Hudson River Performing Arts

08/29/2026

Check out HRPAC owner/director Lisa in a snippet from her interview with Dance Masterclass. ❤️

07/26/2026

Great week with this hard working crew 💕 (plus a special visitor)

07/23/2026

Had some special visitors today.
The hardest part of my job is when they graduate and move on. I truly miss them forever.
The best part of my job is when they return to visit. ❤️thanks, Blaine and Ava.

07/22/2026

Dancer's Notebook…
The best dancers aren't always the fastest learners. They're the ones who keep showing up.

After years of teaching, I've learned that talent is only part of the story. Some students seem to master a step instantly, while others work for weeks or months before it clicks. In the end, it is often the student who keeps coming back - with patience, determination, and curiosity - who becomes the stronger dancer.

Progress in ballet is rarely dramatic. It is built class by class, correction by correction, and one small breakthrough at a time.

Never underestimate the power of simply showing up.

Until next time...keep dancing.

Merrilee Hodgins, Artistic Director

The Dancer's Notebook is a weekly reflection from Merrilee Hodgins, Artistic Director of The School of Dance, sharing five decades of experience in dance education, movement, and lifelong learning.

📷Simmy Ahluwalia

We gratefully acknowledge the support of:
Ontario Government
Ontario Arts Council - Conseil des arts de l'Ontario
City of Ottawa

07/18/2026

We had a great week at Ballet Intensive 2–we worked hard and had a lot of fun along the way too!

06/04/2026

THIS!!!!

Every class should feel like a challenge! Professional ballet dancers feel challenged even in Beginner Level Ballet Classes! WHY??? Because they CHALLENGE THEMSELVES to plié, tendu, relevé the best they can, better than yesterday, every time! You need to challenge yourself that way in every class you attend.

If you tell your teacher that a class was too easy or that you need a harder class to feel challenged, you are telling them something about yourself. You are telling the world that you don't understand ballet yet.