From Lydia Johnson Dance:
Lydia Johnson Dance is performing its New York Season 2022 at New York Live Arts, 219 West 19th St in Chelsea Thursday September 15, Friday September 16 and Saturday September 17 at 7:30. Ms. Johnson’s piece, Undercurrent, features a “folk” dance section in which the LJD Student Company, and selected younger dancers, will perform alongside the professionals.
LJD student dancers have had the unparalleled experience of rehearsing in New York with the professional Company at various NY studios including Alvin Ailey, Ballet Hispanico, and in the New York Live Arts theater. Rehearsals have included: learning phrases, coaching for performance quality and working together with professional dancers. Students have focused on spatial design, learning to count phrases and memorizing both musical and visual cues.
Setting the LJD School apart from most commercial dance education is the link between the professional dancers, many of whom teach at the school, and the students. The company is Dance Company in Residence at The Burgdorff Center for the Performing Arts in Maplewood Village and partners with Maplewood Arts and Culture by donating free community performances. The LJD School has vibrant Scholarship and Teen Internship Programs, giving $20,000 a year in scholarships so that all local children can study dance.
The professional dance company is much acclaimed most recently Marina Harss of The New Yorker said in 2019:
“Johnson is adept at capturing the beauty and pathos in music—her musical choices are well-considered, and it’s clear that she really “feels” the emotion contained in the notes. She translates harmony and texture into a narrative of human intimacy and empathy.”
Tickets and more information are available at:
