THE LADC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Founder and Director of the Levitt Pavillion
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Media & Digital Technology Attorney
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Founding Partner, Art & Science Collaborative, LLC
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Chairman
- Founder, Executive & Artistic Director, Choreographer, Dancer
Marie-France was born in Montreal, Canada. She began her training at the age of seven, joined the school of "Les Grands Ballets Canadiens" of Montreal and received grants from the Quebec Government and the Canada Council of the Arts. Les Grands Ballets offered her a contract at age 18 when she performed many soloist and principal roles for three years. Then, while on a trip to New York, Mikhail Baryshnikov offered her a contract to dance with the American Ballet Theatre where she danced for eleven years. She has trained and worked as a professional dancer from 1982 until 1998 with a legendary array of ballet masters teachers, star dancers and famous choreographers including: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolph Nureyev, Natalia Makarova, Irina Kolpakova, Vladilen Semyonov, Agnes de Mille, Anthony Tudor, Kenneth McMillan, David Howard, Robert Denvers, Maggie Black, William Burmann, Melissa Hayden, Lar Lubovitch, Twyla Tharp, and the list goes on.
Her repertoire with the company includes several featured roles. In Sir Kenneth McMillan's ballets, she performed the "Jewels" and "The Cat" variations in his "Sleeping Beauty", Romeo's harlot in his "Romeo and Juliet". Her Tudor repertoire includes the lead role of Volupia in his "Undertow", and the lead sexy girl in his "Pillar of Fire". She danced soloists and principal roles in many of Agnes De Mille's ballets as well as in La Sylphide, Gaiete Parisienne, Peter and the W olf, the Nutcracker , to name a few. Marie-France also collaborated in several ballets performed for the Television PBS specials on Dance. She obtained her Green card with an Artist of Exceptional Achievement status.
Marie-France has been teaching the highest level of professional instruction in classical ballet extensively since 1996 in group classes, master classes and privately at Universities and Dance Studios in Southern California such as: California State University Long Beach, Moorpark College, Westside School of Ballet, Southland Ballet Academy, , California Dance Theatre, Pasadena Civic Ballet, Agoura Hills Dance & Performing Arts Center, A Step in time School of Dance, and the list goes on.
Marie-France is a certified teacher for the American Ballet Theatre's newly developed and nationally recognized training curriculum in all their Levels.
Marie-France has been and is currently a judge for the Spotlight Awards competition of the Music Center every year since 1997 and has been judged for the Youth American Grand Prix in 1998.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Director, Community & Board Relations
at American Red Cross
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Partie - Graphic Director