Shannon KeoughThe ballerinas’ perfect poses inspire all who visit the ContempraDance studio. The studio offers classes for all ages, including adults, and is hoping to add college students to their list.
The dance studio, located on 396 West Lancaster Ave, has a wide variety of classes to choose from, as well as work-outs. The studio offers funk, jazz, ballet, pre-dance, tap, lyrical, modern, belly/salsa, hip-hop and now Irish dance.
“This is a fun and funky studio,” Katrina Tricarico, administrative officer and teacher at the studio, said. “A lot of adults come to drop their children off and end up signing up because we are fun and friendly, and honestly, our classes can end up being a great work-out.”
The rustic brick walls housed the information about the 11 teachers that work there day in and day out. All of the teachers who work in the studio have at least a bachelor’s degree in dance.
“The degree makes people feel more comfortable,” Tricarico said. “With the economy this is considered an ‘extra’ so parents want to know and make sure that it is worth it.”
Students have a chance to join the company that the studio is a part of. All of the dancers in the company are professionals and the company performs at various galas and events. The dancers frequently perform in Philadelphia. During this semester alone, the company will perform twice in the Philadelphia area and once at Drexel University.
One of the goals of the studio is to constantly be involved in the community. During the Radnor fall festival, students were there to show off their moves to residents.
“As new vice president of the dance team this year, I will tell the team about the options that ContempraDance has for us locally and to improve our uniformity as a team,” Mallory Beach, sophomore elementary and special education major, said.
The studio is making a large effort to cater to the older crowd, because not many studios in the area offer classes for adults.
“It was disappointing to know that after 17 years of dancing Cabrini did not offer harder classes on campus,” Amanda Smith, sophomore graphic design major, said. “It is nice to hear of ContempraDance studio because it is a creative way to get away from school and school work for people our age.”
Even though ContempraDance prides themselves on being fun and funky, the studio is no joke. They were voted Best of Philly in 2008 and Nickelodeon’s 2009 Parents Choice Award.
“Coming to this school I would have wanted a higher level of irish dance to be offered, but since it’s not I’m going to get involved in the studio and check it out since it’s so close and also offers theater, which is another one of my interests that I’d love to pursue more off of campus,” Kaitlyn Finnegan, freshman English and fine arts major, said.
The studio offers Cabrini students a stress-free way to express themselves. “I just graduated last year and this teaching job landed in my lap. It has been an amazing experience and I can’t imagine working for any other studio,” Tricarico said.
