I love teaching and do not take the responsibility lightly

Being a dancer I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have had an illustrius international dancing career, which spanned more than 35 years. As the muse for such amazing choreographers as John Neumeier, Maurice Bejart and Roland Petit, I inspired the creations of pieces such as Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, As You Like It, Petrouschka, Morgane in Artus Saga, Firebird and many others. I have been able to travel and share my art with people all over the globe and have had the pleasure and honour of dancing with such amazing artists as Sir Anthony Dowel, Jorge Donn, Kevin Hagen, Patrik Dupond and Paul Chalmer.

I have had the privilege of being taught and coached by wonderful masters. One of whom once said to me “once you are done you must pass it on, that is the circle of life.”

Being a teacher I began teaching in France while I was pregnant with my son. It was meant to help me pass the time but turned into my passion and purpose in life. I never imagined that teaching would bring me so much joy or carry with it such responsibility.

Over the last 30 years, I have had the pleasure of teaching students from age 3 to 70 all over the world. Teaching is a unique way to spend your life. You have the opportunity to share your knowledge and be part of a students’ development. You constantly learn new things which changes your perspective. You make an impression not only on the student in front of you but on the generation that follows. I love teaching and do not take the responsibility lightly.

One of my teachers once told me “Your students are a reflection of you. What you pass on to them they pass on to others. This is your responsibility. So be strong, be fair, be kind and love what you do and they will love it too!”

Creating 4Pointe 4Pointe is the result of witnessing the change in classical ballet training over the past twenty years. With input from newer and more contemporary choreographies, teaching styles have changed to be more dynamic and physically demanding. Pilates, Gyrotonics, PBT, Yoga, as well as sports medicine and physical therapy have broadened our understanding of the human body. We have learned more effective ways of training, developing, and lengthening muscles. Dance has evolved significantly yet in all of this development pointe training has remained largely the same or even fallen behind.

A new method of training on pointe was needed. A way in which to strengthen and develop certain areas of the foot that needed more precision and articulation. I wanted to help dancers work on pointe in a more effective and healthy way. Enabling dancers to adapt to the extreme physical requirements of today’s choreography.

Thus, 4Pointe was born. A method of teaching and working on pointe accessible to all, to meet the needs and requirements dancers are facing today and in the future. This method has been in development for almost a decade and will continue to evolve as the needs of dancers do.

A colleague and dear friend once told me “you must give back and leave something in gratitude for what your life has given you. Pointe work is your thing! Leave it as your legacy!”