{"id":277074,"date":"2026-09-02T05:16:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T05:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/277074\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T05:16:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T05:16:20","slug":"balletx-opens-its-doors-for-free-friday-dance-classes-starting-this-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/277074\/","title":{"rendered":"BalletX Opens Its Doors for Free Friday Dance Classes Starting This Fall"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Philadelphia contemporary dance company BalletX will host eight free Friday evening programs at its Washington Avenue studio between October 2026 and June 2027, pairing beginner and intermediate ballet instruction with a rotating roster of other dance styles.<\/p>\n<p>Every class is open to the public at no charge. Registration is required due to limited space.<\/p>\n<p>The series, called Free Fridays, is presented by PNC Arts Alive, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.balletx.org\/dance-with-us-free-fridays-are-back\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">BalletX<\/a>. Each session runs two back-to-back one-hour classes.<\/p>\n<p>The first slot, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., features ballet taught by BalletX company members.<\/p>\n<p>A second class, from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m., introduces a different style led by guest artists drawn from Philadelphia&#8217;s broader dance community. No prior experience is required for either class.<\/p>\n<p>The Full Eight-Month Schedule<\/p>\n<p>The series kicks off October 2, 2026, with Eli Alford and Jonathan Montepara leading the ballet session and Rylee Locker teaching Beginner Vogue Femme Elements.<\/p>\n<p>November 6 pairs Meredith Rainey on ballet with a Lindy Hop 101 class led by Mike McDermott and Kate Holden of Jazz Attack.<\/p>\n<p>December 4 brings Savannah Green and April Watson to the ballet class, followed by Beginning Contemporary Movement with Eileen Kim.<\/p>\n<p>After a January break, February 5, 2027 offers an Adult Dance for Health and Joy workshop with Sharon Friedler and Jon Sherman.<\/p>\n<p>Salsa comes to the studio on March 5, when Shana Heidorn of Society Hill Dance Academy leads Step, Spin and Sway: Salsa 101.<\/p>\n<p>April 9 features a creative workshop called Inside the Movement with Mthuthuzeli November.<\/p>\n<p>May 7 closes out the spring with a One Dance, One Philly Workshop by BalletX teaching artists.<\/p>\n<p>The final session is June 4, when the second-slot class shifts to The Line Dance Social, led by Alaya Freeman.<\/p>\n<p>Classes Are Free. Spots Are Not Unlimited.<\/p>\n<p>BalletX has emphasized that while participation carries no cost, class sizes are capped. Prospective attendees can register for individual dates or all eight sessions through the BalletX website.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.phillyvoice.com\/balletx-free-friday-dance-classes-philadelphia-2026-2027\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">PhillyVoice reported<\/a> that the program spans ballet, voguing, Lindy Hop, salsa, and additional styles across the season.<\/p>\n<p>The company describes the series as part of its commitment to making dance accessible across Philadelphia and to connecting residents with local artists.<\/p>\n<p>The Washington Avenue studio serves as BalletX&#8217;s home base. All eight Fridays follow the same two-class format.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Philadelphia contemporary dance company BalletX will host eight free Friday evening programs at its Washington Avenue studio between&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[69,71,70],"class_list":["post-277074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}