The Dance Issue

Dance is one of the most difficult disciplines for a performer to master. But for those who strive for versatility and success, learning the right steps is an essential component in becoming a triple threat. As a competent dancer, you will become much more appealing to casting directors in theater-dominated New York City, where flashy musicals rule the industry. Whether you picture yourself leaping through the air in a ballet or mesmerizing the audience in a modern dance number, there are countless dance schools throughout the Big Apple for you to choose from. The city’s schools and dance centers offer classes in African dance, Argentine tango, belly dancing, hip hop, street dancing, and everything in between. You could waltz your way across the floor with a ballroom dancing class or glide and step into a tap or jazz class.

The Spice of Life

Dancers looking for a variety of styles can step lively over to Peridance Center. Although Peridance mainly focuses on ballet (which includes all levels of Russian and contemporary) and modern dance techniques (Graham, Limon and Horton), it also offers tap, yoga, pilates, Oyma Karate, house and hip hop, in addition to classes with choreographers who teach their own unique styles. The school has an adult dance company called the Peridance Ensemble. The school also has a foreign student program. “Peridance accepts students on Visa. If they register for school, they receive an F1 Visa to study in the U.S. They have to study a certain number of hours and have a particular curriculum,” said Peridance founder Igal Perry.

The school also has dance for children from toddler through teen. Children from the dance classes can be chosen for the PeriChild Ensemble and perform with charity organizations like the Red Cross.

Convinced that variety is the spice of life? Then head over to STEPS on Broadway. At STEPS, you can take ballet (which includes several types including Russian, Royal Ballet, and Balanchine), jazz, modern, tap, hip hop, street, Flamingo, belly dancing, musical theater, contemporary, modern, stretch and tone, and gyro kinesis (a form of stretching exercises). Classes are also offered for children ages 2-18.

Specialize

For those dedicated dancers who have been taking dance since they learned to walk, New York has endless opportunities. Two excellent choices are the Limon Institute and The Merce Cunningham Studio. For modern dancers, the Limon Institute teaches the Limon Technique, which emphasizes the natural rhythm of fall and recovery and the interplay between weight and weightlessness to provide dancers with an organic approach to movement that easily adapts to a range of choreographic styles. The faculty includes former and current members of the Limon Company and artists affiliated with the Limon aesthetic. Each class is accompanied by live music.

A second choice for modern dancers is the Merce Cunningham Technique taught at the Merce Cunningham Studio. This studio teaches at all levels but strongly focuses on dancers who have had recent and consistent dance training. Merce has both professional training and international training programs, while its school has scholarships and work study programs. “Our studio is for people focused on dancing, choreography and performing,” said longtime Merce instructor Mary Lisa Burns.

Mad Hot Ballrooms

If Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are more your speed, then there are three schools you should check out: Dance Manhattan, Dance Sport Ballroom & Latin Dance Studio and Sandra Cameron Dance Center, where Ballroom dancing is still the rage. Dance Manhattan offers a full spectrum of partner dancing, including Latin, ballroom and swing. The school is known for teaching Argentine tango and hosts Tango Jam every Tuesday night. It also offers lessons in salsa. If you need to pick up steps quickly, the school offers crash courses in tango, salsa and swing once a month. These courses last from three to four-and-a-half hours. Each starts at a beginner’s level, then goes to intermediate. “Crash courses are meant to jump-start people who don’t have the patience and want to get on the dance floor right away,” said longtime Dance Manhattan faculty member Andrew D’Angelo.

Did you see Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman or Robert De Niro in Flawless and wonder where they learned their moves? Well, look no further. They both learned at Dance Sport Ballroom & Latin Dance Studio. Dance Sport offers Argentine tango, social American rhythm and ballroom through international, standard and Latin, from beginners to advanced and competitive levels. The school also offers hustle and social foxtrot classes. Dance Sport is currently in its 22nd year and is one of the oldest independent dance schools in New York. If you are not sure where your dance interests lie, you can experience a little of everything: Anyone can call in and sign up for a one-hour group orientation class, which gives exposure to several different types of dance. This will help determine a person’s level and what areas he or she needs to work on.

Do you see yourself in a foxtrot, waltz or cha cha? Then boogie on over to Sandra Cameron Dance Center, where these moves are taught, along with the American Tango, rumba, quick step, Viennese waltz, swing, salsa, and hustle. Group and private lessons are available. Classes are offered in basic, pre-intermediate, intermediate and advanced.

A World Tour of Dance

Djoniba Dance & Drum Centre and Lotus Music & Dance teach you to dance with an international flair. Djoniba teaches dance and drum from Africa, Haiti, Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad and anywhere in the African diaspora. Dance types include hip hop, break dancing, locking, mambo, salsa, belly dancing from Egypt and the Middle East, and Indian dance. The school welcomes everyone. “We cater to the 9-to-5 person who needs a good workout,” said Djoniba Mouflet, owner of Djoniba Dance & Drum Center. Classes range from beginners to professionals. Children are also welcome and may start as early as age three. “Our dance classes are really open. It’s not the rigid class where you have to have first position ready. There’s a spiritual aspect to the atmosphere here — we have all colors, shapes and sizes enrolled,” said Mouflet. Advising how best to choose classes, he said, “a person should focus on the class that will get their body stronger.”

Lotus Music & Dance teaches traditional dance forms from all over the world. You can learn Spanish Flamenco dancing from the 15th century, percussion dance forms, classical Indian dance form, Middle Eastern belly dancing, hula and Tahitian, Hindi Film Dance, Korean, and Burmese (classical and folk dance from Burma) dancing. According to Lotus execs, the dance form most suited to actors is Abhinaya — a combination of facial and hand gestures used to tell a story. It’s a very expressive medium. Each classical form has a vocabulary of gestures symbolizing emotion, object or concept. It exposes actors to a different cultural way of expression.

Finding Harmony

Dance New Amsterdam and Movement Research offer dancers and actors more than great steps. Dance Forum has a unique element. Its founding technique is BodiBalance — which is a system of body conditioning and movement training that uses a combination of dance concepts to heighten kinesthetic awareness. It’s through a floor warm-up and movement sequence that balance, strength and flexibility can re-establish connections between body, mind and emotions. BodiBalance was developed by Carol Fonda, a former dancer with the San Francisco ballet who became injured but still wanted to continue dancing. Fonda learned to work with her body and developed the technique to deal with muscle tension.

Attending Dance New Amsterdam (DNA) is about the dancer’s experience. Whether you were born wearing dance shoes or a relative newcomer to the floor, you may still wonder: How you are going to develop as a performer? Are you going to use your body in a healthy manner? DNA aims to answer these questions by providing a dynamic environment for dance education, creation and performance. DNA’s courses are developed through a process that responds quickly to the needs of both professional and non-professional dancers. The school offers classes, workshops, visa programs, summer dance intensives and an Artist in Residence program.

Dancers can learn four levels of the Martha Graham technique at the renowned Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. The Graham technique is a form of modern dance that draws its essence from expression. Ultimately, the school teaches performers how to use their bodies to express themselves.

Becoming a competent dancer takes a combination of innate ability, intense discipline, and, most of all, the right training. With so many dance institutions to choose from, performers around the New York area have unlimited opportunities to get their bodies — and their careers — moving at a progressive pace.

Get Moving: Show Business highlights some of the best dance schools in New York with the following:

Dance Forum

20 East 17th Street

NYC 10003

212-633-7202

www.danceforum.org

Dance Manhattan

39 West 19th Street, 5th Floor

NYC 10011

212-807-0802

www.dancemanhattan.com

Dance New Amsterdam