Damascus Dance Centre
"Dancing Toward Their Dreams"

Located in Damascus, Maryland, an outer suburb of both Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, Damascus Dance Centre is a small, private school that provides quality instruction in classical ballet at reasonable cost. The curriculum includes choreography and stagecraft in addition to dance technique, terminology, and drama. Class size is strictly limited, and individual development is emphasized. The setting is informal, and the atmosphere familial.

All classes are instructed by Joan Purvis or occasional qualified guest instructors. Mrs. Purvis has been teaching ballet –and learning from colleagues and students– for more than 40 years. Her formal education includes a B.A. in Theatre with minor in Dance (UMBC '98, summa cum laude), and an M.A. in Instructional Design (UMBC, 2002). She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies, as well as the Maryland Council for Dance and the National Dance Education Organization.

Every other year we produce full-length story ballets as a benefit to a local school or charity. Thanks to the generosity of our dancers, their families, and the community, our May 2006 production of "Peter Pan" raised $1800 for Urbana High School's performing arts programs!

During the final quarter of non-performance years, students both individually and collaboratively learn to choreograph dances to classical music. That semester ends with a presentation of their dances to family and friends.

Like dance training, this webpage is always a work in progress; your patience is appreciated
Updated April 2008

*** ANNOUNCEMENTS ***

DDC Students and families invite you to join them for
The Nightingale
a dance drama adapted from the beloved tale by Hans Christian Anderson  
 
<>  
Urbana High School Auditorium     May 18, 2008. 3:00 p.m.
Benefit Urbana Arts 
Tickets: $12 adults, $10 seniors, students (5 yrs.& under, free)  

 


For general information or to be placed on a waiting list for classes, please telephone
(301) 253-4590 or email: joan.purvis@verizon.net

Companies and Dancers to Watch:

Julie Kent (birth name, Julie Cox) is a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. She, as well as retired ABT principal Susan Jaffe, and former ABT dancers Cheryl Yeager (Principal) and the late Peter Fonseca (Soloist), trained locally with Tensia Fonseca at the Academy of Maryland Youth Ballet, where Julie's mother Jennifer has been an instructor for many years. This is my favorite picture of Julie because it shows not only her grace and beauty, but also a resemblance to her mother (Photo by Roy Round for ABT).

Other Dance Companies of Interest: 

The Washington Ballet, for the last several years under the direction of Septime Weber, is a small company specializing in contemporary ballet and in promoting new choreographers. Weber is energetic and resourceful, and has instilled in the company a renewed fire, such as did Choo San Goh before his untimely death several years ago. Webre has recently mounted a sumptuous new "Nutcracker," set in the Washington, D.C. of the late 19th Century and moving through some of the history of the city as Clara proceeds through her dream.

The Washington School of Ballet, long under the direction of the late Mary Day and former associate director Patricia Berrend, is recognized worldwide for excellence of training, and many graduates perform or have performed in companies around the globe. Patricia Berrend now runs Berrend Dance Centre in Olney, Maryland, and is Artistic Director of Olney Ballet Theatre. Among WSB graduates are Kevin McKenzie, artistic director of American Ballet Theatre, and recently retired ABT principal dancer Amanda McKerrow.

The Royal Ballet is one of the world's premier companies. Its dancers are noted for beautiful line and well-mannered presentation. Sylvie Guillem, pictured right (Photo by Desmond Coutinho), is currently a guest principal dancer there, although she trained at, and previously performed with, the Paris Opera Ballet. The schools of these two companies may well be the best in the world today.

Pacific Northwest Ballet located in Seattle, WA, has in the last decade-plus joined the ranks of world-class ballet. Long-time and now retired Directors Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, both New York City Ballet alumni, deserve most of the credit for this remarkable transformation, but there is no doubt that a strong staff, and the level of support for the performing arts in the greater-Seattle community, as well, played a large role. Peter Boal, principal dancer with New York City Ballet, has recently accepted the position of PNB's Artistic Director. The Stowells' son Christopher is now Artistic Director of Oregon Ballet Theatre. Until his appointment there, he was a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet, another world-class American company, directed by Helgi Tomasson.

Other Dance Information :

ABT Interactive Ballet Dictionary is a wonderful basic resource for steps, executed by excellent dancer models.

The Kennedy Center website is an excellent source for all kinds of information related to dance and other performing arts, particularly for those of us in the Washington, D.C. area. Highly recommended.

CyberDance is a HUGE list of dance-related sources. Be forewarned, you could get lost in there!

Non-dance Information Online:

Webopaedia is an excellent source of information on the technical aspects of computers and the web.

How Stuff Works® offers clear explanations on a myriad of topics.

Some of my favorite print titles:

Classical Ballet Technique, by Gretchen Ward Warren. Although large and fairly expensive, I think there is none better for clarity, thoroughness, and correctness of illustration, which is done with stop-motion photographs of wonderful dancers.

The Young Dancer, by Darcy Bussell, is the most beautiful book about ballet for elementary-school age children, bar none. The design is excellent, and the Royal Ballet School students used for illustration are impeccably trained and very appealing.

Technical Manual of Classical Ballet, by Gail Grant, is a handy reference work, highly recommended for upper-elementary and older students. It has almost no pictures, but contains a comprehensive list of classical dance steps and detailed description of how they are executed.

Physics of Dance and the Art of Pas de Deux, by Kenneth Laws and Cynthia Harvey, is recommended for the serious older student who needs to understand the physical principles and forces that produce the magic of dance, especially partnering.

Getting Started in Ballet: A Parent's Guide to Dance Education, by Anna Paskevska, is a good general guide for the unitiated; informative, sensible, and sound.

Class Music: There is now available a wide variety of beautifully played, classical music excerpts designed especially for classroom exercises. I don't encourage these for home use, but will make recommendations and order for students, where appropriate.

Music at home: For most students, "work" at home should consist primarily of free-form dance to beautiful classical music of her/his choice. Thus she/he may develop movement qualities and kinesthetic awareness without danger of mis-directed repetition which would have to be "un-learned" later in class. Any of the Tchaikovsky ballets is a good choice, and I am particularly fond of Prokofiev.

The Greatest Learning is to Appreciate Life

Joan Purvis, dba Damascus Dance Centre © 2001-2007. All rights reserved. For info, email joan.purvis@verizon.net