The Ballet Espressivo School, founded in 2006, specializes in adult dance education, offering online group classes in classical ballet, ballet floor-barre & ballet barre, stretching & strengthening for salsa & latin dancers as well as online private, semi-private or group classes and coaching in ballet, ballet floor- barre, contemporary dance, dance improvisation, musicality, and choreography via video conferencing.
All classes are led by Donna Greenberg, who has over 25 years of teaching experience. Thorough and constructive feedback is given 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 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.
Donna Greenberg has studied a variety of dance styles: modern dance, dance improvisation, and choreography under Til Thiele at the Centre of Movement & 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 25 years of pedagogical experience in various fields. 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, Donna has seen a number of her dance works performed at festivals throughout Toronto, such as Dance Ontario’s Dance Weekend at Harbourfront, Ashkenaz Festival, Eros, Thanatos and the Avant-Garde. Her 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 2013 Toronto Fringe Festival. She has produced 6 CDs, 5 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.
