Hip-hop dance studio holds competitive team auditions
Pittsburgh Heat Hip Hop Dance Co. prides itself in being the only all hip-hop dance studio in the city and immediate surrounding area.
“It’s an individual kind of place,” Pittsburgh Heat owner Brenna Jaworski said. “When you type Pittsburgh hip hop dance in Google, we are on the first page.”
Offering classes from original hip-hop styling to break dancing, Pittsburgh Heat will be holding open audition for its competitive dance teams on Sunday, April 18.
Jaworski, 27, opened Pittsburgh Heat in 2005 originally as a competition-based studio.
With professionally grafittied walls of vibrant red and scrawling black letting, Pittsburgh Heat has an urban “hip-hop vibe as soon as you walk in the door,” according to Jaworski, despite its suburban location on Camp Horne Road in Ross Township. Jaworski and her team, which include fellow choreographer Kia Davenport and break dancing instructor Chris Jaeger, teach classes for 4 year olds up through adults.
“We have anywhere from 200-350 people come,” Jaworski said. “From 3 year olds to 55 year olds every week.”
Pittsburgh Heat additionally offers competition teams for each of the age groups – 4 to 8 year olds, 9 to 14 year olds and adults of 15 and over – which anyone can join. Break dancing and tumbling classes are also offered in each of these age groups.
Unlike most dance studios, Pittsburgh Heat does not require a binding contract to participate in the dance classes. Each hip-hop class is $15, $20 for break dancing and $30 for private lessons, which can be paid in cash at each class or in a lump sum by the month.
“The economy is not good to be paying $100 a month,” Jaworski said. “It’s ridiculous to charge so much.”
To join the competitive teams, Jaworski suggests dancers take classes at the studio beforehand. Membership in a competition group is free, but a dancer must pay at least $15 a week for a class whether or not they choose to take one.
A typical hip-hop class, taught by either Jaworski or Davenport, will feature a warm-up to a popular song, “like Rihanna or Jay-Z,” according to Jaworski. The instructor will then teach a 30 or so second routine, which differs each week, to be run over and over again for the remaining hour of class.
“We teach hip-hop you can take to the club,” Jaworski said. “[Dancing] is just as fun for exercise or to take to a social scene.”
Davenport, who has been with Pittsburgh Heat as an instructor and choreography for almost a year, said the laid-back and family-friendly atmosphere is what makes Pittsburgh Heat unique.
“We cater to everyone’s needs,” said Davenport, who attended Point Park University for a semester and is now involved with the on-campus dance team Impulse. “That we don’t do contracts keeps it really open…It’s just for fun.”
Liz Velez, a Point Park sophomore, has taken a few classes at Pittsburgh Heat and agrees that it is an open and friendly place.
“There’s many repeat customers,” Velez said. “It’s definitely customer-friendly and welcoming.”
Jaworski designed Pittsburgh Heat to make it as welcoming and homey a place as possible.
“We make up our own original routines – we do it as we go,” Jaworksi said. “We ask students for input too. It makes them feel really involved and shows the creative process.”
Jaworski grew up in Oakland, “which is about as city as it gets,” she said, and has had a passion for hip-hop ever since she was young. After taking jobs as a cheerleading coach and, most recently, a hair dresser, Jaworski decided put her passion into action by starting Pittsburgh Heat in 2005. Jaworski decided to open the studio in the suburbs to promote a positive view toward hip-hop. Since its start, Pittsburch Heat’s comepetitve teams have performed at events throughout Pittsburgh, including weddings and special events at the Mattress Factory and Station Square.
“We’ve had a lot of success over the past five years,” Jaworski said. “We’ve found the right mesh of people…Between the three of us, we’re the perfect team.”
Pittsburgh Heat’s competition teams also take part in local and national level competitions.
“The competitions are strict,” Davenport said. “They have lots of rules…But we encourage people to dance outside the box…We do what we love here.”
Dancing outside the box and enjoying the experience is exactly what Jaworski hopes visitors to Pittsburgh Heat take away from a class.
“Our mission statement is to experience real hip hop,” Jaworski said. “To feel the real, positive hip-hop love. We all really want to be there. It’s not a job, it’s our life.”
*Published in 2010 Issue 12 of The Globe. Link currently unavailable.
No comments:
Post a Comment