s 48 The QUEE NS Courier • dance • august 29, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com dance STEP BY STEP Landrum School of Dance inspires s BY JOHAN HAMILTON Annette Vallone always knew she wanted to be a dancer. Ever since her mother enrolled her in the Landrum School of Dance at age three, dancing has been Vallone’s passion. Fifteen years later, she became the owner of the Landrum School, where she inspires children every day to pursue their dreams, just as she did. “I love to watch children find their voice through dance,” she said. “It’s totally my thing. Another great thing about this school is that it’s spanned so many generations, so I’ll see great-grandparents come to our recitals to watch their great-grandchildren, and mothers I’ve taught bring in their own children.” The Landrum School of Dance was founded in 1947 by Frances Landrum, a member of the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. In addition to being among the oldest dance schools in New York, it is also one of the founding businesses that helped start off Whitestone, in addition to a post office, a bank, and a pharmacy. “The owners were amazing people,” Vallone said. “Their teaching style was all about technique, which is what they passed down to me. In this industry, technique is like gas in a car. If you don’t have it, you simply can’t move on.” Along with assistant director Gina Teri, Vallone has led hundreds of children to go on to be Rockettes, actors on television, casting agents, Broadway dancers, dance school founders, and much more. Vallone is very in touch with the dance industry, and has also worked in other areas of the field, such as judging national talent competitions. The Landrum School offers a wide variety of dance instruction, such as ballet, tap, hip hop, lyrical, modern, contemporary, and most recently, aerial fitness classes. It is also pleased to announce the beginnings of a Stage and Screen performance school for ages 6-16, located inside the Landrum School itself. “Right in the school we will be building a stage so children can a get a real feel for what goes on in front of and behind the scenes of a working stage,” explained Vallone. “They will be taught improvisation, the concept of going in and out of character, body language, memorizing and performing monologues and performing alongside fellow classmates creating scenes using ideas and input from peers.” Another new addition to its curriculum is Aerial Circus Arts Training, which will feature all levels of circus arts, with training in things such as Spanish Web, Static Trapeze, Lya, Cordelisse, Aerial Hammock, Partnering, and much more. The average class size is between 10 and 14 students, with each teacher working with an assistant once class size exceeds 10. The school also offers private classes and competition training. “We’re really into the quality of what our students are learning,” Vallone said. “Our students can leave here and dance in any dance school in Manhattan and know the terminology of the steps they’ve learned, and the technique.” The Landrum School of Dance is located at 11-02 Clintonville Street in Whitestone. To learn more, call 718- 767-9787. ADVERTORIAL SONG & A DANCE 73-07 Grand Ave., Maspeth 718-478-8076 www.songandadance.com MUSIC DANCE KARATE ACROBATICS Ballet • Tap • Hip-Hop • Irish Step • Salsa Pop n Loc • Drama • Piano • Vocal • Guitar Drums •Violin • Sax • Flute & More FREE CLASS with this ad new students only Angelina Ballerina Class starting at Age 2 THE GREAT NECK SCHOOL OF DANCE 32 YEARS AS THE MOST PROFESSIONAL DANCE SCHOOL ON LONG ISLAND The Great Neck School of Dance has been serving the Queens and Long Island communities for 32 years. After a career as an international ballerina, Roberta Senn founded the school in 1981 with the aim of teaching children from the community to appreciate the great art of classical ballet. As a result the school is now training a third generation of children, teens and adults to be beautiful, elegant and graceful. The study of ballet fosters discipline and commitment while building strength, flexibility and coordination. The Great Neck School of Dance has a dedicated international faculty composed of teachers who are professional dancers from the world’s best ballet companies and schools including the Bolshoi Ballet, the NY City Ballet, the Leningrad Kirov Ballet, and the Royal Ballets of England and Denmark. A unique aspect of the school is its annual performance. In 1991 Roberta founded the American Ballet Russe, a professional ballet company. It’s members dance alongside students of the school in a fully costumed dance production of a famous full-length ballet. Productions have included Swan Lake, the Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella etc. There is also a winter performance. Classes at the school range from Mommy ‘N Me for 2 yr. olds through all levels of classical ballet, pointe, hip hop jazz, and tap with ballet, ballroom, Ballet Body Fitness and Yoga Stretch classes for adults. Accomplishments include training Olympic Gold Medalist Sarah Hughes for eleven years and Olympian Emily Hughes for eight years. The school has six graduates in the NY City Ballet School and Ashley Hod who recently joined the company. The school is currently training Anna Kaczmarski, the American and International ballroom champion. For information and a schedule call 516 466-3515 or email us at [email protected] ADVERTORIAL
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