HAMILTON, Bermuda, April 11, 2007 - The National Dance Foundation of Bermuda today announced that the third in the popular PartnerRe Master Class and Teacher Training Series will feature classes taught by Denise Jefferson, Director of the world-renowned Ailey School .

 

Ms Jefferson, who for over 20 years has overseen the development of The Ailey School into one of the premier dance institutions in the world, will teach modern classes based on the Graham technique. This technique was created by dance icon Martha Graham and is widely acknowledged to be one of the most clearly defined dance vocabularies ever developed.

 

Ms Jefferson, as well as Franco De Vita, Principal of the Jacqueline Kennedy School of Ballet at American Ballet Theatre and Raymond Lukens, also of American Ballet Theatre, are the three masters who will conduct classes for young dancers as well as students who are at an intermediate or advanced level. Dance teachers are welcome to observe or participate in the Intermediate/Advanced classes.

 

Classes are offered free of charge and are held from Friday, April 13 to Sunday, April 15 in the dance facilities of Bermuda High School .

 

National Dance Foundation Chairman, Don Kramer noted that the Young Dancer classes are already oversubscribed.

 

 

 

“We are delighted with the response to the upcoming weekend of classes,” said Mr. Kramer. “ All of the Young Dancer classes are full but there is some room in the Intermediate/Advanced level classes. We hope Bermuda ’s dance students will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to train with some of the best dance masters in the world.

 

“We are particularly honoured to have Ms Denise Jefferson with us this weekend. She is no stranger to the Island , having taught here during workshops conducted by the Bermuda Dance Theatre and the National Dance Theatre of Bermuda. Her knowledge and experience as a teacher is significant and she has much to offer to Bermuda ’s dancers and teachers.”

 

“ PartnerRe is pleased to see so many of the Island ’s dancers participate in the Master Class and Teacher Training series,” said Patrick Thiele, President and Chief Executive Officer of PartnerRe. “I understand that more than 200 students and teachers have registered for the series since it began last November and the feedback that we’ve received has been positive.””

 

For more information regarding the PartnerRe master Class and Teacher Training Series, please contact the National Dance Foundation at 236-3319 or visit the Foundation’s web site at www.dancebermuda.org .

 

The National Dance Foundation of Bermuda, a registered charity and a company limited by guaranty, helps to raise the standard of dance excellence in Bermuda by providing world-class training to the island’s dancers, teachers and choreographers

 

 

 

EDITOR’S NOTE

Denise Jefferson was born in Chicago , Illinois , where she began her ballet studies with Edna L. McRae. She attended Wheaton College in Norton , MA , graduating with a B.A. in French, she then earned her M.A. in French from New York University . She was awarded a scholarship to the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance and began her professional career with Pearl Lang Dance Company.

 

In 1974, she joined the faculty of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and was appointed its Director in 1984. She has served as the Secretary, and a member of the Board of Directors and of the Commission on Accreditation of the National Association of Schools of Dance as well as on the Dance and Appeals Panel of New York State Council on the Arts. She was the Vice Chairperson of the International Association for Blacks in Dance and serves currently as the President of the Emergency Fund for Student Dancers. She has been adjudicator and is currently a master teacher for the ARTS program sponsored by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.

 

She is currently on the Board of Directors for the Elisa Monte Dance Company and the Advisory Board of the Professional Children's School and the University of Oklahoma 's Dance Department. She serves as an evaluator of professional dance academies and college and university dance departments in the U.S. and abroad and an adjudicator of the international dance competitions. She has taught at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts; Benedict College; University of Illinois (Chicago); Sarah Lawrence College; London Contemporary Dance School; Bermuda Dance Theatre; Bejart Rudra and the International Summer Dance Academy in Cologne, Germany where she is also a member of the Academy's Advisory Council.