FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orlando, FL, September 10, 2020 – On Saturday, September 19, selected dance studios in the city of Orlando will honor National Dance Day (NDD), celebrating dance and the arts within Central Florida with free classes for all ages and levels of ability. Official campus locations will include: Studio K (www.studiokorlando.com), Emotions Dance Studio (www.emotionsdance.org), and the Orlando Ballet (www.orlandoballet.org).
Established in 2010 by American Dance Movement (ADM) co-founder, Nigel Lythgoe, and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, NDD is an annual celebration dedicated to dance that encourages Americans of all ages to incorporate dance into their lives. By creating a focused day of celebration to show support for dance as a valuable form of exercise and of artistic expression, ADM aims to educate the public about dance and its many benefits, as well as to make dance accessible and inclusive to everyone.
ADM believes that participation in dance connects the mind and body, promotes health and wellbeing, connects us with others, and enables us to find joy through dance and movement. NDD is a day of celebrating dance, in all its forms, and takes place annually on the third Saturday in September.
This year, due to the challenges of COVID-19, it was important to the selected local studios to find a safe and possible way to still honor this special day to bring further awareness to the Orlando arts community. National Dance Day Orlando Director and Founder/CEO of Studio K, Kristin Weissman, said, “It was so critical to all of our studio leaders to bring some much needed joy to our community during this difficult time for all, and to create a positive outlet through dance, but to do so in the safest, healthiest way possible.” Therefore, each of the locations took on the challenge of not only celebrating the official national date, but to extend their class offerings through additional class days and hours throughout the entirety of the weekend. The extra days help to accommodate for limited class sizes to give more guests an opportunity to register for classes, and for each campus location to adhere to a variety of protocols to keep all guests healthy and safe.
All classes for NDD are free throughout the country, and both Emotions Dance and the Orlando Ballet will offer classes for children and adults, and Studio K will specialize in classes for teens and adults only.
“This will be the sixth year that Studio K will serve as an official campus location and the first year I am honored to serve as the Director,” Weissman shared. “I originally had so many big plans to make this year a very large celebration as this is not only the ten-year anniversary of National Dance Day, but also the ten-year anniversary of Studio K, both founded in 2010. When the pandemic changed the dynamic of our arts community worldwide, we knew our plans would drastically change. However, we had to find a way to still bring what we all do best to our local residents and to make sure Orlando could find comfort in knowing that the dance community will always have a strong, supported presence in our city, no matter what may come our way.”
Guests may currently register for classes for Studio K and Emotions Dance Studio through the NDD Orlando website: www.nationaldancedayorlando.org. Class information for Orlando Ballet will be released soon.
About National Dance Day Orlando:
Since its inception, National Dance Day Orlando has grown tremendously; now offering multiple campus locations, free classes in a variety of dance and movement disciplines, showcases of Central Florida’s professional dance companies, and an overall coming together of the community to celebrate each other and the art and spirit of dance for all levels of ability.
For more information about National Dance Day Orlando, please visit: www.nationaldancedayorlando.org.
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