For teen dancers, the start of the school year brings the excitement and nerves of audition season. Several area high schools offer intensive dance programs, like the well-regarded Orchesis companies at Glenbrook North and Glenbrook South and Kinesis at New Trier. To prepare students for these highly competitive tryouts, the North Suburban School of Dance will offer a one-day workshop on Friday, August 19 from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m.
The Orchesis/Dance Company Audition Workshop will be led by dancer, teacher and choreographer Lizzie Leopold. Leopold, a Northbrook native who was herself a four-year member of Orchesis, went on to earn a BFA in Dance from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Performance Studies from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She is in the process of earning a doctoral degree in Theater and Drama Studies at Northwestern University. Her professional experience includes dancing with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and teaching at the North Suburban School of Dance. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Leopold Group, a modern dance company currently in residence at the Chicago Cultural Center, and serves on leadership boards for the arts community.
Leopold’s class will focus on audition techniques, and will include a sampling of a variety of relevant dance styles. The workshop will take place at the North Suburban YMCA, 2705 Techny Road in Northbrook. Registration is open to all students entering 9th through 12th grade. The class fee will be $40. To register or ask questions, contact Joni Goldstein, 847 272 7250 x. 1232, performingarts@nsymca.org
