New class, Valentine's Day, and more in the February newsletter!

February 2020 schedule Classes are all on as usual throughout the entire month. Reminder: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday classes are at Inspire Dance Studio; Tuesday classes are at Live Arts LA. View my full schedule here (scroll to bottom of page). SPECIAL CLASS! This year, Valentine's Day falls on a Friday but I will be holding a "Bring-Your-Special-Friend/Partner/Significant Other" class on WEDNESDAY, FEB 12th! This class was SO much fun last year! Non-traditional music with a simple barre and floor work that anyone can do. If you have a friend who has always wanted to try ballet but was nervous, bring them to this one!   Special notes Starting tomorrow, February 2, (Groundhog Day AND Super Bowl Sunday!) I will be teaching a NEW CLASS on Sundays: Advanced Beginner Ballet (which is the same level as my Tuesday/Thursday classes) at Inspire Dance Studio. 11AM-12:30PM. ALSO: please contact me if you would like to see a 30 minute pointe class following. I will need to have a fairly consistent group in order to put it on the schedule.   Featured technique tip! Get your back engaged for better turns, stronger jumps and more! A Powerful Back More fun links: Many of you have already seen this article in Slate magazine but if you haven't, it's worth a read with your morning coffee. A woman writes about how much starting ballet at age 62 has affected her life. If you know anything about me and my personal philosophy about dance, you know how much I believe in ballet for our mental and physical health and our connection to others as we age.   LPBC News Did you feel all g-r-o-o-v-y when you saw that photo at the top of the newsletter? That's LPBC company members April McLeod, Omaira Galarza and Annett Bone in a piece I choreographed that they will be performing at NACHMO on Sunday, February 9 at the Broadwater Main Stage in Hollywood. Show tickets are just $12 in advance here. Annett will be performing in a second piece on Sunday and Jackie Nii, another returning company member, will perform in the Saturday show. Come see them and all the wonderful local dancers. Halloween in February? That's right! HauntX is a DIY Haunters convention at the Pomona Fairplex on February 22-23. Our company will have a booth to promote our shows in October and our fundraiser on April 18th. BONUS! Our zombies will be doing some flash mob performances throughout the weekend. Below...Introducing our 2020 Company Members! This year we have 47 talented dancers in the company and I could not be more thrilled to be working with them all. We've got shows, a fundraiser, and lots of cool community outreach planned for the season. (This photo is missing a few members: Rae Aaselund, Marla Bleavins, Patricia Ho, Stephanie Kuga, Linda Le Verne, Corey McCullough, Jackie Nii, Elizabeth Risha)

(Pre)Valentine's Day! Bring your special someone to class!

Beautiful dancers!

Do you have a friend, partner, or significant other who has always wanted to try ballet?

Tree of Love, cc lic: Faye Mozingo

Maybe...

...they're envious of all the fun you have!

...they see how happy you are when you talk about ballet, or when you practice at home.

...they wish they could toss around words like plie and developpe and grand assemble!

If so, then why not bring them to a special class on Wednesday, February 13 at 8PM? That's the day before Valentine's Day so they can take you somewhere nice on the actual holiday. (See, I'm always thinking about you, my beautiful dancers!)

I'll be teaching a fun, slow, very basic class on Wednesday, February 13 at 8PM, at Inspire Dance Studio. It will be a class that anyone can attend!

Best of all, your friend, partner, or significant other can take it for just $10! That's hardly an investment at all (and leaves them with lots of $ to take you out the next night or just buy you a thank you gift for introducing them to ballet! - once again, I'm thinking of you!).

What: Valentine's Special Class
When: Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Time: 8-9:30PM
Where: Inspire Dance Studio, 457 Foothill Blvd, La Canada CA 91011
Cost: Regular price for you (or class card) and only $10 for your friend, partner, or significant other

And you can bring more than one person too!

Upcoming events!

Hello beautiful dancers and happy holidays to you all! A few things of interest for those of you who are local and those who are not.

Coming up in 1 week! I'll be hosting a LIVE online discussion of Misty Copeland's new memoir, "Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina" on Friday, December 19th at 12:30PM PST/3:30PM Eastern. It will happen at Dance Advantage where my review of the memoir will be posted along with some possible topics for discussion.  Here are a few to think about:

Racial diversity in ballet
Economic discrimination in ballet
Teachers: external challenges we face with students
Students: dealing with and overcoming family obstacles
Parents: How far should parents go to encourage their children?
Curves and growth; how do we handle body changes in young dancers?

If you've got more, let me know so we can be sure to include them. I loved Misty's story and can't wait to talk about it with other readers. Book Troupe: put it in your calendar!

Next up: 2 Holiday classes with me!

On Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve mornings, I will be teaching at Vonder Haar Center for the Performing Arts in La Canada, from 10-11:30AM. It will be suitable for beginners through intermediate level dancers and you know I'll have fun music to celebrate the holidays!

So come all ye ballet faithful and dance with me! And for more class schedule info, be sure to check the calendar below or email me about specific classes, if you want to know more.

Coming in January: Elementary Ballet Workshop

For all of you (or 12 of you actually, since this is a limited number workshop) who have wanted to take class with me but have no experience at all, this workshop is for you. For 3 Fridays in January, I will offer a workshop that covers just the basics of ballet barre and center. 

What: Elementary Ballet workshop
Where: Dance Arts Academy, 731 South La Brea, Los Angeles, CA 90036
When: January 9, 16 & 23, 2015, 6-7PM

Attire: Ballet slippers (thin socks if you don't have them) and leotard and tights (or leggings/shorts and tank top if you are more comfortable)

Cost: $60 for the entire workshop
You will need to sign up in advance through PayPal. I will post the link this weekend when signup officially opens. I am limiting the class to 12, with a minimum of 6.