Barrington Dance Academy
The Barrington Dance Academy provides students ages 3 to adult with a one-of-a-kind opportunity to study a variety of dance forms taught by professional faculty in a supportive environment. Our primary goal is to help each student realize his or her own creative potential and technical proficiency. We provide an environment in which anyone, from the most casual to the most serious student, can learn and grow in the art of dance. We hope that by exposing our students to dance, they will become lifelong supporters of the arts.
In addition to our well-known ballet program, BDA offers a full range of jazz dance classes for students ages 6 and up. For our Creative Movement & Pre-Ballet dancers, ages 3-7, we offer fun, age-appropriate themed classes. These levels include a low stress performance of a studio recital at the end of each term. We offer ballet study based on the Royal Academy of Dance, character class, and jazz dance class to our Juniors division, which ranges in age from 7 to 11. Ballet, pointe, and jazz classes are available for Intermediate and Advanced dancers aged 11 and up. Our classes are taught by caring professional instructors who are dedicated to the success and enjoyment of their students at every level.
In 1984, Mary Brennan founded the Barrington Dance Academy, and in 1989, she founded the Barrington Dance Ensemble (BDE). Her dance education includes the National Academy of Dance in Champaign, Illinois, The Royal Academy of Dance in London, the Ellis DuBoulay School in Chicago, and the University of Illinois, where she earned a theater education degree. She was the Champaign School District’s drama department chair. Ms. Brennan was the Barrington Area Arts Council’s Dance Co-Chair for many years. She also created dance curriculum for the State of Illinois Public School System and currently serves on the Illinois Arts Council’s dance panel. The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, The Nutcracker, Under the Big Top, Graduation Ball, and Peter and the Wolf are among her producing, directing, and choreographic credits. Ms. Brennan is an expert in the Royal Academy of Dance training syllabus, which ranges from pre-school to pre-professional.
Roberta Pfeil-Begley began her dance studies with Richard Ellils and Christine DuBoulay in Chicago, where she performed with the Illinois Ballet Company under their direction. She went on to dance professionally with Ruth Page’s Chicago Ballet, the Geneva Ballet of Switzerland, and the San Francisco Ballet. Her directing credits include Redwood Empire Ballet Company and Ballet Theatre North, both of which are Regional Ballet Association members. In California, she founded Dancer’s Workshop, her own school and company, before returning to Chicago, where she continues to teach and choreograph. Her work has been seen nationally at Regional Ballet Festivals and in the Chicagoland area. Roberta currently works as a teacher at the Barrington Dance Academy and the Northwest Ballet Academy.
