Once there were five little girls who dreamed of being ballerinas. And they made their dream come true. Ballerina Dreams, by Lauren Thompson, Photos by James Estrin.
Learn more about Ballerina Dreams

Our Classes

Classes are a celebration of movement. Dancers work to their own abilities and enjoyment.

Each student is paired with a "helper" to assist as necessary.

Learn more about Dancing Dreams' classes.

What is Dancing Dreams?

Dancing Dreams is a dance program specially designed for children with physical challenges that preclude them from participating in community dance classes. The program focuses on establishing an environment where children, regardless of impairment, can participate in the art of dance through therapeutic movement.

The program nurtures the individual abilities of the student and allows each child the chance to experience the joy of movement and performance. The year culminates with a recital in the spring. This is a celebration of achievement as well as a rewarding and unique experience that highlights the hard work and motivation of the dancers.

Dancing Dreams was founded in 2002 by Joann Ferrara, PT - a licensed physical therapist with 25 years of experience and a background in Ballet. Joann designs and instructs the classes. Classes are held weekly and generally follow the public school schedule.

Learn more about Dancing Dreams' mission.

Jenifer Ringer of NYC Ballet visits Dancing Dreams!

On Thursday November 3, Jenifer Ringer, Principal Dancer at NYC Ballet, visited Dancing Dreams. It was an amazing day as Jenifer taught classes and gave signed pointe shoes to our dancers. Our oldest dancers had a chance to ask questions and have a wonderful discussion about body image and dance with her. Jenifer is arranging a trip for our dancers and helpers to see a performance of NYC Ballet.

Jenifer Ringer

View pictures from the event

Greetings from Dancing Dreams!

Our 2011 recital video, slideshow and photos are now posted on YouTube and our website. Take a moment to enjoy them and pass the links on.

Dancing Dreams is now on Facebook and Twitter. “Friend” us to hear all the news about our program.

We wish the best to our dancer, Kathleen Downes who is heading off to the University of Illinois for her freshman year of college. Check out the beautiful solo Kathleen performed at the recital to her “Thursday’s Dreamers” essay.

On September 15, classes resumed as we welcomed 43 dancers and 53 helpers to the program. Everyone is looking forward to a year filled with many special events and of course our big performance on May 6, 2012.

Dancing Dreams will be partnering with Student/Sponsor Partners this year. SSP (www.sspnyc.org) is a nonprofit program which provides underserved students four years of college preparatory education and pairs the students with Sponsors and mentors who offer financial support and one to one mentoring. Seven SSP students will be volunteering as helpers for our dancers this year. We welcome them and SSP to Dancing Dreams and look forward to continuing to expand the partnership between our programs.

We are planning several new and exciting partnerships and experiences for our dancers—stay tuned for details…

Best,
Joann

Spotlight on

Dancer Kathleen Downes

Kathleen graduated in June from Floral Park High school ranked #7 in her class and won the silver medal in this year’s Scholastic National Writing contest. She performed a solo dance at our recital to her original essay, “Thursday’s Dreamers”. Follow this link to the video of her performance. In September, Kathleen will begin her freshman year at the University of Illinois.

Slideshow of 2010 Photos

Our 2010 video Slideshow.

View Slideshow

Videos

Quote

I love working with my dancer Danielle. She always has fun and I enjoy seeing her smile.

Photos