Our Legacy
In September 1999, Beal’s dance program (formerly part of the Phys. Ed Dept.) combined with the Beal’s drama program (formerly part of the English Dept.) to become H. B. Beal’s Dramatic Arts and Dance Department. Since that time, the department has been at the forefront as innovators in performing arts education within Thames Valley District School Board.
The Beal Dance and Dramatic Arts Department offers courses from the Grade 9 to Grade 12 level in its core studies of dramatic arts and dance (ballet, jazz and modern); however this department also offers courses in directing, choreography, and repertory which allow students to further enhance their skills as young artists and leaders.
Tracey Iddison-Gubbels has served as the Department Head since 2007 working with the highly skilled team of performance educators Lana Agostini (former Beal Alumni) and Jessica Dawson as our full-time staff. Together these teachers, and their predecessors Eric Brandsma, James Patterson, Megan Moorhouse and Karen Hypes, have worked with Beal students for the past 40 years to produce multiple major performance showcases each semester.
In 2001, Beal Drama, Dance and Music launched the Beal Musical Theatre Program, the first of its kind in the Thames Valley District School Board. Students in this program audition for admission to specialized courses in Drama, Dance and Music which lead to major Musical Productions. The production history of Beal Musical Theatre includes: Footloose (2002), Les Miserables (2003), Children of Eden (2005), Beauty and the Beast (2006), All Shook Up (2008), Into the Woods (2009), Fame (2010), Phantom of the Opera (2011), Hairspray (2012), Once on This Island (2013), The Music Man (2014), West Side Story (2015), Mary Poppins (2016), Pippin (2017), Shrek (2018), A Chorus Line (2019), Theory of Relativity (2022), Mamma Mia! (2023) and Newsies (2024).
Former students of the Beal Dance and Dramatic Arts Department have been featured in New York theatre, Toronto theatre, as well as in the National Tours of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Camelot, at The Grand Theatre’s Main Stage, Stratford Festival, Shaw Festival, cruise lines and in many other professional theatres across North America. Alumni also work as professional lighting designers, performing arts educators, and have written musicals as well as have started both Theatre and Dance companies.