Photo: Alexandra Pera of Emily Collier in Swan Lake, Alberta Ballet. Emily (née Collier) Nicholson, was born in B.C. and began her ballet education with Avril Johns. She later trained at the National Ballet School and the Goh Ballet Academy before moving to Calgary in 2006 to pursue her career in professional ballet with the Alberta Ballet.
Emily Nicholson (née Collier) as Fury from Othello, Alberta Ballet photo: PMG
Emily loved performing in Madame Butterfly, Othello, The Fiddle and the Drum, Alice in Wonderland, and Swan Lake. Some of her favourite roles with the Alberta Ballet also include Arabian in The Nutcracker, Demon in Love Lies Bleeding, Pas de deux #4 from Songs of a Wayfarer choreographed by Emily Molnar, Balanchine’s Serenade, and Prairie People in Jean Grand-Maître’s Balletlujah! After ten years with the company, Emily retired and returned to B.C. to raise her family.
Both Emily’s dancing and teaching have been deeply influenced by her work with Wen Wei Wang, Yukichi Hattori, James Kudelka, Karen Kain, Peggy Baker, Stanton Welch, Elyse Bourne and other great dance artists who encouraged her both technically and artistically. Through her teaching, Emily hopes to encourage and inspire young dancers to pursue their dreams.