Karen Anne Morell has been named an honored member in arts by Princeton Premier.

PRLog (Press Release) – Oct 07, 2008 – Karen Anne Morell is recently retired from an exemplary career as director of the Academy of Classical Ballet in Oakland, California.  Karen was the director of the academy for over thirteen years, teaching up to seventeen classes per week and providing leadership and management of daily operations. She was responsible for choreographing many works for the Academy’s annual school concerts selecting and editing music for her ballets, designing costumes and conducting all rehearsals in preparation for those programs. She was also responsible for running and maintaining a 501(c3) non-profit organization for the Academy. Prior to opening the Academy in Sept. 1992, she danced in the NYC Ballet for over nine years. She then left that company and moved to Europe in the summer of 1971, where she danced as a soloist with the Dutch National Ballet. There, she was the victim of a severe fall during a rehearsal, injuring herself, injuring herself in a way that meant the end of her performance career. She then determined that she would teach in the most responsible way possible by applying for and winning a Fulbright scholarship to study at the Vaganova Choreographic Institute in Leningrad, USSR. She was the first American ever admitted to the Pedagogic Department of that institute and completed her exams on Jan. 10th 1978. She is the only American fully certified to teach the Vaganova method. Ms. Morell then returned to Europe and began a teaching career that eventually led her to Oakland, CA. In 1983, she began presenting Vaganova seminars for teachers in an effort to disseminate this extremely rare and valuable information and improve the general standards of teaching. She continued to present annual seminars for twenty years. Ms. Morell attributes her success to determination, perseverance and a passion for the art of classical ballet. She retired in Sept. 2005 and now lives in Arizona.

In recognition of an exceptional career in the arts, Karen Anne Morell is being included in the 2008/2009 Princeton Premier Registry alongside the most prominent business leaders and professionals of every industry, from around the globe.