Betty Seibert, Diploma Fellow, ISTD, Cecchetti USA

Is a Fellow of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, London, England and was awarded the Maestro Cecchetti Final Diploma in 1988, the highest classical ballet qualification obtainable.

She has been an examiner certified under I.S.T.D. guidelines since 1993 and currently serves as Director of Examinations of Cecchetti USA, and in 2008 was elected Chair of CECCHETTI INTERNATIONAL - Classical Ballet serving the seven Cecchetti organizations world-wide.

As a principal dancer with the Florida and Maine State Ballet Companies, Ms. Seibert performed over a dozen leading roles in the classical repertoire, where favorites included Giselle, Coppelia, and Swan Lake.  She was featured dancer for the Sarasota and Asolo Opera Companies before founding her own company, the Florida West Coast Dance Company.  As a member of Actors Equity Association, favorite roles included Lola in Damn Yankees, Claudine in Can-Can, Dream Laurie in Oklahoma!, and Emilie in Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

She has choreographed over 40 musical theatre productions.  Before leaving Florida she restaged the original choreography of A Chorus Line.  Audiences responded enthusiastically to her inspired choreography of The Snow Goose.

Her teaching experience includes owning and operating the Seibert School of Ballet and Theatre Dance in Florida from 1978 to 1992; directing Barrington Ballet from 1992 through 1998; and owning and operating the Cheshire Dance Centre since 1995.  She has also taught at numerous national and international seminars hosted by Cecchetti Societies in the Canada, England, and the United States, including Pennsylvania Ballet Theatre’s summer school.  She has trained more than 1,000 students ranging from pre-kindergarten to adult, beginners through professionals, preparing students for professional companies, national tours, and performing arts colleges throughout the United States.

Ms. Seibert continues to emphasize the necessity of combining a sound syllabus for instruction with an emphasis on the theatricality of dance.