Following the success of the island?s first-ever international summer dance institute, the National Dance Foundation of Bermuda (NDFB) and the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) will be presenting teacher seminars as well as information sessions for dance teachers, parents and dance students from November 4 to 6 at Bermuda High School?s Jessie Vesey Centre on Richmond Road, Pembroke.

DanceBermuda 2005, which saw 43 Bermuda dancers and 23 from the United States and Canada participate in a three-week summer intensive dance programme, was so popular with the young men and women who participated that the NDFB and ABT will be adding a new level to next year?s summer intensive schedule.

Called the Young Dancer?s Programme, the curriculum for this level will be tailored to the development and training needs of dancers aged nine to 11. The programme has been created specifically for the DanceBermuda summer intensive by ABT instructors Richard Toda and Stacey Mahan, who will be sharing teaching duties between them next August under the direction of Nancy Raffa, executive director of ABT?s Summer Intensive programmes.

?DanceBermuda 2005 was such a success that we felt there was definitely room to add a new level,? Mr. Toda said. ?One of the opportunities identified by the summer programme was to create a curriculum for dancers aged nine to 11 which will help them to prepare for the more rigorous and demanding aspects of the summer intensive programme, so we?re particularly excited to be introducing the Young Dancer?s programme to Bermuda. We are confident young girls and boys will enjoy the variety and scope of the syllabus.?

Mr. Toda, artistic coordinator of educational outreach at ABT, is no stranger to Bermuda, having conducted master classes for 100 dance students in February this year, as well as participating in auditions for DanceBermuda 2005. Both Mr. Toda and Ms Mahan taught in local schools during the ABT?s 2002 visit to Bermuda for the Bermuda Festival.

Mr. Toda?s extensive career includes on and off-Broadway appearances in musicals, teaching in ABT?s ?Make a Ballet? and educational outreach programmes, serving on the ballet faculty of the Ailey School and Steps, and being a teaching artist for the New York City Ballet and Jacque D?Amboise? National Dance Institute. This year he has served on the writing committees for the blueprints for ?Teaching and Learning in the Arts? ? a sequential curriculum for dance education in New York City public schools.

Ms Mahan, a classical ballet dancer, is a member of the New York City Opera ballet and principal dancer with Ballet Repertory and Ballet Ambassadors. She is widely experienced in teaching ballet at all levels, as well as pointe, classical variations and pas de deux.

Currently a teaching artist with the ABT?s outreach programmes, she also heads the ballet department and is adjunct professor of dance at other US institutions.

Her students have been accepted into many leading US dance companies, and her extensive teaching experience includes studio master classes.

On Sunday, November 6, parents and students aged nine to 11 will receive an overview of the new Young Dancer?s Programme, and also have an opportunity to ask questions. In addition, there will be a separate information session for dancers aged 12 to 21 who are interested in auditioning for DanceBermuda 2006.

Both events will take place at the Jessie Vesey Centre.

For Bermuda dance teachers, there is also good news: World-renowned Franco De Vita, who has just been appointed Principal of the ABT?s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Dance, will conduct seminars for them from November 4 to November 6 at BHS.

The seminars are being offered free of charge as a part of the NDFB?s focus on the development of dance excellence in Bermuda. To date, 12 teachers from the island?s dance schools have registered for these sessions.

?The support that Bermuda dance schools and their teachers have given the summer intensive training programme has been so gratifying?, Mr. De Vita said. ?Now we are looking forward to discussing students? needs directly with the teachers, and assisting in any way we can by sharing some of the knowledge gained through our educational programmes at ABT.

?We all have the same objective:of raising the standard of dance excellence, and giving students all the support they need to develop as dancers.?

Mr De Vita?s seminar will cover principles and practices used in ABT?s training programmes. The classes are designed for the classical ballet instructor, and will cover pedagogy, musicality and class development. Dance teachers interested in attending the seminars should contact the National Dance Foundation of Bermuda at 236-319.

Mr. De Vita made his professional stage debut at age nine and became a professional ballet dancer at age 15, following award-winning studies at the Conservatoire Royal de Musique de Charleroi in Belgium.

Thereafter he danced with European companies, and also performed in musical comedies and operettas.

Following his retirement from performing, Mr. De Vita became a brilliant and highly sought-after teacher whose top appointments at leading ballet companies, universities and schools in the US and Europe are as prestigious as they are numerous.

His students have won a host of eminent international dance competitions, and have danced in many of the world?s major companies.

Most of the teachers qualified in the Cecchetti Method in Italy were trained by Mr. De Vita. He is regularly invited to teach at international seminars.

Looking ahead to next year, DanceBermuda 2006 will be held from August 7 to 25 at the Jessie Vesey Centre, for which auditions will be take place on Saturday, March 4, 2006 at that location.

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Information about DanceBermuda 2006 can be found at www.dancebermuda.org