en Avant School of Dance – 1841 Bay Rd, EPA
June 24 – July 28
Hansel & Gretel
July 28th at 2pm and 5pm
Eastside College Preparatory School
Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch who lives in gingerbread house. The witch intends to fatten the children before eventually eating them. However, Gretel saves her brother by pushing the witch into her own oven, killing her, and saving the day!
Programming for Ages 3-14 Years
en Avant School of Dance is proud to open enrollment to our 5-week Summer Dance Camp in East Palo Alto. Youth participants will experience dance and theater training from professional dancers and master teachers in our Bay Road studio, in East Palo Alto with a concluding performance for friends and family and community.
The curriculum will include choreography that participants will perform on July 27th and 28th, in “Folk Dances” the annual folk tale and music celebration produced by en Avant School’s parent company, Mannakin Theater & Dance. All youth participants are invited to join us in this concluding performance!
Photo by Alexis Bartlett
Summer Dance Camp 2024
June 24-July 28
en Avant School of Dance is the Academy of Mannakin Theater & Dance, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Tuition at en Avant School of Dance is subsidized by grants and donations.
- All participants are required to submit their most recent tax forms and/or pay stubs
- Acceptance to en Avant School of Dance is NOT based on income. All students and families are welcome
- Parents will be required to sign and honor a contract of participation
- Families at higher income levels will be invited to contribute towards the financial health and success of en Avant School of Dance
- No students will be turned away due to lack of funds
- Acceptance into the program is at the discretion of the program director, Traci Cottam
Pay half of summer tuition today as a deposit to hold your spot. The second payment is due by June 24th.
New students incur a one-time registration fee of $125 – includes dancing uniform, ballet shoes, hair supplies and en Avant School ballet bag
Photos by Alexis Bartlett & Bruce Fram
Our Young Dancer students (ages 2.5-6) take class four days per week (Monday-Thursday). Class sizes are limited to 10 dancers, and will focus on ballet, art, music, and Mexican Folklorico. These classes incorporate storytelling and arts and crafts.
Our Upper-Level Dancer students (ages 6-14) take class five days per week (Monday-Friday). Class sizes are limited to 12 dancers, and will focus on ballet, conditioning, contemporary, jazz, art, music, and Mexican Folklorico.
Want to sign up for a free trial class?
epa@mannakindance.org
650-300-9291
Summer Dance Camp Performance
July 27th and 28th
The curriculum will include choreography that participants will perform on July 27th and 28th, in “Folk Dances” the annual folk tale and music celebration produced by en Avant School’s parent company, Mannakin Theater & Dance. All youth participants are invited/expected to perform in this concluding performance!
All students must attend a dress rehearsal on Friday, July 26th
No refunds for tuition or registration fee
New students must pay a one-time registration fee of $125
Registration Fee Includes all Necessary ballet materials including:
- Ballet bag
- Uniform leotard and tights
- Ballet slippers
- Tutu or skirt (level dependent)
This MTD program is supported by The Atkinson Foundation, Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund, San Mateo County Arts Commission and California Arts Council to bring your family high level ballet training.
Countdown to Summer Dance Camp!
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Walfred Solorzano
Walfred Solorzano, Executive Director, joined the team at Mannakin Theater & Dance and en Avant School in 2019. He is passionate about youth development and quality arts programming for underserved communities.
He is the City of Sausalito’s new City Clerk. In his previous position, Solorzano was Assistant City Clerk for the City of Half Moon Bay. His past work experience includes stints in San Mateo, Alameda, and Los Angeles counties.
In 2021, the City Clerks Association of California presented Solorzano with the Special Award of Distinction for Communications, Organization and Administration.
As City Clerk, Solorzano’s responsibilities include providing support for the City Council and the City’s boards and commissions, overseeing local elections, responding to public records requests, and updating the municipal code.
Solorzano is a graduate of Azusa Pacific University and is married with two daughters. In their spare time, he and his family enjoy going to parks, riding bicycles, and taking weekend trips.
Traci Cottam
Photo by Steven Trumon Grey
Traci Cottam, Program Manager, lives in San Francisco, CA and currently assistant directs and dances with Mannakin Theater & Dance. Traci spent ten years in New York City, dancing with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, New Chamber Ballet, and CelloPointe. Recent projects have included guesting with Les Grands Ballet Canadiens; dancing in Signals from the West, Bay Area Artists in Conversation with Merce Cunningham at 100; and Marco Pelle’s T+I at Lake Tahoe Dance Festival. She has performed classical and neoclassical ballets with Neglia Ballet in Buffalo, NY. Originally from Utah, Traci graduated from Brigham Young University with her BA in Dance.
Traci has choreographed work presented in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Lake Tahoe. She currently teaches at en Avant Dance in East Palo Alto and is guest faculty member at Tahoe Youth Ballet. She has taught around the United States in New York, Utah, California, Nevada, New Jersey, and Montana.
Leah Dorman
Leah Dorman began dancing at the age of 4 at Ballet Petit under artistic director Peggy Peabody. She fell in love with flying around the ballet studio and performing on stage, and has danced and/or taught at the studio ever since. In her teens she expanded her dance repertoire to include modern, jazz, and contemporary classes at Ohlone College, helped choreograph multiple original ballets with BP’s Jr. Company, and began assisting with the 3-4 year old pre-ballet classes. As a student her favorite roles included the Rat Queen in The Nutcracker, the Wolf in Peter and the Wolf, and Stepsister in Cinderella. She has also performed with a few local dance companies including in Mannakin Theater & Dance’s The Nutshell performance in 2020. Leah is thrilled to begin teaching at en Avant School after substitute teaching a few times in fall 2022. When not dancing, Leah can usually be found conducting cell biology research as a data scientist in San Francisco.
Mizuho Sato
Mizuho Sato was born in Iwate, Japan and started classical ballet at the age of three. As she performed on stage and attained years of experience in winning balletic competitions, she pursued her career as a dancer and took summer school in the Royal Ballet Academy of England. Entering Sophia (Jochi) University in Tokyo brought her a strong encounter with flamenco, and she decided to shift her career. She relocated her base to Bay area in 2018 and teaches and performs at local venues.
She debuted her own company Mizuho Sato Flamenco Company in San Francisco with a show called ¡FLAMENKING! to spread the power of healing “flamencura” to embrace the multicultural Bay Area flamenco scene, simultaneously showcased her another talent as a painter, and as a result it was a sold out show. Also she started performing as a singer and cajón player.
She looks forward to her first year teaching with en Avant School of Dance!
Greyson Gerdts
Greyson Gerdts is a performer, choreographer, and teacher. She trained under the direction of New Jersey Ballet company member Jessica Lavorgna for a majority of her childhood. Greyson’s teaching career began in 2017 when she choreographed the Old Library Theatre’s production of Children of Eden. Her choreography earned her a nomination for Best Choreography at the end-of-season Gala. Greyson graduated from Muhlenberg College in 2021 with a BA in Dance with concentrations in performance, choreography, and education as well as an Italian Studies minor. In early 2022, Greyson was invited to return to her alma mater, James Caldwell High School, to choreograph her high school’s spring production of Matilda. Choreographing for the community and stage she once danced with felt like a full circle moment and an honor! She returned again for the 2023 spring production of Grease, which closed this past March. Greyson is beyond thrilled to be here in California at Mannakin Dance!
Astrid Arvelo
Astrid Arvelo She formally began her ballet studies at the Terpsicore Comprehensive Dance School. At the age of 15, she joined the stable dance corps at the Nuevo Mundo ballet in Caracas, under the artistic direction of the teacher, director and prima ballerina from Venezuela Zhandra Rodriguez, who was a principal dancer at the American Ballet Teatro and Hamburg Ballet.
In 2018 she competed at the Miami International Ballet Competition USA where she won the Silver Medal in the fourth division category. In 2021 she moved to the United States to continue her career as a dancer and sharing her experience as a ballet teacher, dancing and in different companies in Miami such as Dimensions Dance Theater (Entrenar) of Miami and Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami as Soloist and Corps of Ballet under the artistic direction Heriberto Jimenez.
She currently lives in California dancing as a guest in different companies in the area, and is working at Western Ballet as a teacher and guest dancer.
My focus is on being able to share all my experience and learning in a responsible way with all those passionate about the world of ballet.
Mia Burrell
Mia Burrell is a native of San Jose, CA. She has over 25 years of folklorico dance experience. She has been able to travel to Mexico to learn foklorico from master teachers and has been teaching in the bay area for the past 8 years. She is currently the co-artistic director of Ensamble Folclorico Colibri and is active in Aztec dance circles as well.
Jessy Hernandez
Jessy Hernandez graduated with a BA in Communications and has 7 years of experience in administration from working at a law firm, University, in Tech to currently working at the Business Office at a School District. She was born and raised in the Bay Area, currently lives in Redwood City with her husband and three young boys. Jessy is excited to be part of the en Avant School of Dance team and its mission of bringing Performance Arts to the young generation!
