Meaghan Wegg
Head Coach
All Disciplines in the air and on the ground!
Meaghan Wegg is a Cirque du Soleil athlete and coach. She is the Director of The Academy Circus School in London, Ontario. She trains the Performance and Competitive teams at The Academy and preps them for stage! Meaghan is certifed with Acrobatic Arts, Aerial Arts, The National Circus School (Contortion, Aerial Hoop, Research of Acrobatics and Partner Acrobatics), NCS Rigging, Calgary Make Up School and BATD Acro. She is skilled in all disciplines of dance and aerial arts! Meaghan is an international Aerial Choreographer and loves working with her team here in London, Ontario! She is very excited for the future of The Academy :)
Dustine Crowley
Coach
Aerial silks, Hammock, Hoop, Trapeze, Spiral, Anchor, Straps, Weggsphere,Flying pole, Flexibility, Conditioning
Dustine has enjoyed movement and dance since she was three years old. While growing up she practiced different styles and levels of dance, (her favourite being tap!). In 2015, she fell in love with Aerials! Being off the floor and challenging yourself to build characters and routines is amazing. Dustine has been instructing Aerial Arts since 2017 and loves every moment of it. "Seeing my students accomplish their goals brings me just as much joy as being in the air!"
Patricia Coulter
Casual Coach
Patricia Coulter owned and operated a dance studio for 17 years in South Western Ontario. With over 20 years of performance and teaching experience, Patricia’s classes focused in acrobats, ballet, pointe, tumbling, flexibility, contortion, tap, jazz,
hip hop, musical theatre and beginner ballroom. Patricia’ s unique style of instruction always kept her students interested and engaged.
Dancing since the age of four years old, Patricia has developed advanced skills and training qualities through both professional certification and involvement in the industry, and stays current with courses. She obtained her teacher’s license in 2002 through the BATD (British Association of Teachers of Dancing) in the Acrobatic,Ballet and Freestyle branches, and also holds a certification with the Acrobatic Arts, Progressing Ballet Technique, is an Affiliate with the Russian Society of Ballet and most recently Tap Dance Centre Teacher Training. She is a proud member of the PAA (Professional Adjudicators Alliance) and has attended the Teacher Training Workshop at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Patricia is also a proud member of the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve force since 1999.
Many of her students have successfully completed their teacher certification with the BATD. This brought attention to their skills and abilities where they have been selected into specialty programs in various high schools and post-secondary programs; attended summer programs at National levels; have been selected for appearance on the television program “The Next Step” and competed with Team Canada.
Patricia has a natural warmness and nurturing quality which she shares with all of her students. She in proud of her annual participation in a non-profit fundraiser “Dancing with the Stars of Huron County”. This fundraiser is sponsored by the Victim Services
of Huron County, where she is the pro dancer and placed in the top three many times.
Patricia is extremely passionate about dance and continues to develop her skills and abilities with ongoing professional development of modern teaching methods, choreography and technique training. She believes there is always room for growth and improvement.“A dancer or a dance teacher is never finished learning.”
Maya Nolan
Casual Coach
Aerial and Acro Technique
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L'Ecole Nationale de Cirque - Montreal - lived full time and trained at ENC school 2015 - 2016, training camps 2014-2015
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Le Petit Cirque - Los Angeles, California - Member of the A team. Performed in LA, Hollywood, Michigan and Montreal with LPC 2016 - 2018
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The Academy Performance Team 2018 - present
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Power Cheer Gym - member of S4 - Surge team - 2013 - 2019
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Team Canada Junior Coed Cheer team - competed at World's Cheer competition, Disney World, Florida - 2019
Shari King
Coach
Aerial Hoop, Trapeze, Silks, Hammock, Flexibility, Conditioning
Shari developed a passion for the aerial artform in 2016 when she first started training on aerial silks. Since then, she has expanded her repertoire to hoop, and was certified as an Aerial Hoop instructor with Aerial Arts in 2020. She continues to expand her own skills, and now coaches at the Academy in London, ON. She enjoys sharing her love of aerials, and looks forward to growing her own skills alongside her students.
Megan Merchant
Coach
Acro Technique, Circus arts, Aerial hoop, Dance technique
From the small town of Walkerton, Ontario, Megan started dancing at the age of 3. Quickly she grew a passion for all forms of dance participating in acro, contortion, tap, jazz & ballet. Megan trained for the British Association of Teachers of Dancing and received highly commended on her exams. At the age of 16, Megan completed her Acrobatic Arts certification. She took on the Acro Dance recreation program founded by Patty Wegg in Walkerton and continued the program until she graduated high school.
Last year, she began university at UWO which brought her to London and her new home at the Academy. Through this connection, she was also able to obtain her Aerial Arts certification. Megan looks forward to not only continuing her own journey in the world of dance, aerials and circus but also to share this passion with each and every member of the community.
Jayden Anderson -Johnston
Coach
Dance, AcroDance, Acro-Partnering, Tumbling, Contortion
Jayden Anderson Johnston has been dancing since the age of 4 in a variety of disciplines but with a main focus on acrobatics and tumbling. Jayden has been teaching acrobatics since she was 14 and recently became Acrobatics Arts Certified. Jayden currently works full time for a Clinical Trial Research company but also enjoys teaching acrobatics/tumbling to recreational and competitive students. Jayden is excited to bring her experience, dedication, and skills to The Academy and looks forward to working with all the students.