Academy Of Dance

Scholarship Recognizes Dancer's Dedication

Hillsborough resident Alison Calamoneri was recently awarded the Karen Hartsing Mermorial Scholarship at the Kathleen Academy of Dance during their annual review.

This is an annual scholarship given in memory of Karen Hartsing, a former dancer at the Academy, who passed away in 1977. It is a full ballet scholarship given to a deserving and dedicated student.

A 15-year-old, Alison has been dancing at for the past thirteen years, studying ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and pointe.  She has participated in master tap classes through the American Tap Dance Foundation in New York City.

She will also be attending the New Jersey Tap Festival during the month of August. She is a member of “Kids On Tap”, a Youth Tap Ensemble, under the direction of Kathleen Cirioli, director of the Kathleen Academy of Dance.

Alison will be entering her sophomore year at Hillsborough High School where she is a member of the newly formed dance team. Alison has completed both her Bronze and Silver awards in Girl Scouts, and is currently working on her Gold Award.  In her free time, she enjoys reading, making jewelry and spending time with her friends and family.

What should you use my son of the Royal Academy of Dance Ballet ...

The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) is one of the world’s most prestigious and influential training and education establishments for dance. If you are studying ballet under regulations set out by the RAD then you will be required to wear a very specific uniform. This article is here to help you understand what your child will need if they are to attend Pre-Primary or Primary ballet classes.

In order to understand the exacting uniform requirements of the RAD, we must first look at how the syllabus works. Pre-Primary or Primary refer to structured grades of dance classes put together by the RAD in order to teach very young children to dance ballet. Pre-Primary and Primary ballet classes are graded by age after which they will progress to Grades 1 to 8 when they will be assessed on their ability.

As well as a very enjoyable hobby ballet is also a discipline which means that wearing a uniform is very important. Many dance teachers also find that having a uniform helps to create unity amongst dancers. This is important because working in unity with other dancers is a crucial part to any dancer’s career, whatever their ability may be. As different grades require different uniforms, it also allows teachers and dancers to quickly identify the ability of dancer by the uniform they wear.

For Pre-Primary and Primary ballet classes, girls are required to wear a short sleeve leotard. The latest uniform is in Pastel Pink, Lilac or Marine Blue (turquoise) with a matching wrapover georgette skirt. They will also wear a pair of ballet socks with pink ballet shoes made from either satin or leather. Your teacher will provide advice on which you should choose though leather is preferable as it is much harder wearing than satin. If the room in which the class takes place is quite cool then it’s worth encouraging your child to wear a crossover long sleeve knitted cardigan that matches their leotard in order to keep their muscles warm throughout class. A number of teachers also allow girls to wear a matching headband. This is very useful if your daughter has short hair and it will keep their hair out of their face.

The uniform for boys is slightly different to that of girls, though just as exacting. Boys are required to wear a white short sleeve leotard with either Navy or Black Cotton Lycra shorts over the top. On their feet they’re required to wear whichever the teacher prefers between white canvas ballet shoes or black leather ballet shoes. With these they will wear white ankle socks.

Food of the stars, Starletts, Starlights, Jr. Stars, Sr. Stars

Staging dance

Academy of Dance collection

Dance magazine

Ebony