KAREN MARIE BELYEA
Registered Teacher: R.A.D., D.M.A., P.B.T., Acrobatique
Lured by strong family connections in the area and fond memories of family reunions in Victoria Park, Karen Belyea moved to Cobourg in 1994.
Her dance education background includes the National Ballet School, Cecchetti, Russian, Imperial Ballet, and Vaganova Classical Ballet methods. Her favourite ballet teachers through the years were Boris Volkoff, Elena Orentis, Maureen Consolati, Elaine Fisher, Elain Davieaux, Kathleen Duffy, Marjorie Sorrell, Marjan Bayer, and Richard Sugarman. She performed professionally with Danse Baroque and Tafelmusik, various Toronto dinner theatres and modern groups but her passion and focus has always been teaching ballet and choreography. She ran a thriving studio in Mississauga for 8 years, co-founded the Mississauga City Ballet, and taught historical dance classes for music students at Wilfred Laurier University and classical ballet at the prestigious, world-RECOGNISED Saskatchewan Summer School of the Arts.
In 1995 she co-developed Steps Ahead Dance Centre and managed it with great success for 9 years with Inta Leja. Ms. Belyea was then invited to become Artistic Director at Premiere Dance & Theatre Arts Academy in 2005, this new studio also winning many awards under her directorship. In June 2012 Ms. Belyea became the sole owner/operator, CHANGING the name to Premiere Dance Cobourg.
Throughout her teaching career, Ms. Belyea has involved her dancers in community events and local benefits and promoted performing arts. Since 1995, local community groups have invited her dancers to perform including United Way, Northumberland Hills Hospital, Children’s Wish Foundation, Victims of Chernobyl, the Humane Society, Shelter of Hope and many individual Cancer Research charities; she collaborated with local artists including Aengus Finnan and the Northumberland Orchestra, and won awards for unique presentations at the all the local Parades, twice a year. She is very proud of the past tWELVE years of performances at the Cobourg Buskers Festival and the RCMP Musical Ride in 2012 that were enjoyed by thousands. The Cobourg Lions Club gave Premiere Dance Cobourg a plaque and a cheque for its scholarship fund in recognition of their participation.
Over the years, 18 of her students have gotten into the National Ballet School. She joined the Royal Academy of Dance as a Registered Teacher in 2005, completing the 3-year Teacher Training Program and has put students into examination 2 to 3 times yearly ever since. Thus far, her Graded and Vocational students have achieved an average mark of Distinction. In 2010, she became a teaching member of Dance Masters of America, took the Level One gymnastics course with Gymnastics Canada in 2008 and Acrobatique certification affiliated with ADAPT. Her students have gone further in their dance education to attend American Ballet Theatre and Alvin Ailey Summer Schools, Boston Ballet, L’ecole superieure de danse du Quebec, Quinte Ballet School, York University, Ryerson, the National Ballet School Professional program and NBS Teacher Training program. Ms. Belyea approaches all students as though they are going to become dancers, because “dance is a physical art form that should be taught correctly from the beginning. It is not just about the steps; it is how you do those steps that help you experience the joy and technique of dance.”
Her dance education background includes the National Ballet School, Cecchetti, Russian, Imperial Ballet, and Vaganova Classical Ballet methods. Her favourite ballet teachers through the years were Boris Volkoff, Elena Orentis, Maureen Consolati, Elaine Fisher, Elain Davieaux, Kathleen Duffy, Marjorie Sorrell, Marjan Bayer, and Richard Sugarman. She performed professionally with Danse Baroque and Tafelmusik, various Toronto dinner theatres and modern groups but her passion and focus has always been teaching ballet and choreography. She ran a thriving studio in Mississauga for 8 years, co-founded the Mississauga City Ballet, and taught historical dance classes for music students at Wilfred Laurier University and classical ballet at the prestigious, world-RECOGNISED Saskatchewan Summer School of the Arts.
In 1995 she co-developed Steps Ahead Dance Centre and managed it with great success for 9 years with Inta Leja. Ms. Belyea was then invited to become Artistic Director at Premiere Dance & Theatre Arts Academy in 2005, this new studio also winning many awards under her directorship. In June 2012 Ms. Belyea became the sole owner/operator, CHANGING the name to Premiere Dance Cobourg.
Throughout her teaching career, Ms. Belyea has involved her dancers in community events and local benefits and promoted performing arts. Since 1995, local community groups have invited her dancers to perform including United Way, Northumberland Hills Hospital, Children’s Wish Foundation, Victims of Chernobyl, the Humane Society, Shelter of Hope and many individual Cancer Research charities; she collaborated with local artists including Aengus Finnan and the Northumberland Orchestra, and won awards for unique presentations at the all the local Parades, twice a year. She is very proud of the past tWELVE years of performances at the Cobourg Buskers Festival and the RCMP Musical Ride in 2012 that were enjoyed by thousands. The Cobourg Lions Club gave Premiere Dance Cobourg a plaque and a cheque for its scholarship fund in recognition of their participation.
Over the years, 18 of her students have gotten into the National Ballet School. She joined the Royal Academy of Dance as a Registered Teacher in 2005, completing the 3-year Teacher Training Program and has put students into examination 2 to 3 times yearly ever since. Thus far, her Graded and Vocational students have achieved an average mark of Distinction. In 2010, she became a teaching member of Dance Masters of America, took the Level One gymnastics course with Gymnastics Canada in 2008 and Acrobatique certification affiliated with ADAPT. Her students have gone further in their dance education to attend American Ballet Theatre and Alvin Ailey Summer Schools, Boston Ballet, L’ecole superieure de danse du Quebec, Quinte Ballet School, York University, Ryerson, the National Ballet School Professional program and NBS Teacher Training program. Ms. Belyea approaches all students as though they are going to become dancers, because “dance is a physical art form that should be taught correctly from the beginning. It is not just about the steps; it is how you do those steps that help you experience the joy and technique of dance.”
