Studio Notes
The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School Children’s Division has opened a second satellite branch. The prestigious school affiliated with American Ballet Theatre has partnered with Mason Gross School of the Arts Extension Division to offer dance classes for children ages 4 to 10, which will be held at the Douglass Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. Led by JKO faculty member Pamela Levy, children train under the ABT/JKO School’s National Training Curriculum, which incorporates elements of the French, Italian, and Russian schools of ballet. The goal is for children to build a strong, safe technical foundation. See www.masongross.rutgers.edu/extension/ABT. —Cory Stieg
In 1999, The Dance Heritage Coalition (DHC) compiled a list of 100 of America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures to heighten public interest in America’s dance heritage and document it for future generations. The Irreplaceable Dance Treasures exhibit traveled to seven sites around the country from 2003 to 2009. Miss the tour? The DHC has put the exhibition online as a learning resource. The site includes essays by leading dance scholars, critics, dancers, and choreographers along with still and moving images and research guides. From Katherine Dunham to Edward Villella, dance greats are right at your fingertips. See www.danceheritage.org/treasures.html. —C. S.
A lesser-known feature of New York City Center’s much-loved Fall for Dance festival is the Fall for Dance Lab, a day of professional development for dance educators and teaching artists who work with New York City students (at press-time, this year’s date was TBA). In its eighth year, the lab, a partnership with the NYC Department of Education, will explore the theme “Mashup: Remixing Influences for Inspired Dance Making.” The day begins with master classes taught by choreographer Pam Tanowitz and Twyla Tharp dancer Rika Okamoto, investigating how outside sources can inform a choreographer’s voice. In the afternoon, Traci Hinton-Peterson and Susan Thomasson will lead a workshop on approaches to dance instruction and other topics. See www.nycitycenter.org. —Siobhan Burke
