This month, in honor of National Dance Week, April 23 - May 2, 2004, we celebrate how dance has inspired us and how each of us carries a rhythm that makes us special.

Why Celebrate Dance? Simple: to communicate.

National Dance Week’s mission is to heighten the awareness of Dance and its contributions to our culture. Dance is good for the mind, body and spirit. There is great power in dance and music; and children who study dance and are exposed to other cultures, usually perform better scholastically. The emphasis of National Dance Week is to use dance as a vehicle of understanding and good will among nations of the world. http://www.nationaldanceweek.org  

Dance is the one way that people of all ethnicities and languages are able to communicate. Even before there was verbal or written communication humans used movement to help them comprehend their world and express themselves. Through dance we are able to understand and appreciate the wonderful diversity of our communities.  Dance is non-threatening and is one of the easiest ways to help us connect with people.

Let us read and let us dance--two amusements that will never do any harm to the world.
--Voltaire

In NoHo, we celebrate two dance studios in particular that provide valuable training and service to dancers and their needs. 

MKM CULTURAL ARTS CENTER

Shirley Martin opened her current studio, MKM Cultural Arts Center, in NoHo in 2000 because she felt that the NoHo Arts District encompasses all art forms.  Her NoHo studio was specifically designed to assist young dancers obtain the necessary skills in order to merge into professional dance companies, without having to go back east.  The intense training, use of various world styles and nurturing atmosphere make MKM a must for those with the drive to become true dancers.

MKM Cultural Arts Center specializes in “all-world” dance, encompassing the best of the great choreographers, past and present.  MKM is particularly dedicated to the artistic and development side of dance as opposed to the commercial aspect.  The Center’s focus is on modern dance incorporating live music from a variety of musical genres, and showcasing their dancers’ skills through concert work. 

Freedom to a dancer means discipline. That is what technique is for--liberation.
 --Martha Graham

Shirley Martin and her instructors focus on a classic, technical style believing that all dancers need a solid and strong technical base from which to start and then specialize.  Dancers must be strong, have balance and control.  Without technique, form and strength, there is no dance.

MKM gives their dancers a place to learn a particular skill or hone their craft.  They encourage their dancers to step on stage and become their character, to show intensity and draw the audience in.  As in all art forms, this is the true test of an artist, whether a dancer, actor or visual artist.

NoHo is proud to have an all-encompassing dance center that helps young dancers achieve their dreams. 

MKM Cultural Arts Center
11401 North Chandler Blvd.
NoHo 91601
818 752-2616 

MILLENNIUM

The MILLENNIUM DANCE COMPLEX is a professional dance center catering to the artistic community of the greater Los Angeles area. Many of the classes offered are geared toward working dancers, previously trained dancers or those who have the desire to learn to dance in an accelerated learning environment. Others are structured to accommodate children and adult beginners.

All classes are taught by working performers and choreographers with extensive personal experience in the performing arts and a willingness to bring out the best in the students.  Millennium boasts the top choreographers in the industry, including Wade Robson of MTV’s “The Wade Robson Project.”  Their client list is a copy of the Grammy and MTV Video Award winners.  N*Sync, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Pink, Christina Aguilera, Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias and the list goes on, have come to Millennium to learn and choreograph their moves that we’ve seen on TV and stage.

For rehearsal and audition needs, Moro Landis Millennium - named in honor of the memory and tradition inspired by George Moro and Ruth Landis, two mesmorizing individuals dedicated to dance - offers several fully-equipped rental spaces, including the fabulous Dome – a 4,000 sq.ft. mega studio with a 30-ft.-high domed ceiling.

Millennium is now offering Intensive Summer programs in dance and performing arts. Experience the LA professional dance world and benefit from a full schedule of classes from the Millennium faculty - up to 35 classes weekly!

Moro Landis Millennium Dance Complex
5113 Lankershim Blvd.
NoHo 91601
818-753-5081
www.millenniumdancecomplex.com

The NoHo Dance Studios will open their doors during the 12^th annual NoHo Theatre & Arts Festival on May 15 & 16. For Festival information click here. 

With more than 20 theatres, art galleries, the largest concentration of music recording studios west of the Mississippi and home to professional dance studios that create what we see on TV, film and stage, the NoHo Arts District IS where art is made, art in all forms.

Check out our Dancer Resources!

On with the dance! Let joy be unconfined.
 --Lord Byron