When Lisa Hernandez and her sister Josephine Garcia started their North Bergen-based dance school, J&L Dance Center, 10 years ago, they had very modest beginnings.
“I think we had about 10 students to start,” Hernandez said. “It was very laid back. We started slowly, but then we grew so quickly. I don’t even know how it happened.”
The dance center enrolled more students to the point where the sisters had to move their school twice.
“We ran out of room,” Hernandez said. “I think we have a permanent location now.”
The sisters have settled down into their headquarters on 73rd Street and Broadway in the township, with more than 300 students, ranging in ages three to 17, enrolled in a variety of dance classes, such as ballet, jazz, tap, and Flamenco.
“It never ends,” Hernandez said. “We have kids here all day long, right after school. It’s an all-day affair on Saturday. We’re lucky now to have former students to come back and help us as teachers. But it’s still hard for us to keep up with all the names.”
Earlier this month, Hernandez and Garcia took 55 of their students – 54 girls and one boy – to the regional Dance Educators’ of American competition, held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York.
J&L has participated in the competition every year, but the instructors never had the results that they enjoyed this time.
“We always do pretty good,” Hernandez explained, “but nothing like this.”
The J&L dancers came home with several awards. Elkys Gonzalez, a 17-year-old North Bergen High School senior, earned first place in the lyrical jazz category for her performance to “A Woman’s Worth,” by singer Alicia Keys.
As part of the winning prize, Gonzalez received a $300 scholarship that will allow her to compete in the national championships in July and dance in several different workshops during the nationals at no cost.
“She was so good,” Hernandez said. “She’s been working with us for about five or six years and has always been a good worker. She had to be energetic. She had to open up. She couldn’t be so hyper. I’m so happy for her. She earned this.”
The other contestant to take home a first place award was Omar Heikal, an 18-year-old recent graduate of North Bergen High. Heikal, the only male student in the school, won the Audience Choice Award for his dance to the jazz song, “Groove With Me Tonight.” Heikal also earned a scholarship to perform at the nationals, which will be held in either New York or Las Vegas in the summer.
Heikal said he started to take dance classes when he was 14 years old. “I always wanted to dance, but my parents never pushed me to go,” said Heikal, who wants to pursue a career in dancing. “Luckily, my best friend’s mother took me to a class and that’s how I got started.”
What was it like for the only boy in a room of dancing girls? “When I told my friends, they thought I was a little crazy,” Heikal said. “I told them that dancing was my sport, my hobby. It was what I wanted to do. When my parents saw me in my first performance, they knew how important it was to me and they learned to appreciate it. It’s fun for me, but a lot of hard work.”
Hernandez believes that Heikal enjoys all the attention being the lone male. “He loves it,” Hernandez said. “He’s here all the time, 24-7. I think he loves that he’s the only guy. But he’s also very talented and very dedicated. I can see him taking it to another level.”
The dance center also took home first prize in the choreography award, with a group of eight young ladies performing their jazz routine, “Ojos Asi,” which, translated into English, reads, “Eyes Like That.”
North Bergen residents Lorena Fernandez, who is 17 years old, Tracey Fabal, 16, are also part of the group, along with West New York residents Tanya Cruz, 16, Gaylingh Herrera, 18, and her sister Sasha, 14, Guttenberg resident Michele Beltra, 17, and Union City resident Jennifer Perez, 17.
The entire group earned the opportunity to perform in the nationals and received $1,000 in scholarships toward the classes.
Other recipients of scholarships included North Bergen residents Leilani Granda, 13, and Natalie Cruz, 7, West New York resident Michelle Gonzalez, 8, and Wallington resident Andrea Batista, 7.
“I think every year we keep getting better and better,” said Hernandez, who graduated from Memorial High School and wanted to pursue a career in dancing before becoming a dance instructor 10 years ago. “It’s tough being a dancer. Sometimes you win and then there are times that you don’t, but those are the times that make you stronger. This was the most we were ever recognized at the regionals. It feels wonderful. All the hard work, the practice pays off.”
It will pay off again in the summer, when the hard-working dancers move on to the national championships.