Classes listed by day of the Week. For class descriptions scroll down

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Monday classes: ( Maplewood Village)

The Burgdorff Center

 (Start date September 11, 2023 -Laura Di Orio )

Creative Ballet for 3.2-5 years: 4:00-4:45pm

Ballet 1B for 1st & 2nd grades: 4:45-5:45pm

Ballet 2 for 3rd-5th( 6th)  grades: 6:00-6:55pm

6th graders may choose to enroll in Ballet 2 or Ballet for Everyone 

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Wednesday classes: ( South Orange Village)

St. Andrew's Church/across from train/SOPAC parking lot 

Start date September13, 2023

Creative Ballet w/Intro to Modern dance for 3.2 - 5 & Kindergarten:4:00-4:45pm ( Laura Di Orio )

Ballet 1A w/Intro to Modern dance for older 5s, Kindergarten/1st grade:5-5:50pm ( Laura Di Orio) 

Ballet for EVERYONE: Teens & Adults (6th grade & up):6:00-7:00 pm ( Emily Sarkissian) 

ADULTS &TEENS Dance for Fitness and Joy! EXPRESS:7:00-7:45pm ( Emily Sarkissian) 

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Thursday classes (Maplewood Village)

The Burgdorff Center

(Start date September 14, 2023- Amanda Egan)

Contemporary 1 for 1st & 2nd grade: 4:00-5:00pm

Contemporary 2 for 3rd-5th grades: 5:00-6:00pm

Contemporary 3 for 6th grade and up: 6:00-7:00pm

Student Company for 6th graders though high school: 7:00-8:00pm

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Saturday classes ( South Orange Village)

St Andrew's Church/across from train/SOPAC parking lot)

(Start date September 9, 2023- Laura Di Orio)

Creative Ballet for 3.2-5 years: 9:15-10:00 am

Ballet 1A for older 5s & Kindergarten:10:00-10:50 am

Creative Ballet for 3.3-5 years:11:00-11:45 am

Ballet 1B for 1st & 2nd grades:11:45-12:45 pm

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Creative Ballet (3.2-5 including Kindergarten):

Offered Saturdays 9:15 am, 11:00 am & Mondays 4:00 pm $375 13 classes

Our Creative Ballet offers a unique curriculum which allows for both a joyous experience as well as basic dance skill development. These uplifting classes, for 3-5-year-olds and Kindergarteners, include movement stories, creative games, structured free dance, dance with a prop, show and tell, musical interludes, dancing the roles in story ballets, and ballet basics. Each day will have a surprise "treasure box" interlude with a special activity! In keeping with our fine-arts approach, our youngest dancers will experience dancing to a wide range of music including classical, great ballet scores, contemporary classical, folk and of course beloved children’s songs. The semester culminates with an Open Class to share our class with each dancer’s parents or guardians.

 

Creative Ballet with Intro to Modern Movement (ages 3.2 - 5 including Kindergarten).

Offered Wednesdays 4:00 pm $375 13 classes

Our Creative Ballet/Dance Mix with Intro to Modern Movement allows for both a joyous experience as well as basic dance skill development. This uplifting class, for 3-5-year-olds and Kindergarteners, includes movement stories, creative games, structured free dance, dancing with a prop, musical interludes and dance basics. Our young dancers will experience dancing to a wide range of music including classical, contemporary classical, folk, scores from famous dance works and of course beloved children’s songs. The semester culminates with an Open Class for parent observation.

 

Ballet 1A with Intro to Modern Dance (Older 5s & Kindergarten ):

Offered Wednesdays 5:00 pm $385 13 classes

A class that continues to encourage young dancers' imaginative movement ideas while working on ballet terminology, the positions of the arms and legs, musicality and rhythm. The class includes an introduction to the modern dance vocabulary as well, which creates a good bridge between Creative Ballet and Ballet 1B or Contemporary 1, and allows young dancers to see which style is the best fit for them - ballet or modern/contemporary! The Level 1A class includes beginning choreography as we create a class dance. The session culminates in an Open Class for parent observation.

 

Ballet 1A (Older 5s & Kindergarten):

Offered Saturdays 10:00 am $385 13 classes 

A class that continues to encourage young dancers' imaginative movement ideas while working on ballet terminology, the positions of the arms and legs, musicality and rhythm. Technical concepts such as alignment and posture are addressed as they are developmentally called for. The class includes a very brief and careful introduction to the barre. The young dancers travel in across-the-floor exercises as well, and begin combining steps to make a ballet "combination". The Level 1A class includes beginning choreography as we create a class dance. This class is a good bridge between Creative Ballet and Ballet 1B or Contemporary 1. The session culminates in an Open Class for parent observation.

 

Ballet 1B with Choreography (1st and 2nd grade):

Offered Mondays 4:45 pm and Saturdays 11:45 am $400 13 classes 

Our Ballet 1B (with a Contemporary Twist) includes the study of developmentally appropriate ballet basics such as ballet terminology, the positions of the arms and legs, musicality and rhythm. Correct alignment and posture are addressed increasingly at these stages. The class allows our young dancers the chance to explore today's increasingly contemporary ballet vocabulary. Ballet has changed and is no longer focused exclusively on story ballets. This class offers a wonderful chance to dance to a wide range of music including classical, contemporary classical, jazz as well as selected pop songs and folk. All of our classes include a choreography section during which our students can use their own ideas to create dance phrases of their own. Our fall semester culminates in an Open Class for parent observation. Our Spring semester culminates in an evening Performance of Student Choreography at The Woodland.

 

Ballet 2 with Choreography (3rd-5th grade):(6th graders may choose to enroll in Ballet 2 or Ballet for Everyone) 

Offered Mondays 6:00 pm $400 13 classes 

Our Ballet 2 (with a Contemporary Twist) includes the study of developmentally appropriate ballet basics such as ballet terminology, the positions of the arms and legs, musicality and rhythm. Correct alignment and posture are addressed increasingly at these stages. The class allows our young dancers the chance to explore today's increasingly contemporary ballet vocabulary. Ballet has changed and is no longer focused exclusively on story ballets. This class offers a wonderful chance to dance to a wide range of music including classical, contemporary classical, jazz as well as selected pop songs and folk. All of our classes include a choreography section during which our students can use their own ideas to create dance phrases of their own. Our fall semester culminates with an Open Class for parent observation. Our Spring semester culminates in an evening Performance of Student Choreography at The Woodland.

 

 

Ballet for EVERYONE: Teens & Adults (6th grade & up)

Offered Wednesdays 6:00 pm $400 13 classes 

The perfect Ballet class for everyone! This class will be of great benefit to a range of students in addition to our 6th grade and up dancers! Athletes, actors and musicians for example find Ballet to be important for strength, flexibility and alignment. Ballet instills self-confidence as its structured base becomes a reliable framework to work on individual challenges! Develop a sense of ease in settings such as acting, athletics and public speaking through a basic study of Ballet. The class begins with a barre and progresses into beautiful flowing movements that really move and allow all levels of dancers to be expressive while using their technique. More advanced students will work on clarity, alignment an adding more complex versions of ballet sequences.

 

Contemporary/Modern 1 with Choreography (1st-3rd grade):

Offered Thursdays 4:00 pm $400 13 classes 

Our Contemporary/Modern classes embrace a wide range of modern and contemporary modern techniques including the drop and release techniques of Doris Humphrey and José Limón. Current modern dance is a fusion of many movement qualities and includes a strong ballet base as well. This class uses a wonderful range of music including classical, percussion/drumming, jazz and selected pop. All of our classes include a choreography section during which our students can use their own ideas to create dance phrases of their own. Our fall semester culminates in an Open Class for parent observation. Our Spring semester culminates in an evening Performance of Student Choreography at The Woodland.

 

Contemporary/Modern 2 with Choreography (3rd-5th grade):

Offered Thursdays 5:00 pm $400 13 classes 

Our Contemporary/Modern classes embrace a wide range of modern and contemporary modern techniques including the drop and release techniques of Doris Humphrey and José Limón. Current modern dance is a fusion of many movement qualities and includes a strong ballet base as well. This class uses a wonderful range of music including classical, percussion/drumming, jazz and selected pop. All of our classes include a choreography section during which our students can use their own ideas to create dance phrases of their own. Our fall semester culminates in an Open Class for parent observation. Our Spring semester culminates in an evening Performance of Student Choreography at The Woodland.

 

Contemporary/Modern 3 (with Performance Skills) (6th grade up):

Offered Thursdays 6:00 pm $400 13 classes 

Our Contemporary/Modern classes embrace a wide range of modern and contemporary modern techniques including the drop and release techniques of Doris Humphrey and José Limón. Current modern dance is a fusion of many movement qualities and includes a strong ballet base as well. This class uses a wonderful range of music including classical, percussion/drumming, jazz and selected pop. All of our classes include a choreography section during which our students can use their own ideas to create dance phrases of their own. Our session ends with an Open Class for parent observation.

 

Student Company with Choreography, Performance Skills and Coaching (Grades 6 and up who are taking Contemporary 3):

Offered Thursdays 7:00 pm $400 13 classes 

Our exciting Student Company is open to dancers in 6th through 12th grades with a strong desire to choreograph and perform their own pieces. Some dancers 10th grade and up will serve as Interns. You must be enrolled in Contemporary 3 to be in the Student Company.  An alternative to competition dance school companies, our dancers work in small groups to develop and polish well-crafted dances. This in-depth experience allows students to think creatively using their own unique voices. Thought will be given to the music, design elements and emotional nuance in each dance. The LJD Student Company performs their own works at the end of the year on stage at The Woodland and performs at The Ailey Studios in NYC, at other local festivals and at various events! Workshops in various dance techniques will be offered throughout the year to the Student Company. Past workshops have included introductions to Graham and Duncan techniques.

 

The Company offers an unparalleled opportunity to work directly with acclaimed choreographer Lydia Johnson who has received acclaim from prestigious New York dance writers over many years.

 

 

 

 

 

“Johnson is a craftsman and a poet; her works, which stress the ensemble and attend closely to the music, have an ebb and flow in addition to a strong emotional current. The basis of her technique is ballet, and her dancers are strong.”   The New Yorker

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 NEW CLASS FOR ADULTS &TEENS

Dance for Fitness and Joy - EXPRESS! Offered Wednesdays 7:00 pm $300 13 classes 

Get in shape while dancing and having fun! This class includes basic stretch and strengthening, jazz and modern style dance sequences and an adagio cool-down. For teens and adults (ages 13 years and up!), this class is designed to allow everyone to dance at their own level while increasing alignment, strength and flexibility. Our famously warm, non-competitive atmosphere makes jumping into this class easy! Wear what you are comfortable in!