~ Written by Danielle Lee-Hogervorst, Outreach Coordinator at Ballegro Player, Alumni of Arts Umbrella’s Graduate Program

Danielle Clifford is one-of-a-kind, no one can ever replace her.  Now 77, she still teaches multiple ballet classes on a weekly basis and still demonstrates each exercise full-out!  She turns and jumps, her brain is sharp, and she never fails to bring joy to everyone she encounters!

Along with Pam Rosa, over 30 years ago, in 1985, Danielle co-founded Harbour Dance Centre, a downtown Vancouver studio at the heart of the city’s dance scene. But before this, she had a long and successful career as a performer with ballet companies across Europe including touring as a principal dancer with the Grand Theatre de Nancy and as a soloist with the Nice Opera.  Over the past 10 years, Danielle has worked as ballet mistress at Anna Wyman Dance Company, and has been an adjudicator at competitions across British Columbia. 

The founder of...

~ Written by Antonios Bougiouris, Business Development Associate at Ballegro Player, Former Dancer at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal and Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal

Many of you probably know that Ballegro is a streaming music app specifically designed to help dancers and teachers practice anywhere, at anytime, and at any tempo! Ballegro Player works as hard and as well as a live pianist and allows you to modify the tempo of any song to optimize your teaching and practice experience. You can also search for music by exercise, length, rhythm, and genre, making it that much easier. You can upload your own music collection or if you are looking for something new, take advantage of our curated music library. 

Because it was created by an ACTUAL ballet pianist, the Ballegro Player is the most effective and efficient music app designed for dance EVER!!!!!!

Whether you have downloaded the app or not (and we recommend that you do), what you...

~ Written by Danielle Lee-Hogervorst, Outreach Coordinator at Ballegro Player, Dancer at Arts Umbrella’s Graduate Program

Ahhh, Summer! A time for adventure, a time to temporarily disengage from work, a time to try new things, or a time to do nothing! No matter what you do with your time, one thing is for sure - summer is a time when you have the ability to take a much-needed break from your everyday routine and dance practice. On the flip side however, while we all want and need to take a break, how do you keep in shape both physically and mentally over the summer months? How do you stay curious and explore your training without a set schedule? This is a question on most dancers’ minds as we lose access to studio space and time, and is something I am in the process of investigating for myself.

My big question lately has been, “how do I keep my mind stimulated and curious?” Of course it is important to cross train and stay in shape. Your options for...

Voted Best Dance Studio in Vancouver, Canada

Established in 1985 by original partners Pamela Quick-Rosa and Danielle Clifford, Harbour Dance Centre has evolved from a humble basement studio in a home in North Vancouver into one of the major hubs of Vancouver's dance scene, voted the Best Dance Studio in Vancouver by The Georgia Straight for numerous years.  Danielle still to this day teaches with the energy of a child. Her words of wisdom brighten everyone’s day as soon as she walks in. “Life is beautiful. Ballet is beautiful.'' If you ever get to meet these ladies, you’ll see why it is a labour of love.

Danielle toured throughout Europe as a principal dancer with the Grand Theatre de Nancy and as a soloist with the Nice Opera during the 50's and 60's. Shortly after immigrating to Canada in 1970, she opened the Ballet Studio in North Vancouver. Over the past ten years, Danielle has worked as ballet mistress at Anna Wyman Dance Company, completed the teacher...

~ Interview by Lucas Batista, Marketing Associate at Ballegro Player

Suzanne, originally from Vancouver,  trained and danced with some of the world's finest ballet companies. From Germany’s Stuttgart Ballet to Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, London England’s Dance Centre to the Pacific Ballet Theatre, and being Ballet Mistress at Ballet BC for 5 years to being the founding director of Ballet BC’s Mentor Program under Artistic Director John Alleyne, Suzanne has done it all. She has worked as a rehearsal director for James Kudelka, Paul Taylor, Jean Grand Maitre, Reid Anderson, Anna Marie Holmes, Simone Orlando, Joshua Beamish and Jennifer Mascall.

Suzanne has also performed as a lead dancer, singer and actress in professional musicals with the Vancouver Playhouse, Calgary’s Stage West’s Nunsense, and several productions for TUTS, MUSSOC and Winnipeg’s Rainbow Stage. She has guest taught and adjudicated...

~ Written by Danielle Lee-Hogervorst, Outreach Coordinator at Ballegro, Dancer at Arts Umbrella’s Graduate Program; and Lucas Batista, Marketing Associate at Ballegro.

Having just recently launched Version 3 of our app on our website, one of our most important tasks lately has been to share Ballegro with the world!  AND with dance competition season heading into full swing, what better way to do this than to get involved with these festivals!  We have contacted many competitions that tour across Canada in order to reach out and let our dance audiences know that we are here to help them out!

Ballegro Player is music streaming app that recreates the experience of having a Live Pianist. It features an ever-expanding Ballet Music Library with a unique Music Player; it lets you adjust the tempo and helps dance teachers or any dancer to practice in the tempo that they need.  Moreover, you can upload your own music, and play your personal music...

~ Written by Danielle Lee-Hogervorst, Outreach Coordinator at Ballegro Player, Dancer at Arts Umbrella’s Graduate Program

I took my first ballet class at 2.5 years old - a mother-daughter class - and have never stopped since.  Currently training at Arts Umbrella in their Graduate Program, I partake in the study of ballet 6 days a week. It is a never-ending practise.  One where you are constantly striving to be better than you were yesterday. One where you feel like you have gotten progressively worse since last week, but you nevertheless continue to show up everyday to persevere and challenge yourself, because you have a vision of what you can and hope to achieve.  One where you discover something new about your body, mind, relationship to others in space and time everyday.

 But is this practise and strife for consistency and possibly perfection giving us, as aspiring and professional dancers, everything we need to succeed in the 21st century dance world?...

Mama, I love you
Mama, I care
Mama, I love you
Mama, my friend
You're my friend

Mama is a song by the British girl group the Spice Girls.

On Sunday, 13th of May, we are celebrating our amazing moms. They wash your clothes, cook your food and look after you when you need them. But what makes your mom a dance mom?

These 5 things will show if your mom is a dance mom or even if YOU are one of them.

1. You know how to do the perfect ballet bun and have bobby pins all over your house. Sometimes, you even find them in the corners of your couch.
   
   
   
2. It all started with one visit at the dance studio, and now, it is your second home. You know everyone at the dance studio and even take dance classes yourself now. To be a good example, you even think of belly button, point your toes and straight your leg in a good, rotated, turned-out first position.
   
   
3. Also, when you see your child nail the choreography you burst out with a big ‘YEAH!’ and want to run in the room to cheer them. 
   
   
   
   
4. All...

Today, we interviewed Erica Trivett, Certified Practitioner of the Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education® and Thesis Writer – Osteopathy Manual Practice, about the stretches she likes to do and why she thinks the Feldenkrais Method® is good for dancers.

Tell us a little bit about yourself!

So, we are here at Harbour Dance Centre, and I am Erica Trivett. I am currently a Guild Certified Practitioner® of the Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education® and Thesis Writer. I have had a career in dance for about 25 years. Actually, I am about to teach a class this morning.

What is the Feldenkrais Method®?

The Feldenkrais Method® is based on promoting self-awareness and discovering better ways of functioning in movement — which is done in a number of different ways exploring developmental movement.

Why did you study the Feldenkrais Method®?

I got introduced to the Feldenkrais Method® when I was a guest artist in Basel at the Basel Ballet....

The birds are singing, the sun is shining, the flowers are sprouting — spring is finally here, and along with it, Easter. Easter is popular with young and old. The little ones finally have holidays and a reason to eat tons of chocolate, and for the big ones, there are at least a few well-deserved holidays on the long Easter weekend. But one thing that is memorable for all is the hunt for the colorful Easter eggs.

Easter egg hunts are so much fun to organize, so today we’ve put together some tips for organizing a very special, ballet-themed Easter egg hunt for all the little ballerina bunnies in your family and life. Let’s get cracking, ballet PEEPS!

What do you need for an Easter egg hunt?

All you need for your ballet-themed Easter egg hunt is a bit of pre-planning, colorful, ballet-inspired eggs and free printable Easter egg hunt signs.  After that, you have to come up with your own ballet-themed Easter egg hunt clues and hide them in every corner in your...