From Mouse to Boss

As a child and teenager, Press, now 45, progressed from mouse to angel to snowflake and on up the line with the Boston Ballet’s “Nutcracker.”  After earning a BFA in dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, she went on to be a principal dancer with the Ballet of Contemporary Arts at Harkness House and the American Dance Machine, a company specializing in Broadway-style repertoire.  She also choreographed, directed, and performed in television, stage, and film productions.  “It was in the ‘80s and it was a really interesting time,” she said, remembering the days when she worked with the likes of  Billy Idol, the Rolling Stones, and Madonna.

In her late 20s, she earned a dual master’s degree in social work and dance therapy at Hunter College and spent five years working in the New York city school system, choreographing a show that toured 100 city schools and working in crisis intervention at Lehman High School in the Bronx.  “That was hard,” she said, “and I wanted to do something a little bit more fun.”

So, in 1995, Press moved to Sleepy Hollow and began teaching in various dance schools in Westchester.  In 1999, she founded SHPAC.  “I wanted to create the place I wish I’d had as a kid,” she said.  “I had a vision of a place that would look at the person as a whole and train technique and artistry with no loss to the student’s self-esteem.  When I was trained, I was really somebody else’s canvas, somebody else’s clay.  I didn’t have a lot to contribute as an artist.  In this place, the students are able to be part of the creative process.”

Press said that what she finds especially inspiring about teaching is, “You can really affect the kids’ lives in positive ways.  A lot of people have talent but, if they’re not trained well, it doesn’t go anywhere.  It’s wonderful to train that talent and help the person to grow at the same time.”