Lydia Johnson Dance and the LJD Dance School will hold a teen dance camp the week of July 14-18, supported by a Maplewood Foundation grant to bring in professional guest artists teaching workshops in Contemporary, Jazz and Modern techniques.
The program includes an in-depth choreography workshop with Ms. Johnson. Local teen dancers will participate as well as interested members of the CHS Special Dance Troupe. Scholarships are available as LJD is a nonprofit and is committed to a robust scholarship program.
“I’m thrilled to be offering classes with these wonderful guest artists locally with the support of The Maplewood Foundation,” Johnson said. “Its inspiring for teen dancers to study with this level of summer professionals without traveling into the city.”
The guest dancers are Oscar Antonio Rodriguez, Holly Evans and MaliQ Williams. Short bios provided by the dance school are below:
Oscar Antonio Rodriguez (Photo courtesy of Lydia Johnson Dance)
Oscar Antonio Rodriguez is a gifted performer with a wide range of experience and an inspiring teacher! He holds an MFA in Dance from NYU. Oscar has performed at Radio City Music Hall and The Metropolitan Opera (ballet company). He has been featured in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story, Rebecca Miller’s film She Came to Me and in the production Dancing Through. Regional credits include: In the Heights, Chicago, Evita. He has danced with Earl Mosely’s Dancing Beyond, in Dance Against Cancer and with Cheryl Lavagnino and Lydia Johnson Dance.
Holly Evans (Photo Courtesy of Lydia Johnson Dance)
Holly Evans is a joyful and deeply knowledgeable instructor who has enjoyed a multi-faceted career in dance as a performer, choreographer and teacher. Holly was a Radio City Rockette for 10 years, serving as assistant choreographer to Linda Haberman, as well as a dance captain. She danced in several regional ballet companies. Holly is currently a fulltime faculty member in the acclaimed commercial dance department at Pace University in New York where she teaches a wide range of dance technique styles and academic classes. She holds a Master’s in Arts and Entertainment Management from Pace, a BA degree from Butler University in Dance Pedagogy, a Certificate in Arts Administration from New York University and has completed the teacher training for Martha Graham technique.
MaliQ Williams (Photo Courtesy of Lydia Johnson Dance)
MaliQ Williams is a deeply expressive dancer who teaches with enthusiasm and warmth! He holds a BFA from The Juilliard School and was most recently a member of Lydia Johnson Dance where he was featured in principal roles. MaliQ is a former member of Mark Morris Dance Group. A native of Pennsylvania, he has worked with a wide range of choreographers including Loni Landon, Matthew Neenan, Gentian Doda, Andrea Peña, Jasmine Ellis, Shamel Pitts, Jermaine Spivey and Caroline Finn. He has also learned works by Martha Graham, Paul Taylor, and Nacho Duato.
