Our Royal Academy of Dance Certified Faculty
Experienced and Professionally Trained
Vivienne Lim, DBA (Switzerland) RAD RTS (UK)
Artistic Director
Dr. Vivienne Lim’s journey—from Kuala Lumpur to New York City—is a testament to resilience, curiosity, and quiet dedication. Her dance career began humbly at age three under London’s Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), where certification was earned not through innate talent but relentless perseverance. In New York, mentors like Ballet Master Christine Neubert and Royal Ballet icon Valerie Taylor-Barnes instilled in her the ethos that artistry thrives in service to others. Performances with the Neubert Dance Company and Carnegie Ballet were not personal triumphs but collaborative milestones shared with peers—each a lesson in discipline and heart.
Teaching became a natural extension of her purpose. While balancing corporate work, she found profound fulfillment in guiding young dancers. At the University of Surrey, UK, she earned a teaching credential in dance teaching (ballet), merging theory with practice. As Dance Program Director at Santa Monica’s Studio No. 1, three decades evolved into a legacy: students excelling in RAD exams, competing at the Youth American Grand Prix, and securing scholarships to institutions like the Royal Danish Ballet and Opera de Paris. Their achievements, she emphasizes, are collective victories—forged by familial support, mentors’ dedication, and students’ unwavering resolve.
Driven by intellectual curiosity, she pursued a Global Doctorate in Business Administration in Geneva, exploring intersections between art and commerce. Studies at Oxford, NYU, and the Royal Ballet School broadened her worldview, while UN certifications in diplomacy and international law refined her commitment to cross-cultural understanding.
In 2022, the International Etiquette Protocol Academy of London honored her as Hawaii’s first licensed consultant in international etiquette and diplomacy. She later advanced her expertise at Institut Villa Pierrefeu in Montreux, Switzerland.
The Royal Academy of Ballet, now celebrating 15 years, stands not as a personal achievement but as a shared vision realized with students and colleagues. Here, artistic rigor meets cultural empathy, empowering youth to engage the world with curiosity and compassion.
Dr. Lim’s story is one of collaboration—a tapestry woven by mentors’ wisdom, students’ perseverance, and a steadfast belief in dance’s power to unite. She remains humbled by those who shaped her path and inspired by the enduring grace her students embody. Every accolade, to her, is a tribute to the communities that lifted her and the future leaders who will carry this legacy forward.
Gillian Davis ARAD (UK), RAD RTS (UK), RAD Dual Examiner (UK)
Board member Dance Masters of Florida (USA)
Guest Master Teacher
Gillian Davis was trained and danced professionally at the Royal Ballet, London, and with the Rhodesian National Ballet. She has directed and owned dance studios in Rhodesia, South Africa, and the USA and has taught at a renowned vocational school in England. She has been an examiner for the Royal Academy of Dance for 34 years, being the only Graded and Vocational Examiner in the USA and an R.A.D. Tutor. She has entered students for RAD examinations every year for 53 years.
Gillian has recently been a Life Member of the Royal Academy of Dance. Until opening her studio in Florida in 1995, Gillian was Director of Ballet Mississippi School and Youth Company and Assistant Ballet Mistress for their professional company. Following that, she taught at June Taylor's School of Dance and for the North West Dance Theater in Portland, Oregon, where she was also the Chairperson of the North-Western Regional Panel of the R.A.D.
She has choreographed for ballet companies, stage productions, musicals, and competitions, and her choreography has been selected for the Regional Ballet Association's South Easter Festival. She has been a faculty member of noted summer schools in the USA and abroad and is an instructor of teachers. Mrs. Davis was commissioned to direct and present a Gala Demonstration for more than 600 students from the age of 5 to the professional level at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Most summers, she travels to the Royal Academy of Dance and, in the past few years, has examined Thailand, Taiwan, China, Canada, Germany, and Bermuda, to name a few.
Ms. Gillian offers advanced classes at RAB to students preparing for the RAD exams. We are honored to have such a high-caliber teacher at RAB.
