Repertoire Teacher
Originally from France, Anna Elena graduated from the national and superior Conservatory of music and dance in Lyon in 2000. She had a performing career starting as a corps de ballet member with the ballet of the opera in Bordeaux under the artistic director of Charles Jude.
The company repertoire included many classics including Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Giselle and Don Quixote, as well as pieces from the Balanchine repertoire, such as four temperments, who cares and serenad.
Later she joined the Landestheatre in Linz, Austria, as a soloist where she danced more contemporary works, especially in Jochen Ulrich’s choreographies. Anna approaches ballet from an anatomical perspective as her teaching style is known to be movement oriented and dynamic. She believes that taking pleasure in dancing is a key that enables to master a better technique.
Riley McGuire
Ballet Teacher and Performance Coach
B.A. Honours, IDA-ATC
Riley trained at Valentina’s School of Ballet in Michigan under Valentina Barsukova, whose guidance allowed Riley to find success at multiple ballet competitions and auditions.
She was fortunate enough to be invited to programs such as the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, the National Ballet School of Canada,The Kirov Academy of Ballet in DC, and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow.
At 16 she became the first North American to be accepted to the Belarus State Ballet Academy. There, she continued her training and performed with the Belarus National Ballet in productions such as the Sleeping Beauty. Riley holds a degree in Honours Law & Politics from the University of Windsor, where she graduated on the Dean’s List.
Sophia Lajkosz
Ballet and Character Teacher
Jessey
Student Teacher
Gracie Smith
Student Choreographer