Let's Dance: Event at NCC Saturday Promotes Fitness

The free event is open to the public and urges healthier living through fun activities such as dance.

Looking for a dance partner? Loudoun residents will have no trouble finding one at the family friendly “National Day of Dance for Your Health” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb 23, at the National Conference Center in Lansdowne. “This is a free family fun event.  Everyone is invited to come and jump around and learn about dance as a way for exercise,” said Melissa Ozmar, a spokeswoman for Reston Hospital Center, one of the hospitals involved in the event nationwide. Through the Spirit of Women Hospital Network, the National Day of Dance connects dozens of hospitals throughout the United States, encouraging people to use a relatively easy form of exercise such as dance as a means for healthier living. Along with a healthy diet, …

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Ashburn Dance Studio Performed in Macy’s Parade

Students from Studio Bleu joined the Spirit of America dance team during the annual Thanksgiving event.

Students at Ashburn’s Studio Bleu Dance Center performed this year in the 86th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York City, and 14 students made the trip last week. This marks the sixth year the school has performed in the event representing Virginia. The dancers joined the Spirit of America Dance Team [see the YouTube video with article]. “This is an unbelievable opportunity for our dancers to be part of such a lasting American tradition,” Studio Bleu owner Kimberly Rishi said in a release from the school. “Then to have the opportunity to perform live on Herald Square ... it doesn’t get any better!”  Briar Woods senior Emma Day made her fourth and final trip to the event this year. “It is such a great experience to be in the Macy’s…

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Getting Out of the House

Get 'All Jazzed Up' with the 'Nutcracker' in Ashburn

The Institute of Performing Arts for Youth will put on its version of the holiday classic this weekend only at Broad Run High School.

Kick off the holiday season with the Institute of Performing Arts for Youth’s (IPAY) Nutcracker in a Shell: All Jazzed Up at Broad Run High School this weekend only. IPAY students from Ashburn and Chantilly perform in the child-friendly production, which is a shortened version of The Nutcracker. Geralyn Ward directs the performance – in its 13th year – which is designed to introduce younger audiences into the Nutcracker story. Eighty-five children from Loudoun and Fairfax counties have been cast in the show, including the cast: The Institute of Performing Arts for Youth is a nonprofit children’s arts organization that provides instructional dance services and programs to families in Northern Virginia. The organization aims to create …

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Studio Bleu Ranks 3rd in the Nation

Ashburn dance company also won a 2011 Studio Excellence Award

The Federation of Dance Competitions recently ranked Ashburn’s Studio Bleu Dance Center the third Overall Dance Studio in the United States. In addition, Studio Bleu also won the coveted, Studio Excellence Award, given to just 13 studios. “This is the first year that Studio Bleu has been recognized by the FDC, and to be ranked third in the nation is simply amazing,” said Studio Bleu owner, Kimberly Rishi. “To have come so far so quickly is a true testament to the talent and commitment of our dancers and staff. They inspire me everyday.” Studio Bleu has more than 2,100 students enrolled in more than 300 classes each week in all dance disciplines for ages 2 through adult. Studio Bleu’s competition team is the largest in the nation. TeamBleu …

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Ashburn Dance Studio Takes 1st in Jazz, Hip Hop

Creative Dance Center performs well at the 2010 Mason Dance Team Invitational

The Creative Dance Center placed first in Senior All-Star Jazz and first in Senior All-Star Hip Hop at the 2010 Mason Dance Team Invitation Sunday. Twenty-eight teams from Northern Virginia and Maryland competed in the event, which took place at the Recreation & Athletic Complex on the Fairfax Campus of George Mason University.

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Ashburn Tap Sensation Performs at International Children's Festival

Luke Spring and Studio Bleu to Perform at Wolf Trap

Ashburn's own tap-dancing sensation, Luke Spring, will be performing at the International Children's Festival at Wolf Trap, Va., on Sunday, Sept. 19. Spring and other dancers from Studio Bleu Dance Center in Ashburn will perform five numbers at the festival on Sunday beginning at 10:15 a.m. at the Meadows Stage. The 7-year-old tap-dancing prodigy first came to the national scene after his debut performance last spring at the Washington, D.C., Tap Festival created an Internet sensation. It wasn't long before he was asked to perform on TV shows such as "Fox & Friends," the "Ellen DeGeneres Show," and the finale of the "So You Think You Can Dance" reality show. Luke said he started tap dancing by watching other people. "It looked fun," he …

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