Catherine has studied dance for over 50 years and taught children in many dance studios around Melbourne. She originally trained with Laurel Martyn OBE at Ballet Victoria in the full-time performers’ course, graduating in 1977, from what had then become the Victorian College of the Arts, in their first year of graduates. She danced professionally for over 15 years with the Australian Contemporary Dance Company, Dance Theatre of Victoria and Rex Reid Dance Company, as Principal Dancer, Ballet Mistress and Assistant Director.
In 1993 she completed the transition from performer to teacher by studying the unique dance teacher-training course at Box Hill Institute. This gave her grounding in theories of learning, child psychology, anatomy and safety issues in dance. In 1995 Catherine became Principal of Mount Eliza and Peninsula Ballet School and became a lecturer at Box Hill Institute of TAFE teaching Classical Dance, Applied Teaching, Teaching Methodology, Teaching Strategies, Maintain Professional Practice and Syllabus Studies, training other dance teachers till 2010. At “Options 94”, Tertiary Dance Festival held in Perth in 1994, Catherine won the American Dance Festival Scholarship taking her to dance in America for 7 weeks in 1995. A highlight was studying the ‘Franklin Method’ with Eric Franklin and Dancing in a piece he choreographed for the Faculty concert. In 1998 and 2000 she lectured in Contemporary dance at the Bloch’s Tertiary Dance Festival in Queensland and then in N.S.W.
She graduated from Box Hill Institute in 1994 with distinctions in all subjects and Honours for the Intermediate Ballet exam and in Contemporary, Character and Jazz and completed a Cert IV in Workplace Training and Assessment in 2009. In 1995 Catherine was appointed a Children’s examiner for AICD and in 1998 as an examiner for CDEB Inc. and became a member of their board. In 2001 she was appointed a Children’s examiner for the State Dance Assoc. She lectures at master classes held by MDEC to students and teachers from all over Victoria, teaching at dance seminars and dance camps during school holidays. In 2003 Catherine was appointed the VCE Dance teacher at Toorak College and in 2005 became their After School Performing Arts Coordinator. She became a Fellow of CDEB and a director of CDEC/MDEC Pty Ltd in 2006. In 2015 Catherine joined the Dance Studio Owners Association and was invited to become a member of their Inner Circle in 2017. The Inner Circle consists of a group of top studio owners from around the world receiving further training, knowledge and mentoring in order to continue to support our amazing dance studio. In 2017 we purchased the delightful preschool dance program by babyballet® to bring dance to even more children on the Peninsula.
Catherine is excited to see where 2019 will take Peninsula Ballet School and can’t wait to continue to share her love for dance with all the wonderful students, teachers and dance families at PBS.
Achievements:
Advanced Diploma in Dance Teaching & Management. Assoc Dip in Arts, Dance Instruction and Studio Management. Director of M.D.E.C. Pty Ltd (Movement and Dance Education Centre Pty Ltd) Children’s Examiner and Examinations Coordinator for the MDEC, Registered Teacher of the LMDS (Laurel Martyn Dance System) Children’s examiner for State Dance Assoc. VCE Dance Teacher and the After School Performing Arts Coordinator at Toorak College until 2009.
