About La Danse

In 1978, Tina Socci founded La Danse and has spent the last 40 years dedicating her life to teaching students not only a love for dance, but their importance of respect for self and others. Miss Tina believes that having a strong belief in hard work and dedication will allow you to accomplish anything! She received her early training from Luba Zuralow, Charles Kelly, Phil Black and Frank Hatchett.

The studio grew from a one room facility to a state of the art three room studio facility. As the studio grew so did the talents of her students. They began performing for the community and many worthy causes, for example in 1983 they began raising money for the American Heart Association by doing a dance-a-thon. La Danse raised the most money in the three years participated.

Students began competing locally and nationally receiving many top awards and commendations.

In 1996 the La Danse International Travel Troupe was formed and they travelled to St. Maarten to participate in a cultural exchange recovering from Hurricane Bertha. The island was devastated but the students from La Danse and the students from St. Maarten exchanged ideas and dance steps and brought joy to an otherwise dismal situation.

Many students went on to perform professionally on National TV commercials, Walt Disney World, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Orlando Magic Dance Teams, NJ Devils Teams, Broadway, Disney Cruise Lines, B-way Show National Tours, music videos, and dance teams around the world. Some appeared on “So You Think You Can Dance” while others found joy in teaching. Whatever path our students have chosen the ultimate outcome was one of pursuing a dream and finding true meaning. That’s what La Danse has always been about – doing what you love and loving what you do.