Tracey McNiven
Tracey McNiven joined up with Joanne Bobrow and Dancers Studio in 1999. She has been training and entering pupils in RAD examinations, choreographing and training pupils for Eisteddfods, Festivals, Bursaries and major productions for over 20 years.
Joanne and Tracey have both been invited to choreograph for the Val Whyte Bursary on numerous occasions. She has assisted with choreographing, rehearsing and preparing Dancers junior pupils for guest appearances in Born To Preform and the JHB Ballet Company productions of Nutcracker, Copellia, Snow White, Gizelle, Sleeping Beauty, Carmen and Cinderella.
Tracey enjoys researching, googling and constantly learning innovative ideas and techniques to embrace teaching the 20th century child. She implemented these creative ideas in teaching pupils over Zoom classes during the National Lockdown. On return to the studio she underwent training to become a COVID 19 compliance officer and implicated all the correct protocol and procedures at the studio.
Tracey is a full member of the Royal Academy of Dance and the National Society of Dance Teachers (NSDT). She was on the NSDT subcommittee and ran the back stage at Concour festival for over 5 years.
Tracey started dancing at the age of 3 ½ with Dame Ivy Conmee. At the age of 10 she started training with Felicity Haynes and Barbara Chonin. Tracey completed all her RAD grade and vocational exams up to and including Advanced 2 (ARAD), as well as the Dance in Education Syllabus Exams (DES).
After matriculating Tracey studied at Pretoria Technikon, for 3 years, and completed her National Diploma in Ballet: studying Ballet, Contemporary, Spanish, Jazz and History of Music, Ballet and theatre as well as Ballet Theory, Anatomy and Dance Aesthetics.
She studied under Gillian Joubert, Lorna Haupt, Vicky Karras, Ken Yeatman, Sonya Mayo, Robin Orlin, Debbie Rakusin and Pat Gush.
She has danced and preformed for various choreographers, to name a few, Bruce Simpson, Nigel Hannah, David Krugel, Graham Gardner, Gillian Joubert, Debbie Rakusin and Robin Orlin. She also performed at the Grahamstown Festival and numerous Dance Umbrella’s
After graduating in 1990 Tracey began her teaching career with Felicity Haynes and Barbara Chonin, where she completed her RAD Teachers Diploma with distinction, under the guidance of Hilary Kaplan.
Tracey enjoys Backstage Managing and has worked on numerous productions at the State theatre and Roodeport theatre, Naledi Theatre, WITS theatre and UJ.
Tracey also studied aerobics, body conditioning and stretch / tone with FITCO. She has taught at many gyms around Johannesburg as well as competing in the S.A Aerobic Pairs Championships in 1993 where she won gold for provincial and a bronze in National.
She is married to Alex and has two girls – Ariella and Brigitta who both have the love of dance and theatre in the blood.
