About Tibor

Tibor Horvath

Once in a while in our lives, we meet someone who is truly inspirational, someone who makes you believe in yourself, who seems to know how to extract the very best out of you. Someone who makes you feel, even without words said, that no matter what your goal is, it is an important one. I am really fortunate to be taught ballet by such a kind of person. When it comes to dancing skills, there is no doubt that Tibor has it in bucket loads – his professional achievements as a dancer are testament to that. But not all great dancers become outstanding teachers. And not all teachers are passionate about what they do.

Tibor’s passion for teaching just bubbles over. You can’t be in one of his classes and not notice how much he loves what he is doing. The care he takes to explain everything, to correct, to encourage, to chide and to praise – does not escape us, his students, and we love him and his classes for it.  The one thing he doesn’t take lightly is lack of effort, at the same time, it’s not just hard work and no fun in his classes.  There is always a lot of warmth in his classes, and an air of shared camaraderie amongst us all– he jokes with us, exaggerates our mistakes and can sometimes be harsh in his criticisms, but he is also very precise about every step and detail, and once the music starts, we know that the best is expected of us.

As I start on my 52-week challenge with Tibor’s guidance and encouragement, what I’m finding is that it’s not just ballet steps and positions that I’m perfecting. More than anything, I’m learning about attitude, mindset, discipline and passion – and I’m constantly amazed at how these lessons are being passed on – especially when I least expect it.

In this recent article, the journalist refers to Tibor as a master craftsman at work. Having been at the receiving end of whatever it is that he does in honing our bodies - our dance instruments - I could not agree more with the description. 

Update: April 2012 - To find out more about Tibor's views on teaching adults ballet and what drives his passion and way of teaching, do read this interview by Damian Hannan and this milestone blog profiling Tibor.