Spanish Dance Society USA Chapter records

The Spanish Dance Society USA is a chapter of the international organization, the Spanish Dance Society. The society was founded in South Africa in 1965 by a group of dance teachers who wanted to set a standard for Spanish dance instruction and performance. What was created was a structured method of training and certification involving six junior grades, three senior grades, and two levels for teacher certification. Instruction includes basic dance maneuvers, as well as knowledge of the music, costumes, and history of the dances.

The Spanish Dance Society has chapters in Australia, Brazil, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, England, and the United States of America. The USA chapter was founded by Marina Keet in Washington, DC in 1982. The classes are taught at the George Washington University and considered part of the regular curriculum. Dancers from the Washington, DC chapter have performed at the Spanish Embassy, the Smithsonian Institution, the Kennedy Center, and the Julliard School in New York, as well as other prominent institutions throughout the United States and the world.

Marina Keet Grut is one of the founding members of the Spanish Dance Society. She studied and taught at the Ballet School at the University of Cape Town in South Africa during the 1960s and most of the 1970s. In 1977, Mrs. Keet Grut and her husband moved to Italy, where she founded the first chapter of the society outside of South Africa. After moving to the United States with her husband in 1981, Marina Keet Grut founded the USA chapter in Washington, DC the following year. While in DC, Mrs. Keet Grut taught dance at The George Washington University, organized Society events, and worked with other teachers to revise the instruction syllabi.

Marina Keet Grut has taught Spanish dance throughout Europe and the United States. The Hispanic Institute for the Performing Arts has honored her, as well as the King of Spain, who named her as a Dame of the Order of Queen Isabel of Spain, which is the highest honor bestowed upon non-Spaniards. She is the author of two books, Spanish Dance (1975), and The History of Ballet in South Africa (1981), and of numerous papers and articles. She now lives in London and is actively involved with the European branch of the Spanish Dance Society.