Alma Dolores International Dance Center welcomes Jenna Johnson and Daniel Precup as our new Classical Ballet Technique instructors. Both Johnson and Precup currently perform as principal dancers with Ballet Tucson. Our students and staff are very excited to have these talented dancers teaching at our studio and pleased our students will continue to advance their classical ballet technique under their instruction. The studio is currently enrolling for the Classical Ballet classes on Thursday evenings, in one hour blocks, between 5:30 and 8:30 for levels from beginner to advanced.

Johnson’s Ballet Tucson biography demonstrates the talent and experience she brings to our studio:

“Jenna Johnson graduated as a full scholarship student from Harid Conservatory for Dance. She attended Indiana University, also on scholarship, before joining Atlanta Ballet. In 1995, she left for Europe, fulfilling a desire to travel while pursuing her career in dance. Ms. Johnson was accepted as a soloist with the Romanian National Opera Ballet in Bucharest where she danced from 1995 to 1997. She then joined the Oleg Danovski Ballet Theater as a principal in 1997. During her tenure with ODBT, she performed throughout western Europe as Carmen, Scheherazade and Odette/Odile forming a successful partnership with her future husband, Daniel Precup. Ms. Johnson returned to the United States in 2003 to dance with Oakland Ballet. There, she received critical acclaim for her interpretation of Robert Moses’ Lone Woman and other contemporary works including Sightings by Margaret Jenkins and Trois Gymnopedies by Ron Guidi. Ms. Johnson joined Ballet Tucson in 2004. She has performed principal roles in the company’s productions of Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Dracula, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Swan Lake, Cinderella and The Nutcracker. New works added to her repertoire include The More Things Change by Lawrence Pech and Pygmalion and Galatea by Jeffrey Graham Hughes.”

Mr. Precup brings equally impressive resume of international experience and talent to our studio. His Ballet Tucson biography lists the following information:

“Daniel Precup is a graduate of the acclaimed National Choreographic High School of Bucharest, Romania. He joined the Oleg Danovski Ballet Theater, an internationally renowned touring company, at the age of 18 and moved through the ranks to become a principal dancer in 1998. Mr. Precup studied stagecraft with esteemed European choreographers Oleg Danovski, Germinal Casado and Gigi Caciuleanu. He has performed in world wide tours dancing the title role of the Mandarin in The Miraculous Mandarin, Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers, and Siegfried in Swan Lake. Mr. Precup came to the United States in 2003 as a principal dancer with Oakland Ballet. He excelled in the contemporary works of choreographer Dwight Roden and the classical works of the company’s founder, Ron Guidi. Mr. Precup joined Ballet Tucson in 2004. During his tenure with the company, his principal roles have included the title character in Dracula, Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Prince Desire in Sleeping Beauty, the Cavalier in The Nutcracker and Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He was also coached by John Gardner and Amanda McKerrow for his roles as Albrecht in Giselle, Siegfried in Swan Lake and most recently as the Prince in Cinderella.”

Location:
Shadow Mountain
2902 E Shea Blvd
Phoenix, AZ 85028

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Fees per Student:
$90 for solos,
$55 each student for Duets,
$37 each student for Trios,
$38 each student for group numbers

Nearby Hotels:
Sleep Inn
16630 N Scottsdale Rd
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
480-998-9211
Toll Free: 866-477-6424
Group Code: Showstopper Dance Competition
Special Rate before 1/20/2009

Comfort Inn
1711 W Bell Road
Phoenix, AZ 85023
602-866-2089

To learn more about the competition or the Showstopper organization, please visit the Showstopper Website.

The schedule for the competition is usually available about 10 days before the competition.

The Alma Dolores International Dance Center received the 2009 award for the outstanding Sierra Vista arts organization at the 15th Annual Mayor’s Arts & Humanities Awards. Alma was presented her award by Tanja Biami of the city’s Arts and Humanities Commission on Jan 20th 2009 at the ceremony held at the Cochise College Library Commons. The ceremonies were kicked off by special performances by some of Alma’s students. They performed Polynesian, Jazz, and Mexican Folklorico dances.

In accepting her award, Alma spoke of her love of dance and the joy it brings her to share it with her students.

She talked about the many languages that she hears spoken by her students and their families including English, French, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, but pointed out that there is no one “language of dance”. “Dance doesn’t have a language. Dance uses the body to tell about different cultures,” Alma said. She also spoke of the hard work that both she and her teachers put into the studio and the rewards of seeing her students develop. She compares her students to seeds that grow and blossom. That is the reward that she, the other dance teachers, and parents at the studio receive from their childrens’ involvement in dance.

Biami, who is also one of the many adult dance students at the studio, spoke of her own personal growth and development in dance. Biami mentioned that Alma had encouraged her and the other students in the adult Belly Dance class to go to Phoenix last year and compete in the regional dance competition. Biami mentioned that though “there wasn’t much competition in the 40 years and over category”, they were thrilled to not only win a first place in that category, but also in the 20 and over category as well.

This event, now in its 15th year, was hosted by the Sierra Vista Arts and Humanities Commission and Mayor Strain. The commission and the Mayor have presented awards to individuals, groups, art educators, and businesses that support the arts and humanities in the Sierra Vista area. The Sierra Vista Womens Club provided refreshments to attendees following the ceremonies.

Other winners of the 2009 Mayor’s Arts and Humanities Awards included: Artist – Jane Pitts; Individual – Harry Walther; Arts in Education – Linda Dailing. In the Humanities Category, the winners were: Individual – Tom Shupert and Organization – Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers.