Legacy Dance Academy is designed for the serious student of dance in the South Bay. Owner Lisa Diaz began offering classes at Legacy fairly recently, in late 2009. However, Lisa’s experience as a dance educator is extensive, and many dancers in the area may recall her as the head of Westchester Dance Academy, which she ran for the previous eleven years.
Indeed, elegant dance portraits of Lisa’s students who have gone on to earn scholarships to top college programs are displayed in the front lobby of Legacy Dance Academy.
“Those dancers on the wall there, I’ve had since they were four years old,” Lisa says.
Lisa Diaz believes in the primacy of ballet training,
but she knows her hip hop, too.
All of them take hip hop, Lisa says, but it’s not the first foundation they received from her.
Lisa’s philosophy is, “Train the proper way first.”
And by training properly, Lisa means studying ballet technique. Hip hop, she says, comes afterward.
Lisa is a straightforward person who believes in providing value, and it’s important to her that you get your money’s worth when you pay for classes at her studio. Even if someone comes in as an adult beginner, she says, they can expect quality dance education at Legacy, not just recreation.
Consistent attendance and dedication are necessary to obtain the full benefit of the pre-professional dance training Legacy Dance Academy specializes in. The studio offers a selection of class series to meet dancers’ needs for training, from light to intensive, and drop ins are strictly limited.
Studying dance without increasing one’s skills, Lisa says, is like taking karate and staying a white belt.
“Do you stay a white belt the entire time,” she asks, “or do you progress on to the next level? You know? . . . And we’ve got the facility to do that, to take you to the professional level, if you want.”
It brings Lisa great personal satisfaction to see her students progress in their training and succeed in their careers.
“It’s amazing that I even have someone on Broadway!” she says of former student Tony Mansker, who came to her at the age of eleven and has now played a lead role on Broadway over fifty times.
Of course, Lisa says, not everyone has the inborn talent and the work ethic to achieve a professional dance career. But she believes after training at Legacy, her students will have the proper technical foundation to take class at any dance studio in the country.
Lisa Diaz believes in the primacy of ballet training, but she knows her hip hop, too.
Lisa trained in multiple styles of dance under Paula Morgan, a top dance trainer who has worked with Mia Michaels and Tyce Diorio fromSo You Think You Can Dance.
Following that, she went into street dancing and danced with some of L.A.’s best street dancers as well, Lisa says. She entered competitions with a partner, and danced at L.A.’s Greek Theatre.
You can have confidence that you’ll receive the same high quality of hip-hop training at Legacy Dance Academy that you’ll find in the ballet classes.
Lisa Diaz teaches several of the ballet classes at Legacy Dance Academy herself, and can substitute teach any class offered at her studio. Lisa enjoys all dance, but especially jazz, ballet, and hip hop.
The best way to reach Legacy Dance Academy is by e-mail.
You can expect a reply to your e-mail the same day, and reply turnaround for a voice message is normally the same day also.
Legacy has extensive daily hours outside of class times.
Legacy Dance Academy has a selection of photo albums posted on its Facebook page.
A few videos of master classes are available on Legacy’s YouTube channel. (If you see an error message, scroll farther down the page to find the videos.)
Legacy Dance Academy has an e-mail list.
Please call the studio if you wish to join the e-mail list.
The class schedule is available on Legacy Dance Academy’s online scheduling system (see link in Studio Info box at top of sidebar).
Legacy uses a sophisticated system where once you create an account, you can select classes from the schedule, pay online and reserve your spot in advance.
Class names are linked to a brief description of the class, and some of the teachers’ names link to their bio.
Prices for the studio’s selection of class series can be found on Legacy’s web site.
The studio strictly limits drop ins. Legacy Dance Academy’s mission is to serve the committed student of dance who desires to train consistently.
Students may enter class no more than 10 minutes late.
The minimum age for adult hip-hop classes is 18. Teen/adult classes are also offered.
All common forms of payment are accepted.
The studio does not sell water or snacks.
Legacy is located in an upscale outdoor shopping center where snacks, groceries, and restaurant fare are readily available.
The studio has two beautiful, spacious restrooms with travertine stone floors. These unisex, single-occupancy restrooms are appropriate for changing clothes for class. They’re on the right-hand side of the hallway leading straight back from the lobby, and have restroom signs on the doors.
Legacy shirts are available for purchase in the front lobby.
There are chairs and a bench for seating in the front lobby. The front desk is right there when you walk in.
The shopping center provides benches on the walkway outside the studio.
The studio has a small stage with curtains at the end of one of the studios, so young students can practice being on stage.
Legacy Dance Academy is located in the Plaza El Segundo, an upscale outdoor shopping center. The area of shops Legacy is located in is called “The Edge,” and is at the east end of the plaza.
The Plaza El Segundo is on the east side of Sepulveda Bl, a major street, just a few miles south of Los Angeles International Airport.
Approaching from the north, the last major cross street you’ll pass before the Plaza El Segundo is El Segundo Bl. Approaching from the south, the last major cross street you’ll pass before reaching the Plaza El Segundo is Rosecrans Ave.
After entering the large parking lot in the main area of the shopping center, drive straight east until you reach a stoplight intersection (within the Plaza El Segundo). At the green light, cross the intersection and continue straight.
Drive between the two rows of buildings and toward the end of the drive, you’ll see a tall, narrow white sign on the right-hand side reading “Legacy Dance Academy.”
Legacy Dance Academy shares the Plaza El Segundo parking. You can park in any area of the shopping center.
Often, you can park right by Legacy. If you don’t see a spot, turn left when you come to what looks like the end of the drive, a few yards past the studio. Drive out from between the buildings, and you’ll find yourself in an adjacent lot with lots more parking spaces.
TheL.A. Metro bus has good service to this area.
You can get pretty close to the studio on the L.A. Metro’s Green Line. (See Line Maps tab for Green Line route.)
The Green Line’s El Segundo stop is the closest to the studio, 1.7 miles from the Plaza El Segundo. From there you would want a connecting bus to go west on El Segundo Bl until it dead-ends into Sepulveda Bl and then south on Sepulveda Bl to the Plaza El Segundo.
But you may also want to check out the option of getting off at the Green Line’s Aviation/LAX stop. It’s farther away, 4.4 miles from the studio. But because Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is a major stop, and because the airport is on Sepulveda Bl (allowing you to travel a direct route south on Sepulveda Bl to the Plaza El Segundo), you may be able to find better connecting bus service.
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