Introduction

Hello Everyone,

David C. Beales, M.A., started his dance training at the age of 6 in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. He went on to train at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division (Winnipeg, M.B., Canada), and the Goh Ballet Academy (Vancouver, B.C., Canada), which opened the opportunity to dance with the Goh Ballet Academy's Youth Ensemble, and later, Vancouver Goh Ballet Society. While recovering from an injury in 2007, David took the time to take the Goh Ballet Academy's Teacher Training Program in collaboration with the Beijing Academy of Dance (Beijing, China), from Professor Shu Zhingdong, of the Beijing Academy of Dance Department of Pedagogy. After recovering from his injury and dancing another year with the Goh Ballet Youth Company (2009-2010), David moved to Victoria, B.C., Canada, to dance with Ballet Victoria (2010-2011). After dancing for one season with Ballet Victoria, David experienced a life altering accident which left him permanently unable to dance. It was during this time (2012) that he, and his then wife, Karen, founded the Maple Leaf School of Ballet in Victoria, B.C., Canada.

Since founding the Maple Leaf School of Ballet, David has been striving to be the best teacher he can be. His own experience as both a student and teacher of classical dance, has taught him that there are numerous teaching styles and methods, some of which work, and some of which could be improved upon to achieve better results. His experiences have inspired David to attend numerous Teaching Workshop Training seminars and courses, including courses offered by distinguished professors and master teachers of the Moscow State Choreographic Institute and the Vaganova Academy of Dance. As a result, David has acquired a very in-depth knowledge of Russian derived Classical Dance techniques and teaching methods.

David is an Advanced member of the Society of Classical Ballet (Vaganova Method) of Canada, and his students are continually succeeding in their examinations by achieving exceptional results.

David also holds a Master's Degree in Dance Technique Pedagogy from Middlesex University (London, England), graduating in the spring of 2019.

It is David's goal to keep improving as a teacher through research and experience so that he becomes a leading teacher globally in both the knowledge of various techniques of Classical Ballet and in the various methods of teaching, and the delivery of pedagogical systems, so that his students receive the highest level of dance education possible.