LOOKING FOR DANCE LESSONS FROM A PREMIER SOUTH FLORIDA STUDIO?
Locust Dance Academy (LDA) of Miramar, Florida is a professional
Dance Conservatory that offers dance
classes for ages 3 through adult in Hip Hop, Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary,
Musical Theatre, Creative Movement and Adult Dance. Students benefit from
an exchange of master teachers with LDA's sister studio in the northeast, Locust
Performing Arts Center (LPAC). The methodology and vision is to provide
excellence in dance education, while socially and emotionally uplifting and
empowering students to reach their potential and inspire their community.
LDA also offers Party Packages.
Photo by Jay Ritter TMR Imagery
www.tmrimagery.com
MIAMI MEETS NEW YORK CITY AT LDA
Internationally-known dancer, choreographer, producer and educator
Jimmy Locust brings his New York City style to South Florida as
Locust Dance Academy's Artistic Director / Owner alongside Miami's
Monica Richardson-Delgado, a
celebrated dancer, choreographer, clothing designer and Locust Dance Academy's
Artistic Director / Manager.
Artistic
Director/OwnerJimmy Locusthas
worked with top entertainment industry stars such as Michael Jackson, Janet
Jackson, Paula Abdul, Quincy Jones and Debbie Allen. He has been featured
in iconic music videos and films including
Rhythm Nation and Coming to America.
He has performed at the Grammy Awards, Academy Awards and MTV Video Music
Awards. Mr. Locust was one of the head choreographers for the 1996 Olympics in
Atlanta (opening and closing ceremonies) and was nominated for an American
Choreography Award in 2001 for his work on the Warner Brothers’ network
television show Nikki. Locust has choreographed commercials for both
international and national companies, including Sanyo in Japan with Nicholas
Cage and most recently, Rapid Advance in the U.S. He worked on the Justin Bieber
Tour in 2010 and choreographed for the CW Television Network’s The Next
with hosts John Rich, Joe Jonas, Nelly and Gloria Estefan.
For the stage, Locust has choreographed
successful theater and high school productions. He has designed dance curricula
for numerous community and private education programs. Locust has also been a
studio owner, master teacher and choreographer for over twelve years. He is the
Founder and Director of Harmony Nation, an
educational anti-bullying program that performs for schools and youth
organizations. He also directs Locust Contemporary Dance Works, a youth
company which performs in New York City, as well as
Hip Hop's Finest and
FOCUS Hip Hop pre-professional groups.
Locust was appointed by the renowned Boca Ballet Theatre in Florida as a
returning faculty member for their summer residency program. Locust was also selected to be an adjudicator (2015) and Artist-in-Residence (2016-present) for the JCC Maccabi Games Artsfests across the U.S.
Most recently, he took on the project of
choreographing West Side Story
for Musicals at Richter. Locust’s multi-faceted lifestyle is
chronicled in his reality show Locust Under 5’.
Artistic
Director/Manager Monica Richardson started her dance training at the age
of three. She graduated from the New World School of the Arts in Miami with
extensive study and proficiency in modern, ballet and jazz. Monica's commercial
career has included performing as a background dancer for recording artists
Gloria Estefan, Pitbull (Univision’s Latin Pepsi Smash), rapper Nelly and
country music star John Rich (the CW Television Network's The Next) and dancing in music videos for
rap artists Ja Rule and Missy Elliott. She has choreographed and danced in
several performances for artist Jackie-O and group Take Note, with whom she did
the opening number at the Reggae Festival in Miami, featuring such big-name
artists as Sean Paul. Her work abroad includes that of lead dancer for Tokyo
Disney Sea, where she danced in the show ShowBiz Iz. On the small screen,
Monica has performed with Scarface actor Angel Salazar, dancing in his
comedy show Sheck It Out. Monica danced in a Broadway-style national
commercial for Rapid Advance and performed and co- choreographed with
choreographer Jimmy Locust for recording artist Arika Kane (New York City’s BB
King's). Currently, Monica continues her dream of performing,
choreographing and teaching master classes throughout the U.S. She is also the
founder and creative designer of an exclusive legging line, Moni Make Your
Mark, which uses unique and colorful patterns to express originality and
encourage all individuals to be bold and confident in making their mark on the
world.
Katelynn Draper is an enthusiastic dancer
who has dedicated her life to dance and teaching. Katelynn graduated Summa Cum
Laude and received her BFA from New World School of the Arts. She has worked
alongside and performed repertoire from world renowned choreographers such as
Judith Jamison, Ariel Friedman, Tony Fabre, Kyle Abraham, Patricia Lent, Peter
London, Darshan Bhuller, Rennie Harris, and Robert Battle. In 2012 she had the
incredible honor to study at the school of Jacob’s Pillow in the Contemporary
program, under the direction of Milton Myers. She has been the recipient
of numerous regional and international dance awards including Intrigue’s
Young Choreographer’s Award and Christina Aguilera’s Dance Contest on MTV.
Katelynn is inspired to be educating the youth on the importance of an active
lifestyle through the art of dance.
Kameo Walker is trained in Hip-hop, Classical Ballet, Modern, Jazz, African and Contemporary dance and holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Bethune-Cookman University (2014). Kameo was a Captain of the 14 Karat Gold Dancers of the BCU Marching Wildcats as seen on the Original Netflix series Marching Orders. Kameo has been dancing professionally since 2014. She has performed at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in shows such as Festival of the Lion King, Discovery Island Carnival and Africa’s Burudika Band. She also performed at Walt Disney World EPCOT in the 2018 Kwanzaa Celebration. Kameo was also cast in The Lion King Concert in the Wild at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, where she worked with Tony Award-winning choreographer Warren Adams, and shared the stage with celebrities such as Alfre Woodard, Michael Beach, David Allen Grier and Viola Davis. Kameo has recently performed as a Miami Heat Dancer for the 2018-2019 season. She teaches dance at Parkway Middle School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in addition to teaching at Locust Dance Academy. As a Breast Cancer Survivor, Kameo is passionate about inspiring others to follow their dreams, no matter what tries to stop you!
Lauryn Lapreadbegan her dance journey at the young
age of eight years old dancing in a traveling West African urban ballet company
called Dun Du Dole. With them, she was able to travel all around Florida,
performing seventy-five shows a year. While in that company she also
participated in an annual showing formerly called
The Chocolate Nutcracker (now known as
The Family Blessing). Shortly after,
she and her family moved to the hot city of Miami. During her first year there
she was able to perform at the Travon Martin rally that was co-hosted by Jamie
Foxx. She, while in high school at Dr. Michael Krop, was able to fly all the way
to New York City to perform in the annual Queensboro Dance Festival for their
three day long showing. She choreographed twice at her school and got awarded
with the Most Dedicated Freshman, Most
Outstanding Sophomore Performer, Most
Creative Junior Dancer, Most Creative Senior Dancer and
Most Outstanding Senior Performer
awards. She was also able to perform a selected piece at her school in the
Repertory Showcase called Tande.
Lauryn was able to go back to New York with Locust Dance Academy to perform at
Jimmy Locust’s vision showcase as a
soloist and as the school’s first company member.
Kameron Woodall
has been a tap dancer since the age of 2. Kameron discovered his love for dance
when his parents took him to see Michael Flatley’s
The Lord of the Dance and his mom
enrolled him in lessons a few weeks later. Kameron trained in many forms of
dance other than Tap, including Ballet, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Contemporary and
Ballroom. During high school, Kameron founded the Heart Beat Dance Program, a
not-for-profit organization where he teaches Tap to students who are mentally or
physically handicapped. Kameron has been teaching Tap for over 7 years, and has
no plans to stop spreading his love for Tap to all who want to learn.
Locust Dance Academy of Miramar is rapidly expanding their dance program in
order to provide a greater variety of dance
classes for pre-professional and recreational dancers.
Tenemos personales que
hablan espaņol.
Locust Dance Academy proudly serves the students of Miramar, Pembroke Pines,
Hollywood, Cooper City, Plantation, Miami Gardens, Miami, Fort Lauderdale,
Broward County and Dade County, FL.