“You need a stable, grounded lower body,” says James Robey to his attentive students in an advanced jazz class, “and an expressive, mobile upper body.” Robey wrote his own syllabus to fill the hole in jazz dance education, which lacked a codified system along the lines of Vaganova or RAD. (Photo by Sherryl Hauck) Robey, [...]
The word “enterprising” always applies to New Chamber Ballet. On Saturday night at Studio 4 in New York City Center, in addition to its usual accomplishments of presenting new and recent choreography with live music, it offered a program set entirely to music written in the last 30 years. Let nobody underrate this. Of the [...]
“Are you ready to dance?” was the shout out at Scotland Elementary School a few weeks ago when 400 students were taken on a journey of American musical theatre dance styles through the decades by James Robey, artistic director of the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance. Robey and his dance students performed excerpts from musicals such [...]
Why hasn’t Miro Magloire been offered more opportunities in the ballet world? Companies, after all, are always looking for new talent, and Mr. Magloire creates clean, contemporary work that also has an old-fashioned respect for ballet steps and etiquette. Blog But somehow Mr. Magloire, who presents his New Chamber Ballet a handful of times a [...]
When James Robey began teaching jazz at the University of Akron (Ohio) in 1996, the job came with a unique challenge--create a technique syllabus. he quickly realized that while ballet and modern techniques were codified and well honed, jazz technique was a different story. So he went to work on a jazz syllabus that would [...]
Some tickets remain for the magical family event The Nutcracker, a holiday tradition at The Ridgefield Playhouse, in three performances: Saturday, Dec. 18, at 2 and 6 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 19, at 2 p.m. The Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance features a cast of professional and student dancers. “It’s hard to find a better quality [...]
Jazz Dance 1: Technique & Syllabus by James Robey www.robeyjazzdance.com In a nutshell: Complete curriculum for beginning jazz class. James Robey, director of the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance, organized this 36-week syllabus to help students ages 7 and older grasp traditional jazz-dance steps. Each of the six master lessons includes instructional exercise cards with movement [...]
Melissa Gerth has been appointed the chorus teacher at the Ridgefield Academy, an independent, coeducational day school for pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. After serving as a visiting artist in the spring, Ms. Gerth was asked to join the faculty and serve as director of the middle and upper school choirs. “Having had the pleasure of [...]
Ridgefield dancer, teacher and author James Robey has released his Jazz Dance Technique & Syllabus. Mr. Robey has worked on the publication for the past 14 years and, while it has been shared informally with teachers in Canada and the United States for the past 10 years, this is its formal release to the public. [...]
The Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance has summer dance programs for all age levels that include regular classes as well as two-week workshops. From July 19 to 30 the conservatory will host a Junior Dance Workshop for seven to 10-year-olds and a Summer Dance Workshop for 11 and up. Junior Dance Workshop provides young dancers with [...]
