New Studio Offers Life-Changing Dance for Children

HOURS:

Mondays 3:15 – Creative Movement (Ages 3 & 4)

4:00 – Creative Movement (Ages 4 & 5)

4:45 – Primary Ballet (Ages 6-8)

5:45 – Adult Beg. Ballet (Ages 12 & up)

Wednesdays 3:30 – Creative Movement (Ages 3 & 4)

4:15 – Pre-Ballet (Ages 4 & 5)

5:00 – Primary Ballet A (Ages 5 & 6)

5:45 – Primary Ballet B (Ages 6 & 8)

Ballet has a new home in Moore and leading the way is someone with a background in the discipline that will certainly make folks sit up and take notice.

Jane Vorburger is the owner and director of The Ballet and Movement Arts Center of Moore. Vorburger is a former member of the American Ballet Theater with a Master of Fine Arts. She has taught ballet, modern, and other dance/ performance-related classes in New York City, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, Arkansas, and Alaska. Most recently, Vorburger was the School Director of The Dance Center of the Oklahoma City Ballet and the Director of Ballet at Classen School of Advanced Studies.

Most people consider New York City to be the center of the American ballet universe. Vorburger says she cherishes her time there, but moving to Oklahoma City was an easy decision.

“I was teaching for American Ballet Theater, had a child and was freelancing,” said Vorburger. “Oklahoma City Ballet offered me a full-time job as school director and I thought, ‘Well, this is where I really want to be, in a smaller city where I could buy a house and raise my child.”

Vorburger says she’s thoroughly enjoyed living and teaching in Oklahoma and is excited about taking this next step and opening her own studio. Moore’s reputation as a “dance town” adds to that excitement.

“Moore’s passion for dance is partially why I wanted to be here,” said Vorburger. “I felt like a solid ballet school would be well-placed in this community.”

Solid would be the right word to describe the wealth of experience Vorburger brings to the area. She grew up in Maryland and trained at Maryland’s Ballet Academy. At age 16 she took a master class at the Kennedy Center in New York City. That’s where she caught the eye of a prominent dance company.

“The director of American Ballet Theater was watching,” said Vorburger. “And she invited me to join the company when I was in 11th grade.

So I got my G.E.D. in my junior year of high school, and I moved to New York City and I started working.”

Vorgburger spent her senior year of high school traveling the world, including Turkey, Greece, Argentina, Japan, Denmark, Italy, Canada, Mexico and then all over the U.S.

“It was really incredible to be traveling that young as a paid employee of a large ballet company,” said Vorburger.

Her passion for teaching begins with an understanding of the impact ballet and movement can have on Moore’s youngest children. She has studied occupational therapy to incorporate lessons learned there into elements of her classes.

“The physical coordination develops the brain in a way that the children are better able to deal with everything in their life,” said Vorburger. “So, if a child is taking a dance class and they're doing all these interesting ways of coordinating their body, it actually helps them to learn math and reading and science better. And in addition, the socialization and the interaction that the kids have with each other and the self-regulation, it helps them in their entire life. I just feel like ballet makes people super smart and and creative movement, too.”

Vorbuger is currently teaching classes in a shared space in the Old School Building until her studio is ready.

“Right now, I'm offering classes, free ballet classes for children who are ages five, six, seven and eight,” said Vorburger. “And I offer adult classes. That's super fun. And I also offer creative movement for children ages three, four, five, six and seven.”