The 2011-2012 Dance Season...Welcome Back!

First, we would like to welcome you (or welcome you back) to Uptown Dance, Belleville's Premier Dance Studio. This year is very special for us because we will be celebrating 20 years of business in dance. Thank you for being part of our dance family and helping us celebrate!

We have an exciting fall schedule for you with Ballet, Tap and Jazz for ages 2.5-Adult. We also have Hip Hop for ages 7-Adult, Pointe for ages 11-adult, and much more! New classes such as Kids Yoga and kids and adult ZUMBA fitness!

Also, don't forget about our Fitness program which includes personal training for all ages, and remember if you ever need dance outside of our studio, do not hesitate to contact us. We have our traveling dance teacher program, Around the Town Dance, which will come to your facility or party. We are currently bringing dance to Little Scholars Nursery School in Belleville and have made appearances at many of our student's birthday parties. Then we have Uptown Entertainment which provides party motivators and choreographed dancers for your next special event. We would also be happy to choreograph a piece for your special day. We have done Mitzvahs, Weddings, and Sweet 16's. Check out the fun here! Last but not least, the U Can Dance program is back and in full swing! This is our program for children with special needs. We were featured in the Belleville Times! check it out here.

So, as if that was not enough dance for you... Uptown is constantly growing and evolving with our community. We are proud supporters of Dance 4 Your Life!

Established by the Dizzy Feet Foundation and the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, with the assistance of CRT/tanaka, in 2011, Dance 4 Your Life! is a national initiative to promote dance as a daily part of an active, healthy lifestyle. Dance is a fun and proactive way to get moving, to reduce the risk of heart disease, and to combat the obesity epidemic. Anyone, young or old, can dance anywhere, without need for a gym membership, good weather, expensive sneakers, or any equipment. So what’s stopping you? DANCE 4 YOUR LIFE!

We want nothing more than to be a part of keeping our community active and healthy. We are also proud sponsors of Nutley Fit Kids. This brings us to yet another addition to our fall schedule... Healthy Habits for life seminars based on the platform of Ms. United states 2008, Graziella Baratta. The seminars will be held the last Saturday of every month from 4-430pm.

Other than our schedule, we have fun opportunities for our students to stay motivated throughout the year. We have our student of the month program for children who who are dedicated to dance/fitness, have good attendance, participate with enthusiasm, work well with their other classmates, keep the classroom a positive environment, and show progress in their classes. Applying is simple, just message Miss Leslea on The Uptown Connection (you must be a member first and don't worry, its FREE) and tell her why you or your child/family member should be The Student of the Month. This special student will recieve recognition in our Newsletter and Blog, a unique photo/video montage, and a special gift!

I am so proud to be sharing this news with you and honored to have served our community for these 20 years! It has been quite a journey, to think I was just a teenager and a student teacher when Miss Pat opened Uptown... and here we are today... Some of our students are still with us! This is more than dance to us... its our lifestyle, its our passion, its our family. We bring dance to you from the heart. I look forward to the next 20 plus years of dance with you all!

If you are as excited as I am about the new season and want to show your support by wearing your Uptown Gear, you may visit our U Dance Apparel store here. We have samples in the studio for you to try on or take a look at.

See you all in class!
Peace, Love, and Dance!
Miss Leslea

Student Spotlight

We would like to announce a new feature to our blog... The Student Spotlight. Each month we will highlight a special student...The Student of the Month. We will also recognize other achievements in dance from our students in this section.

To apply for student of the month you and/or a member of your family must apply on our members only, private site, www.UptownDanceConnection.com (please ask your parents/guardians permission before joining our website.) We are looking for students who are dedicated to dance, have good attendance, participate with enthusiasm, work well with their other classmates, keep the classroom a positive environment, and show progress in their classes. Applying is simple, just message Miss Leslea on The Uptown Connection (you must be a member first and don't worry, its FREE) and tell her why you or your child/family member should be The Student of the Month.

If you are not a student at Uptown Dance, don't worry. There is a similar opportunity for you on New Jersey Dancers.com. You may apply to be Dancer of the Month! This contest is open to anyone involved in the dance field in NJ. Simply message "LesleaC" the founder of NJDancers with why you should be Dancer of the Month. Tell her about your achievements or goals or any dance related awesomeness =)

We are looking forward to your participation!

Congratulations to Uptown's first Student of the Month... August's Ashley V.

National Dance Day 2011

The second annual National Dance Day is quickly approaching. This year it will be on July 30th. I will be celebrating by being at the Dance Teacher Summit in NYC with my family and friends. I encourage you all to participate in NDD and would love to have my Uptown crew represent by choosing one of the 3 videos below, learn the choreography, then tape yourself and send it to our Facebook page .







Need more information...

WHAT: NATIONAL DANCE DAY, a grassroots initiative that encourages the nation, young and old, to move! Individuals, families, organizations and communities from across the nation come together through their creative expression in dance. Any style of dance is welcome and imagination is recommended in order to get the most out of this celebratory day.

WHEN: Saturday, July 30

WHY: To continue to generate national awareness for dance, a medium of expression and storytelling which, through shows like So You Think You Can Dance, has proven its value in bringing individuals from all walks of life together through a positive platform that has no boundaries and cultivates imagination and passion. Most importantly, the day is intended to promote health and wellness nationwide.

HOW: Three videos will be released Wednesday, July 6 with different levels of choreography, making it possible for people of all ages and dance backgrounds to celebrate.

National Dance Day was recognized by Congress last year. Learn more about the movement brought to Washington, D.C. by Nigel Lythgoe and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC). Share your D-Day ideas in the SYTYCD forums and stay tuned to this site for more information to come.

Visit Dance4YourLife.org for more.

Help bring the U Can Dance Program back!

It was always Miss Leslea's goal to start a program for children with special needs. This year I am happy to say that we finally did it! Unfortunately, timing was not on our side. Most of you know I was pregnant at the start of the program, and extremely pregnant towards the end. Sadly, I had to finally discontinue. I had high hopes on returning 4-6 weeks after delivery but once lil C arrived we realized that almost all of my free time needed to be dedicated towards him. Being down the studio for longs stretches at a time was just not working for us. With my sons demands still being pretty high, I am working towards hiring other instructors to take my place. With that, I would also love to expand the program with performance opportunities and take creative movement to a new level with props and fun games for the kids. That being said, I am reaching out to the community with hopes of some small contributions. The program was at no cost to the children or their families and I would love to keep it that way. The location will still be sponsored by Uptown Dance and some of our assistants will be donating their time. Let's see where this takes us, and high hopes for U Can Dance!! Thank you for checking out or page!

http://ucandance.chipin.com/the-u-can-dance-program

Peace, Love, Dance
Miss Leslea

Dance Advantage's Spring Fever Giveaway

Seems it is that time again and we are super excited to share another week of giveaways provided by Dance Advantage. The last set of giveaways was lots of fun and we were lucky enough to win the Cynthia King ballet slippers! You can read all about it bellow(info taken directly from DA's post) or simply go to Dance Advantage now!

Spring Fever Giveaway!!!!

When will it begin?

Monday, March 21.

When will it end?

Sunday, March 27.

What could I win?

Oh no you don’t. We like to surprise you! I CAN share that we’ve got you covered – your A-B-C’s and 1-2-3′s! Wearables, gear to help you practice and improve, teaching and curriculum aids, and more!

What will I have to do?

All you have to do is show up and comment. Stay tuned all week to DanceAdvantage.net. There will be a link to the giveaways on the home page. Or bookmark this post. I’ll update it to include links to the daily giveway.

What are my chances?

It depends. There will be up to three winners on each giveaway. Winners will be chosen randomly from those that comment on each individual giveaway.

Subscriber PLUS members will have the opportunity to earn extra entries. Good news! There’s still time to sign up… Join HERE.

Why do you hold giveaways?

I see it as a way to show appreciation to readers as well as highlight interesting companies and products with which you may not be familiar. And it doesn’t hurt Dance Advantage, either! It brings new readers and sponsors, creates a bit of buzz, and gives us a warm, fuzzy feeling.

What happens if I win?

After I randomly draw your winning entry comment, I’ll contact you via email. You’ll only have 48 hours to get back to me. I’ve got to put a limit on it or it drags on and on and on…. So stay close to your email throughout the coming week (and a half). When I don’t hear back from a winner, I move on to the next drawn winner which makes another person happy (yay!) but another one pretty disappointed. I’d rather that no one is disappointed!

What do I do now?

Tweet, retweet, tweet again.

Share, like, link on Facebook.

Blog, re-blog, broadcast.

(Monday – mark your calendar!)

Any other questions?

Ask now in the comments below or forever hold your peace...

The Dance Advantage Reader’s Choice Top Dance Blogs of 2010 competition

Contests are fun, especially those that support our dance community. Nichelle of Dance Advantage has done it again, she is rounding us up and encouraging us to enter her contest "Top Dance Blogs of 2010".

I decided to enter because there is a category for Dance Companies/Schools. I have never considered myself a "blogger" or even a good writer... You all know I (like many other dancers) express myself best through my movement and not my words. But, I do feel like I do a decent job at keeping Uptown Dancers and their family and friends well informed with my blog The Uptown Beat. So why not you guys...I'm entering, and I need your help to get to the next round.

If you support what I am saying, enjoy reading my blog, or are a new reader and support Uptown, please leave a comment on this post. In order to get to the next round I will simply need comments...easy enough for you guys, right?

Wish me luck and thanks in advance for your comments, or even if you are just here reading, I appreciate it! Also please support Dance Advantage and go check out this contest if you have not already done so http://danceadvantage.net/2010/12/08/top-dance-blog/

Peace, Love, and Dance!
Miss Leslea

The Dance Advantage Giving Thanks Giveaway

If you read our blog you have heard the names Nichelle and Dance Advantage before. If not, I will quickly tell you that Nichelle is an internet dance bud of mine who I finally had the pleasure of meeting in real life this summer. I am a super fan of her blog/website Dance Advantage and have watched her and DA become a huge success over the past few years. I am proud to inform you all of yet another awesome idea of hers. If you are not already a member of her site you must head over there now... Dance Advantage

If me simply encouraging you to do so is not enough maybe her newest creation will be...

Free Stuff!! Freebies!! Giveaways!! Prizes!! Fun!!

Did that get your attention? Dance Advantage has a super fun contest which started yesterday and will continue throughout the week. Details here... Giving Thanks Giveaway

What are you waiting for... GO!!!! =)