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Creative Ballet (3.2-5 including Kindergarten)

 Saturdays 9:00 am & 11:10 am

St .Andrew's, South Orange

Wednesdays 4:00 pm

St. Andrew's, South Orange

Thursdays 3:45 pm

Burgdorff Center, Maplewood 

(15 Classes $430)

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MORE INFO: 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.

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Ballet for Lively Fives: Creative and full of joy!

Older 5s & Kindergarten

 Saturdays 12:00 pm

St .Andrew's, South Orange

Wednesdays 5:00 pm

St. Andrew's, South Orange (15 Classes $440)

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MORE INFO: Ballet for Lively Fives: Creative and Full of Joy is designed for young dancers who have advanced beyond introductory ballet classes. The class blends imaginative sequences with fundamental pre-ballet techniques, offering a warm nurturing atmosphere and a curriculum tailored especially for our older five year olds. Through creative storytelling and playful choreography, children explore foundational ballet moves, fostering their creativity and expressiveness. The curriculum is thoughtfully crafted to build on their previous experience, allowing them to deepen their understanding of ballet while celebrating the joy of movement. The semester concludes with a class for parent observation where our young dancers can share with family and friends

all they are learning!  (Formerly Ballet 1A) 

 

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Ballet 1B with Choreography

(1st and 2nd grade)

Saturdays 12:00 pm

St. Andrew's, South Orange

Mondays 4:00 pm

The Baird Center, South Orange  

(15 Classes $460)

 

MORE INFO: Our Ballet 1B with Choreography 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 & some 6th graders)

6th graders may choose to enroll in Ballet 2 or 3 or

Ballet for Everyone) 

Saturdays 10:00 am

St. Andrew's, South Orange

Mondays 5:00 pm,

The Baird Center, South Orange 

(15 Classes $460) 

 

MORE INFO: 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.

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Ballet 3 

(6th - 10 grades)

Offered: Mondays 6:00 pm

The Baird Center, South Orange 

(15 Classes $460)

 

MORE INFO: Building on our Ballet 2 level curriculum, while accepting some beginners, our Ballet 3 continues the focus on correct alignment while adding more complex movement sequences. The class will introduce new ballet steps and works on the concept of how these are linked together. An increasing awareness of fluid transitions is seen at this age.  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. Our fall semester culminates with an Open Class for parent observation.

 

NOTE: Ballet 3 Students interested in Choreography should inquire about joining either the Junior or Senior Student Company. The Student Company performs throughout the year and the Winter/ Spring semester culminates in an evening Performance of Student Choreography at The Woodland.

 

Ballet for EVERYONE:

Teens & Adults with conditioning NEW longer class.

(6th grade & up)

Wednesdays 6:00- 7:30 

St. Andrew's, South Orange 

15 Classes $490) 

MORE INFO: 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 & 2nd grade)

 Thursdays 4:30 pm

Burgdorff Center, Maplewood

(15 classes $460 )

 

MORE INFO: 

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)

Thursdays 5:30pm Burgdorff Center, Maplewood

(15 classes  $460) 

 

MORE INFO:  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)

Thursdays 6:30 pm Burgdorff Center, Maplewood

(15 classes $460 )   

 

MORE INFO :  Contemporary/Modern 3 class adds more complex phrases to the wide range of modern styles explored. Embracing 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. THis class is a technique class and although the phrases may include elements of studnet invetnio it does nor include choreogrpahy as a major componenet. Students interested in choreogrpahy may join Ballet 3 on Mondays and/or explore the option of joining our Student Company which focus on the process of composition. Our session ends with an Open Class for parent observation.

 

Student Company with Choreography, Performance Skills and Coaching who are at least 13 years old and  taking Contemporary 3 and Ballet 3 or Ballet for Everyone 

 Thursdays 7:30 pm Burgdorff Center, Maplewood

(15 Classes $460) 

 

MORE INFO: Our exciting Student Company is open to dancers 13 years through high school 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 and one of our Ballet classes to be in the Student Company. There are now 2 levels of our Student Company. The Junior Company is for younger and/or  less experienced dancers and the Senior Company for more experienced dancers. Both levels allow dancers to create well structured and deeply evocative dances. 

 

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.

 

PERMISSION from Lydia is required for joining the Student Company! Please contact her at ljdanceschool @gmail.com to talk about your dancer! 

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“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