Photo credit: David J. Freeman
Amity Skala has been active in the Victoria dance community since 1984. She has studied Ballet, Tap, and Modern dance as well as a wide range of ethnic dance forms. In 1996, she began teaching privately and became a faculty member at Kidco Dance School in 1998. She worked with the Veselka Ukranian Dance Association as a performer and teacher, including serving as interim Artistic Director in 2002-2003.
She has upgraded her teaching skills through workshops with The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, The National Coaching Institute and Movement Analyst Bill Evans. Her choreography has won awards at numerous festivals including Danceworks, The Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival, British Columbia Ukranian Cultural Festival, and Pysanky Festival in Alberta.
Her passion for Flamenco began in 1994 when she started taking lessons that led to her current status as a company member with Victoria-based Alma de España, under the artistic direction of Veronica Maguire.
In addition to performing with the company, Amity teaches in the affiliated dance school. Having traveled to Spain more than once, most recently spending time in Jerez de la Frontera 2010, Amity has had the opportunity to study with top Flamenco artists Eva Yerbabuena, Belén Maya, Rafaela Carrasco, Ana Maria Lopez, Angelita Gómez, and José Granero. In the US and Canada, Amity has received instruction from Maria Bermúdez, Oscar Nieto, Yaelisa and others. Amity’s skills and enthusiasm have earned many guest appearances as a teacher locally and internationally, including a 2003 workshop series in the US.
In addition to many local stage shows and festivals, Amity has had the opportunity to perform professionally with Alma de España throughout the Pacific Northwest including Seattle Folk Life 1997, Nanaimo’s Port Theatre in 2002 and concerts in Calgary and the Queen Charlotte Islands in 2008. Other performance credits include guest appearances with the Victoria Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Symphony Splash 2006 with the Victoria Symphony, Butchart Gardens “Spanish Passion” Summer shows 2006 and guest soloist with Peña Flamenca. She is an inspiration to many, both personally and artistically, bringing a rare dedication to everything she does.
