KATHLEEN CURWEN-WALKER LCBA (Cecchetti) artistic director

Artistic Director Dance for Life Academy

Ballet Teacher, Choreographer, Mentor.

Kathleen is an internationally recognized Cecchetti ballet teacher and choreographer. She has taught, and choreographed dance since 1980.

In 1976 she was awarded a Cecchetti Ballet gold medal and in 1982 she was awarded with the coveted Enrico Cecchetti Diploma. She currently holds Licentiate status in the Cecchetti method of Classical Ballet. Her teaching career has taken her as far abroad as India. Prior to establishing the Christchurch Dance Academy, Kathleen served as the principal of the Butler Dance Arts Academy in Melbourne Australia & the School of Ballet, Indus International School, Bangalore, India. In 2016, Kathleen established the Auckland Academy of Adult Ballet, creating a unique opportunity for adults to learn ballet. She has overseen the expansion of the academy to offer other genres of adult dance & has mentored many of the teachers who now instruct at DFLA. Her groundbreaking work in the establishment of the Senior Swans curriculum has opened the doors for seniors to discover the joy of ballet making it accessible to those who never thought it possible. Hence the SS logo, “It’s Never Too Late!”