Robyne Watkin received her formal training at the The Royal Academy of Dance in her native Johannesburg South Africa, graduating with honors and her teaching certification. Prior to embarking on a career in teaching and coaching she performed professionally with P.A.C.T Ballet Company in South Africa continuing her extensive career as a principal dancer with major companies in London, Paris, Vienna, and Israel.
Throughout her fifteen year tenure with the Hartford Ballet Company, Watkin performed major roles in the full-length classics and contemporary works by major choreographers and held the positions of Ballet Mistress and Principal Company Teacher and was Co-Director of Hartford Ballet Chamber Company. Her teaching credits include resident and guest positions at Boston conservatory, Cleveland Ballet Company, Dance Caravan USA, Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company, P.A.C.T Ballet Company, Hartford Ballet Company, Connecticut College, and Adjunct Professor Yale University of Music.
Since 2000 she has been on the Faculty of Connecticut College Dance Department and continues to teach at universities and cultural institutions internationally, serving as an adjudicator and master teacher. Watkin has served on the board of the Connecticut Commission on the Arts and as a panelist for the Connecticut Commission on Film, Culture, and Tourism. She served as a Vice President for the Connecticut Dance Alliance, Program Director for Dance Services Network, School Improvement Council West Hartford Schools, and is an affiliated artist of Charter Oak Cultural Center and Royal Academy of Dance London. Watkin has presented on Public Access TV and Public Radio and at the Leadership Greater Hartford alumni Association.
"Dancing is a body language that translates the imagination into a visceral form of personal expression.”