For more than 20 years, ballet has been Heather Rusch’s main focus in dance. To help Heather better understand dance and how it is applied to the body she has sought to broaden her dance vocabulary with classes in folk (Russian and Hungarian), ballroom, modern, jazz, yoga, tap, square and round dancing and Shaun Work (developed by Ted Shaun), a technique of modern and ballet developed in the 1930’s.

In combination with Heather’s teaching experience she has also gained a great love of choreography. She has also produced pieces for West Vancouver Community Centre’s Dance Into Spring performance, a performance trip to Alaska , local festivals and various community shows. During the festival year of 1999 she was awarded a first at the Coquitlam Festival of Music and the Surrey Festival of Dance for her original choreography.

Heather has been successfully examined for levels of excellence in R.A.D. ballet. In unison with these technical exams she has also been able to excel in history exams, which are sadly no longer offered, referred to as Des. Along with Heather’s local training with mentors such as Ellen Andrews, Josephine Slater, and Kelly Douglas and performance experience, she has also danced overseas in Spain and Alaska, and taken class in London at the Pineapple studios. Heather looks forward to continuing to broaden the knowledge and understanding of dance to her students through both teaching and choreographing. Heather is excited to join Dance Trance’s team of teachers and looks forward to sharing her passion for ballet with the students.