July news! Class updates coming in August!

July 2023 schedule - In-studio and online!

Tuesdays (Live Arts LA) - *NO CLASS JULY 4th!*

7-8:30PM - Intermediate ballet
Wednesdays (Inspire Dance Studio)
6:30-8PM - Beginner ballet
8-9PM - Beginner Jazz
Thursdays (Inspire)
7:10-8:40PM - Basic ballet
Saturdays (Inspire)
9:30-11AM - Beginner ballet
11AM-12PM - Pointe/pre-pointe
Sundays (Inspire)

10AM-11:30AM - Intermediate ballet
11:30AM-1PM - Basic Ballet

SIGN UP FOR ALL CLASSES HERE

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LIVE ARTS LOS ANGELES STUDIO TO CLOSE IN AUGUST
The beautiful (and big!) studio in Glassell Park will be closing for good this August, a tremendous loss for our dance community. Karen and Jennifer created a welcoming environment for all kinds of movement-based activities in the LA area and I loved holding my Tuesday night class there after Dance Arts Academy closed (another great studio lost!). The last class I will hold at LALA will be on Tuesday, August 15. I hope you can make it!

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AUGUST SCHEDULE CHANGES COMING!
With the loss of one studio comes the opportunity to restructure! Beginning Thursday August 24th, at Inspire Dance Studio, the Basic Ballet class will start at 6:30PM and will be followed by Intermediate Ballet at 8PM. I will remind you all again in next month's newsletter too.

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CLASSES CONTINUE ALL SUMMER
Jazz, ballet, pointe! We're dancing through the dog days of summer. It's a great time to try something new: a new style of dance, a new level of ballet...and if you're itching to clean up your pirouettes or have something specific to work on, why not schedule a private lesson? Contact me for more info.

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LPBC News

Mark your calendars for our own special Nutcracker: November 11 &12, 2023 at the Lanterman Auditorium!

Did you miss our Pride video? Last month dancers of the company participated in this celebratory video with poetry and dancing; they narrated it and edited it and I loved being part of it too! Click the image below to check it out:

 

What's happening in June? Check it out!

 Please note: no classes 6/21-6/23!

June 2022 schedule - In-studio and online!

Sunday (Inspire Dance Studio)
10AM-11:30AM - Beg/Intermediate level
Tuesday (Live Arts LA) no class 6/21

7-8:30PM - Beg/Intermediate level
Wednesday (Inspire) no class 6/22
6:30-8PM - Beginner level
8-9PM - Basic Lyrical Jazz
Thursday (Inspire) no class 6/23
7-8:30PM - Basic level
Saturday (Inspire)
9:30-11AM - Beginner level
11AM-12:30PM - Intermediate level
12:30-1:30PM - Pointe

SIGN UP FOR ALL CLASSES HERE

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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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Looking for something new? Try Jazz this summer!

My Basic Lyrical Jazz class on Wednesday nights, 8-9PM at Inspire is also available on Zoom. You can follow along at home or in the studio with energetic music and an easy "ballet-friendly" warmup with tendus, plies, isolations, etc. and some traveling combinations. Each week we work on a bit of cool choreography which I post on Instagram for reference. It's such a fun class - and we sweat too! Great for cardio!
 

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 and get the discount code in your confirmation email, then apply that code to the purchase of the Jazz class.

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New class (and weekend schedule!) coming in July!

Summer time is vacation time - take a break time - enjoy the days time - for me too! I'll be changing up the weekend schedule next month to give everyone access to their classes but still have time for themselves. STAY TUNED! I'll update mid-month and then again in my July newsletter! PLUS I'll be bringing you a brand new class: Gentle Ballet!

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LPBC News

IT'S HERE!! 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 us 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. TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!!

Note: We'll be streaming it on July 9 & 10 too.

Click this awesome image from dancer Bill Reiss and you'll be magically transported to the LPBC website to get your tickets. If you've got a group, contact me for a discount code!

FUN LINK!! Check out this super cool trailer, created by Kavita Master and starring EVERY SINGLE DANCER who is performing in the show, including the remote dancers!

WANT A FREE SHIRT? Become a Supporter of the company at any level BEFORE JUNE 19 and you'll receive your choice of a Sweet Sorrow or Hotel shirt! Join today! And when you sign up at the Aficionado, Connoisseur or Virtuoso level, you will also receive a discount code for 15% off Hotel tickets along with several other cool benefits! MORE INFO HERE!

Happy International Dance Day!

 

Hello beautiful dancers!

We're at the tail end of this International Dance Day (which must be new because I sure don't remember it growing up!) - how did you spend it? Did you take a class? Did you shake your booty in your kitchen while you brewed coffee? Did you read a book about dance? Or a review about a performance? Maybe you bought a ticket to a show!  

(Maybe you marked your calendar for June 18 and 19 for LPBC's "Hotel at the End of the Universe" at the Madrid Theatre!)

I'm fortunate to have so many wonderful teachers in my area. On Fridays I love to take class with Helen Nasillski in Eagle Rock at Live Arts LA. So this morning, I put on my best and fanciest leotard and skirt (a lovely hand-me-across gift from a friend) and danced classical ballet!

This afternoon, I spent prepping tomorrow's pointe class variation from La Esmeralda (get your tambourines out!) and sent out my May newsletter. Next up, choreography for this weekend's rehearsals for Hotel. 

A full day of dance! How lucky am I?

I'm also very blessed to be able to respond to my dancers' needs when it comes to classes. Over the years, many of my students have asked about a class that wouldn't be too taxing on their bodies. I have thought about it over and over and finally, I'm going to put it out there: 

Gentle Ballet

Are you interested? If you wouldn't mind, please fill out this form by May 15th and we can get something started. Why wait any longer?

Happy dancing, everyone!

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:

What's coming this spring? Jazz in the studio and on Zoom - starts April 6!

Beautiful dancers, I am so excited to announce my first offering of Basic Lyrical Jazz!

Friends from college will remember me as a lyrical jazz dancer, not a ballet dancer (did I tell you I used to run out of ballet classes with tears in my eyes because I felt so discouraged? lol...no? okay, forget I said anything - I love ballet!)

The thing is, as much as I truly do love ballet - and honestly, it is a challenging yet beautiful art form that I take tremendous joy in teaching - I have missed lyrical jazz.

No, we will not do floor work in my class.

 

Note: please do not confuse "lyrical jazz" with "lyrical" or "contemporary," whatever the heck those latter two things are supposed to be. The words lyrical and contemporary are modifiers, not nouns. You would be correct to ask someone, "Contemporary what? Art? Music? Furniture?"

Back in my day - lo, these many decades ago - which is, ahem, the 80s, my jazz classes danced to music by Annie Lennox, Art of Noise, Wham! and everything you've ever heard on a John Hughes movie soundtrack. The movement was a nod to ballet but also jazz and modern dance. Pirouettes were in parallel and traveling steps included very wide balances which we called step, ball, change. We wore flared jazz pants or unitards, Oxford style jazz shoes and little socks or tights, and of course, leg warmers and matching head bands.

It was fun. F. U. N. FUN! 

The competition crowd has taken lyrical jazz and turned it into an acrobatic kind of thing with dancers expressing overwrought emotions and miming the lyrics to the songs. When I taught teens, I would see them singing along to songs in their classes or, worse, I would see their teachers teaching movement to the words in the lyrics. What the heck? No, just no. Maybe if you were on Broadway doing "Chicago" or something.

Not Fosse.

When you take Basic Lyrical Jazz with me, you will get a 20 minute warmup, 20 minutes of turns and traveling steps and then 20 minutes of choreography to a fun piece of music. It will feel like casual ballet, gooey modern, and expansive jazz. Add it all up and you get lyrical jazz.

Come try it out: Wednesdays, 8-9PM PST, at Inspire Dance Studio (or on Zoom if you are so inclined).

BONUS: Take both the Wednesday Beginner Ballet from 6:30-8PM first and get $5 off when you also sign up for the jazz class on the same night. Just purchase the ballet class first and then you'll get the code to apply to the jazz class.

Starts April 6!