School adds four to faculty; offers new Pre-Professional Training Program
Brattleboro, VT — (August xx, 2013) — Brattleboro School of Dance has published its schedule of classes for the Fall and Winter of 2013-14. The studio will host an open house from 5:00-8:00pm on Friday, September 6 for members of the public to get acquainted with the faculty and learn more about the programs.
Students can register online at www.brattleboroschoolofdance.com or by going to the studio at 22 High Street in Brattleboro from 3:00-8:00pm on Friday, September 6, 12:00noon-5:00pm on Saturday, September 7 or 12:00noon-2:00pm on Sunday, September 8. Classes begin on Monday, September 9.
Four new instructors will be joining the school this fall, including two new ballet instructors, Robert Royce and Jesse Tidquist. Francesca Bourgault will be teaching modern, jazz and tap styles while Casey Beauchamp takes over hop-hip instruction. The new faculty additions are part of the transition in ownership says Jennifer Moyse, who purchased the studio from founder Kathleen Keller last fall.
“Kathi [Keller] set a high standard of quality for ballet, and Robert and Jesse are the right teachers to further enhance the integrity of that program,” said Moyse. “At the same time, we think the additions of Francesca and Casey help continue the BSD’s founding mission to provide a wide variety of dance instruction.”
Robert Royce has danced professionally for the Cincinnati Ballet, Dayton Ballet, Alabama Ballet, Ballet Theater of Maryland and the newly formed BalletFleming in Philadelphia. He has been training and coaching professional and student dancers for the past 16 years and has students who are currently dancing for Suzanne Ferrell Ballet, Nashville Ballet’s second company, and Joffrey Ballet’s trainee program. As a choreographer, Robert has received the 2001 Viewer’s Choice Award in the Scotsman for his Cinderella at the Edinburg Fringe Festival and a four-star review for The Little Mermaid in 2011, both with Burklyn Ballet Theater.
Jesse Tidquist also comes from BalletFleming, where she has been training under Christopher Fleming for the past year. Prior to that, she spent two seasons dancing for the Ballet Theater of Maryland. Tidquist has also trained with John Gardner and Amanda McKerrow of American Ballet Theatre, and Alun Jones and Helen Starr of Louisville Ballet. She taught pointe classes during Burklyn Ballet Theatre’s summer intensive earlier this year.
Francesca Bourgault is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy and holds a B.A. in Dance from Western Michigan University. Her training includes ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, tap, musical theater and improvisation. Before relocating to Brattleboro this past May, she spent almost four years immersed in the dance scene of Chicago, Illinois, where she created her own performance series called Fraction: Dance in Progress.
Casey Beauchamp has been teaching dance, performance, martial arts and yoga for more than 10 years. He holds a B.F.A in Performance and Traditional Eastern Arts with an emphasis in Yoga Teacher Training and an M.A. in Contemplative Education, both from Naropa University. While at Naropa, Beauchamp developed a contemplative dance curriculum for students.
New class offerings for the fall include the Pre-Professional Training Program, says Moyse. Led by retired professional dancer, Mucuy Bolles, these classes takes advanced dancers through a variety of styles and explores repertory from contemporary ballet and modern companies, original combinations, pointe variations and performance techniques, all in preparation for a career in ballet, modern or concert dance.
The full 2013-14 class schedule and bios for all faculty can be found at www.brattleboroschoolofdance.com. For additional information, call the Brattleboro School of Dance at 802-254-6884.
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