Fall 2025
Dear beloved families of Village Dance Arts,
We thank you for your patience with our delay in announcing the fall schedule of classes. We are deeply grateful for your patronage and loyalty to Village Dance Arts over these past years and months. Your support has been the heartbeat of our community, and we are so thankful for each of you who has danced, grown, and trusted us along the way.
With the sudden departure of our previous Artistic Director, we took a pause to carefully consider the best path forward. Our priority is to ensure that we come back stronger and in line with the artistic vision of our founder, Toni Carrión. We are delighted to announce that Ms. Leslie Blough will be serving as our Interim Director. Ms. Blough, a former dancer, teacher, and administrator at Anaheim Ballet, has extensive experience in classical ballet and gymnastics and brings with her a deep understanding and love of dance in all of its forms. As a former student of Toni Carrión, she provides continuity with the studio’s original mission of offering a first-rate dance education to all students.
As you look over our schedule of classes and meet our new instructors, please know how excited we are about these amazing artists, who bring with them a variety of knowledge and experience as both dancers and teachers and a universal passion for working with young people. Rather than continuing to solely follow a strict RAD curriculum, students will now be exposed to other expressive forms such as Vaganova, ABT, and Balanchine. We feel this will create a more well-rounded, creative, and joyful experience.
As ever, please feel free to reach out with any questions or feedback.
Again, we appreciate your trust and love for the community we’ve built together.
Gabriela Carrión and Karla Neff
Village Dance Arts
ABOUT VILLAGE DANCE ARTS
Founded in 1969, Village Dance Arts has been offering excellence in dance education for over fifty years. Rooted in the best of American and European dance traditions, the school is committed to the artistic and physical development of its students. Village Dance Arts' philosophy is founded on the classicism of the Russian, Italian, and French ballet schools, and is enhanced by the versatility of modern movement forms. Under the direction of its late founder Toni Ebell Carrión, Village Dance Arts develops talent in a manner that will ensure a lifetime involvement in, and enjoyment of, dance.
OUR MISSION
It is our purpose to nurture and produce dancers who, by working within their physical limitations, can demonstrate a high level of technical proficiency along with musical awareness, expressiveness, and creativity. It is our goal to provide quality dance training in a positive and supportive environment. Through dance training, we foster self-confidence and discipline in our students, and maintain an atmosphere where students are encouraged to develop to their fullest potential regardless of ability levels.