Our Kids’ Biz

A monthly briefing featuring Fort Greene’s finest youth programs

By Josh Beauregard

From clubs, sports, and activities to school-and organization-based programs, this monthly briefing highlights local programs serving Fort Greene’s youth in positive and meaningful ways. In this edition, we feature The School at the Mark Morris Dance Center.

Students from the School’s Student Company rehearsing for a new work by Student Company Director and MMDG dancer, John Heginbotham

The School at the Mark Morris Dance Center, located at 3 Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene, is kicking off its spring semester with classes beginning on January 30th.

The School offers a host of weekday and weekend classes for children and adolescents (ages 4-17). On a given Saturday, the School offers over 35 different youth classes including modern dance, jazz/hip-hop, ballet, and tap, among others. In total, the school serves approximately 1,300 students per semester.

According to Sarah Marcus, the School’s Director, the School offers to community youth “a nurturing, non-competitive venue for kids to both learn and enjoy learning various styles of dance with peers on a weekly basis.”

For children, ages 4-6, the school offers two levels of creative dances classes in which students learn fundamentals while developing their imagination. These classes offer a blend of movement, music, improvisation, and basic dance steps and are an excellent introduction for the future study of dance techniques.

For kids ages, 6-17, the School offers courses in modern, basic jazz/hip-hop, ballet, and tap. The School’s approach to its modern classes is to develop strong, creative dancers through the study of technique, improvisation, and composition. The jazz/hip-hip class is designed for students interested in learning basic jazz/hip-hop dance principles such as syncopated rhythms and body isolations as well as classic jazz and hip-hop moves. Ballet classes introduce students to basic ballet vocabulary while developing strength, proper alignment, and musicality. The School’s tap classes introduce students to basic tap dance technique while developing rhythmic skills, musicality, and precision.

In addition to these courses, the School also offers a unique dance class for boys ages 7-10. This class introduces young male students to the fundamentals of dance in a nurturing, all-boys classroom setting. Taking a diverse approach that mixes modern and ballet techniques with strength training, students in this course develop musicality, coordination, flexibility, and physical fitness within a fun, supportive environment.

Finally, the school offers music & singing classes for students ages 7-15 who are interested in learning vocal production and developing rhythm, solfege, and basic harmony.

In celebration of the School’s 10 year anniversary, the School will offer free classes for everyone on Sunday, February 12th from 10am-3pm. Families are welcome to take part in any or all classes. The day will conclude with performances by the Mark Morris Dance Group, The School’s student companies, and students from the music & singing classes.

To learn more about the February 12^th event, as well as the School’s classes, registration, fees, and tuition assistance, visit the Mark Morris Dance Group website at mmdg.org or call Elise Marafioti , the School’s Administrator at (718) 624-8900.

Readers are encouraged to provide leads about promising programs serving youth of the Fort Greene area. All suggestions may be directed to Josh at [email protected]