Pacific Dance Center

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Come DANCE with us... The BEST dance classes... The perfect balance of structure and FUN... WONDERFUL teachers... Nutcracker and Spring PRODUCTIONS.

Our teachers have both professional dancing experience and a Masters of Fine Arts or Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance. We are committed to teaching proper technique to ensure a lifetime of dance.

Linden McPherson is owner and director of Pacific Dance Center and Pacific Pilates. Linden has danced all her life and was awarded scholarships to the Joffrey Ballet School and San Francisco Ballet. Linden attended the University of California, Irvine, where she received her B.A. in Dance and her Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Dance. She danced professionally with Capistrano Ballet and Los Angeles Classical Ballet in productions of the Nutcracker, Copellia, Firebird and Graduation Ball. She has enjoyed teaching all ages for over 30 years. Linden received her Pilates Teacher Training from Marie-Jose Blom at the acclaimed Long Beach Dance Conditioning Center. Pacific Dance Center is excited to incorporate Pilates in our dance curriculum.

Shannon Zimmerman graduated with a double major in Dance Education and Adolescent Psychology from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. While there she studied multiple forms of modern dance including Martha Graham, Jose Limon and Paul Taylor. She also studied and collaborated with current contemporary choreographers such as Tonya Lockyear, Adrian Clancy, and Dawn Stoppiello, whose company was recently featured in Dance Magazine. Shannon attended and performed at the American College Dance Festival 1998-2001 and also had her choreography featured at their Gala Performance. She has been teaching for over 10 years to children age 2-18, and has set choreography on college level dancers and high school dance teams. Shannon has studied all forms of dance technique including ballet, pointe, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, modern and contemporary. She is excited to bring those elements to Pacific Dance Center.

Heather Price has studied dance at the Juilliard School. She has danced as a principal dancer with the Southern California Dance Theatre and Long Beach Ballet and attended the summer intensives at San Francisco Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Heather has performed in major ballet productions of The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Don Quiote, Paquita, Giselle, Swan Lake and Les Sylphides. Currently she is working on her B.A. Degree, in Classical Ballet Performance from the University of California, Irvine. Heather’s focus has always been on dance and she has taught for over 6 years. Pacific Dance Center is excited to have Heather’s talents and enthusiasm.

Jack Virga became active in the arts at a very young age. Trained as a martial artist, it was an early introduction to musical theater that allowed him to hone his skills for dancing, singing, and acting. Working for an entertainment company throughout high school, Jack decided to continue his education with the California Institute of the Arts, founded by Roy & Walt Disney. His studies focused on dance and music, introducing him to the director of Ken Dance Company, the first professional company he toured with. After working with several companies and performing across the country, Jack has started a non-profit of his own, Our Dancing Stars Productions (ODSP). ODSP aims to bring the joy of dance to affected youth, giving them a chance to express themselves through the arts. Jack's favorite dance styles are contemporary, ballet, hip-hop and jazz. He also currently works teaching with Star Education, a long established non-profit organization where he can share his love of dance, music, and martial arts with young impressionable minds. At the present time he's getting ready for the tour with his new professional company, Lula Washington Dance Theatre.

Laura McPherson started dancing at the age of four. She began her training in Jazz and Tap with Beach Cities Dance under Director Anna Rubin. She also danced with the San Pedro City Ballet performing as a Senior Company member for many years under Patrick and Cynthia Bradley. Her performing roles include the parts in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Firebird, Peter Pan, Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland and more. Laura also is a martial artist and holds a Shodan in Kyokushin Karate through the American Kyokushin Karate Organization under Kyoshi Armando Cappa in Northridge, California. She currently dances and teaches ballet classes, combo classes and karate classes here at her mother's studio, Pacific Dance Center. Laura was recently accepted to the Long Beach Ballet's Summer Ambassador's Program to China where she will train with master teachers and choreographers, including master teachers from the National Ballet of China, Guangzhou and perform on a 3 week tour in China. She's just graduated from California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California with a B.A. degree in Psychology.