DanceVision's

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Original choreography by Risa Kaplowitz

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DanceVision, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation (501(c)(3)) founded in 2005 by Susan Jaffe and Artistic Director, Risa Kaplowitz. DanceVision's mission is to enrich the community with quality dance experiences, including performances, school residencies, and dance festivals. DanceVison has two components:  community outreach through programs such as D.A.N.C.E. (Dance As a Necessary Component of Education) and Princeton Dance for Parkinson, and professional-quality performances by the DanceVision Performance Company.

DanceVision and Princeton Dance and Theater Studio (PDT) are financially separate organizations that share an artistic soul. PDT donates studio space to DanceVision so that it may hold its outreach classes and rehearsals for DanceVision productions. Risa Kaplowitz, the owner/director of PDT, serves as the Artistic Director of DanceVision. DanceVision Performance Company auditions are open to the public and many PDT students are members of the Company. The mission of PDT is to provide exceptional dance training in a warm and nurturing environment; the mission of DanceVision is to provide the community with exceptional performance and outreach experiences.

Overview

Outreach

DanceVision successfully completed its first pilot program of D.A.N.C.E. (Dance As a Necessary Component of Education) in February 2006 at Montgomery Township's Lower Middle School with a two-week dance program called Water Dance based on poetry from a book of the same name. In April 2008, a similar D.A.N.C.E. program was completed at Millstone River School thanks to a generous grant from the West Windsor-Plainsboro Education Foundation. The residencies help schools meet the New Jersey Department of Education Core Curriculum Standards and introduce different learning modalities. To learn more about bringing the D.A.N.C.E. program to your school, visit the Community Outreach Page.

DanceVision premiered the annual event, "DanceFest" in the spring of 2010 with the goal of bringing the joy of dance to the community. DanceFest features lessons and perfromances in various styles of dance including line dancing, hip hop, bollywood, tap, salsa, and ballet. Families also enjoy dance-themed crafts and games. The event is nominally priced and open to the community. DanceVision also invites children from HomeFront to attend this event at no charge.

In January 2011, DanceVision partnered with The Parkinson Alliance and the Dance for PD organization -founded by Mark Morris and David Leventhal- to host a free Master Class for persons with Parkinson's Disease. This was the first class of its kind in New Jersey, and DanceVision has made Princeton Dance for Parkinson (PDP) a recurring event. For information on this innovative and uplifting program, visit our PDforParkinson page.

Performances

DanceVision Performance Company made its debut in December 2007 with a production of Susan Jaffe’s The Nutcracker. The performances highlighted some of the region’s most talented young dancers. The DanceVision Performance Company went on to perform excerpts of the ballet at the Delaware Township School and the West Windsor-Plainsboro School District in an informative lecture demonstration, Multicultural Nutcracker, written and narrated by Marie Alonzo Snyder. DanceVision Performance Company continues to enchant audiences annually with two productions each year. Past performances include The Nutcracker, choreographed by Susan Jaffe, and two original ballets choreographed by Risa Kaplowitz: The Secret Garden and The Snow Queen. The Company performed with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) in 2008 and again with them at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in 2009, where they performed the Carnival of the Animals, choreographed by Susan Jaffe and Risa Kaplowitz. DanceVision performed for the third time with the NJSO in January 2011 during NJSO's pre-concert education program, Water! Fantasies and Fables, and is scheduled to appear again in the NJSO's 2013 Spring season. Visit our Auditions page for information on how you can become part of a DanceVision production.

The two founders of DanceVision have a great deal of dancing, teaching, and outreach experience. Susan Jaffe is a world-renowned, former principal dancer with American Ballet Theater and Risa Kaplowitz, a former principal dancer with the Dayton Ballet and Manhattan Ballet, also danced with Houston Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. Risa Kaplowitz is the Artistic Director of DanceVision.