Master the Art of Executive Presence
Ballet to Boardroom
Bringing the elite discipline, poise, and high-performance psychology of professional ballet to the boardroom.
The Problem: The Invisible Barrier to Leadership
In high-stakes meetings, your body speaks before you do.
The Silent Performance Gap
You’ve hired the best female minds. Your strategy is flawless. Your data is airtight. But in the boardroom, something is missing.
Research shows that over 70% of communication is non-verbal. When a leader’s body language contradicts their message, the audience defaults to what they see, not what they hear.
Are these physical habits sabotaging you or your team?
The ‘Defensive Slump’: Constant desk work and stress lead to rounded shoulders and a collapsed chest. In a meeting, this doesn't just look tired, it looks unprepared and low-authority.
The Adrenaline ‘Short-Circuit’: Under pressure, breath becomes shallow and rapid. This triggers the brain's fight or flight response, causing mental fog, rushed speech, and visible anxiety.
The Shrinking Kinesphere: Women especially, often subconsciously try to take up as little space as possible. By shrinking, they effectively become invisible in high-stakes negotiations.
Static Energy: A lack of physical grounding leads to fidgeting, shifting weight, and leaking nervous energy, which distracts the client and erodes trust.
The ‘Double Bind’: (Being seen as either too soft or too aggressive). A balletic stance provides quiet strength. It's powerful without being combative.
The Corporate Cost
When your team lacks physical presence, the consequences are tangible:
Lost Pitches: Because the delivery didn’t match the brilliance of the idea.
Diminished Authority: New leaders struggling to be taken seriously by senior stakeholders.
Executive Burnout: Poor physical alignment leads to higher cortisol levels and physical fatigue.
The Solution: The ‘Ballet to Boardroom’ Method.
Elite performance isn’t an accident - it’s a choreography.
The world’s most successful leaders and the world’s most elite ballerinas share one secret: They move with intent. Ballet to Boardroom is a proprietary training system that strips away the fluff of public speaking and focuses on the physical mechanics of authority. We translate the rigorous physical intelligence of the stage into actionable tools for the executive suite.
When the mind feels like an imposter, the body can lead the way back to confidence. By aligning the spine and breath, we tell the brain we are safe, capable, and in control.
The Three Pillars of The Method
1
Verticality & Volume
(The Power of the Lift)
We teach your team to master The String - an anatomical alignment that instantly increases perceived height and presence.
The Result: Moving from a closed, defensive posture to an open executive stance that commands immediate respect.
2
The Diaphragmatic Anchor
(Calm Under Pressure)
Borrowing from the deep, controlled breathing required for a three-minute Grand Allegro, we train leaders to stabilize their nervous system.
The Result: Lowered heart rates during high-stakes Q&As, a resonant speaking voice, and the ability to remain cool when the room gets heated.
3
Purposeful Placement
(Mastering the Space)
Ballerinas are masters of the Kinesphere -the space surrounding the body. We teach your team how to ‘claim the floor’ through weight distribution and eye-line control.
The Result: Eliminating nervous fidgeting and replacing it with a grounded presence that makes clients feel secure and confident in your leadership.
The Performance-First Approach
This isn't a lecture. It’s an interactive, kinesthetic experience. Your team won't just hear about confidence, they will feel the physical shift in their own bodies. We provide desk-ready exercises that take 60 seconds but change the energy of a meeting for 60 minutes.
From the Barre to the Boardroom: What We Deliver
The Ballet Discipline
Placement & Line
Port de Bras (Carriage of the Arms)
Épaulement (Head/Neck)
The ‘En Pointe’ Focus
The Corporate Application
> Executive stature
> Open body language
> Direct focus & command
> Mental stamina
The Results
✓ Instant seniority and authority
✓ Trust and receptivity in sales
✓ Better engagement in presentations
✓ Sustained clarity in drawn-out negotiations
“I believe a woman’s power starts with her posture.”
Meet Rhea
“For too long, women have been told to ‘lean in’ or ‘speak up,’ but rarely are we taught the physical mechanics of how to own the room without losing our grace. I believe a woman’s power starts with her posture.”
Rhea is the founder of Ballet to Boardroom and a leading voice in physical intelligence for women. Her mission is to dismantle the silent barriers that hold female leaders back: The socialised habits of sitting small, the shallow breathing of high-stakes anxiety, and the ‘desk-hunch’ that erodes executive stature.
The Pedigree
With over 20 years of experience in the world of dance and ballet teaching, Rhea has mastered the art of performing under pressure. She has spent thousands of hours at the barre and in a teaching environment, perfecting the silent language of authority - learning how to project confidence when exhausted, how to find stillness in chaos, and how to lead an ensemble with a single glance.
The Transition
Rhea recognised that while women are more qualified than ever, the physical ‘Double Bind’ remains: the pressure to be powerful yet approachable. She developed the Ballet to Boardroom method specifically to help women navigate this, using the high-performance mechanics of the dancer to build a body language that is both commanding and authentic.
Today, she translates this into a tactical toolkit for:
Female Executives navigating C-suite transitions.
Female founders who need to project ‘investor-ready’ confidence.
Women in Tech & Finance looking to amplify their presence in male-dominated boardrooms.
Leadership teams looking to empower their female talent.
Rhea’s Philosophy
She doesn’t teach dance. Rhea’s workshops are designed to be a safe, empowering, and transformative space where women can reclaim their Kinesphere - the space they deserve to occupy. She turns the discipline of a ballerina into the tactical armor of a CEO.
The Delivery: 4 Modules of Performance
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Before you speak, you are seen. This module focuses on the first impression mechanics.
The Posture Reset: Adapting the ballerina’s verticality to the corporate frame. Finding your neutral spine to eliminate the desk-hunch.
The Physics of Authority: How shifting your weight by just 1 inch forward (onto the metatarsals) signals engagement and readiness to lead.
The Corporate Lines: Understanding how arm and hand placement (Port de Bras) can either invite collaboration or signal a lack of confidence.
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High-stakes meetings trigger a fight or flight response. We teach you to override it.
The Ballet Breath: A grounding technique used by dancers to lower the centre of gravity and heart rate before a performance.
Resonance & Projection: Using the diaphragm to ensure your voice carries authority without straining, even in large or acoustically poor rooms.
Oxygenating the Brain: Specific patterns to clear mental fog and shaky voice during high-pressure Q&A.
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Mastering the room and "owning the floor."
The Entrance & ‘Spotting’: Applying the dancer's focus technique to navigate a room, make meaningful eye contact, and never look lost.
Kinesphere Expansion: How to physically occupy space in a chair or at a podium to project a big room presence.
Transitions & Flow: Eliminating awkward fidget movements between slides or points. Learning to stand in your Stillness.
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Turning the training into a sustainable daily habit.
The 2-Minute Pre-Pitch Warm-up: A discreet physical reset to do in a hallway or elevator before a meeting.
The Seated Dancer: Posture-saving exercises that can be done during a long board meeting without anyone noticing.
The Recovery: How to maintain Grace Under Fire - recovering physically and mentally from a mistake or a difficult confrontation.
Programme Options
The Corporate Intensive
Transform your team’s presence in a single afternoon. This is a high-energy, 2-hour physical immersion delivered on-site at your offices. Rhea works directly with your team to dismantle ‘desk posture’ and replace it with an elite executive stance.
Duration: 2 Hours
Location: In-person at your office or off-site.
Capacity: Up to 15 participants (Best for Sales, Leadership, or Pitch teams).
Key Takeaway: A shared ‘Physical Vocabulary’ for the team and a 60-second pre-meeting reset.
Investment: £1500*
*For groups up to 15 people. Additional participants at £100/head. Travel costs may apply if located outside of London zones 1 to 5.
The Private Polish
One-on-one performance coaching for high-stakes moments. Designed for CEOs, Founders, or Keynote Speakers who need to sharpen their presence.
This session is a deep-dive into your specific body language, breath control, and spatial command.
Duration: 1 Hour
Location: In-person or via HD online video call
Focus: Personalised audit of your posture, ‘Silent Pitch’ mechanics, and anxiety management.
Investment: From £250*
*Online price £250 for 1 hr. In-person price £450 for 1 hr. Available in London zones 1 to 5 only.
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After a 2-hour intensive, 90% of participants reported feeling more grounded during their next internal presentation.
Good to know
Room Requirements
No mirrors or barre required. We work in your real-world environment (boardrooms, meeting suites, or open-plan offices) to ensure the skills are immediately transferable.
Who this is NOT for?
This is not a dance class. No coordination or previous experience is required. We focus on the functional mechanics of posture and presence.
What do I wear?
Exactly what you wear to work. Because Ballet to Boardroom is about mastering your presence in professional environments, we encourage participants to wear their usual business attire - whether that’s a tailored suit, a dress, or smart-casual.
Who We Work With
Rhea doesn’t just teach performance; she lives it. As a recognised voice in high-performance movement, Rhea partners with Principal Dancers and professional ballerinas from around the world to ensure every workshop and class is delivered with world-class precision.
Rhea is a regular guest fitness and posture expert on ITV, where she shares the transformative power of ballet-inspired discipline with millions. You may have seen her appearing alongside icons of the performance world, including: The Oti Mabuse Breakfast Show, Katie Piper’s Breakfast Show and special Guest appearances with Shirley Ballas, Dame Arlene Phillips, Dr. Alex George, and Adam Garcia.
By bringing the same elite standards seen on national television directly into your boardroom, Rhea helps your team bridge the gap between good and radiant physical presence.
