MISSION My main goal is to pass the message that dance is a beautiful art and make it more accessible to the families who don't have a lot of money. I want to cultivate an appreciation of dance not just in the children, but in their parents as well by showing how much it can bring to one's personal development.

BACKGROUND I received my degree as a dance teacher in Classical and Modern Dance from the University of Dance in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. After teaching children and teenagers, and adult non–professionals for 6 years, I moved back to Lisbon to start my own school and teach for a local company that invited me to set up a company school.

APPROACH I try to get the best use out of a technique or a vocabulary or a syllabus, and for that I prefer to specialize in the "Vaganova method," and hope that in my own school I can bring children the best training in Classical Dance. But I'm not a purist in the sense that until now I haven't had the means to apply the method in the proper way. Dancing Modern and Classical has given me a complete view of the functionality of the body that I still use in constructing my classes. I believe class should be built around exercises that speak for themselves, without the long–winded explanations we sometimes receive in class.

ARTS COMMUNITY Portugal is still striving for quality in the arts. It is much more challenging than in France, for example, or Holland, where parents want their children to have a good cultural grounding in the arts. I work hard convincing parents that even if their children don't want to become dancers, it is a complement to their development, and it's always good to bring the arts into the hearts of our children because they are our future public. Dance in Portugal is very isolated in the sense that teachers rarely go abroad to inform themselves about what is happening elsewhere. It's a small community and very locked into old–fashioned ways of doing things, including the teaching of dance.

TEACHERS, MENTORS, AND INFLUENCES I trained at the School of the National Ballet Company of Portugal and the Rosella Hightower School in France. I performed with the Ana Lázaro Dance Company Modern: De Stilte Dance Company, Collin Connor and Conny Janssen. Conny, in particular, had a great influence on my understanding of the "flow" and "breath" of movement. I've been going to the Vaganova Academy seminars in St. Petersburg, the "Mecca" of Classical Dance, to improve my understanding of the method and its particular elements. I also like to go to other teachers – like David Howard – because I find that everyone has something to say that I may be able to make use of in my own classroom.

TOUGHEST CHALLENGES My biggest challenge is raising public awareness of the value of dance. All over the world the arts get the lowest priority and dance is always below the level of everything else – it gets less subsidy, faces more problems. In all cultures they ask how to encourage the public and inspire the next generation. That’s why it's so important to provide a quality learning environment and not be seen as just a place to drop off the kids. When dealing with parents and children you must be diplomatic, but strong enough to go your own way and stand for your ideal so that people learn to respect what you're trying to accomplish.

MOST VALUABLE EXPERIENCES I worked in a conservatorium in Holland, as well as in the private schools. In the private schools I got the experience of management, how to deal with parents, how to handle payments, plus a lot of latitude as a teacher. In the conservatorium I experienced a more professional situation and how to approach the development of the children with greater rigor. The combination gives me a strong background because I experienced the problems and advantages of both. Through the years I've said "This is something I'll never do," or "This is something I'll do for sure," and gradually developed my own idea of what kind of school mine would be.

MOST GRATIFYING MOMENTS I was in a conservatorium in Rotterdam and a colleague of mine got sick. Suddenly I had taken over a group of three boys and ten girls thirteen or fourteen years old. We were doing an adagio that ended in an arabesque balance and I had this image of Peter Pan. So I said to them, "Fly like Peter Pan going to Neverland," and I just saw those bodies flying away and everyone understood and there was an amazing communication between those kids and me and the pianist at that moment. It was just a special moment for me and I don't think those kids ever forgot it. Since then arabesque has always been "Peter Pan flying to Neverland!"

TEACHING ASPIRATIONS I hope to become a positive messenger and pass along with passion and love the message of dance, and bring to the lives of children and their parents this priceless art. I hope always to savor those moments in the studio, which are the most precious of all, because the whole world disappears and it's just us and the dance. In the end, I want people to feel that they're getting something good out of my work and to have a positive impact on the appreciation of Classical Dance and the arts.

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