Broadway Training Center (BTC) in Hastings on Hudson, New York is celebrating their 25th season this year. Located in a historic landmark building, BTC has a small town feel with big time professionals. They have comprehensive training in dance techniques at every level plus acting, voice, and Musical Theater departments for Kindergarten through 12th graders and adults! They offer classes 6 days a week throughout the school year and summer performing arts programs Kindergarten students through Adults. Their classes include various levels and combinations of Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Hip Hop, Modern, Lyrical, Voice, Music, Improv, Hip Hop, Drama, Acting, Musical Theater, Broadway Jazz, Vocal Performance Cabaret, and Storyteller Theatre.
Their mission is to inspire, nurture, challenge, amaze, educate and empower artists and audiences. BTC is a not for profit 501c3 organization run by a board of directors and a small administrative team.
Broadway Training Center of Westchester, under the artistic direction of Jason Brantman and Fiona Santos, was recently awarded Best Theatre Classes in Southern Westchester by Westchester Magazine. This premier performing arts school provides children, teens, and adults with Broadway oriented performing arts training focusing on the joy of accomplishment and the enrichment of personal expression through classroom and performance work.
At BTC, they view theatre as a medium for personal development. It is their coaching mission to offer the most skilled training in the most encouraging atmosphere to bring out the best qualities of all their students: responsibility, honesty, and commitment, with imagination, passion, a
nd generosity. Students take away an increased self-confidence, paving their way to successful futures.
According to Heather LoSchiavo, the Managing Director of BTC, and part of a terrific team, every studio swears they have a terrific community but at BTC they really do! Having grown up in a dance studio family and having worked many years in the business, she supposes the primary difference she sees between their studio and other studios is that curriculum mapping and student assessment is managed in a non-threatening ensemble building way. The dancers are not competing for their attention, or with one another in any way shape or form, because of their teaching philosophy.
Heather feels that trying to identify her “proudest moment” is very difficult because people
Tarzan the Musical
are unique and each student has their own individual hurdle or goal. Self-reflecting her proudest moments has always been when a dancer no longer needs teacher validation and can self assess how they felt in the moment of the work accurately and consistently.
Beyond technique corrections, Heather believes that the biggest mistake dancers consistently make is emulating classmates when it comes to musicality or choreographic style. She feels very strongly that dancers should explore finding their own interpretation, embody that and not attempt to copy what they see as “good” on a classmate. How do they fix it . . . trust . . . they have to learn to trust themselves. This is a life lesson that transcends dance and the boundaries of the classroom. In the end, she hope that when they move on to college, university, and other pre-professional experiences that they will take this earned trust and have confidence in themselves.
Every year Heather’s goal is the same – to have students fall in love with dance!
Heather signed on as manager of the studio 10 years ago as a professional seeking to give back to the next generation of performers. She grew up in a studio family so it made sense for her to get back to her roots.
Although they are a non-competitive school, they have been awarded multiple National Youth Arts awards, a Best of Westchester Award, and accolades for Westchester Parent and Westchester Family.
If you would like more information about the Broadway Training Center, visit their website at http://www.broadwaytraining.com, call them at (914) 478-5825, or email them at Director@broadwaytraining.com. You can also “Like” them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
Anyone who has danced at Broadway Training Center, with Heather LoSchiavo or with any of the other instructors at Broadway Training, is invited to comment on their blog.
. . . biggest mistake dancers consistently make is emulating classmates when it comes to musicality or choreographic style.
The Dance Arts Center in Medford Oregon is very simalar in philosophy and curriculum. We were very impressed with your descriptions and choices….