Biography
During Eileen’s formative years she trained with Marcia Lasser and Mme. Valia Seiskaya. She set herself apart by winning numerous awards, the most coveted of which was winning first place in the Empire State Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters Ballet Career Award. Eileen was accepted at the advanced level to George Balanchine’s School of American Ballet on a full scholarship provided by the Helena Rubinstein Foundation. She learned the Balanchine aesthetic from their internationally acclaimed staff, participated in the NYCB’s Educational Outreach Lecture Demonstration programs, and performed principal roles in the school’s workshop performances. She also performed the pas de deux from Balanchine’s Nutcracker for Mayor Edward Koch at City Hall. While at the School, she guested with the NYCB in “A Tribute to Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine.” She was coached by Prima Ballerina Alexandra Danilova, Helene Dudin, Kay Mazzo, Suki Schorer, Antonina Tumkovsky, Andre Kramarevsky, Stanley Williams, Peter Martins, Bart Cook, John Taras, and Jacques and Christopher D’Amboise. In her final year at SAB she was selected to dance for a Nestle commercial and a Walt Disney film, which gained her entry into the Screen Actors’ Guild. She was hand-picked from her class by Mikhail Baryshnikov to join one of the world’s most prestigious ballet companies, The American Ballet Theatre. While in ABT she was coached by Agnes DeMille, Irina Kolpakova, Natalia Makarova, Susan Jones, Georgina Parkinson, Twyla Tharp, Wendy Walker, Sir Kenneth Mac Millian, David Richardson, Terrence Orr and John Taras. Trained in ABT’s extensive repertoire and touring internationally, she won numerous plaudits across the globe for her versatility, grace and technical merit. Television credits include: “Live at the Metropolitan Opera House,” and the award-winning Frederick Wiseman documentary, “Ballet,” which aired on PBS. Her passion for ballet led her back to dance education. She serves as an integral part of the undergraduate dance program creating learning experiences and advising students on how to achieve their degrees and callings. She is the chapter sponsor for the National Honor Society of Dance Arts. Many of her students have gone on to perform and teach internationally. While teaching at PBA, Dance Magazine, featured a three-page article presenting Eileen’s solutions to common problems teachers face in the studio. Her students have appeared at benefits for such organizations as the American Ballet Theatre, Natural Movers, Project Dance, the Junior League of the Palm Beaches and the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens. Additionally, she serves as the coordinator of The Palm Beach Atlantic University Preparatory Department’s division of dance. She is honored that both preparatory and undergraduate students have been accepted and successfully participated in the Bolshoi, ABT, Ad Diem, Joffrey, La Scala, Next Generation, Pennsylvania ballet and Alvin Ailey summer programs. She is a certified in the ABT National Training Curriculum for all levels. Her over thirty years in Dance Education have enabled her to be recognized as a Master Teacher. She has taught for The American Ballet Theatre and The New York State Summer School of the Arts Summer Intensive Programs as well as for schools statewide as a master teacher.
Degrees
B.A., Florida Atlantic University; Certificate in Training Curriculum, American Ballet Theatre.