Our Mission
Sharing our love and appreciation of dance
through performances, school residencies,
and community dance festivals.
DanceVision's mission is to enrich the community with quality dance experiences, including performances, school residencies, and dance festivals. DanceVision, Inc., provides the highest quality dance education and performance opportunities while fostering artistic excellence and professionalism among young, emerging dancers. The community is invited to take part in all aspects of our productions and to attend participatory and educational dance events. Founded by Susan Jaffe and Artistic Director Risa Kaplowitz, DanceVision was incorporated in 2005 as a non-membership, not‐for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation in New Jersey.
History of DanceVision, Inc.
DanceVision, Inc., was incorporated as a New Jersey non-membership, non-profit corporation (501(c)(3)) on August 12, 2005. DanceVision’s mission is to enrich the community with quality dance experiences, including dance education and performances while fostering artisitic excellence and professionalism among young emerging dancers and artists. This is accomplished by providing in-school, after-school, outreach and professional development programs in public school districts and private schools for school-age children (K-12) in New Jersey.
DanceVision successfully completed its first pilot program of D.A.N.C.E. (Dance As a Necessary Component of Education) in February 2006 at Montgomery Township's Lower Middle School with a two-week dance program called Water Dance based on poetry from a book of the same name. In April 2008, D.A.N.C.E. completed a similar program at Millstone River School thanks to a generous grant from the West Windsor-Plainsboro Education Foundation. The residencies help schools meet the New Jersey Department of Education Core Curriculum Standards and introduce different learning modalities.
DanceVision successfully completed its first pilot program of D.A.N.C.E. (Dance As a Necessary Component of Education) in February 2006 at Montgomery Township's Lower Middle School with a two-week dance program called Water Dance based on poetry from a book of the same name. In April 2008, D.A.N.C.E. completed a similar program at Millstone River School thanks to a generous grant from the West Windsor-Plainsboro Education Foundation. The residencies help schools meet the New Jersey Department of Education Core Curriculum Standards and introduce different learning modalities.
DanceVision made its debut in December 2007 with a production of Susan Jaffe’s The Nutcracker. The performances highlighted some of the region’s most talented young dancers. The Youth Ensemble went on to perform excerpts of the ballet at the Delaware Township School and the West Windsor-Plainsboro School District in an informative lecture demonstration, Multicultural Nutcracker, written and narrated by Marie Alonzo Snyder. DanceVision continues to enchant audiences annually with their productions of The Nutcracker and The Secret Garden, an original ballet choreographed by Risa Kaplowitz. The company performed with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) in 2008 and again with them at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in 2009, where they performed the Carnival of the Animals, choreographed by Susan Jaffe and Risa Kaplowitz. DanceVision recently performed for the third time with the NJSO in January 2011 during NJSO's pre-concert education program, Water! Fantasies and Fables.
In January 2011, DanceVision partnered with The Parkinson Alliance, and the Dance for PD organization-founded by Mark Morris and David Leventhal to host a free Master Class for persons with Parkinson's Disease, their partners, their caregivers, and friends to enjoy movement, music and dance. This was the first class of its kind in New Jersey, and DanceVision has made Princeton Dance for PD a recurring event.
The two founders of DanceVision have a great deal of dancing, teaching, and outreach experience. Susan Jaffe is a world-renowned, former principal dancer with American Ballet Theater and Risa Kaplowitz, a former principal dancer with the Dayton Ballet and Manhattan Ballet, also danced with Houston Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. Risa Kaplowitz is the Artistic Director of DanceVision.
The two founders of DanceVision have a great deal of dancing, teaching, and outreach experience. Susan Jaffe is a world-renowned, former principal dancer with American Ballet Theater and Risa Kaplowitz, a former principal dancer with the Dayton Ballet and Manhattan Ballet, also danced with Houston Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. Risa Kaplowitz is the Artistic Director of DanceVision.
