About

History

Philosophy

All classes are led by Donna Greenberg, who has over 25 years of teaching experience, and a background in both music and a variety of dance-styles. Throughout the lessons, thorough and constructive feedback is given, feedback needed for students to progress, to avoid injuries, and to prevent the development of bad habits. The student-teacher ratio is kept low in order to maximize time for addressing individual student needs. Much emphasis is placed on not only correctness of form but also musicality, line, and artistry. The courses are designed for adults, those seeking recreation or wishing to improve bodily alignment and overall physical condition, or those aspiring to a more serious study of dance. The Ballet Espressivo School has an international reputation, attracting students from Toronto and its environs and even abroad.

Faculty

Donna Greenberg has a rich background in the arts. She has studied a variety of dance styles: modern dance, dance improvisation, and choreography under Til Thiele at the Centre of Movement and York University; classical ballet at the National Ballet School; Baroque dance under Elaine Biagi-Turner; and eighteenth-century ballet under Edmund Fairfax. Related studies include dance pedagogy, French mime and acting, training in classical music (voice, harmony, counterpoint, and music history) through Royal Conservatory of Music as well as vocal jazz under Adi Braun; and English literature at University of Toronto (BA).

She is a gifted teacher with over twenty-five years of pedagogical experience in various fields. In addition to the dance and floor barre classes she offers through the Ballet Espressivo School, she has also taught Baroque dance, music and movement for children, ear training, and period movement (Sheridan College and Humber College).

Her theatrical experience includes solo and corps performances in Baroque dance with such ensembles as Tafelmusik and Associates of the Toronto Symphony, as well as in modern dance at such venues as Series 8:08. She has created many works for both stage and screen. As artistic director of Ballet Espressivo, her own ballet company, she has seen a number of her dance works performed at numerous festivals throughout Toronto, such as Dance Ontario’s Dance Weekend at Harbourfront, Ashkenaz Festival, Eros, Thanatos and the Avant-Garde. Her dance film I Can’t Go On was included in the Malta International TV Short Film Festival in 2009. She has also been active as a jazz singer and songwriter. She starred in Burnt…and Toasted!, her one-woman show featuring her own songs and choreography, performed at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2013. She has also produced six CDs, five devoted to her own original music, tracks of which have been aired on radio internationally.

Donna thus brings a vast knowledge of dance, music, and theatrical performance to her classes.

Noel Miller from Design Fitness interviews Donna on Self Care and Dedication