Bringing Art to Life

Dance Classes for All Ages!

New York Academy of Dance, founded by Jodi Schirtz, is proudly celebrating its 32nd anniversary. In 1979, Jodi's aspirations for NYAD were two-fold: first, to teach each student that the beauty of art comes from within, and secondly, to provide quality dance instruction training. She wanted to create a strong foundation on which the students could build a future career in the performing arts. Particularly, she wanted her students to achieve the goals they set for themselves. Watch your child blossom through dance instruction classes by contacting us today for registration details.

Who We Are
The owner / director of NYAD, Mandi Lynn Griffith-Gurell, strives for the same atmosphere of self-confidence, poise, and perseverance that has made NYAD the success it is today. She stresses the need for a learning environment that is disciplined, yet caring. Mandi Lynn also emphasizes the importance of a positive body image and teaches her students to develop and treat their bodies properly. To ensure individual attention, we keep dance classes as small as possible.  The average class has 5 to 8 students.

Mandi Lynn Griffith-Gurell
Mandi Lynn is a SUNY Brockport graduate who currently owns and directs NYAD. With a musical theatre background, she received a BFA in dance, with honors, and lived in NYC to study improvisational acting at the Ensemble Studio Theatre. This gave her the opportunity to write, direct, and act. Mandi Lynn has studied under a variety of professionals, and she has performed in numerous community theatre productions.

As a dance major, Mandi studied injury prevention, kinesiology, Pilates, anatomy, and physiology, as well as a variety of dance instruction styles. With her new fitness program, Dance for Life, she combines her love for dance, music, fitness, and science to give others an alternative choice to going to the gym.