The PDF Board of Directors is pleased to present our 2023 Adjudicators, Taylor Hunt and Carmelle McKinlay!!
Taylor Hunt
Taylor holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Performance Dance from Toronto Metropolitan University, is a certified instructor by The British Association of Teachers of Dance and a certified L2 adjudicator by Canadian Dance Leadership. Some of her most recent stage/tv credits include Toronto Starlight Gala at the Royal York Hotel, Lion’s Club International Conference at the Air Canada Centre, and The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu. She has danced for several production companies including Hit&Run, TDC Entertainment, Impulse Talent Group, Belluscious and Agence KIK for such clients as Ferrero Rocher, Nike, Claratin, Festival Comédi-Ha and Breakfast Television. Taylor has set choreography for Memories Splash in Punta Cana and assistant choreography for the hit tv series The Next Step. Taylor has performed with companies Rock Bottom Movement, Reactive Dance Theatre, Ballet Creole, Dancetheatre David Earle and Dance Migration based in Toronto. She was the dance artist on tour with Saskatchewan Culture Exchange Society for 2 years and resided in Japan for 15 months while performing for Tokyo Disney Resort.
After a 5-month contract in the Yukon at Diamond Tooth Gertie’s Casino and episode feature on The Amazing Race Canada, she continues to teach, choreograph, and adjudicate students of all ages across Canada. Her passion for movement is infectious and she strives to help her students become well-rounded, confident individuals who fulfill their dreams! @tayloralexiswellness
Carmelle McKinlay
Carmelle was born and raised in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta and is a fully registered teacher of the Royal Academy of Dance. As a dancer, she has had extensive training and performing opportunities in Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Voice and Musical Theatre throughout North America. She received her initial training at the Alberta Ballet School with Ross Brierton, Deborah Morgan, Colleen Boe and founder Ruth Carse. She completed her Advanced 2 ballet examination becoming an Associate of the Royal Academy of Dance (A.R.A.D.) and later continued on to obtain her teacher’s status with successful completion of diploma courses including anatomy, dance history and music theory. During her 26 years as an instructor, she has successfully prepared hundreds of students for ballet examinations as well as help train many junior teachers through her role as a mentor for the R.A.D.’s Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies program.
Carmelle is also an American Ballet Theatre Certified Teacher. She has had the opportunity to study with the creators of the ABT National Training Curriculum, as well as other prominent dance educators in NYC. Through this method she further refined her teaching skills to enhance her R.A.D. background and broaden her perspective. Carmelle is one of only a small number of teachers to hold this qualification in Canada.
Always dedicated to further expanding her knowledge, she has attended training workshops in St. Petersburg, Russia in the Vaganova method with the Mikhailovsky Ballet, as well as attend the Dance Teachers Summit in New York City. She has been certified in The Progressing Ballet Technique curriculum and more recently in Lisa Howell’s Level 1 Dance Teacher & Practitioner Training with Perfect Form Physiotherapy and Training Turnout in Tiny Dancers.
Carmelle has appeared throughout Western Canada as a guest examiner, artistic consultant, rehearsal assistant, choreographer and teacher. She has had the great honor to train, mentor and inspire her students, many of whom are now teachers, choreographers and professional dancers around the world. She is known for her creative choreography as well as her insistence on excellence, all while still allowing each dancer a voice in the process.