Nancy Whyte School of Ballet
Bringing dance to Whatcom County since 1969
Training School of the Mount Baker Ballet
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Classes resume Mon., Jan. 7
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The impact of Nancy Whyte bringing classical ballet and serious, methodical ballet instruction to the Northwest corner of Washington State cannot be over emphasized. Her former students have performed in world class and national companies, won scholarships to prestigious professional schools and to university dance programs. In her dual roles as Director of the Nancy Whyte School of Ballet and as Artistic Director of the Mount Baker Ballet company, Whyte remains an active, guiding and instructive presence for serious students of the ballet and dance.
"...Nancy Whyte has performed with various dance companies in New York and on the West Coast. She lived and studied extensively in New York under Nicolas Orloff, Vladimir Dokoudovsky, Kira Guzikova as well as many other internationally renowned teachers....She has also studied classical repertoire with Illaria Ladre, and the Vaganova syllabus under Jurgen Schneider, Janina Cunova and Egon Bishoff....."
To read further information about Ms. Whyte and dance, please visit About Nancy Whyte
Jane Gordon-Ball received her classical ballet training under the auspices of the Royal Academy of Dance (formerly the Royal Academy of Dancing) and the Imperial Society for Teachers of Dancing in the United Kingdom. She became an Associate member of the Imperial Society in 1965, a student member of the Royal Academy of Dance in 1969 and a member of the Royal Academy of Dance in 1971.
During her ballet education in the UK, Jane Gordon-Ball studied at the Carlton School of Ballet, the Braybrook Academy and the Yorkshire Regional Royal Academy of Dancing School. Jane was coached by Louise Browne, Director of the Royal Academy of Dancing, Yorkshire Region and by Mary Kelly, Secretary of the Royal Academy of Dancing, Yorkshire region. Throughout her training, Jane attended workshops to develope her knowledge of ballet theory and technique. These workshops were directed by choreographers and dancers of the Royal Ballet, Royal Ballet School, Festival Ballet and Ballet Rambert. More recently, in the USA, Jane studied ballet with Nancy Whyte.
Jane Gordon-Ball has been a long-time educator in elementary, middle , high school and community college settings as well as being a devotee of ballet. At the middle school level, Jane taught classes in creative dance. Jane holds a British Certificate in Education, a BSC in Applied Educational Studies and an MA in Adult Education. She has been teaching ballet at the Nancy Whyte School of Ballet in Bellingham, WA since 2003.
Level II and level III students have an opportunity to study with both Nancy Whyte and Jane Gordon-Ball each week at their ballet class.
DETAILS
Teachers dance assistants at the Nancy Whyte School of Ballet serve an important role in the ballet studio. While the dance assistant demonstrates steps, combinations and techniques to (and along with) the class, the Ballet Dance Instructor is able to freely move throughout the studio and focus their entire attention on correcting and adjusting the execution and form of the individual ballet class participants. This close scrutiny of the students by the actual Ballet Dance Instructor is necessary because ballet exercises improperly performed will not yield the correct musculature, flexibility and technique to avoid injuries and continue into advanced ballet technique.
The presence of teachers dance assistants affords the Ballet Dance Instructor more individual attention to the students. In a complicated center of floor combination, teachers dance assistants can work with smaller groups to make certain they understand the steps and combinations accurately before it is their turn to perform.
1412 Cornwall Avenue, Downtown Bellingham, Washington USA 98227
360-734-9141
This page created: 05-18-05, Last Update: 12-20-07