Students participate in dance classes ranging from beginner to advanced in Jazz and Ballet. Tap, Flamenco and other styles of dance are often incorporated into performances. The majority of classes are offered in the afternoon hours during the sports period from 3 PM to 6 PM. Students may take dance to fulfill the sports requirement or it may supplement participation in another sport. Dance performances are a regular feature of the dance program.
Students participate in dance classes ranging from beginner to advanced in Jazz and Ballet. Tap, Flamenco and other styles of dance are often incorporated into performances. The majority of classes are offered in the afternoon hours during the sports period from 3 PM to 6 PM. Students may take dance to fulfill the sports requirement or it may supplement participation in another sport. Dance performances are a regular feature of the dance program.
Interested students may also earn academic credit in Choreography I which is offered during the academic day. This class is an introduction to various dance styles and studies the works of well-known choreographers. It includes short dance studies leading up to final projects three times a year. The projects involve group work that is done during the class, and homework involves the planning and production of an independent choreography project. All dance projects are presented before an audience at the end of the semester.
The following classes are offered each sport season at Grier:
Beginner Jazz
Intermediate Jazz
Advanced Jazz
Beginner Ballet
Intermediate Ballet
Advanced Ballet
Beginner/Intermediate Modern
Advanced Modern
Contemporary/Jazz
Pointe
Stretch/Floor Barre
Beginner Tap
Intermediate Tap
Advanced Tap
GRIER SCHOOL GALA WORKSHOP/PERFORMANCE held April 9-11, 2010
Dr. Grier, Mr. Wilson, Mrs. Borst,
My name is Maria Caruso and I am the founder and artistic director of Pittsburgh's Bodiography Contemporary Ballet Company. We had the great pleasure of visiting your school this weekend to partake in the Grier Gala festivities. I was reflecting on the experience and felt it necessary to compose an note of gratitude for allowing us this opportunity to present our work and educate your student body. I can't imagine how proud you must be of Jocelyn Hrzic and her tremendous leadership skills as she produced this magnificent showcase. I have never seen an individual as passionate about education, performance, and the preservation of dance's historical value as Jocelyn.
Her ability to direct and negotiate a showcase of world renowned professional companies of multiple and diverse genres housed under one roof in the same weekend is beyond remarkable. It is additionally commendable to have a vast array of educational and scholarship opportunities that encompass such a multi-faceted event. To many presenters world wide this opportunity is considered an impossibility. I applaud the Grier School for identifying the importance of dance education, its historical, technical, and kinesthetic value, and the identification of performing arts as a creative and important outlet for our children. I have been in this industry for quite some time and feel honored to have had the opportunity to be a part of such a tremendous event. The students at your school were an absolute delight and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to educate them in my discipline, watch them perform, and perform for them.
Warm Regards,
Maria Caruso Artistic Director Bodiography Contemporary Ballet 5824 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 www.bodiographycbc.com
Spring Performance 2010
Grier's Performing Arts Center, which opened in July of 2006, has a large foyer area which itself is spacious enough for small gatherings. A high ceiling in the entry makes it bright and inviting. From there, you are able to walk along a corridor that follows the southern exposure of the building beside floor to ceiling windows nearly twenty feet high. From this corridor you enter into the main room from a central door. During normal school days, this central area is divided with a partition that effectively creates two very large dance studios of identical size with adjoining changing rooms and bathrooms. Both have theatre style seating. The value of this new space is most evident on performance days when the partition separating the studios can be retracted, opening up the space into one large area with seating for 280 audience members. The total area of the performance floor space is 9,600 square feet. The lighting and sound systems for the center are of exceptionally high quality.
My daughter Meagan's experience at the Grier School has been invaluable in preparing her for life as an adult and has served her well thus far during her first two years at Penn State. I feel that the diverse population of Grier provided her with the kind of experience that cannot be acquired from books or in Meagan's case, even from her natural surroundings (being raised in rural Pennsylvania). Her time in the dance program at Grier under the direction of Jocelyn Hrzic has given her a leg up (no pun intended) in considering taking on the challenge of launching a professional dance career. Grier's intense dance program helped instill a level of discipline and a work ethic that Meagan didn't have as a young girl - traits that frankly weren't required during her previous dance studio and high school experiences.
- Rick Brandt (Letter from a parent of a 2007 graduate)
Joci and Andrea
Jocelyn Hrzic is a graduate from Point Park University with a B.A. in dance. She danced/directed for Norwegian Cruise Lines and Royal Carribean. She also danced with Maxine Sherman's Company and Theatre West Virginia. She danced on full Scholarship at Steps on Broadway in New York City.
Joci teaches master classes for Penn State University and Point Park University, as well as set choreography. She started The Gala Weekend performance at Grier School with guest teachers A.C Ciulla, Mia Price,Tracie Stanfield, Paul Abramhamson, and Chio Yamada. She just started her own professional dance company called "Fluidity".
Joci has been artistic director for the Grier Summer Program the last two years as well as teaching at Point Park's international summer dance workshop and Allegheny Ballet's Summer workshop. She has studied with Mia Micheals, Joe Lanteri, Dwight Rhoden, Wade Robson, Val Suarez, Max Stone, Tyce Diorio, Jason Parsons, as well as many others.
Jocelyn is married to Matt and has a three-year-old daughter named Jillian.
Andrea Young is a recent graduate of Pennsylvania State University. She has graduated with a B.S. in Supply Chain and Information Systems from the Smeal College of Business. In addition, she has a B.A. in Integrative Arts with a concentration in dance. Andrea has been involved with dance since the age of 5 and has studied a vast variety of styles and techniques. Andrea is the computer skills teacher and also assistant dance instructor here at Grier School.
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DANCE
