Board of Examiners

Norine Brown, ARAD, AISTD, LCUSA, Examiner

Norine Brown received her early dance training in Vancouver, Canada, and furthered her education at the Hammond School of Dancing in Chester England where she attained diplomas in Modern, National, RAD Ballet, Imperial Ballet, Anatomy, and Ballroom.

She then joined a French touring company and traveled extensively, performing throughout Europe. Following her professional career as a dancer, she re-settled in Vancouver and began a career teaching ballet.

In 1986 along with husband Jeff, Ms. Brown moved to Sacramento, California. Since that time, she has undergone continual training and upgrading in the Cecchetti method, training with Shiela Darby, FISTD. Norine travels to workshops and summer courses throughout the USA and Canada where she teaches students and participates in teacher’s classes.

Ms. Brown has been an active Board Member of SADA (Sacramento Area Dance Alliance) for the past 20 years working in many capacities and is currently acting as Corresponding Secretary. SADA is a non-profit company that produces workshops and offers scholarships to local dance students.

Many of Norine’s former students have advanced their careers to become professional dancers with major Canadian and American Ballet companies. Norine enjoys teaching dance to all age groups whether they desire a professional career or are attending classes for pure enjoyment.

Norine has served on both the West Coast Committee and the Board of Directors of CUSA. She was appointed a National Examiner in 2017.

 

Judith Hawkesworth, FCUSA, FISTD, FCCA, Examiner, Administrator

Mrs. Hawkesworth holds her Fellowship with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance, London, England, Cecchetti USA and the Cecchetti Council of America. She currently sits on the CUSA Board of Directors, as Administrator and Membership Chair. She was appointed Examiner for Cecchetti USA in August 2012.

Mrs. Hawkesworth received her Cecchetti training from Elizabeth Baird, Aleta Davis, and Marnell Himes-Ushijima. She offers over fifty years of professional dance instruction experience which includes: preparing and presenting students for Cecchetti ballet examinations, creating a written syllabus for pre-school and primary levels, coaching classical variations, choreographing ballet production and competition pieces, producing and directing a fuil length “Nutcracker” for Ballet Etudes, a non-profit youth ballet company and training teachers in levels pre-school through advanced.

Judith served as Ballet Director for two highly respected Performing Arts and Commercial Dance schools in the Orange County, CA area for 20 years. She was a staff member of Huntington Academy of Dance, under the direction of Marnell Himes-Ushijima for 15 years.

Judith considers her proudest accomplishment her many former students who have gone on to embrace teaching as their chosen careers. Her vocation is to use her life experience and training as a dance educator to nurture the minds, bodies and spirits and enrich the lives of children through the love of dance.

In 2005 Judith relocated to South Carolina. She is currently a staff member at The Dance Place in Camden, directed by Ari Dickinson. 

 

Sylvia Palmer Zetler, FCUSA, Examiner

Ms. Zetler started dancing with Kay Armstrong in Vancouver, B.C. She won a scholarship to the National Ballet School in Toronto, and then was taken into the National Ballet of Canada. She also studied at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and with many of the foremost European teachers in London and Paris. Ms. Zetler performed for many years with the National Ballet of Canada and with the Canadian Opera and CBC TV in Toronto. She holds an MFA degree in Creative Teaching Techniques and is a Fellow and Examiner with CUSA. Ms. Zetler received two Canada Council of Arts grants devoted to the betterment of the dance arts. She is Head of the Dance Department of the California State Summer School of the Arts. Her students grace the stages of many companies in the US and Great Britain.

 

Denise Rinaldi, FCUSA, FISTD, Examiner

Denise Rinaldi has been involved with Cecchetti USA for approximately 34 years, currently serving as the Executive Director. She has been an active participant on the Western Committee (serving as secretary, bookstore coordinator, and then chairperson) and now serves on the board of directors. She has been examining for the organization for several years and greatly enjoys having that opportunity to see the wonderful work put forward by our member teachers as well as getting to know the members on a more personal basis. Ms. Rinaldi studied with a wide variety of teachers with her primary training in the Cecchetti method under the guidance of Sheila Darby. Her school annually submits students for Cecchetti exams and the company provides valuable performing experience throughout the year; most notably a full-length Nutcracker with an orchestra. In addition to running a school and a pre-professional ballet company, Ms. Rinaldi works at the University of California, Santa Barbara as a Project Manager for the student government. This position has gained her valuable expertise in leadership, organizational principles and human resources. As a senior manager for the Associated Students at UCSB Ms. Rinaldi oversees a budget of $9 million dollars, supervises their publications and computer departments and oversees a variety of campus projects. As the primary responsibility of the CUSA Executive Director is to oversee the business aspects of the organization, Ms. Rinaldi is happy to have the opportunity to use those management skills gained in her work at UCSB to benefit CUSA.

 

Betty Seibert, FCUSA, FISTD, Senior Examiner,
Maestro Cecchetti Final Diploma; Director of Examinations, CUSA,
Former Chair, Cecchetti International – Classical Ballet

Betty Seibert is honored to have served Cecchetti USA as Director of Examinations since 1994 and humbled to have been elected by her peers in 2008 as chair of Cecchetti International – Classical Ballet. Her teaching career – spanning five decades, four schools, and thousands of students – has been an extension of her unique background as a performer in her own right.

Ms. Seibert performed over a dozen leading roles in the classical ballet repertoire with the Florida Ballet Company and became a featured dancer for the Sarasota and Asolo Opera Companies before becoming involved with musical theatre. She performed professionally in musicals and in dramatic plays for 14 years as a member of the Actors Equity Association, where her favorite roles included Lola in Damn Yankees, Claudine in Can-Can, Dream Laurie in Oklahoma!, and Emilie in Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

In addition to performing, she has choreographed 32 dance concerts for her own studios, and over 40 musical theater productions for Equity summer stock, opera companies, dinner and community theatre, colleges, and performing arts high schools from Maine to Floria. In the theatrical world, Ms. Seibert first gained experience as a director, which she continues to employ as she serves as Artistic Director of Cecchetti Ballet Theatre. She also directed the DVD documenting the syllabus contained in the Maestro Cecchetti Final Diploma, released by Cecchetti USA in 2010.

As a performer, choreographer, director, teacher, and examiner, Ms. Seibert’s first priority has always been promoting the theatricality of dance as a true performing art, in the studio as well as on stage.