Sunnyside Ballet Studio in Sunnyside, New York, is a place for children and adults to immerse themselves into the art of dance while also being provided valuable opportunities to perform so that they can learn and experience the love of dance through these performances. Their graded level ballet program progresses their technique with age and skill appropriate curriculum to make strong and healthy dancers.
In the opinion of Yasko Takeno-Williams, their Director, believes Sunnyside Ballet is unique among other ballet studios because of their strong bond with their neighboring community. They 
perform at local events, festivals, street fairs and at the local community center where they have their annual Nutcracker showcase in December.
What makes Yasko the proudest as a dancecoach is when students get proud of themselves after their performance. Their excitement about their accomplishment never gets old for Yasko.
The biggest mistake that Yasko sees dancers make is not really a mistake but a challenge – the biggest challenge as a dance teacher would be keeping the focus. According to Yasko, learning ballet is a very long and tedious process that takes many years for one to be able to dance properly on stage. As a result, a student or a parent often give up or choose other activities that may give them instant gratifications and satisfaction. It is one of the hardest challenges for instructors to remind families that there are no real shortcuts for learning ballet technique and rarely are there awards and medals along the way.
One of Yasko’s g
oals for the coming year is to provide their students with a better dance environment at their new studio. Their new studio is currently being built three blocks away from the current location. It is very exciting for them to be moving to a space three times bigger than where they are presently.
According to Yasko, it all came down to timing when she decided to start her own studio six years ago. She had been teaching dance in central New Jersey for over 12 years and she was very fortunate to work among several wonderful talented educators from whom she credits her artistry as a dance educator. She was ready to start her own studio when her three year old daughter’s class friends’ families requested a dance class. At that moment, Sunnyside Arts Cooperative (the neighborhood art organization) was looking to expand its space to include dance. It all came together rather organically and Sunnyside Ballet Studio was bo
rn.
As they move to their larger studio, they would like to expand dance instruction not only to children but also to adults and elderly people so they may also enjoy the art of dance. They are also excited to provide modern dance classes as well.
Yasko founded Sunnyside Ballet Studio in Sunnyside Queens in 2009. They offer Graded Ballet Program, Pre-ballet, Ballet, Modern Dance, Hip Hop, Theater Dance, Little Dancers for two year olds. These are offered to both boys and girls from two years of age and older in a nurturing environment. They also offer Ballet classes to Adults, including Adult Beginning Ballet. Dancers are taught using methods that take into account both age and skill level. The dancers are divided by age groups. The students gain confidence and control of movement through the repetition of materials. Younger students gain physical coordination and
musicality through movement.
This year, Sunnyside Ballet Studio provided two summer camp sessions for dancers from five years old to eight years old. The first was based on Alice in Wonderland and the second was based on Little Mermaid. As with all of their programs and classes, this program was designed for young dancers who love dance arts! At these summer camps they have crafts, Kids Yoga, Stretch, Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Modern for Boys and Girls!
They also presented a Summer Intensive for students nine years and older. This two week Intensive included daily ballet, pre-pointe and pointe classes. They also offered instruction in Modern, Classical Variation, Jazz, Hip Hop, Yoga, Pilates, Stretch, choreography, classes taught by guest artists. The attendees also learned Anatomy (Injury Prevention), Nutrition, Dance History, costume making, field trips and more.
If you would like more information about the Sunnyside Ballet Studio, visit their website at
https://sunnysideballet.com, call them at 646 831-0943 or email them at sunnysideballet@gmail.com. You can also “Like” them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
Anyone who has danced at the Sunnyside Ballet Studio, with Yasko Takeno-Williams or with any of the other instructors at Sunnyside, is invited to comment on our blog.
Quote: “. . . the biggest challenge as a dance teacher would be keeping the focus.”
Tags: Ballet, Hip Hop, Yoga, Modern Dance, Adults, Pointe, Jazz, Pilates, class, classes, dance class, dance classes, studio, boys
