Member Profile

Elizabeth Albright

Elizabeth Albright, was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and began dancing with Pamela Rutledge at the early age of 4. As a young teen she passed her Cecchetti student grade VI Intermediate exam with Rutledge as her coach. In addition, she attended the Cecchetti Council summer workshop at Michigan State and the Cleveland School of Ballet. She also attended the summer dance intensive at Interlochen and was runner up for a full scholarship. With all of Elizabeth's hard work paying off, she was selected to dance in the Nutcracker, 3 years in a row, with the Pittsburg Ballet.

Elizabeth studied 'modern' and 'ballet' at New York University, and received a BFA in dance. While earning her degree, she was privileged to study with accomplished, diverse, and well known choreographers such as Doug Varone, Doug Elkins, Ann Carlson, Cassandra Pfifer and James Martin to name a few. After graduation, she performed with Gus Solomans Jr. Dance Company at Lincoln Center, was featured as a dancer on VH-1, and began her teaching career at Ballet East in Manhattan.

In 1998, Elizabeth moved from New York to Chicago and brought her love of teaching dance to DancEd dance center, in Northbrook, IL. Soon she added the 'director of dance' to her repertoire while leading the dance program at the Itasca Park District for 7 years. While in Itasca she taught ballet, jazz, tap, modern, musical theater and creative movement, training children from the ages 3 to teen and adults, also directed such productions as Cinderella and The Four Seasons. Her passion to perform had not abandoned her, during this time she also teamed up with long time dance partner and friend, Beth McNeill, who had also moved to Chicago, and they began their own modern dance company called BeaM Dance Co. Their performances traveled throughout the Midwest and parts of the east coast for 5 years.

Elizabeth has been a member of the Midwest Cecchetti Council since 2008 and has passed her Grade VII Advanced teachers exam with Karla Harris as her coach. Annually attending the summer intensive workshops at Hope College in Holland, MI with the Cecchetti Council of America is a wonderful experience she looks forward to every year. She is fortunate to have the opportunity to train dancers at Mohler Dance Academy in Bloomingdale, IL along with privately coaching students to take their Cecchetti exams. Elizabeth is a firm believer in the Cecchetti method and what it represents. "I have been a part of this method since I started ballet. It is in my blood and in my heart. All of the work and struggles put into passing an exam is worth it when the movement just becomes part of your body and when you can pass on the elegant style and the details to your students. I get joy when I incline my head and I feel beautiful in the pas de chat position. Such simple placements of the body, that have taken years to perfect. To me, these fine techniques are what really make the Cecchetti method an art form, an art form that I can be proud of as a dancer myself, but even more so as a teacher. I look forward to being a part of the Cecchetti movement and sharing it for the rest of my life."