Ferdinand (Freddie) DeJesus
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“Ferdinand De Jesus – Artistic Director. Founder of in house FrediDance Project Company. Ballet & Contemporary Instructor Ferdinand De Jesus Mr. De Jesus, is a native Nuyorican,otherwise known as "Freddie," he began his training at Nannette Bearden Contemporary Dance Theatre in 1987. He then continued his studies on merit scholarships at Alvin AileyAmerican Dance Theatre and later at the Dance Theatre of Harlem in New York City. His extensive professional experience include Donald Byrd/The Group, Florida Dance Theatre, Philadanco, Dayton Contemporary Dance company , and the Bruce Wood dance company . Freddie has trained alongside and worked with many successful professionals throughout his 25 year long career in the art of DANCE. De Jesus has performed many legendary American modern dance masterpieces and has worked with a range of dance pioneers as well as amazing contemporary dance innovators. De Jesus has benefited from working alongside master choreographers such as: Donald Mckayle, Eleo Polmare, Milton Myers, Annabella Gonzales, Nathaniel Trice, Donald Byrd ( tony award nominated choreographer to “The Color Purple” on Broadway), Mia Michaels(of Celine Dion in Vegas and “ So You think you can Dance”),Dwight Rhoden of Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Earl Mosley. Mr. De Jesus has also served as faculty and guest instructor at a variety of Florida Performing Arts Schools , University programs and esteemed dance institutions from throughout the US, Bolivia,Africa and Germany. Freddie has also served as a guest to the Florida Dance Associations Young Dancers Workshop, the Florida Theatre Conference for Musical Theatre and Contemporary Dance workshops, New York’s Dance New Amsterdam (DNA) as well as annually being invited as faculty in Connecticut at the Earl Mosley Institute of the Arts (EMIA)annually. In 2010 Mr De Jesus received honorary mention from the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce honoring his commitment to his role of Director of Arts and Culture for the POLK County Puerto Rican Hispanic Chamber of Commerce since 2008 . Ferdinand De Jesus’ contribution to Arts and Culture within his hometown state of New York was recognized when he was commissioned to create an original work at El Museo Del Barrio in Spanish Harlem NYC in the Summer of 2010 and consistently re- invited in August 2012, to present a Contemporary dance workshop at PERIDANCE in NYC. De Jesus embarked on a new career path in 2011 as the FREDIDANCE PROJECT, Artistic Director and Founder. Mr. De Jesus served as the Associate Director and Resident Choreographer of Florida Dance Theatre until 2015. De Jesus has dedicated his career to creating and fostering the development of dancers of all ages and backgrounds through the newly opened ULTIMATE DANCE CENTER , while maintaining his personal commitment to providing DANCE as a living art form to the world .” |
Jennifer Davis
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Jennifer was born and raised in Lakeland, Florida. She has been dancing since the age of 2. She attended Lakeland Senior High School where she was an Anchorette Dancer for 3 years. She also attended Harrison School for the Performing Arts for 2 years under the direction of Laurel Renfro. She was a resident choreographer at Carol Grayson School of Dance from 2000 to 2007. She had a great opportunity of owning her own dance studio “Art In Motion Academy of Dance” from 2008 to 2014 where she along with a qualified staff, trained students of all ages in the styles of ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and hip hop. She has performed with the Lakeland Raiders as a “Lady Raider”, Rocky Horror Picture Show, With Love Productions, and Just Fierce Productions.
She has studied under legendary choreographers such as Mia Michaels, Tyce Diyorio, Tabitha and Napoleon D’umo, Choniquej Sneed, Jamal Sims, Kevin Maher, Tony Testa, and many more. She brings with her the experience and knowledge of being a dance studio owner for 6 years. She has a passion for creating a Dance Competition Team that would be able to compete on the national stage. Her undying passion for dance is what brought her back to become an owner in UDC. She wants to ensure that her vision for teaching dance will be fully realized and she is excited about her new collaboration with a new dance studio and new partners. |
Jennifer Nixon
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Jennifer is a parent who loves to dance. As a child she studied Ballet for 7 years and she studied Jazz for 3 years. Although her educational background directed her in the field of medicine, she tried to “stay in touch” with dance by taking it as an elective while in college. As a parent, she realized that there was an unmet need for a comprehensive dance studio in Polk County. After talking with her 2 partners she decided that she wanted to help promote this new and exciting dance studio.
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ABOUT US!
UDC offers a wide variety of dance instruction from the standard ballet classes to the more esoteric clogging classes. Our classes deliver the best all around dance experience for students by offering classes at all levels. There will be opportunities for those dancers who want to be professional dancers to perfect their current skills and acquire new ones. The "professional track" of dance classes offered at UDC, provide highest quality dance instruction in Polk County. Please look under the tab: Classes to see exactly what we offer.
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Welcome and thank you for your interest in Ultimate Dance Center (UDC). UDC offers a standard of excellence in dance education not yet seen in Polk County. UDC offers a diverse array of dance styles under one roof. Our state of the art dance studios and our location in the heart of the Lakeland and Central Florida area make us the ultimate destination for dancers around the U.S. and the world.
The Ultimate Dance Center is the brainchild of 3 individuals who decided that Polk County needed a dance studio that could bring together people from various backgrounds to do one thing: Enjoy Dance! |
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