Uptown Entertainment

About a year ago I started advertising the services we provide other than dance instruction to children and young adults. Services such as my mother and I providing Quinceanera choreography, hosting children's birthday parties, or choreographing first dances at weddings to those who inquired. Thankfully, the clients were always very happy with our work. I also have had several years of what is know as "party motivating" experience. This is when a dancer accompanies the DJ to get the crowd dancing at parties. So, I figured why not make this bigger and advertise to our current costumers. Our regular clients had no idea we provide these services, so lets make it known! With that Uptown Entertainment was born.

You can have your event at Uptown Dance or we will travel to your location

Kids: Great for unique Birthday parties, or any occasion to have fun!
*Themed Dance Party (Hannah Montana, High School Musical, Enchanted, etc.)
*Freestyle Fun (We will lead, kids will enjoy Cha Cha Slide, Cotton Eye Joe, Peanut Butter Jelly time, etc.)
*Learn To Dance Party (You pick the form of dance and we will do the rest)

Teens & Adults: Birthdays, Mitzvahs, Quinceanera, Sweet16,
30th, 50th, Weddings, Anniversary, Corporate Events, or any occasion
*Professional Choreographed Dancers
*Party Motivators
*G-Volution Dance Company

Maybe you just need help preparing for your event
*Ballroom wedding dance instruction
*Quinceanera choreography
*Learn the latest dances done at parties
*We also have a list of vendors we would be happy to recommend

One of the most recent events was a students Birthday Party. She picked the theme of High School Musical. We warmed up and played dance related games to all 3 soundtracks from the movies, then I taught them some simple choreography to I Want It All. The kids ate, opened presents and had yummy cupcakes. It was a lot of fun and most importantly the birthday girl and others had a blast!

Another fun adventure for Uptown Entertainment was choreographing a wedding party and performing a contemporary piece at the reception. This is becoming very popular now a days. I believe the trend started with the Brubaker couple. I'm sure you all remember this one...

And most recently a entire wedding party brought some excitement to their entrance into the church with this...

The bridal party I worked with did a Michael Jackson melody as a tribute. The bride found the piece on YouTube and I simply recreated it for them. There were 8 couples in total who met at the studio for rehearsal a few days prior to the wedding. This was the end result...

After this dance my girls and I performed a contemporary ballet piece to Dangerously In Love.
It was a very unique wedding which we were thrilled to be a part of. I hope this trend continues, because this line of work is very exciting for us. It also gives my older students an opportunity to perform outside of the studio.

If you are in the tri state area and have an event that needs a special touch, something unique that will make your occasion stand out, contact Uptown Entertainment. We will help you create an idea that will be memorable for you and your guests.

Thanks for taking the time to check us out and reading our blog. If you enjoy what we do please become a fan of the blog by clicking the follow button on the main page.
Until next time,
Peace, Love, and Dance!
~Miss Leslea

Fall Fashions For Dancers

If you are like me, then most likely you own more dance attire than regular clothing. I for one look just as forward to making a statement in the studio as I do out on the town. How do you dress for class? I'll be sharing some of my favs as well as the opinions of some other dancers. While reading, let's keep in mind our studios dress code of course, I realize this limits some of us. Enjoy! and please feel free to comment and leave your favorites and the end.

I remember the time where there were not many choices for dancers as far as shoes and apparel where concerned. We had Capezio and Danskin, that was pretty much it. Don't get me wrong, I still get products from both these wonderful companies, however today its all about options, there are tons of companies who supply dancers with what they need. We have so many choices! Let's talk about style, preference and a few options that you may or may not be aware of.

As far as our studio is concerned, we keep things simple. Little ones shoes are all the same color and brand (Capezio) which we provide at the studio. Older students have a more complex shoe list which they can either order through our studio or go to a very nice local shop called Dance Wear Etc. Heather Corneliess, the owner and also a dancer, is extremely helpful and carries mostly Capezio and Bloch for shoes and the trendiest attire for class. I will discuss some of the other brands she carries later on. You can read more about Heather here on NJ Dancers

For me personally I have two styles, one if I'm teaching and the other if I'm auditioning or taking a class. Like I said before if you are taking a class it's always a good idea to check for a dress code and respect it. If there is not one I will try to wear something that makes me feel good and flatters my body type, nothing too bold or over the top. Lets face it, when we feel good and look nice, our confidence is up and we will dancer better. Think about performance day in your beautiful costume, well I like to think of classes as mini performances and put a little effort into my appearance. You never know who may be watching. Auditions you have to dress the part, and most likely they will tell you what to wear. Again, you want to stand out but not be the talk of the casting panel (in a bad way). Don't wear all black (unless required) and don't wear florescent pink and mis-matched legwarmers.

For teaching, which is where I spend most of my time at this point in my life, I have some links and examples.

Sugar and Bruno: can be found at Dance Wear Etc. Nutley NJ

Eighteen21: can be found on the Dance Wear Solutions website

Urban Groove: also found on the Dance Wear Solutions website

Tia's Dancewear: The official site or Dance Wear Etc. Nutley NJ or Dance Wear Solutions

You may also want to check out some local designer for a unique look. I was fortunate enough to meet a wonderfully talented young women on Twitter who's designs are perfect for dancers. Studio owners may even want to contact her to make up an original logo or new line of clothing for their students. Follow and/or contact Im Soul Fly
Check out her stuff here imsoulfly.com.

I was also able to get the opinion of two dance friends on Twitter:

Victoria, owner of Allegro Dance Boutique in Evanston, IL
AllegroDanceBoutiques.com recommends her favorite leos:

~Vala Dancewear
~Yumiko
~Body Wrappers Premiere Collection
~Mirella Jozette Collection
Thanks to Victoria for this wonderful information. Make sure to follow her on Twitter or visit her store if you are in the area.

TerrenceTaps, one of my first dance friends on Twitter; a professional tap dancer, blogger and founder of tapdanceman.com. He recommends and wears Miller & Ben's. He also has a wonderful blog post about Tap Shoes on his website, this is worth the read tappers!! You will notice some really cute, trendy T's for tap class on the bottom left as well. Here is that link
Thanks so much Taps, you are the best and you are such an inspiration to me and other dancers. Keep up the great work you do!

I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to this post and all the wonderful designers and clothing and shoe lines who make dancers look and feel fabulous. I'm extremely excited about how many options there are for us now. Thanks to YOU too for reading, I hope you enjoyed and got some fresh new ideas.

Peace, Love, and Dance!!
~Miss Leslea