Plan for the coming weeks

Thank you for being a part of our HeART in Motion family. We are grateful and so lucky to have a community that supports each other. We remain steadfast in our desire to support you and your events in whatever way we can. That being said, we have been keeping a close eye on the situation locally, state wide, and beyond and understand there have been a lot of very quick changes to everyone's lives. We are all adjusting and part of that for us is closing our studio space for ALL classes effective today at 2:00pm after ballet. We wish we could continue to be a community oasis in these times, but given the new information we received from Mayor Hache, we are committed to doing our part to help keep our community healthy and safe by staying apart. 

As some of you may have heard or seen from Ridgewood's Mayor Hache, there are now 5 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Valley Hospital. Two of those confirmed are Ridgewood residents. Due to this new information, we have made the decision to temporarily close the studio for classes at 17 Chestnut Street immediately with the first cancelled classes being tomorrow, Monday March 16th, until further notice. Although this is worrisome we should not panic. Instead let's find ways to work together through this pandemic and prevent the spread of the virus, especially to those who are the most vulnerable in our community. We encourage you to follow social distancing and guidelines from the CDC as well as our local governments. 

Our community is still here, strong, and willing to help even if it is from more of a distance. We are looking at creating a closed Facebook community page where people can more confidentially reach out to each other, keep in touch, and ask for help if needed. 

We are looking at the possibility of moving some or all of our classes online and will continue to update you. We hope that we can keep moving with HeART together even if it is online instead of in person. Look for more details on this coming soon; we are still trying to figure this out on our end.

We are still planning on our June 20th "All You Need is Love" performance for our youth program. We don't foresee on any changes with our summer programs either. We hope to have as many things proceed as scheduled after this break. We are even looking at adding an adult camp in late August! In the meantime, we are going to be lenient with our make-up policy for the youth students and Ridgewood Community School students as well as class card expiration dates. 

Please continue to look for e-mails from us for more information as we move forward and try to navigate these times in our community. Reach out any time, we would love to hear from you! We will do our best to answer questions quickly but please give us 1-2 business days to get back to you as we work through this. Email will be the best way to get in touch with us right now. We look forward to reopening, hopefully sooner rather than later, when things seem to be safer for everyone. 

It's a great time to follow us on Instagram & Facebook if you haven't already. We will continue to have updates and posts there as well!

Come Dance the Night Away

…and secretly get a great workout in too

Or

If you didn’t catch Louis the last time he came to HeART, you’re in luck. He’s back! This class is open level and there is definitely something for everyone. Having been a part of the first LaBlast class at HeART with Louis van Amstel, I was so impressed with his energy, the music, the routines, and how much fun everyone was having while getting in a great workout. He incorporates weights into some of the songs if you want to work on muscle tone and strength training. If you can’t or don’t want to use weights the dancing can be enough by itself! So many of the styles of ballroom dance that are popular and have appeared on “Dancing With the Stars” are incorporated into the class in a fun and easy to catch on way!

We hope to see everyone there!

Join Tammy & Rika for a Jazz Masterclass geared towards Adults and Teens at HeART in Motion!

Saturday, February 29
12:30pm-2:00pm

Tammy & Rika are making a trip to the states from Japan. We are so excited to welcome them back to our HeART in Motion studio. You can email us to reserve your spot or sign up at the studio. Tammy & Rika bring years of professional experience and great choreography to their class. The class is based in Luigi Jazz technique with their own twist. You don’t want to miss this rare happening!

Saturday, February 15th

7pm-11pm

$50 admission or $40 for students with a valid student ID.

Please join us solo or with a partner for this fun night of Salsa dancing to raise money for a great cause. All proceeds from this event will go to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The night includes a class, special dance performances and music by Peak Latin Dancing’s Baudilio & Eleanee and their semi-pro team, hors d’oeuvres, and sangria of course. Click below to sign-up and learn more. Hope to see you there!

We are excited to announce our June 20th, 2020 show at HACPAC which is entitled All You Need Is Love. The performance will be Beatles themed and showcase our youth students.

The Beatles are the best-selling musical act ever, just slightly edging out Elvis Presley in second place. They sold an estimated 600 million albums worldwide which more than doubles the third place winner, Michael Jackson.

Please join us for a Luigi Jazz Technique masterclass with renowned dancer and instructor, Ravah Daley. She will also be continuing with Jamboree choreography.

$20 Drop-in rate or class cards

We are very excited to be hosting and presenting an abridged version of The Nutcracker on Sunday, December 15 at 3:30pm. We recommend buying your tickets in advance as we have limited seating available. We hope you will come and experience the magic of this tradition!

December 6th, 2019

Join our LaBlast Fitness Class and learn all the dances you see on “Dancing with the Stars”. You will learn things you have never learned before, even if you are a seasoned fitness or dance professional! The class frees, builds, and unleashes the dancer within. LaBlast is structured and easy to learn but flexible enough for creativity.

LaBlast Dance-Fitness is exercise based on Ballroom dancing partner-free! All the dances together are a true full body workout: Cardio, Endurance, Weight training, Plyometrics, & Interval training.

Don’t miss your chance to “Dance like a Star, and workout in disguise!”

It is recommended you reserve your spot by registering and paying for class in advance as we expect to sell out. Drop-ins are welcome but contingent on space.

Calling Dancers Of All Ages!

We invite you to be a part of our annual Nutcracker held on December 15th, 2019 by attending our casting audition on Sunday October 6th.

September 7, 2019

Sign up for FREE demo classes & ballet placement by clicking below

Face Painting by 2 Lips the clown 1:30pm-2:30pm

Tuesday August 13th, 2019
10:00am-11:30am

Contemporary Technique: Robert Mark Burke's class begins on the floor and aligns the body from the bottom up. Using a progression that slowly brings dancers out of the floor, Burke's class warms up the body in an efficient and effective way. The class then begins to pick up speed leading into a phrase that continues to lengthen the body through deep shifts of weight and a combination of core and distal initiations.

$20 Drop-in rate or class cards

Sign Up!

Deemed the “hottest young talent on the New Jersey dance scene today”, Robert Mark Burke finds himself a dancer, choreographer and teaching artist. Performing both nationally and internationally, Robert is a company member of Lucinda Childs Dance Company, 10 Hairy Legs, and Megan Williams Dance Projects.  He also performs regularly with Meagan Woods and Company, has worked with Bryn Cohn and Artists and has apprenticed with Doug Elkins.

Having a passion for dance education, Robert Mark Burke has been a guest artist at Rutgers University and Rider University.  He has been a guest lecturer at Montclair State University and has been commissioned to create work for high schools throughout the tri-state area.

As a choreographer, Burke has shown his work throughout the United States including the wild project, Dixon Place, Paramount Theater (Boston), Hofstra University, Rutgers University, Rider University, Dance New Amsterdam, Jersey City Theater Center and New Jersey Performing Arts Center. He has received numerous awards, including the 2015 Dance on the Lawn Emerging Choreographer Grant under the direction of Charmaine Warren, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center Jersey (New) Moves Fellowship in both 2015 and 2017,  The 2016 CoLab Arts Space Grant, and The 2017 Eryc Taylor Emerging Choreography Grant. In 2015, Robert launched Robert Mark Dance as a way to create invigorating new works that push, reflect upon and unveil the human experience through the use of performance and education.

Modern Technique Masterclass

Class Description

August 6th, 2019
10:00am-11:30am

Lynn Needle, former Principal Dancer in the Nikolais Dance Theatre will teach a Master Class rooted in the Nikolais/Louis tradition, followed by repertory from the Art of Motion Dance Theatre. The warm-up will include dance history and lineage dating back to Hanya Holm and bring dancers to present day vocabulary mixing genres of classical, modern and contemporary vocabulary mixed with yogic principles. Time, Space, Shape, Internal and External focus and performance techniques will be taught.

w/ Live Accompaniment by Jay Van Dyke

$20 Drop-in rate or class cards

Sign Up!

World-Renowned Modern Choreographer: Nai-Ni Chen

Join us next Tuesday, July 23rd at 10 AM for a special Master Class with Nai-Ni Chen on her unique technique and repertory, including an intro to the kinetic spiral technique.  Nai-Ni's work was recently featured with HeART faculty such as Nikki, Laura, Lynn and Olivia, as part of the Bergen Dancemakers season for Bergen County choreographers.  Learn more about the technique and Nai-Ni below! 

• $20 drop in rate, no class cards accepted

The Kinetic Spiral technique centers around the exploration of a wide range of physically challenging, intricate movement ideas that combines the grace, sensibility, delicacy, and flow of motion driven by the proper use of the breath, building a foundation to support the limitless spiral energy that supports the powerful athletic movements inspired by the common ground found in Chinese martial art, calligraphy, graffiti and contemporary dance.

Artist bio
Choreographer/Dancer, Nai-Ni Chen is a unique choreographer whose work crosses many cultural boundaries. Each of her dances reflect her personal vision as an American artist with deep roots in the Asian culture, working on new dances influenced by cultures around the world, reaching beyond the perceived limitations of time, distance, and traditions. The company’s accomplishments are evident in its extensive performance schedule and its powerful and elegant productions which have been presented at some of the most prestigious concert halls such as the Joyce Theater in New York, Lincoln Center, Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in California, the Raymond F. Kravis Center, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in Florida, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center as well as appearing on a number of television specials on PBS/NJN, ABC, WNYC and others as well as eight international tours spanning the globe.

Into The Garden

We are very excited for our upcoming performance: "Into the Garden" on Saturday, June 22nd at HACPAC at 3pm. Tickets will be available for purchase in the coming weeks.

We are excited to be taking part in Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce Easter in the Park. Come take a FREE class with us in the Park.

Our schedule for this event Saturday, April 20th is: 

11:40 am-12:00 pm: Family Yoga
12:10 pm-12:30 pm: Creative Movement
12:40 pm-1:00 pm: Family Cardio Dance
1:10 pm-1:30 pm: Shadow & Me
1:40 pm-2:00 pm: Family Yoga

New Students: Sign up for one of our regularly scheduled classes or camps and receive a free gift from the Easter Bunny.

In case of rain classes will be held at the Studio on Chestnut Street. For more information email us at info@heartinmotionstudio.com.

Family Yoga: All yogis and “yoginis” are welcome to join us for family yoga. The practice is creative, engaging, and a perfect experience for fortifying family relationships, to meet others, and to have fun in a relaxed atmosphere.

Me & My Shadow: Come find joy through moving with your "shadow!" This class is for Toddlers and preschool-aged children that would be better suited to having a parent or guardian participate in the class with them. This class combines great music with creative movement to promote balance, coordination, gross motor skills, and increasing each child's vocabulary. Props are also used for proprioceptive sensory input and increased engagement. This pop-up class sample is suitable for parents and 2-4 year olds.  

Family Cardio Dance: A balance between low impact movements, choreography, and a pumping heart, let’s get your little one in for a good workout that you can enjoy together.  Excellent for mommies, daddies, and their children of all ages.

Creative Movement: Explore both non-locomotor and locomotor skills to enhance health and wellness in a young child’s early growth. Children will be exposed to the fundamentals of dance and movement through improvisation, imagery, and props.

Candlelit Yoga is CANCELLED tonight due to this incredible performance. 

We are thrilled to share that Olivia Galgano, Nikki Manx, and Lynn Needle are presenting work in "Subject Matter". More details shown in the photo below. Many featured dancers performing this weekend are part of our HeART community including Sara Clark, Janette Dishuk, Julie Finkel, Courtney Karam, Maiko Kataoka, Devon Malin, Lydia Rakov, Lauren Raffaelli, Laura Rime, Laura Van Dyke, and Alex Vetterlein. Heart is excited to continue hosting Bergen Dancmakers for monthly showings at the studio and celebrate dancers from college students - 100! Click below to buy tickets!

Heart is excited to continue hosting Bergen DanceMakers for monthly showings at the studio and celebrate dancers from college students-age 100! Come experience a great performance including many of our own Faculty and students. Support our local Dance community!

Founded by Lynn Needle in 1993, Art of Motion began as a partnership with the Ridgewood Community School where dance and conditioning classes were held in public school spaces.  AOM was incorporated in 2002 as a non-profit  501 (c) 3  educational and cultural organization dedicated to the teaching and presentation of dance, theatre, Pilates, yoga, vocal music, literary and visual art projects.  Soon after, Lynn’s associate Olivia Galgano established and directed the ballet division and the AOM Faculty roster expanded to its current status.  As an established conservatory, AOM created a performing ensemble which became the Art of Motion Dance Theatre, gaining international recognition and most recently performing at Lincoln Center.   Lynn is thrilled to announce Nikki and Laura continuing this profound work through their new LLC: HeART in Motion.  It is with great honor that Lynn offered long-term mentee, Nikki Manx, leadership at 17 Chestnut Street in Ridgewood as she has directed the studio and will continue her collaboration with long-term colleague, Laura Van Dyke.

AOM will continue to remain as a non-profit for the AOMDT professional dance company; however the studio at 17 Chestnut Street will function as HeART in Motion under the direction of Nikki and Laura.They have had a long professional relationship in the field of dance for the past 17 years, which initiated at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, where they received their BFAs in dance.  Laura’s expertise in classical ballet and modern has lead her to teach, choreograph, as well as design pedagogy for multiple dance programs across the country.  Nikki’s diverse teaching and choreographic background include a dance certification with the NJ Board of Education and Direction of her cause-driven dance company, Nikki Manx Dance Project, of which Laura was a founding member in 2008.  Nikki is currently working towards her Masters degree in Arts Leadership and Cultural Management, inspired by her work managing the youth program at AOM. 

The studio will function under the name HeART in Motion as of April 1st; however all open Class Cards and Youth Tuition from the past year will be honored. Lynn will still teach her regularly scheduled classes. We will continue the current offerings under the new name with the same cherished Faculty and staff.  

Nikki and Laura can be emailed at info@HeartinMotionStudio.com for matters regarding the Studio. As of April 1st, kindly make payments to HeART in Motion.  Please continue to direct all professional company inquiries to ArtofMotion.inc@gmail.com. All parties will continue to inform each other throughout the transition. Please stay tuned for our 2019 Summer Schedule and email us with any questions you may have.  We are thankful for your continued support!

Gratefully, 

Lynn, Nikki and Laura