3/7/2014

Y Dance Academy Festival 2014 Will Highlight Student Achievements from Studio to Stage

The annual Y Dance Academy Festival 2014 will be held at the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry from March 21-23, under the overall direction of Jane Alexandre, former co-director of the Y Dance Program. This student presentation has been conceived to celebrate the dancers achievements and to highlight their evolution from studio practice to stage performance.

The entire program is choreographed by professional choreographers, working with professional colleagues in lighting, sound, and stage management. Dance is a performing art, and we have an obligation as artists to engage our audience as fully as possible, Alexandre said. Dancers from ages five to adult perform in ballet, pointe, modern dance, jazz dance, tap, hip hop, and theatre dance. There is no overall storyline, although there may be a narrative for a particular piece, explained Alexandre. Each dance piece on the program is newly choreographed by the faculty specially for his/her students. The evenings program, itself, is offered as a cohesive whole to show the developing strengths of the dancers within the range of contemporary dance performance. This is the first year of the Y Dance Academy, the new name having been chosen to emphasize its graduated, progressive dance education program at the conservatory level. This will be its first presentation under the new name and new management, with artistic direction by Alexandre and Gemma Striker, program manager.

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3/7/2014

Y Dance Academy Festival 2014 Will Highlight Student Achievements from Studio to Stage

Alexandre has been working in the New York dance world for more than 30 years as a performer, choreographer, teacher, director, administrator producer, and writer. In 1987 she founded the Tappan Zee Dance Group, which she directed until 2006. She created the Y Dance Program with Julie Johnson in 2006, serving as co-director until 2012. She is also artistic director of Evolve Dance, Inc Striker has a diverse background as a dancer, yoga instructor, and competitive gymnast. She has worked in various capacities with local and national non-profit and social justice organizations. Her academic focus on society-identity and community, combined with her passion for dance and interest in mind-body health, interacts with Y Dance Academys commitment to making dance education allencompassing and accessible to everyone. The Y Dance Academys mission appears on every press release, activities schedule, in fact every piece of paper that leaves its office: Excellence in dance education. Accessible to all. Over and over, Alexandre vows never to tell anyone that they cant dance or begin to enjoy the culture of dance. Physical training and esthetic training make up the core of the Y Dance curriculum. Each of the teaching faculty must have a performing history as well as teaching credentials. They may be the best dancers in the world, but if they cant convey their creative thoughts and movements to the students, any student, they are of little use to me, Alexandre said. Faculty mentoring starts at age eight, which usually means one or two classes a week. By grade 12, classes may climb to five or six days per week. The Y Dance Academy believes that all of its students must know every genre of dance, ballet, modern and jazz in order to move on to a top conservatory. Alexandre is passionate about what she recognizes as the Y Dance Academys mission, so whether there is a problem with language, culture, finance, or even transportation, tuition is charged on a sliding scale according to need. In some cases scholarships are available. And, Alexandre never loses sight of her goal: When these students go for an audition.we want them to be ready! she exclaimed.
Last modified on Wednesday, 05 March 2014 00:22

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