Since 1989
Since opening in 1989 the Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Ballet’s
fundamental philosophy promises to help motivate each individual dancer to reach their full and unique potential. At our dance school, close attention is paid to the aesthetic of our dancers to ensure dance remains a vessel of expression and inspiration on both the performer’s and viewer’s behalf. We continually try our hardest to expose students to exciting opportunities for growth, such as school shows and TV performances, festival and charity openings, as well as professional stage productions. The school has seen students make incredible progression and evolve into dancers of unparalleled passion and technique. The creation of the youth ballet company, Degas Ballet, is just one example of this; the group performed The Nutcracker in 1999, and with expanding international affiliations, this experience has been undeniably rewarding and worthwhile for those involved.
International experiences, artists and teachers are intrinsic ingredients contributing to our school ethos.
Senior students have the opportunity to attend international dance courses in the U.K. Italy, Spain and France. These include courses at the Arts Educational Cecchetti School in Tring, Urdang Academy in Covent Garden, Ballet West in Scotland, Dance College of Cornwall, U.K., Broadway A Tropea, Italy, Dance Movement Bari, Italy, Kledi Kadu Academy, Rome, Italy, Conservatoire de Danse in Paris, France; the latter seven awarding fifteen scholarships to Miss Brigitte’s students.
In 2000, two senior students were chosen to perform at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London and a group of twenty-two younger students attended Summer School at Ballet West. In the Summer of 2004, Miss Brigitte travelled with nine students to another summer course in the UK: the Dance College of Cornwall. Since then, students have travelled to Italy, Spain and France to attend International dance courses run by renowned teachers.
A total of fourteen International Summer Schools have been held at the school’s studios. The International guest artists hosted include Lisa Aldrige, Gillian Hurst, Amanda Eyles, Inge Arro, Christina Hughes, Ian Mackenzie Stuart, Terence Etheridge, Irena Zbornic, Svetlana Sivak, Mavin Khoo and Ivelina Dimitrova ballerina from the National Bulgarian Ballet Company, who is now a faculty member.
The Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Ballet is an establishment which is continuously evolving. While remaining loyal to the tradition of dance, the dance school encourages the utmost vibrancy and confidence within its dancers. Such maintenance of high-quality standards is evidenced through consistently excellent Cecchetti results throughout our thirty-year history.
Our Studios
In 2003, the Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Ballet’s dance studios moved premises to Old College Street, Sliema. Once a Jesuit college, this prestigious building was transformed into one of the leading dance studios in Malta for dancers, performers and audiences to be immersed in the world of dance.
All our dance studios are fully equipped with sprung floors, pianos, barres, mirrors and air conditioners, with one studio boasting a theatre with a seating capacity of one-hundred people. Each studio has its own changing area with full changing and washing facilities. Students also have access to a common room equipped with an audiovisual studio, a video library, a dance shop, wardrobe and practice room.
Renovations are currently underway to link each dance studio to the audiovisual studio to allow all classes, rehearsals and performances to be recorded in order to enhance the technique and performance quality of students and teachers alike. The faculty gather in the staff room with a viewing gallery overlooking the theatre studio and a living area for foreign guest teachers.
Such facilities provide a stimulating and creative environment, conducive to engagement on behalf of all those involved and encourage students of all ages and levels join our community of dancers.
The Faculty
The dance school takes great pride in providing our students with a teaching faculty that share an unwavering passion for dance. All teachers are carefully selected and commit to guiding dancers productively and creatively. Our team includes performers who are active on the stage, highly experienced former members of leading ballet schools and dance companies, prize-winning ballerinas, and international tutors.
Brigitte Gauci Border is a Licentiate of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, London and Director and Founder of the Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Dance, Degas Ballet and International Ballet Malta. Brigitte’s extensive training in Malta, Rome and London includes time with the Tanya Bayona Poutiatine Academy, studying Classical Ballet, Modern Jazz, Contemporary and Spanish Dance.
Whilst a student at the Academy, Brigitte was awarded a medal of Distinction by Cecchetti examiner Laura Wilson. She performed in numerous productions including the first Maltafest at Hagar Qim Temples in 1979, with dancers directed by Denis Stall and also danced in the first International Summer School performance in 1983, at San Anton Gardens with Durek Purnell and Anya Evans from the Royal Ballet. Brigitte continuously attended international dance courses in London, Italy, France and Malta under the direction of very distinguished dance teachers. In 1982, she won a scholarship to the National Rome Academy where she furthered her studies in Classical Ballet and, in 2007, was awarded a scholarship to the Hungarian Dance Academy in Budapest.
Brigitte has been teaching ballet for over thirty years and has organised thirty international workshops with teachers from London, Scotland, Wales, Russia, Bulgaria, Germany, Finland, Ukraine, Malaysia, Japan, South Africa, Hungary, Holland, France, Brazil and New York.
In recent years she has collaborated with principal artistes from The Royal Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Ballet West, Ballet Russe, Stuttgart Ballet, National Ballet Company of Bulgaria, Rimsky Korsakov Ballet St Petersburg and K Ballet Company Tokyo, producing full-length ballets at the Manoel Theatre and Mediterranean Conference Centre.
Brigitte’s skilled choreography has taken her to England, Italy, Germany, Spain and Latvia. She has been involved in choreographies for the EU accession celebrations at the opera in Riga and her choreographies have won three international competitions in Malta, Sicily and Barcelona.
From 2000 to 2002, Brigitte was a member of the dance committee at St. James Cavalier and, since 2011, has been participating on the Board of Pjazza Teatru Rjal; inviting artists from top companies such as The Royal Ballet, Ballet Black, Ballet Rambert, Random Dance, Royal Swedish Ballet and New York City dancer Antonio Franceschi to perform in Malta. Other companies include Notic Dance Company from Germany, Ballet D’Europe from France and, most recently, an Armenian dance show.
In 2017, Brigitte was asked to be one of the founding members of International Ballet Malta collaborating with dancers from The Royal Ballet and Bolshoi Theatre*. In recent years Brigitte has been invited by overseas directors to judge and teach at international dance festivals in Sicily, London and Germany.
*The International Ballet Malta Programme offers a select opportunity to boys and girls from the age of nine, providing them with periodical training sessions conducted by professionals from renowned ballet companies, whilst continuing studies with their regular dance schools.
Tatiana was born in St Petersburg, Russia. In 1987, she graduated from the prestigious Vaganova Ballet Academy, before working as a soloist for 10 years with various ballet companies. During this time, she performed numerous roles, including: Myrtha in Giselle, Gamzatti in La Bayadere, Odile and Pas de trois in Swan Lake, and the Fairy of Temperament, Fairy of Wit and Diamond Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty. She had also danced variations in a number of ballets, including Paquita, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, the Little Humpbacked Horse and the Fountain of Bakchisirai, among many others.
Throughout her career, Tatiana has toured in many countries, including Bulgaria, Spain, France, England, Belgium, Holland and Japan. In 1996, she came on tour to Malta, where she met her husband-to-be. She now lives on the sunny island of Malta with her husband, four beautiful daughters, and a King Charles Cavalier. Tatiana now passes on her valuable knowledge to the students’ at Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Dance where she has been teaching Classical Ballet and Repertoire for the past 5 years. She also coaches students privately, preparing them for international dance competitions such as the renowned YAGP.
Claudia Preca began classical ballet training under the tuition of Ms Daphne Lungaro. In 1991, she was awarded the Daphne Lungaro Cup Esteem Award for effort and hard work. In 1996, she joined the Lillian Attard Ballet School, obtaining her Advanced and Associate of the Royal Academy of Dance. In 1998, Claudia joined the Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Dance, passing all the major Cecchetti examinations, as a dancer, with distinction. Claudia has performed on the school’s stage numerous times, including parts in the Nutcracker Suite, Dance Power 1 and 2, Scrooge, Coppelia, Fame and Paquita, as well as the Millennium Celebrations, and the opening of the St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity in 2000.
Claudia was the first student from the Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Dance to qualify as a ballet teacher, obtaining her Associate in 2001 and her Associate Diploma in 2004. She has been teaching at the Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Dance for twenty years and currently teaches classical ballet to both junior and senior students.
Natalia is a Brazilian former dancer with 16 years work experience as a professional ballet teacher.
She graduated as a professional ballerina with Advanced 2 exam of Royal Academy of Dance under the guidance of Ilara Lopes (ARAD); Natalia studied Classical Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Jazz Dance and Stretching for dancers with renowned Brazilian teachers and performed in two contemporary companies in São Paulo.
Natalia graduated in Dance at Anhembi Morumbi University (bachelor and specialty degrees), and throughout her career as a teacher, taught in many schools in the city of São Paulo/Brazil. She specialized in some methods such as: Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) Registered Teacher with an international Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies (CBTS), (PBT) Progressive Ballet Technique, Xtend Barre and Body Dance Progress.
Natalia has lived in Malta since 2020 and she’s been teaching Classical Ballet to children, teens and adults; Aerial Slings and Aerial Dance; Stretching/Mobility and Body Barre fitness.
She graduated as a professional ballerina with Advanced 2 exam of Royal Academy of Dance under the guidance of Ilara Lopes (ARAD); Natalia studied Classical Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Jazz Dance and Stretching for dancers with renowned Brazilian teachers and performed in two contemporary companies in São Paulo.
Natalia graduated in Dance at Anhembi Morumbi University (bachelor and specialty degrees), and throughout her career as a teacher, taught in many schools in the city of São Paulo/Brazil. She specialized in some methods such as: Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) Registered Teacher with an international Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies (CBTS), (PBT) Progressive Ballet Technique, Xtend Barre and Body Dance Progress.
Natalia has lived in Malta since 2020 and she’s been teaching Classical Ballet to children, teens and adults; Aerial Slings and Aerial Dance; Stretching/Mobility and Body Barre fitness.
Julia
Rebecca discovered her passion for dance later in life, beginning her serious training at the age of 16. Despite starting later, dance quickly became a significant part of her journey. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Dance Studies from the University of Malta, where her primary training focused on Ballet and Contemporary dance. However, the styles that have captured her heart and that she has dedicated the most time to are Commercial and Jazz Funk.
Rebecca’s dance career has taken her beyond Malta, allowing her to train abroad, including at some of the most renowned studios in Los Angeles, such as Millennium Dance Complex, IAF, and Playground, where she completed several months of intensive training. She has had the privilege of learning from esteemed choreographers like Hamilton Evans, Shane Sparks, Jake Kodish, Kyle Hanagami, and many others. Her career is also highlighted by exciting performance opportunities, including appearances on X-Factor Malta and participation in Red Bull Dance Your Style.
As a choreographer, Rebecca has played a key role in the University Student’s Fest for three consecutive years, as well as various school shows and performances. Most recently, she has been honoured to choreograph the summer dance for the global company EF - Education First for the last three years.
In her teaching career, Rebecca has shared her expertise at several prestigious dance schools, including Academy of Dance Arts, Dance Academy, Nicky's Dance Studio, Dancel, and of course most recently at Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Dance, where she has been a dedicated instructor for the past three years. With over a decade of teaching experience, Rebecca remains deeply passionate about dance and is committed to inspiring and nurturing the next generation of dancers.
Victoria started her ballet training at Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Dance at the age of 6 passing all her Cecchetti ballet exams with Distinction, excelling in her performances with main dancing roles. At the age of 11 Victoria successfully auditioned to continue her classical dance studies and training at the famous Vaganova Ballet Academy in St Petersburg Russia, one of the best ballet academy’s in the world. There she studied under the directorship of Nikolay Tsiskaridze and the Artistic Director is Zhanna Ayupova. Whilst a student at the academy she performed in several ballets with the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky Theatres. Victoria graduated in 2020 the year when the pandemic broke out which caused all the theatres to close. Victoria came back to Malta and is now teaching classical ballet to the juniors and the adult beginners at the Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Dance.
Cosme began his dance journey in 2008 at the age of 8 at the Oficina Escola de Artes de Nova Friburgo, where he graduated as a professional dancer at 16, obtaining his professional certification with a specialization in Jazz Broadway in 2016. Alongside training in classical ballet under the Vaganova method, Cosme also pursued studies in contemporary dance, jazz, and more.
Throughout his career, Cosme has participated in numerous workshops with highly acclaimed instructors in the dance scenes of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the age of 13, he began teaching, starting with Baby Class, which led him to further studies in psychomotricity. By 18, he founded his own dance school, In-Tempore, where he taught, directed, and choreographed for 10 years. During this period, he participated in various national and international competitions and festivals.
Since 2022, Cosme has been teaching dance to adults in Malta, offering classes in ballet, stretching, jazz, contemporary, and dance fusion. Additionally, in 2023, he was invited to lead a street dance workshop at MCAST during their summer school program.
Kylie Vella is a passionate and experienced dance instructor with a deep love for movement and self-expression.
Specializing in Contemporary, Jazz and Hip-Hop, she has been dancing for over 15 years, and has been teaching and guiding students of all ages and skill levels.
Kylie believes in nurturing confidence and technique while fostering a positive and fun learning environment. Whether working with beginners or advanced dancers, she strives to inspire students to reach their full potential through the art of dance.
