Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance
Encyclopedia
The Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance is a school of dance located in Ridgefield, Connecticut
, primarily providing programs in ballet
, modern
, jazz
, tap
, and hip hop
.
It is home to two pre-professional performance companies:
Also, a professional dance company, James Robey Dance, is the official company-in-residence.
In 1978, she formed the non-profit Ridgefield Civic Ballet as a way to give young dancers the opportunity to perform on the larger public stage alongside professionals, an experience she believed would inspire them to a higher appreciation for the full world of dance. Some of her students from the early days went on to become professionals themselves, most notably New York City Ballet Principal Dancer James Fayette.
Upon Patricia’s passing in 1999, her school was willed to The Ridgefield Playhouse for Movies and the Performing Arts. The Playhouse embraced the school as its dance school in residence and, recognizing that the school needed and deserved its own management structure, acted as a bridge to its new life as a non-profit with its own board and management and established it as the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance, Inc.
In January 2002, the Board of Directors appointed James Robey, former dancer with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, as Director and Melissa Gerth as Assistant Director.
In December 2002, the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance began presenting the first full-length production of The Nutcracker at the Ridgefield Playhouse. New York City ballerina and choreographer Stacey Mahan, Director of Outreach for American Ballet Theatre, was appointed Artistic Director of The Nutcracker and served in that position for the next five years. In 2007, Anthony Jones, former member of Pacific Northwest Ballet Company in Seattle, WA, became Artistic Director for The Nutcracker.
In 2003, the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance received recognition from the United States as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
In 2007, the Ridgefield Contemporary Dance Ensemble was one of sixteen professional/amateur dance companies chosen internationally to perform at the Harris Theater in Chicago at the Jazz Dance World Congress.
Ridgefield, Connecticut
Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 24,638 at the 2010 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough, is defined by the U.S...
, primarily providing programs in ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
, modern
Modern dance
Modern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Intro:...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, tap
Tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the...
, and hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
.
It is home to two pre-professional performance companies:
- The Ridgefield Civic Ballet
- The Contemporary Dance Ensemble.
Also, a professional dance company, James Robey Dance, is the official company-in-residence.
History
In 1965, Patricia Schuster opened the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance (then the Ridgefield Studio of Classical Ballet) in Ridgefield, CT. A passionate advocate for ballet, Patricia wanted to bring New York City dance to the Ridgefield community.In 1978, she formed the non-profit Ridgefield Civic Ballet as a way to give young dancers the opportunity to perform on the larger public stage alongside professionals, an experience she believed would inspire them to a higher appreciation for the full world of dance. Some of her students from the early days went on to become professionals themselves, most notably New York City Ballet Principal Dancer James Fayette.
Upon Patricia’s passing in 1999, her school was willed to The Ridgefield Playhouse for Movies and the Performing Arts. The Playhouse embraced the school as its dance school in residence and, recognizing that the school needed and deserved its own management structure, acted as a bridge to its new life as a non-profit with its own board and management and established it as the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance, Inc.
In January 2002, the Board of Directors appointed James Robey, former dancer with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, as Director and Melissa Gerth as Assistant Director.
In December 2002, the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance began presenting the first full-length production of The Nutcracker at the Ridgefield Playhouse. New York City ballerina and choreographer Stacey Mahan, Director of Outreach for American Ballet Theatre, was appointed Artistic Director of The Nutcracker and served in that position for the next five years. In 2007, Anthony Jones, former member of Pacific Northwest Ballet Company in Seattle, WA, became Artistic Director for The Nutcracker.
In 2003, the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance received recognition from the United States as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
In 2007, the Ridgefield Contemporary Dance Ensemble was one of sixteen professional/amateur dance companies chosen internationally to perform at the Harris Theater in Chicago at the Jazz Dance World Congress.