FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM FEBRUARY 20, 2020 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 63
buzz
Astoria dance company names
new leader as it opens home
in Kaufman Arts District
School of Rock Queens to perform hits from British Invasion era in Elmhurst
BY BENJAMIN MANDILE
editoral@qns.com
@QNS
School of Rock Queens, a school based
on the idea of redefi ning the way people
learn music, will open for Chad Szelinga’s
Walking With Lions on Feb. 29 with a
“British Invasion” set.
Songs from Th e Beatles, Th e Who and
Th e Rolling Stones are all expected to be
on the set list that 15 to 20 young performers
will showcase before the school’s
adult band plays a short set.
Paul Green started School of Rock in
Philadelphia in 1998 and since then his
method of teaching students music has
spread to 250 schools according to Karen
Flyer, general manager of School of Rock
Queens.
Th e method is based on the idea that
instead of simply learning an instrument,
the school would teach all aspects of being
a musician – including how to perform on
stage, how to play instruments and how to
play with others.
Th e method used to teach music at
School of Rock “shortens the learning
curve” because students stick with it,
according to Flyer, who said it’s nice to
have an activity where parents don’t have
to force their kids to go.
School of Rock Queens, currently based
in Whitestone, opened in fall 2019 and
plans on moving to a new location in
Bayside this Spring, Flyer said.
Th e school has a line up of 67 young
musicians who not only learn how to play
music but also how to be part of a band
environment.
“It’s so much fun for the kids,” Flyer
said.
And School of Rock provides opportunities
beyond the front door of the classroom.
Th e best of the best from each of the
franchise’s schools can compete to join a
house band in which they travel and play
shows. Students in a house band can try
out for “All Stars” which allows them to
tour the United States while vocal students
can try out for “Center Stage” in
which they have an opportunity to record
for a weekend in Los Angeles.
Th e show will begin Feb. 29 at 5 p.m.
at the Aloft Hotel in Elmhurst, with tickets
sold at the door for $10 or at www.
eventbrite.com.
Courtesy RIOULT Dance NY
Jane Penn takes over as executive director of RIOULT Dance NY
as the company opens its new home in the Kaufman Arts District
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
An Astoria-based dance company has
a new leader to go with their new home.
RIOULT Dance NY appointed Jane
Penn as the company’s executive director,
which coincides with the opening of
its 11,000 square foot facility.
Th e RIOULT Dance Center, located at
34-01 Steinway St., houses the professional
dance company and serves the broader
arts community.
“On behalf of the board, it is with great
pleasure that we announce Jane Penn as
the executive director for RIOULT Dance
NY,” said Hope Greenfi eld, chair of the
Board of Directors of RIOULT. “As a former
dancer and longtime member of
the dance community, she brings a vast
amount of understanding to her role. We
are so delighted to have her driving the
development of our new dance center and
partnering with us to shape the future of
RIOULT.”
Founded in 1994, RIOULT Dance NY
is dedicated to fostering a new generation
of modern dance enthusiasts through the
creation and presentation of dance works
by choreographer and artistic director
Pascal Rioult. Th e company has performed
in theaters and festivals throughout
North America.
“I am so thrilled to welcome Jane to
the RIOULT organization at a pivotal
moment in our history,” Rioult said. “It
is an ambitious undertaking in this day
and age, and I am glad to have found an
ambitious and accomplished partner with
whom to build the future.”
Penn began her early years training as a
dancer at Th e School of American Ballet
and later at the Joff rey Ballet School. Aft er
an injury sidelined her career on stage,
she transferred her passion into arts management
working in the not-for-profi t
sector for more than 25 years.
On the eve of its 25th anniversary,
RIOULT Dance NY was given the keys
to its fi rst-ever home in the Astoria Arts
District which currently includes more
than 30 arts and culture spaces including
the Museum of the Moving Image,
the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, and
Kaufman Astoria Studios. RIOULT Dance
NY is the fi rst established dance company
to take up residence within the Kaufman
Arts District.
“Th e newly-built Dance Center is at
the heart of what I love as an arts professional,
providing working artists with
the resources they need to create
and building space for bold
voices, new ideas and a strong
sense of community,” Penn said.
“We are so fortunate to call
Astoria home. Th ere is a
vibrancy and authenticity
in the neighborhood
that begs for a creative
enterprise such as
ours.”
The RIOULT
Dance Center is dedicated
to community
based arts programming:
providing
a permanent
home base
for the dance
company; an
e d u c a t i o n a l
resource for the
local community
in western
Queens; and a
creative hub for
the larger New
York City dance
community. For more
information visit their website
at www.rioult.org.
Courtesy of School of Rock Queens/Karen Flyer
Perf Group Lighter performs Jan. 11 at Hatfi elds in Bayside. School of Rock gives people the opportunity
to learn an instrument and how to apply it to being part of a musical group.
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