Carolina Performing Arts Center, Southern Pines, announces that Catherine Smith is its newest full-time faculty member.

Smith was born and raised in Darlington, England, and started dancing at the age of three at Dancein Studio, Darlington, England, which later became The Tiffany School of Dance.

She gained certification in classical ballet with the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) and modern, jazz and tap with the Imperial Society for the Teachers of Dance (ISTD). After completing her formal education and taking part in numerous dance shows and musicals with local and touring companies, she moved to London.

In London, she taught in public, private and community sectors and was privileged to assist world-renowned ballet teachers in classes for children ages 2-and-a-half to early teens at the Royal Academy of Dance. While working at the RAD, she was instrumental in coordinating days of dance, ballet workshops and assisting in "Move It!" (England's biggest dance exhibition).

Smith recently completed a three-year program in ballet education at the Royal Academy of Dance, obtaining an honors degree.

"Among Catherine's skills is coaching, and her input will be invaluable in the coming weeks as our students prepare for taking Royal Academy of Dance examinations," says Executive Director Sue Peterson.

One of the unique opportunities of studying at Carolina Performing Arts Center is that students may choose to participate in the Royal Academy of Dance Presentation and Examination process occurring at the end of February. The students present to an outside examiner a body of work appropriate for their level and receive marks based on technique, musicality and performance in several styles of movement; classical ballet, free movement and character dance. The process is both informative and transformational as each dancer progresses to the next level with bench marks for improving in the next season and receives a certificate in recognition of her/his work.

Carolina Performing Arts Center is one of the premiere dance education and training centers in the Southeast. It is also one of only three dance schools in North Carolina offering the Royal Academy of Dance training with a faculty of professional dance instructors certified in their fields and recognized for excellence and commitment to safe teaching practices.

The Royal Academy of Dance is the foundational syllabus for all dance training at the Center. It engages children and adults with a solid and safe approach to movement as well as providing parents with a system of training by which to monitor their child's progress annually through the feedback of an objective examiner. The Royal Academy of Dance syllabus is especially beneficial to the young person (ages 2-and-a-half and up) because it recognizes the importance of play in movement; making the training child-friendly with appropriate music and movement for each developmental stage. The general framework of the syllabus engages the creativity and imagination of the young student while allowing for a wide range of skill levels making the dance experience a fun, joyful and yet, meaningful learning experience.

Carolina Performing Arts Center also offers instruction in tap, jazz, lyrical, modern and creative movement.

For more information about classes call (910) 695-7898.