About MEPBS
The Principal: CATHERINE
Dip in Dance Teaching & Management. Assoc Dip in Arts, Dance
Instruction and Studio Management. Director of C.D.E.C. Pty Ltd
(Classical Dance Education Centre Pty Ltd) Children's Examiner and
Examinations Coordinator for the CDEC Registered Teacher of the LMDS
(Laurel Martyn Dance System) Children's examiner for State Dance
Assoc. VCE Dance Teacher and after school Performing Arts
Coordinator at Toorak College
Catherine has studied dance for over 30 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.
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 offered
by 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 the Mount Eliza and Peninsula
Ballet School. She also became a lecturer at Box Hill Institute of
TAFE that year and is currently teaching Classical Dance, Applied
Teaching, Teaching Methodology, Teaching Strategies and Syllabus
Studies, training other dance teachers. As a participant at "Options
94", Tertiary Dance Festival held in Perth in 1994, Catherine won
the American Dance Festival Scholarship. With this she danced and
studied in America for 7 weeks, in 1995. In 1998 and 2000 she
lectured in Contemporary dance at the Bloch's Tertiary Dance
Festival, held in Queensland and then in N.S.W.
She graduated from Box Hill Institute in 1994 with an Assoc Dip of Arts in Dance Instruction and Management with distinctions in all subjects and Honours for the Intermediate Ballet exam and for Contemporary, Character and Jazz. In 1998 she gained her Dip of Dance Teaching and Management. In 1995 Catherine was appointed a Children's examiner for the AICD and in 1998 was appointed 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. Every year she lectures at master classes held by the CDEC to students from all over Victoria and regularly teaches at dance seminars and dance camps during school holidays. In 2003 Catherine was appointed the VCE Dance teacher at Toorak College. In 2005 she was appointed the After School Performing Arts Coordinator at Toorak College and became a Fellow of the CDEB and a director of CDEC Pty Ltd in 2006
OUR OWN STUDIO
In 2007 we finally purchased our own studio at 18 Virginia Street, Mornington. It is a wonderful happy and colourful home for our school. It also has great storage for all our costumes.