Bringing Broadway To Town
Axelrod PAC Partners w/ BDC & Ballet’s Chajnik For Youth Masterclass Series
Before In The Heights wrapped at Axelrod Performing Arts Center, famed Broadway performer and choreographer Luis Salgado [shown in feature photo] administered a Masterclass aimed at teaching the area’s youth the ins and outs of Latin dance.
Salgado [at right], currently a member of the On Your Feet Broadway cast, is most known for his work with Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda in the 2008 original production.
It was immediately followed by a Masterclass musical theater workshop administered by Lane Napper, a nationally renowned professional acting and dialogue coach.
And on Sunday, director-choreographer Gabriel Chajnik will launch his first Masterclass in ballet and contemporary dance for ages 10 and up. Chajnik, whose work has been seen at the Manhattan School of Music, The Julliard School and Lincoln Center, is a former American Repertory Ballet member.
His recent move to Ocean Grove opened the opportunity to work with the Deal Park theater and its newly launched Masterclass program.
“I am delighted to have found this beautiful theater and enthusiastic advocates of art who share with me a passion for the transformative power of dance,” Chajnik [at right] said in a written statement. “As a part of my vision, the Axelrod Masterclass Series is not set up as a school or dance studio, but a hub for dancers in the area to expand, refine, and add new elements to their training. It will bring in teaching artists from all over the tri-state area to help build up the reputation of the Jersey Shore as a place for dance.”
The Masterclass Series is made possible through a $29,650 New Jersey State Council on the Arts grant, funded in part through the dedicated hotel/motel occupancy fee and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Chajnik’s classes will be accompanied by one of the world’s great ballet pianist Josu Gallastegui of the American Ballet Theater and Dance Theater of Harlem.
“It’s an essential element that most dance schools aren’t often able to offer,” organizers said.
Chajnik, the founder of TranscenDanceGroup [TDG], a contemporary ballet troupe based in New York, will administer the dance tutorials in partnership with his troupe members.
The Masterclass Series is a part of APAC’s Rising Stars Youth Performing Arts program. It is also running in partnership with the Broadway Dance Center [BDC] of New York City, established in 1984 by Richard Ellner. BDC faculty will offer classes in everything from tap and musical theater to hip-hop, street theater and jazz.
“Many students in the area travel in the city on weekends to take classes at Broadway Dance Center,” Rising Stars Performing Arts director Lisa Goldfarb said. “Offering classes with the most popular instructors here at the Axelrod is an amazing way for local students to take classes with current Broadway performers and choreographers without having to travel into the city. It’s more convenient and more affordable too.”
The Masterclass Series programs featuring BDC Faculty include Sheila Barker on June 10, Leslie Feliciano on June 25, Jon Rua on July 9, and Karla Garcia on July 23.
Rua and Garcia are both currently cast members of Hamilton on Broadway and Garcia’s class will include dance routines from the hit show.
Other teachers coming in August and throughout the fall will include AC Ciulla, the Tony Award choreography nominee for Footloose and Saturday Night Live; Nick Kenkel, choreographer of Broadway’s Legally Blonde and Catch Me If You Can; and Brandon Leffler of Broadway’s Wicked and On the Town.
APAC board member Elise Feldman, a part-time dancer, has become one of the catalyst for the new dance program, officials said.
“When joining the Axelrod Board, the dancer in me surfaced, and as a philanthropist, I am delighted that our launch of a new dance program has been so well received, beginning last summer with Fosse specialist Andre Quintela,” she said. “We are excited about welcoming Gabriel Chajnik into our center…”
The Rising Stars produce two stage musicals a year, featuring a cast comprised of ages 8 to 17. The newly launched APAC Players will produce a student-run musical with assistance from theater professionals.
To learn more about the Masterclass Series and other APAC programs, visit www.axelrodartscenter.com.
[Photos courtesy of Wendy Roman]
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