Dance
Welcome to the new Downers Grove Academy of Dance!
The Academy has been created to bring a well-rounded yet affordable dance program to the Downers Grove community. The program is designed to meet the needs of the beginner and seasoned dancer from preschoolers to adults. Dance is exercise, a social gathering and an art form. Our goal is to provide a fun, safe and nurturing environment while sparking creativity in all of our dancers.
Our dance year will encompass three sessions: one 14 week fall session, one 18 week winter session, and one 9 week summer session. The objective of the fall and winter sessions is to prepare the students for a spring recital by focusing on both technique and combinations. Our very young dancers follow shorter session schedules.
CLASS ATTIRE is ballet, jazz or tap shoes depending on which class you are registered for. Leotard and tights and/or bike shorts and t-shirt are recommended.
Academy of Dance Program Features
|
|
|
|
For questions regarding our dance program, please contact Kim Wallace, Recreation Supervisor at 630-963-1300.
Downers Grove Academy Dancers
Dancers who are interested in our new Downers Grove Academy Dancers program are asked to audition in January. Participants must be at least 9 years old by September 1, 2010, have at least one year of experience in ballet and jazz and be registered year-round in ballet and jazz classes. Members of the company are taught proper technique, body placement and flexibility exercises. The Dance Company represents the Park District in community shows as well as all recital shows and some members may be trained to compete in dance competitions. For more information, please contact Kim Wallace, Recreation Supervisor at 630-963-1300 or kwallace@dgparks.org.
Meet our instructors:
Amanda Pesch graduated with honors from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana in 2009 and holds a BFA in dance. At the end of her high school career she performed with the Matrix Improv, an improvisational modern dance company, at Links Hall and in the Dance Chicago Series at the Chicago Athenaum. Her own work was most recently seen in the spring and fall 2009 senior thesis concerts at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Urbana. In the past, Pesch’s work was selected for Studiodance II, a concert of student works selected by a faculty and student panel. During her time spent at the U of I, Pesch danced for faculty members Sara Hook and Cynthia Oliver and MFA graduates Renay Aumiller and Nicholas Duran, among many other BFA and MFA dance candidates. She was a teaching assistant for two semesters, and in spring of 2010, Pesch completed her first semester teaching tap as a guest instructor at the University and was a guest artist for a premiering art installation at the Indi Go gallery in Champaign. She currently is dancing with the recently founded company, Walterella Dance, based in Chicago.
