HAMILTON, Bermuda, January 18, 2007 - The National Dance Foundation of Bermuda and PartnerRe will be presenting the second in the PartnerRe Master Class and Teacher Training Series this weekend at the dance facilities of Bermuda High School on Richmond Road .

The classes and workshops, which feature master teachers from ballet and modern dance companies, are offered to dancers and teachers free of charge as a result of PartnerRe's sponsorship. Over 100 students and teachers have registered for the classes which will be held from Friday, January 19 to Sunday, January 21.

Returning to Bermuda to teach ballet classes for Young Dancer and Intermediate levels are Franco De Vita, Director of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Ballet and Raymond Lukens, senior faculty member at the same school.

Mr. De Vita and Mr. Lukens said that they are delighted that there will be many new participants this weekend and are looking forward to reuniting with the dancers and teachers who have attended their classes and seminars previously.

Joining the ballet masters is João Maurício Carvalho, a Fulbright Scholar, former principal dancer with the Paul Taylor Dance Company and now a faculty member of the Paul Taylor Dance School .

"We are delighted with the response we've received from students who have registered for the master classes,'" said Don Kramer, Chairman of the National Dance Foundation. "There is a waiting list for the Young Dancer classes and the Intermediate level ballet and modern classes are almost full.

"While we have many returning students, we have many new students who have never participated in the master classes. We aim to offer a variety of dance styles to the students and the students are clearly pleased with the choice of classes they have during this series."

"PartnerRe is pleased to make this opportunity available to the Bermuda dance community, " said Patrick Thiele, President and Chief Executive Officer of PartnerRe. "The broad reach of the programme means that any student who is passionate about dance has an opportunity to study with some of the best teachers in the world."

The National Dance Foundation of Bermuda is a registered charity and a company limited by guaranty whose mission is to raise the standard of dance excellence in Bermuda by providing world-class training to Bermuda 's talented dancers, teachers and choreographers. More information about the Foundation and its programmes can be found at www.dancebermuda.org or by calling 236-3319.