CALL US! 914 - 941-2939

​She told them about the Westchester Ballet Company: in financial trouble, searching for new artistic leadership. It was a risk, with contracts already signed abroad. But after a month of conversations, Beth and Jean said yes — and became the company's new artistic directors — and opened a school of their own: Logrea Dance Academy.

 

Three months later, they staged their first Nutcracker. It wasn’t easy. There were hardly any sets, few costumes, no existing choreography. Beth and Jean built the ballet from scratch while family and friends pitched in wherever they could. Dancer friends came from across the U.S. and Europe as guest artists, while the couple themselves danced the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier. Somehow, they pulled it off — and a tradition was born.

 

Over nearly four decades, Beth and Jean built the company and LDA side by side. The Nutcracker became a beloved Westchester holiday tradition, seen by thousands, while an ambitious spring repertoire brought a wide range of ballets to the stage.

 

But at the heart of it all were the dancers. At LDA, Beth and Jean have trained generations of students with the discipline and standards of the professional world — technique, confidence, perseverance and the value of hard work. Alumni return year after year, some now bringing their own children to the same studio where they once danced. For generations of students, LDA became more than a school. It became home.

 

For Nick, it has always been both. Growing up in the studio, he became an accomplished dancer and went on to build an international career as a performer and teacher. He learned from his parents — absorbing something from each until he found an artistic voice entirely his own.

 

Last year, after nearly four decades of artistic leadership at Westchester Ballet Company, Beth and Jean made the decision to bring their work fully home — building The Nutcracker entirely within LDA, under their own creative vision. Today, Nick leads the Academy, and LDA produces its own Nutcracker.

 

This December 5th and 6th, Logrea Dance Academy brings The Nutcracker to the SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Center. Beth's choreography, created for that first production in 1986 and refined over four decades, remains at its heart. Jean returns to his longtime role as Uncle Drosselmeyer. And as producer, Nick brings his own vision and artistry to a tradition he has known from the inside-out for his entire life.

 

The production is unmistakably Logrea — fantastic dancing and acting, spectacular sets, costumes and special effects — and powerful storytelling that draws the audience in from the very first scene.

 

As we begin our 41st year, the Logrea tradition continues — and an exciting new chapter begins. Join us.