April brings new classes, class times and days!

 

April 2022 schedule - New class & times!
Join on Zoom or in person!

Sunday (Inspire Dance Studio in La Canada)
10AM-11:30AM - Intermediate level
Tuesday (Live Arts LA in Eagle Rock)

7-8:30PM - Beg/Intermediate level
Wednesday (Inspire)
6:30-8PM - Beginner level
8-9PM - Basic Lyrical Jazz - NEW CLASS!!!
Thursday (Inspire)
7-8:30PM - Basic level
Saturday (Inspire)
9:30-11AM - Beginner level - NEW TIME!!!
11AM-12:30PM - Intermediate level - NEW TIME!!!
12:30-1:30PM - Pointe - NEW DAY & TIME!!!

SIGN UP FOR ALL CLASSES HERE
 

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UPDATE! Please note before you come to the studio:

1. Masks are optional for all dancers inside both studios where I rent.
2. Students must show proof of vaccination to attend class at Live Arts LA.

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"New jazz class? Tell me more!"

Wondering what my new Basic Lyrical Jazz class on Wednesday nights at 8PM is all about and why I'm teaching it now? Here's a secret: I taught jazz long before I taught ballet - and I loved it! Why now? Simple: I teach the classes I want to take. This is why my classes are structured the way they are and why they include technique, music and choreography the way I personally enjoy. And now, I want a bit of jazz in my life! Here's more in a blog post I wrote about it, including what to expect.  

Starts Wednesday, April 6!
 

BONUS! SAVE $5 when you sign up for the Wednesday Beginner Ballet class at 6:30-8PM AND Jazz that same night. First sign up for the ballet class, then receive the discount code in your confirmation email, then apply that code to the purchase of the Jazz class.

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Basic ballet barre video!

NEW! Basic ballet barre now available to rent! Want to work on your technique at home or can't make it to class? Rent a 50-minute video of barre work for only $10. I post a new barre on YouTube on Friday mornings and it will be available to access until it is replaced with a new one. Purchase here (scroll past the schedule) and I will email you the link!

 

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LPBC News

SAVE THE DATE! HOTEL AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE ON JUNE 18 & 19

The time-traveling hotel has been taken for a joyride by three feisty bellhops determined to have fun. Join them (and your favorite nonprofit ballet company for adults!) at the Madrid Theatre on Saturday June 18 at 7PM and Sunday June 19 at 4PM for a 2-act ballet that will lift your spirits and send your imagination soaring. More info and tickets to come but make sure you put this on your calendar! I'm so excited to bring a brand new approach to one of my favorite shows. Here's a teaser of it from the 2019 show:

Additional Zoom classes this week: 1/10-1/16/22

 Hello beautiful dancers, both local and remote!

All of my classes this week will be hybrid (both in-person and on Zoom) to give you added flexibility during this current virus surge. In addition to the usual classes that are hybrid, I have added the Zoom option to 3 more classes this week:

--Wednesday 6:30PM Beginner

--Thursday 7PM Basic

--Saturday 12PM Intermediate

You can sign up for all classes here.

I'm very appreciative of all of you who stay home when you are feeling ill. Let's all stay healthy in this new year!

(reminder: I will not be teaching 1/18-1/28)

Ch-ch-changes: Meet Blossom, my new studio dog! And more...

Beautiful dancers and local students!

If any of you are on Facebook, you've seen Your Daily Blossom, a fun photo of my new dog, Blossom, that I post every day. She's about 4 years old, a miniature poodle mix, and she loves being in the studio! I've always wanted to have a dog in my class.

Blossom is still learning the ropes. She sometimes follows me when I demonstrate at the barre or in the center but much of the time she will stay in her bed. I have to teach her "stay" so she won't follow me - if anyone knows how to train dogs and would like to help me, I will gladly barter for classes. She knows how to sit and she knows her name.

She has a lot going for her: her size (tiny), her temperament (playful and happy), her lack of barking, and her hypoallergenic coat. She loves to be petted and will often roll onto her back in front of a student for a belly rub. She also likes to greet each student when they walk in the door.

So far, I haven't met a student who has not liked her! But I wanted to tell everyone about her so they know she will be there on Monday and Wednesday nights. Saturdays are too long for her and currently, my Tuesday and Thursday classes are at Dance Arts which doesn't allow dogs.

Which brings me to another change...Dance Arts Academy, a fabulous studio in LA, is closing its doors at the end of June. It's tremendously sad! Flamenco dancer Carla Luna opened it almost twenty years ago, transforming a former bowling alley on the second floor of a building on La Brea near Wilshire into 5 studios of varying sizes. The place was a treasure for all kinds of dancers, from classical ballet with Reid Olson and pre-professional studies with Marat Daukayev to modern dance and jazz and tap, it was a welcome rest stop for dancers who were touring Los Angeles, for new residents to the area, for dancers who wanted a variety of teachers in many disciplines.

Unfortunately, the area has been getting more and more populous with many developments on the horizon. The new owners of the building don't want a dance studio, which is such a shame. So many beautiful studios are being bought and demolished! Just before this was the famed Debbie Reynolds Studio in North Hollywood. These studios were institutions!

For dancers (and studio owners) affordability is absolutely imperative. Dancers don't truly need much: an open floor plan, raised floors, barres and mirrors for ballet, a dressing area and bathroom, and in LA especially, a place to park. Let's be honest: dance isn't exactly a money-making business. We get by and we do it because we love it, but it's not really a business that will get you rich. (If anyone knows how, please share!) But where a yoga class can pack a small room mat-to-mat, a dance studio needs space to move. Where do we go to find that? That's the problem in a city like LA: there aren't many undiscovered areas where rent is cheap. (And yes, if anyone knows the answer to that, please share!)

What does that mean for me and my classes? Well, we'll be moving. Tuesday and Thursday classes will be at 2 different studios on the east side. More details on this will follow soon but for now, let's just dance at Dance Arts Academy and enjoy the big beautiful space that Carla created!

Happy dancing~

Street parking changes at Dance Arts Academy

Dita von Teese parks a car properly

For my LA students, please note the below information when you come to take class with me at Dance Arts Academy. On Tuesday, I got a $68 parking ticket because they changed a street sign overnight. I don't want that to happen to you!

**The blocks on 8th Street and 9th Street between Cochran and Dunsmuir near the school are now permit only after 6PM.  On 9th St, this includes both north and south sides of the street; on 8th St, it is currently only the south side so you can continue to park on the side closest to the school.

Additional street parking that is currently available:
--8th St between Dunsmuir and Burnside on the south side
--8th St between Burnside and Cochran on the north side
--9th St between Burnside and Ridgeley, both north and south sides
--Burnside between Wilshire and 8th on the east side
--Cochran between Wilshire and 8th on both east and west sides

There is metered parking til 8PM north and south of Wilshire and on the blocks west of La Brea.

Also, the lot between Cloverdale and Cochran is available until 9PM for $1/hr.

The lot directly across the street from DAA is convenient but pricier: $2.50/30 minutes although you get an hour free with validation from Lassens.

Finally, there is valet parking for $5, usually on the same block as DAA or on the block south where the restaurant is on the corner.

Bottom line: look at the signs! These free spots may change too.

Hope this helps~