Holiday Master Class Glissades Back To JCC Mid-Westchester

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — This is the time of year when performances of the Nutcracker inspire new generations to dream of gracefully soaring across the stage. For some in Westchester, those dreams will be a step closer to being realized with a chance to learn from one of the most sought-after ballet instructors in the world.

From the JCC Mid-Westchester:

JCC Mid-Westchester (JCCMW) has announced that New York City Ballet principal dancer Daniel Ulbricht is returning to the Dance School at JCCMW for the eleventh time to teach an intermediate-level Holiday Master Ballet Class. He will be accompanied by accomplished pianist Miles Fusco.

The class takes place on Monday, December 19, from 11 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. and is open to all intermediate-level dancers for a $40 fee. Pre-registration is required to attend. Interested dance students can contact the Dance School at JCCMW here.

A principal dancer with the New York City Ballet since 2007, Ulbricht’s dancing was once described by a critic as "a combination soaring eagle in flight and bowling ball thrown for a strike." In November, he received rave reviews for his performance of Twyla Tharp’s "In the Upper Room" and "Nine Sinatra Songs" at New York City Center.

Ulbricht is the Artistic Advisor of the Manhattan Youth Ballet and Co-Artistic Director of the New York State Summer School for the Arts in Saratoga Springs. He serves as a consultant to a number of schools, is a guest teacher at the School of American Ballet and Ballet Academy East, and teaches at well-known national dance schools, private schools and universities throughout the United States.

Ulbricht directs Stars of American Ballet, a chamber-sized group of top-level ballet dancers celebrating the work of choreographer Jerome Robbins touring the world as an outreach program. The dynamic dancer also co-founded Dance Against Cancer in 2010 to bring the dance community together to support cancer research. Through his annual Dance Against Cancer gala events, Ulbricht, who lost his mother to uterine cancer, has raised over $2 million for the American Cancer Society.

Miles Fusco, who is on faculty at the Dance School at JCCMW as a pianist, holds two degrees from Juilliard. Fusco has worked with such luminaries as Alvin Ailey, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Erik Bruhn, Fernando Bujones, Margot Fonteyn, Carla Fracci, Cynthia Gregory, Susan Jaffe, Rudolph Nureyev, Twyla Tharp, Wendy Whelan, Cheryl Yaeger and many others.

The Dance School at JCCMW, one of Westchester’s most respected dance programs, provides all levels of dance training by professional faculty for pre-school, teen and adult students. Classes include ballet, pointe, Hip Hop and tap. Most adult ballet classes feature live piano accompaniment. Dance School students have gone on to professional careers in dance at several companies, including American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, New York City Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Carolina Ballet, Norwegian National Ballet, Ephrat Asherie Dance as well as on Broadway.

The JCC Mid-Westchester is a multi-generational center in Westchester. They support the community by offering human services, educational, cultural and recreational programs within and beyond their walls. Their programs are grounded in Jewish values and they welcome all. JCCMW enriches families, connects friends and strengthens community.