julie lunde, senior company dancer, organized a wonderful dance program at the academy this summer in conjunction with SEPTA (special education pta).  she loves dance so much, as do the other students teaching with her this summer, that she is sharing it with children who might not have another opportunity to take dance classes.

the classes are open to special needs boys and girls and our senior company teachers hope that the power of dance and music will help these new dancers feel like the stars they are!  the majority of the dancers are between the ages of 6-8 but we do have two 15 year old girls who will take some classes and work on more advanced steps while helping out the younger dancers as well.

the academy is very proud of our dancers for putting together this very special program.  thank you julie lunde, allison o’toole, elena adams, lacey waterhouse, grace osgood and julia edelman for your time, expertise and willingness to give back to our community.

This is a no-cost program and classes will run once a week until august 10th.  pictured below are julie lunde and allison o’toole getting ready for their first class setting up chairs so that parents can watch class and be part of the magic.

dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room. 
~kurt vonnegut

“everything in the universe has rhythm. everything dances.”
-Maya Angelou

the introduction from her website: “Dr. Maya Angelou is a remarkable Renaissance woman who is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature.  As a poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and director, she continues to travel the world, spreading her legendary wisdom.  Within the rhythm of her poetry and elegance of her prose lies Angelou’s unique power to help readers of every orientation span the lines of race and Angelou captivates audiences through the vigor and sheer beauty of her words and lyrics.”

Great job keeping this a secret before the performance! Bravo to David’s choreography and to all the company girls and “special guest” dancers for making this piece fill the room with energy!

Click above to view the video clip

“dancers are instruments, like a piano the choreographer plays.”
~George Balanchine

It’s what I always wanted to do, to show the laughter, the fun the joy of dance.
-martha graham

lynn swann … dance lessons were part of his master plan and played an important role in his journey to become a wide receiver for the pittsburgh steelers (1974-1982).  he played 9 seasons with the steelers during some of the greatest years in their franchise history.  he was the first draft pick in 1974 and became one of the top 10 steelers of all time.  he has been called the ballet master of the nfl amazing fans with his style and grace … and of course his jumps, leaps and amazing catches!  his movements were truly poetry in motion and appreciated by football and dance fans all over the country.  crediting dance lessons as an important part of his football training opened the door for many football players to openly take classes to help their grace, agility and form ultimately making them better players.

one could ask how high can he jump?”  “how far can he leap/reach?” “how did he make that 64 yd catch at Super Bowl X that led to the steelers victory over the dallas cowboys and his being named super bowl mvp?”  surely his dance training helped along with his amazing natural agility and ability.

he truly was an inspiration and role model to kids across the country and we have followed his career from football to sports broadcaster to pennsylvania politics.  read his induction speech into the football hall of fame given by john stallworth on august 4, 2001 for an understanding of the truly amazing man he is.

once again, david fernandez’s choreography has been selected to be performed with new york city ballet’s finest dancing in a lead role.  this time as part of ballet builders 2010, an annual group show by emerging choreographers,  ask la cour, nyc ballet soloist will be dancing the lead role in objects in mirror are closer than they appear. also appearing in david’s piece is academy teacher natalie anne lambelet palacious.

performances are:
friday, april 9th at 8pm
saturday, april 10th at 8pm
sunday, april 11 at 3pm

the performance will be held at the joan weill center for dance in the alvin ailey american dance theater located at 55th and 9th.  click here to purchase tickets.

hope to see you there!

dress rehearsal and performances were the highlight of this past weekend!  bravo to our wonderful teachers and choreographers, tollie barrato, catalina bohiltea, david fernandez, natalie lambelet palacious, courtney poulos, caitlin roberts, and our student choreographer julia edelman.  ftc’s stage one theater was filled with amazing music and performances on a beautiful sunday afternoon.  our dancer’s hard work paid off and our audiences were on their feet!

a very special thanks to fred busk and his son, for their invaluable help setting up and taking down our dance floor … your generosity and spirit are greatly appreciated by all, especially our dancers who wouldn’t be able to perform without your help!  let’s not forget our film crew, visual mercernary group, who’s talent and editing skills will be seen once again with a dvd recording of our amazing day.  thank you to gayle kirsch for running back stage again for us, it wouldn’t be such an efficient show without you.  we can’t wait for next year…our 2nd annual winter showcase!  enjoy the pictures below.

“i don’t want people who want to dance; i want people who have to dance.”
-george balanchine