We are proud to announce that Denise Daniele student Cassidy Hagel will be joining the National Tour of Billy Elliot the Musical! Cassidy will be playing a Ballet Girl and will be a member of the ensemble. She has been a student at Denise Daniele since the age of 2 and is a member of our performing company. Best of luck to her as she performs around the country! We look forward to seeing her on stage soon. (August 2010)
New Performance Group at Denise Daniele
We are thrilled to announce the formation of a new Performance Group at Denise Daniele. This dynamic new program features a fantastic selection of core classes for dancers who are interested in pushing themselves to that next level without committing to a full competitive season. If you are interested in this exciting new program, inquire at the front desk. We can't wait to see how these dancers progress! (July 2010)
Another Dancer of the Year!
Congrats to Brenna Sautter for becoming the 2010-11 Tremaine Jr Dancer of the Year! Brenna is the second Sautter to receive this honor. Her sister Madison was the 2008-09 winner. We are so proud of you Brenna and wish you a fantastic tour this year with Tremaine dance conventions! (July 2010)
Summer Nationals a Success
Thanks to our fantastic Performance Company for their hard work and stellar performances at Nationals this summer! Denise Daniele dancers attended Tremaine Nationals in Orlando and JUMP! Nationals in NYC. The competition was fierce and our dancers really held their own. BRAVO! (July 2010)
DDDS Alumni Becomes NBA Cheerleader
Many congrats to Denise Daniele alum Alexa Kobylarz who recently became a New Orleans Hornets Cheerleader! Alexa auditioned for the squad known as "The Honeybees" and became one of 22 girls to join the team! We are so proud of you Alexa! (July 2010)
Free Classes During Dance Day 2010
Join us on Wednesday August 4th, 2010 for a free day of fabulous dance! Classes will run throughout the day for all ages and levels featuring some of our own wonderful faculty and some special guests including Al Blackstone from the National Tour of Wicked! Classes will also be taught by some of our exciting new faculty members for the 2010-11 season. Tell your friends! New students can register for the fall season and will not have to pay a registration fee. Classes are open to all dancers! Some experience necessary for intermediate and advanced classes. Come dance with us. Don't miss out! (July 2010)
Denise Daniele Students Perform at NJ State Teen Arts Festival
Congratulations to Logan Jones and Arriana DeDominicis for making it to the State Level of the New Jersey Teen Arts Festival. The dancers performed Mike Minery's Diablo Roja and received an award of excellence. They will perform once more in May at the College of New Jersey. Way to go dancers! (Spring 2010)
Al Blackstone Performs in WICKED
Faculty member and Denise Daniele alumni Al Blackstone is currently on the road with the first national tour of the musical WICKED. He has been performing with the show since August of 2009 and will be returning to New York in July of 2010. We are so proud of his accomplishments and look forward to his return to Denise Daniele!
Denise & Richard Teach Dance in New Zealand and Australia
Studio directors Richard & Denise Blackstone have recently returned from teaching ballroom dance aboard the Holland America Amsterdam. The ship travelled to many countries including New Zealand, Australia, and the state of Hawaii! They both very much enjoyed sharing their knowledge with passengers from all over the world. We are thrilled to have them back. Welcome home!
Denise Daniele Dance Studios on Facebook
Join our new group on Facebook! View pics, hear up to date news, and network with other dancers! Go to http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=159066475729 to join!
Tremaine New York a Big Success
Thanks to all who participated in the Tremaine Dance Convention, New York City! Held on January 23-24 at the Hyatt Regency, dancers took classes from Los Angeles based choreographers during the day and competed at night. Way to go on another very successful evening of performing! We are so proud of our dancers and all of their fantastic hard work. Awards included 5 First Place, 5 Second Place, and 3 Third Place Awards! Special congrats to "Cleaning Up the Town" winner of Teen High Score and "Stuff Like That There" winner of Senior Best of Show! (Winter 2009)
Students Attend JUMP Convention & Competition
Many congratulations to all of our dancers and teachers who attended the JUMP Convention & Competition in Washington DC on January 8-10, 2010! Participants took classes from leading industry professionals and competed against others schools from across the country. We are proud to have earned 6 High Gold, 4 Gold, and 2 High Silver awards including Teen Best of JUMP for "FIX YOU." Way to go to all of our dancers who auditioned for scholarships!
Denise Daniele helps raise $18,000 for Dancers Responding to AIDS
We are immensely proud to announce that this year's Dancers Unite for Life Benefit raised $18,000 for aids research, outreach, and education! Dancers joined forces with other schools in the area to put together a fantastic show at the Strand Theatre in Lakewood. The event took place on Sunday March 27. Guest performers included tap dancer Ryan Kasprzak and Laquet Sharnell from Broadway's The Lion King. Many thanks to all who participated. We look forward to more opportunities to give back to our community. For more information on DRA, check out www.dradance.org. (Spring 2009)
Company Members Rock New York City Dance Alliance
Congrats to our dancers and faculty who attended the New York City Dance Alliance convention and competition in Philadelphia on March 14 and 15! Classes were taught by some of the best choreographers and teachers on the east coast including Joe Lanteri and Joey Dowling. A great time was had by all especially at the competitive portion of the weekend where we were so proud of all of our dancers' performances! We were thrilled to receive the following awards;
10 Platinum Awards
1 High Gold Award
1 Gold Award
Best Sportsmanship
Outstanding Choreography, Precision, Costume, and Staging
Junior Critic's Choice Award- "Life Could Be a Dream"
Scholarships awarded to Jenn Siroka and Logan Jones
Bravo dancers! We are so proud of everyone on a job well done! (Spring 2009)
FOCUS Intensive Returns Due to Popular Demand
We are pleased to announce that our FOCUS Intensive will be taking place July 27-30, 2009. FOCUS is a four day workshop with top choreographers from across the country. This year includes classes with performers from Broadway's In the Heights, Rock of Ages, and Wicked! FOCUS is open to dancers from any studio. Space is limited. Check out our Workshops page for more info. (Spring 2009)
Dancers Take Classes from "So You Think You Can Dance" Choreographers
Denise Daniele dancers recently attended the JUMP Dance Convention at the Meadowlands and took classes from many notable teachers and choreographers. The faculty included Mandy Moore and Nick Lazzarini from Fox Television's So You Think You Can Dance. Also on faculty were Dee Caspary, Katie Spreadbury, and Denise Daniele favorite Mike Minery! Special congratulations go out to Katie Dougherty, Madison Sautter, and Logan Jones who each received JUMP V.I.P. awards. These are scholarships given to only a handful of the hundreds of participants over the weekend. The Denise Daniele dancers also had great success during the competition held Friday and Saturday night. Some of the top studios from the east coast competed head to head and we are proud to have achieved the following;
Teen Best of Jump- "Changing the Channel"
Senior Best of Jump- "No More I Love You's"
Denise Daniele Dancers Have Great Success at Tremaine Dance Conventions
Congratulations to all of our dancers who participated in the Tremaine Workshop and Competition in Washington DC! Dancers and faculty had the opportunity to takes classes from many notable choreographers from both the east coast and west coast including Nick Drago, Keri LeGrand, Joe Tremaine, Marty Dew, and Jeff Amsden. Many congrats go out to our competitive dancers who had phenomenal success. Scholarships were awarded to Katie Dougherty, Logan Jones, Angelica Merone, Delaney Huber, and Mallory Friedman! Awards included; First Places for "Jumpin' Jive," "Pin-Striped Suit," "Changing the Channel," "VooDoo," "Green," and "No More I Love You's," as well as,
High Score Junior- "Life Could Be a Dream" High Score Teen- "Pep, Vim, & Verve"
Dancers from "Life Could Be a Dream" receive their High Score Award!
Madison Sautter Wins Tremaine Dancer of the Year
Madison Sautter has been touring the country as Tremaine's Dancer of the Year. The prestigious title was presented to her at the National Finals in Orlando this July. She will be touring with the world-renowned faculty for the next year. Madison was chosen out of hundreds of dancers and is very excited to be a part of the Denise Daniele family! (Summer 2008)
Madison being presented her new title in Orlando, FL!
FOCUS is a Great Success
Our first annual FOCUS intensive was a huge success! Many thanks to all of the fantastic dancers that participated. FOCUS was a four day workshop with some of the nation's top teachers and choreographers. The faculty included Yanira Marin (Bway's West Side Story, Beyonce World Tour), Sheila Barker (Broadway Dance Center), and Stephanie Klemons (Bway's In the Heights). We look forward to next year! Check with the front desk to be placed on the mailing list. Focus is open to dancers from any studio. See you there! (Summer 2008)
The FOCUS participants with Stephanie Klemons from In the Heights.
Al Blackstone Performs in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular
Faculty member and former student Al Blackstone just completed a run with the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and the world famous Radio City Rockettes. Al was a dancer in the production held in Nashville at the Grande Old Opry. He had a blast and is happy to be home and teaching again. (Winter 2007)
Al with the Radio City Rockettes.
Logan Jones Appears on Nickelodeon's iCarly
Our own Logan Jones, 14, recently flew to Hollywood, for 8 days of rehearsal after being cast as a dancer on the new Nickelodeon show, iCarly. The show stars Miranda Cosgrove, (Megan from Drake and Josh and School of Rock) as Carly Shay, a girl who runs an on-screen web show right from her attic along with her best friend Sam and neighbor Freddie. The episode which features Logan, along with other dancers, is called iWanna Dance. Carly, Sam and Freddy ask their viewers to send in their favorite kinds of dance. They end up having to watch over two thousand tapes. They each fall asleep and dream about being in different dance scenarios. Logan, appears in all five of the episodes' "dream dance scenarios." We are very proud of him. (Spring, 2007)
Miss Denise Named Dance Teacher of the Year
Congratulations to Director Denise Daniele Blackstone on being honored as the 2006 National Dance Teacher of the Year! The award was presented to her at a star-studded gala in Orlando, FL by dance legend Joe Tremaine. We could not be more proud of Miss Denise!!!! (Summer 2006)
Miss Denise next to choreographer Wade Robson from "So You Think You Can Dance"
