Second-generation Pennington Dance student, Angelina Genovesi, performs at Pennington Day 2009. Angelina’ mother, Jeannine, studied with Nancy Warner at Pennington Dance when the school first opened. (Photo by Philip Wang.)

Pennington Dance opened in 1980 at the Pennington Presbyterian Church, operating with one teacher, Nancy Warner and offering ballet and jazz classes three days a week.

By 1985, Pennington Dance was able to employ Warner full-time.

The school added an expanded curriculum and teaching staff. Today Pennington Dance offers classes six days a week in ballet and pointe, tap, jazz, hip hop, preschool dance, Pilates, and original Broadway Repertoire.

The Pennington Dance Company regularly performs for the benefit of various organizations including the Eden Dreams Fundraiser, assisted living nursing homes, and community events. All honorarium are donated to the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital. Complementary tickets to year-end performances are offered to local organizations such as the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen and HomeFront. In 2005, Warner and another staff member, Kevin Babb, accompanied several students to Nairobi, Kenya where they shared American dance forms and participated in humanitarian work in the Kibera slum community.

Pennington Dance has three performances scheduled this May and June. May 1 at 2 p.m., dancers will perform at Greenwood House in Ewing. May 15 at noon, dancers will perform at Pennington Day, outdoors at the crossroads of Main Street and Delaware Avenue. The Pennington Dance 30th Year Celebration Performance will be held on Sunday, June 6 at 1 p.m. at the Hopewell Valley Performing Arts Center. All performances are open to the public. For more information, call (609) 737-7596 or visit http://www.penningtondance.com.

Summer Pilates Mat Classes

Pennington Dance is currently accepting registrations for summer Pilates Mat Classes Wednesday evenings starting June 9 at 6 to 6:45 p.m.; for private Pilates apparatus classes by appointment; and for classes in ballet & pointe, tap, jazz, hip hop, preschool dance, original Broadway repertoire, Pilates mat and private Pilates apparatus classes for the 2010-11 school year.

Pennington Dance is located at Cyrus Lodge, 131 Burd St., Pennington. For more information, contact Nancy Warner, director, at (609) 737-7596 or visit the school’s Web site at pennningtondance.com.