from her mother, Doreen Pokusa, founder of Doreen's School of the
Dance. Both Mimi and Doreen spent their summers in Carmel, studying
the Cecchetti method of ballet training. By age ten, Mimi had begun
ballet classes with Lynette Panganiban, a faculty member with the
San Francisco Ballet School, who remained her mentor and teacher
until Mimi entered college. It was under Ms. Panganiban's tutelage that
Mimi auditioned for and won a part in the New York City Ballet's
production of "The Nutcracker," performed in San Francisco at the War
Memorial Opera House. This was a rare opportunity to dance with
some of the most famous in the ballet world at that time. After
attending college at Diablo Valley and San Francisco State, Mimi
began her teaching career at the family studio. In 1970, Valerie Taylor,
a soloist with The Royal Ballet, presented a seminar on a new ballet
syllabus written by Dame Margot Fonteyn. Finding the RAD training
very exciting, Mimi studied intensively with Mary Conmee (one of the
founders of the American branch of the Royal Academy) and passed
the exams for membership. In 1979 Mimi was certified as a member of
Dance Masters of America and completed DMA's Teachers' Training
School in a three-year course of study. Mimi has maintained her
Continuing Education credits on a yearly basis ever since. She is also a
member of the Professional Dancers Society.
Dance Masters of America is an international organization of chapters
of dance teachers, certified by test to teach. Mimi is a past president of
Dance Masters of California and Parliamentarian, having served on the
DMC board of directors since 1982. She is also on the examination
committee for new members. Mimi has sat on the National Board of
Directors for Dance Masters of America as the DMC delegate for many
years, is a nationally certified examiner of new members and serves as
an adjudicator of competitions throughout the country. Mimi was
elected the National 2nd Vice President of DMA in the summer of
2002 and will become National President in 2006.
An advocate for theatre in both the schools and community, Mimi has
choreographed countless musicals for Antioch Junior High, Antioch High
School, Pittsburg Christian Center School, the Methodist Youth Group
touring company, and Antioch Repertory Theatre (formerly APAG). In
1999, she was nominated for a Shellie Award for her choreography of
"You're A Good Man , Charlie Brown."
Raising scholarship money for higher education has been the
community outreach goal of Doreen's School of the Dance for many
years. The range of recipients eligible now includes Antioch High, Deer
Valley High and Prospects High seniors, reaching many more students
than ever before. Mimi continues to produce the highest quality dance
recitals to fund these scholarships.
Mimi has three lovely daughters. Kymm has a B.A. in Dance,
performed with Limon 2 Dance Company and is currently the General
Manager of Courtside Athletic Club and Spa in Los Gatos. Leslie holds a
degree in Elementary Education and teaching credential and is on staff
at Mno Grant Elementary teaching third grade. Christi has a B.A. in
Dance, Social Science and a teaching credential. After building the
dance program at Deer Valley High, and Eagle Rock High in Los
Angeles. She currently teaches a full schedule of dance classes at
Millikin, an arts magnet middle school in Pasadena and dances for
Disney. All three have taught on the faculty of Doreen's School of the
Dance, proudly making it a three generation studio! Mimi is married to
Lorin White, one of Antioch Unified School District's most respected
music teachers. Lorin is now on staff at Prospects High School.
