Passing Directorship From Parents to Son at Logrea Dance Academy
Logrea Dance Academy opened its doors in Ossining, New York, in 1986—merely a few months after founders Jean Logrea and Beth Fritz-Logrea moved to the U.S. from Austria. Born and raised in a small Romanian village, Jean trained at the Scoala Speciala in Cluj and was a principal dancer at the Opera House Cluj before meeting U.S.-born Beth at Austria’s Graz Opera House in the late 1970s.
Beth was on a European tour after beginning her career at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City as a protégée of Dame Alicia Markova. Beth and Jean decided to create a studio that offered classical training and a supportive environment, leading them to accept the offer of artistic directorship at Westchester Ballet Company and founding their academy in Ossining. Jean worked two jobs, their family pitched in, and Logrea Dance Academy grew from teaching 50 students to teaching thousands of dancers over the past 40 years.
As a non-competitive, family-oriented studio, Logrea Dance Academy is multigenerational, and alumni continue to send their children to learn from Beth and Jean. Jean is a constant source of inspiration for his students as he turns 80 years old this year, and is still performing the role of Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker, as well as other ballet character roles. “Never give up” is his motto, and he stays young through a daily routine of barre, exercises, and stretching, as well as continuing to teach three classes a week at the school. He took the stage this past December in their all-new Nutcracker production at SUNY Purchase.
Since the pandemic, their son, Nick Logrea, has been stepping into leadership at the Academy as a co-director. Nick grew up training there, and while he chose to focus on soccer in his teen and college years, he’s worked as a Zumba-certified instructor for the past decade. With his parents getting older and his mom dealing with health issues, Nick chose to be more active at the studio to continue the family legacy and is focusing on increasing enrollment and community engagement.
Dance Teacher spoke with the Logrea family to learn more about their core values, leadership styles, and lasting legacies.
What lessons do you want to impart on your students at Logrea Dance Academy?
Nick: We teach and educate the art of dance. An appreciation of the arts. We teach respect, time management, working with others, and focus and discipline. While dance is most important and at the forefront, we want these kids to grow up to be good human beings. The lessons and values they learn inside our school can be appreciated in anything that they do. We’re not in the business to create professional dancers [though alumni have gone on to have professional careers]. They learn an appreciation for the arts, which will continue on, hopefully, for generations.
Nick, how have your parents influenced your leadership style?
I believe I have mom’s business side of things; I’m a very numbers-oriented person. Organization, business, finance—I get that from mom. And then from dad, I think I get the [mindset] of: When we need to work, we work, and then when we can have fun, we have fun. That’s why the business has lasted so long—because Mom had such high quality on the business side of things, and Dad enjoyed all the teaching and interacting with people. A good tag team.
Jean and Beth, as you step away from the studio, what do you want your legacy to be?
Jean: Never give up. I still want to be in the dance studio. I still want to do rehearsal. I still want to teach and keep myself busy taking care of the studio all around. It’s been 70 years since I’ve been involved with ballet and dance. I never did anything else.
Beth: I hope that the students who have gone through the school have a good sense of themselves and that they have a love of the arts. And that they hold me in some regard, and I had a positive influence on them.
