Teachers & Musicians 

Rebecca was born in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. She has now moved to the Okanagan Valley and is residing in Summerland, BC. In 1995 she took up SCD and earned her Teacher’s Certificate in 2001. As she had a background in classical ballet, pointing her toes was not a problem, however, it took quite a bit longer to learn the formations and dances! She has taught a General class in Fort Langley for the last 18 years, and taught at the Vancouver Branch. She now teaches the Naramata Scottish Country dance class in Penticton.

She has taught workshops throughout North America, and has been a core teacher at TAC, St Andrews, and New Zealand Winter School.

Jen Schoonover is a dancer and choreographer. She teaches movement principles, improvisation, and dance pedagogy at Bridgewater State University, and specializes in Scottish dance modalities including Cape Breton Step, Cèilidh, Highland, and Scottish Country dancing.

Research into handwritten dance notations Jen undertook with Mats Melin and the late Colin Robertson resulted in As Before: Aberdeenshire Solo Dances of the 19th Century, a Lorg Press publication launched at the 2026 North Atlantic Fiddle Convention in Aberdeen, Scotland. An earlier book Jen cowrote with Mats, Dance Legacies of Scotland: The True Glen Orchy Kick, detailing the history of Scottish percussive dancing, was published by Routledge in 2021.

Recently, Jen has participated in Scottish Country dancing festivals, where choreographies she created won the Display category at the Newcastle Festival in 2025 and the inaugural North American Festival in 2026. Focusing on processes and qualities of moving inspires Jen’s teaching, as do historic and non-standardized Scottish dance legacies.

Susie Petrov started Scottish dancing in Washington, DC in the summer of 1973 and went dancing every week with her high school classmates that next school year. After finishing her piano studies at the Peabody Conservatory, Susie launched herself into her passion of researching, performing and teaching Scottish dance and music. 

Susie had the opportunity to teach young Scots through 1990’s as a tutor for the Feis na Gael summer music courses in the north and west of Scotland.  Here was a chance to combine her day job of music teacher with her night and summer work performing Scottish music! In 2000, Susie was a guest lecturer at the Royal Scottish Conservatoire in Glasgow.         

Susie performs Scottish music for dances, Highland Balls, Ceilidhs and concerts with several groups of colleagues including her ensembles, Local Hero, Parcel of Rogues and the new group, High Drive.  Susie met Paul almost 40 years ago when she was rehearsing with Paul’s landlord and downstairs neighbor, Norb Spencer. Paul was listening through the floorboards to strathspeys and the next rehearsal Local Hero became a trio!

She has been a certificated RSCDS dance teacher since 1982 and has taught dancing and tutored candidates in the USA, Canada and Europe. By day, she taught young people to sing and dance and be nice to each other as a Kodály-style classroom music teacher. 

Susie is now blasting into retirement from classroom teaching and is finding the schedule to be just as full as always. How did one do all those things and work a full-time teaching job?

Susie has 16 recordings and two collections of Scottish music to her publication credit. Find her at: www.susiepetrov.com and on Facebook.

Paul Woodiel bio coming soon.