Fabrice Maufrais
Fabrice trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School. He danced with the Nantes Opera Ballet and Scottish Ballet where he danced a wide range of soloist and principal roles from the classical and contemporary repertoire.
He started his teaching career at the Dance School of Scotland and then moved to the English National Ballet School in London. He then spent 10 years in Canada as the pedagogical director of the École Supérieure de Ballet du Quebec. Returning to Scotland in 2013 he joined the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland faculty. He has also worked internationally as a guest teacher in Japan, Australia and France. Fabrice is the director of the ballet school, The Studio.
His qualifications and awards include the Diploma from the Paris Opera Ballet School which includes certification in Anatomy and Physiology, the Dame Beryl Grey Award from the Royal Academy of Dance awarded for the highest mark in the RAD teaching qualification, and a PG Certificate in Learning and Teaching in the Arts – Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, with his thesis focusing on the anatomy of movement.
During his time both dancing and teaching Fabrice became aware of the benefits of the Gyrotonic method, especially for injury prevention and rehabilitative purposes. He is delighted to be able to offer the Gyrotonic method from his studio and is looking forward to meeting you all.
Penny Withers
Penny trained at the Royal Ballet School in London and moved to Scotland in 1985 to work with Scottish Ballet where she was Head of their Associate Programme for 23 years.
Whilst teaching ballet Penny has developed a keen interest in injury prevention, studying the anatomical causes of injuries and rehabilitative techniques in depth as part of a BPhil (Hons) degree. Poor physical alignment is a frequent cause of muscular imbalance, unproductive movement patterns and pain. At Scottish Ballet Penny has experienced first hand how effective the GYROTONIC® method is in addressing these issues.
Penny founded Penny Withers Studio in 2003 and the business has grown steadily since then. She is totally committed to updating and increasing her knowledge and frequently attends health related conferences and training programmes.
Penny also teaches ballet at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and is an Inspire tutor for the Royal Ballet School in London.
Katie Murray
Born in Ayrshire, Katie began her dance training at the Janice Marshall School of Dance. Katie went on to become a Junior Associate at Scottish Ballet before being educated at the Dance School of Scotland where she studied Ballet, Modern and Tap dance. In 2012, Katie was accepted into the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland on their BA Modern Ballet course.
After graduating Katie was invited to join Northern Ballet’s Graduate Professional Programme where she danced numerous roles with the company. Katie also performed classical and neo-classical works in Germany and the UK with JSLN Dance Company. During her time as a dancer Katie came to value the importance of strength and conditioning training which led her to take an interest in the GYROTONIC® method. Deciding that her passion lay outside of a performing career Katie decided to retrain as a Gyrotonic instructor and enjoys being part of the team at Fabrice Maufrais Studio.
Nicola Scholefield
Born in Glasgow, Nicola began dancing locally before progressing through the Scottish Ballet Associate Programme. Nicola completed her training at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (in partnership with Scottish Ballet), graduating with a BA Modern Ballet. During her time at the Conservatoire, Nicola was introduced to the GYROTONIC® method as a way to supplement her dance training.
Nicola has completed an MSc Dance Science and Education at the University of Edinburgh. Studying at postgraduate level has allowed Nicola to explore her interests in dance pedagogy, preventative dance medicine, performance psychology, and strength and conditioning physiology. Nicola’s research explores physical and mental recovery among dancers.
Nicola is thrilled to join Fabrice Maufrais Studio as a GYROTONIC® Trainer.
Bryony Robertson
Bryony was born and brought up in the beautiful Scottish Borders. Having attended local dance schools from an early age, she went on to join both the Scottish Ballet Associate Programme and Junior Conservatoire in Glasgow.
Whilst studying for her degree in Modern Ballet at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Bryony joined Scottish Ballet for 3 nationwide tours, including performances of Le Baiser de la Fée at the Royal Opera House. Bryony was also thrilled to work alongside Cas Public, a Montreal based Contemporary Company and to perform in Canada. She also took a module in teaching during her final year, during which she greatly enjoyed working with students of varying ages and levels of experience.
From early in her training Bryony benefited from the GYROTONIC® exercise method, she was lucky enough to learn from multiple trainers across Scotland. After a serious back injury, Bryony started to use GYROTONIC® exercises alongside physiotherapy, and found it essential to getting her back to training.
She is delighted to be joining the team at Fabrice Maufrais Studios as a GYROTONIC® Trainer.
