“When the student finds the joy in the process, a dancer is born.”

I have dedicated my life to the education of dancers; to passing on this process. Our glorious art form is one of great tradition and I am honored to be part of that tradition. I did most of my preprofessional ballet training under Madame Gabriella Taub-Darvash, herself a product of the great Agrippina Vaganova. My Jazz training was under the tutelage of the brilliant Luigi. I spent my entire career studying his technique and method directly with him; the very first codified method for the teaching of Jazz. When it comes to passing on the teachings of an artistic discipline, in dance the inheritance is always so very personal and intimate: we carry these teachings and ideas in our bodies. I have carried the teachings of these great teachers in my body for many, many years. As I continued to work through all of those years, these ideas have become part of my consciousness, part of my being. I am now passing on this work in a completely new and personal way. I stopped, years ago, parroting what my teachers said to me. As a professional I found what worked for me; what adjustments I made for my imperfect body. Now as a teacher, I am passing on the wisdom that I have collected over the last 30 years. And my students will learn what works for them during their careers, and they will pass that on to their students. Dance needs to be a growing, living, breathing, evolving art form. It changes, as we change. Yet it is still connected to the past. These teachings have been passed from Maestro Cecchetti, to Mdme. Nijinska, to Luigi, to Me; from Mdme. Vaganova, to Mdme. Darvash, to Me. I am now passing on these ideas, these teachings, these traditions, filtered through my experience, to the next generation of dancers. The training of dancers is steeped in rich tradition, but is growing and evolving toward the future. And so, it is here that I will discuss my thoughts, my ideas, my theories on training dancers. Welcome to my Blog.

“The study of Ballet is the relentless pursuit of an unachievable perfection.”

Bill Waldinger