Competition Team
THE LA DANCE
CELEBRATING 13 YEARS OF OUR COMPETITION TEAM!
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Our Competition Team started in 2010 as a way for our more serious students to be exposed to the expanding word of dance. Founded on the ideas behind the famous quote by Mikhail Baryshnikov, “I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself,” our Competition Team focuses on personal growth and artistry over trophies. Each dancer is pushed both technically and artistically, performing various genres and multiple routines at each competition.
Our goal is to forge deep and profound connections with the dances as well as push our girls to grow and blossom on stage. Learning to take, incorporate, and understand feedback given by both their teachers and by judges helps the dancers understand not only their growth and personal responsibility within a group dance, but also helps them understand and explore the subjective nature of art and viewing dance. Dancers are encouraged to be excited about, but never fully judge their performance, by scores and awards.
Dancers must be turning 12 and demonstrate proficiency in a myriad of basic ballet and jazz technique in an audition to be a part of our team. Each year we participate in three competitions and various workshops and events. Dancers who dedicate themselves to the team are expected to work hard to be their best no only at competitions but in every class they take at our studio.
While our focus is on growth and performance, we are very proud of all the awards and accomplishments of our amazing Competition Dancers.
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Our Artistic Director
Lauren Newby is the Artistic Director of our LA DANCE COMP TEAM. We are celebrating 10 fabulous years of the comp team under the direction of this wonderful lady.
Lauren Newby began her dancing career at two and a half at Lois Allen where she studied ballet, tap, jazz and pointe until she was eighteen. From 2001 to 2005 Lauren attended DeSales University and earned her BA with honors in Dance. From the fall of 2009 to the fall of 2013, Lauren enjoyed a performing career with Undertoe Dance Project, A jazz/tap fusion company based in NYC, where Lauren danced with company as a jazz dancer and tap swing while also working behind the scenes as the Company Manager. For thirteen summers Lauren worked at Camp Ballibay for the Fine and Performing Arts in Camptown, PA starting as a dance teacher and cabin counselor, Lauren was the head of the dance department, Dean of Girls, Dean of Campers and finally the Assistant Director her last summer. Since the fall of 2005 Lauren has been teaching at the Lois Allen School of Dance in Clark, NJ and taught at On The Move Performing Arts Center in Butler, NJ from 2005 to 2010. In the fall on 2010, Lauren began teaching exclusively for Lois Allen School of Dance and started their first competition team. She has been proud to choreograph for her alma matters Arthur L Johnson High School and Carl H Kumpf Middle School ("Annie" in 2008) as well as the St. Matthias School in Somerset, NJ. Lauren went back to school where she graduated with honors with her AAS from Union County College as a Physical Therapist Assistant. She currently works for Kessler Rehabilitation Center in Union, NJ where she treats patents and leads education initiatives on injury prevention and care for dancers as the co-lead of their company-wide Performing Arts Special Interest Group. Lauren is a member of the National Dance Education Organization, Dance Educators of America, Associated Dance Teachers of New Jersey, Dance New Jersey, and the American Physical Therapy Association.