Kathryn Austin, R.D.E.

    is the Owner/Director of the Centre for Dance & the Performing Arts and the owner of the dance apparel store, Geared to Dance which have served the West Orange and Lake county communities in Florida for the past 17 years. Ms. Austin has 27 years of teaching experience in the private sector, University, public school system and community education as well as frequent guest teaching, lecture demonstration, artist-in-residence and conference presentations to her credit. Ms. Austin is a freelance writer for the Nationally-distributed magazine, Dancer , authoring the column, Let's Talk Dance, for the past 13 years. She is a former Board member of the Florida Dance Association and has taught on the faculty of the Florida Dance Festival and the Middle School Dance Festival. Ms. Austin is also a former board member of the National Dance Association and past Editor of Spotlight on Dance . In October of 2005, Austin was awarded the Outstanding Dance Educator Award for the Private Sector at the NDEO National Conference in Buffalo , NY . Austin is an active member of several state and national dance organizations and is a frequent presenter and guest speaker at conferences throughout the United States . Ms. Austin is recognized as a Registered Dance Educator , holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance Performance from Florida State University and a Master's degree in Dance from the University of Hawaii-Manoa. Ms. Austin is a certified Fellow of the British Association of Teachers of Dancing , coaching over 50 Scottish Highland Dance students and competitors. In addition to her teaching and writing, Ms. Austin is a freelance choreographer having worked for Nickelodeon, Universal Studios - Florida , the Orlando Magic, the Florida Motion Picture Association and various musical theatre productions. CDPA is extremely active in the community which is an important element of Austin 's philosophy as is the feeling of "family" within the studio. Ms. Austin is a strong advocate of Cancer Awareness and supports the American Cancer Society through corporate donations as well as sponsoring a CDPA Relay For Life team for the past 7 years.

Ms. Kathryn (as she is known in the community) is a very active member of the First United Methodist Church of Winter Garden. She has three children, Caitlin (16), Matthew (10) and Ryan (7).

B.F.A. Dance Performance (Florida State University)
M.A. in Dance & Theatre (University of Hawaii-Manoa)
Florida Dance Association, Member and Past Board Member
National Dance Association, Member and Past Board Member
National Dance Education Organization , Board Member 2007
British Association of Teachers of Dancing, Fellow
Federation of United States Teachers and Adjudicators
International Association of Dance Medicine and Science
Society of Dance History Scholars
National Registry of Dance Educators, Charter Member

Licensed and Certified, Lebed Method Instructor