Astrid Sherman BIO
Astrid Sherman trained with Helen McBride, Joey Saayman, Kenny Smith and Beryl Alison in South Africa before graduating from the Pretoria Technikon School for the Performing Arts and dancing professionally with the NAPAC Ballet Company. After immigrating to Canada in 1997, she co-founded Pro Arte Centre in Vancouver BC, focusing her teaching in Classical and Contemporary Ballet and gaining her Fellowship teaching qualification (their 4th teaching examination) with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD). Her graduates were accepted into numerous companies and prestigious postgraduate programs within Canada, the United States and Europe including, to name a few: Juilliard, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Ballet BC, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Alberta Ballet, Philadanco, Ballet Theatre UK, Ballet Jorgen, Twyla Tharpe Dance, Joffrey Ballet, Rudra Bejart, Hungarian National Ballet, National Ballet School of Canada Graduate Program, Dutch National Ballet School, Rambert and Mark Morris Dance. Her students were awarded BC Provincial titles and often recognized for outstanding artistry and technical ability as finalists in internationally acclaimed competitions such as YAGP (New York), the Genée International, ADC IBC (USA), Ballet Beyond Borders (USA) and Tanzolymp (Germany).
After winning various choreography awards, Astrid was able to fulfill her commitment of using dance to affect change through choreography and collaboration using her Pro Arte and CatchingART company dancers in various projects with Cecil Hershler of Education without Borders for the “Global Arts Festivals”, “World Kindness Festivals” and “Woza” performances. She also worked closely with Canadian composer Michael Conway Baker for various commemorative pieces with the Lions Gate Sinfonia and the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra, and with Canada’s Gillian Hunt of Pandoras Vox & Espiritu choirs.
Astrid has a keen interest in dance science and holistic training for healthier and stronger dancers. She undertook a BSc in Kinesiology to increase her knowledge and awareness of sport science research that could be applied to dance. Her school was recognized for its Holistic Training Program. She has been selected and invited to present research and workshops at international conferences around the world including for the International Association of Dance Medicine & Science (IADMS) in Birmingham, Singapore, Pittsburgh, Houston & Montreal and Healthy Dancer Canada in Vancouver and Toronto. Her research has also been published in the Journal of Dance Medicine and Science and the IADMS Dance Teacher’s Bulletin. Astrid is currently serving on the Dance Educators’ Committee for IADMS and was the organizer for various regional IADMS conferences for teachers in Vancouver, Johannesburg and Cape Town (Mexico City is in plans for 2024). She has also coordinated various virtual Outreach events for IADMS in collaboration with Ballet Beyond Borders (BBB) and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance (ISTD) targeting teachers and competitive dancers.
August 2019 saw Astrid relocating to Los Angeles, California and taking on the new role of International Representative with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) for North America, Mexico & the Caribbean. She completed an MA in Professional Practice at Middlesex University in 2021 and continues to act as the Dancer Wellness Advisor for Ballet Beyond Borders. Currently in 2023, residing between LA, Spain and Vancouver, Astrid enjoys guest teaching both her choreography and philosophy of ArtisticSTRONG dance science training for young dancers at local schools as well as mentoring a handful of young up and coming young dancers privately via Zoom.