Artistic and educational director

Carole Massoutié, classical dance teacher

Originally from the Occitanie region, she discovered classical dance at the age of 4 in a private school before joining the academy (conservatoire) and then the BBAT. She trained with Claudie Winzer, Joëlle and Danielle Besso, Daniel Franck, Marika Besobrasova and Jeanne Albertini.
In parallel to several stage experiences, notably with the Avignon ballet, she discovered teaching and obtained her State Diploma in classical dance in 1997. Since then, she has devoted herself to teaching by creating her own professional training program, first in Rodez and then in Toulouse.
She choreographs the imposed variations for various competitions for which she is a member of the jury and she is also a guest teacher for different workshops.
For 20 years, she has been the director and certified teacher of her own Academy and has trained dozens of dancers and teachers who have excelled in various international competitions (Lausanne, YAGP, Deauville, Chausson d’Or ….) and auditions (Paris Opera, Royal Ballet, La Scala – Milan, John Cranko Schule…). Her mission today is to share her knowledge, coordinate the teams of teachers and implement the teaching tools of today to train the dancer of tomorrow.

Marieke Simons, classical dance and PBT dance teacher

Marieke Simons was born in Amsterdam.
She studied at the Amsterdam National Academy of Dance.
In 1988, she participated in the Prix de Lausanne where she won the professional prize.
That same year, she was hired by the Dutch National Ballet where she worked with choreographers such as Hans van Manen, Rudi van Dantzig, Armando Navarro, Maguy Marin, Carolyn Carlson, William Forsythe, Glen Tetley and Christopher Bruce.
She also dances as a half soloist and soloist in the entire classical repertoire.
In 1996, she received the gold medal for dance in Holland (after a season in which she performed Juliet and many roles choreographed by George Balanchine).
In 1997, she joined the Ballet of the Capitole under the direction of Nanette Glushak where she continued to dance the main roles in classical and contemporary ballets.
At the Ballet National de Marseille, she has had the opportunity of working on a regular basis with Mr. Raymond Franchetti.
For 12 years, she has devoted herself to the transmission of classical dance and the “Progressing Ballet Technique” method with enthusiasm and passion.

Marie-Elisabeth Wachter, contemporary dance teacher

Originally from the Hautes-Pyrénées, Marie-Elisabeth began her training at Tarbes Academy (Conservatoire) before continuing a multidisciplinary training course in Paris.
She has been a performer for Geraldine Armstrong and Wayne Barbaste (Jazz).
She soon turns to contemporary dance.
In 1992, she won the first prize at the Paris International Dance Competition (Female Solo). She also won the Performance Prize awarded by the ADAMI at the Bagnolet Competition.
She has been a performer for JC Gallota and Joseph Russillo and she has worked for Brittany’s National Theater of Dance with the choreographer Gigi Caciuleanu.
She is currently a teacher at several amateur and professional training centers and also works for some academies (Tarbes, Montauban, Agen…)
In this context, she choreographs imposed variations for various competitions (CND (National Dance Center), Arcachon, Bordeaux) of which she is a jury.
As a regular guest teacher at the Preljocaj Ballets since 2000 and choreographer of her own company “Hors Sol” since 2015, Marie-Elisabeth is keen on further reinforcing the bridge between training and the professional world.

Elizabeth Ruimi, floor barre (barre à terre) teacher 

Elizabeth trained at the National Center of Contemporary Dance in Angers under the direction of Alwin Nikolaïs.
She received a scholarship from the French Ministry of Culture to study dance in the United States at Champain University (Illinois) and in New York (Graham, Limon Cunningham techniques, etc.)
She has danced in different companies in France and abroad and teaches contemporary dance and floor barre (barre à terre).
Elizabeth works in dance training centers and state diploma training centers.