About
Turning Pointe Dance Center offers Little Movers combination classes, technique classes, dance for all abilities, physical therapy and performance, and a competition team. Students can take classes in ballet, modern, contemporary, hip-hop, jazz, tap, and acro, and older dancers may assistant teach the younger students.
• Ages: 2–18 years old
• Schedule: Class options Monday–Friday afternoons and evenings, and Saturday mornings and early afternoons
Turning Pointe Dance Center opened in July of 1993 and celebrates over 30 years as a leader in dance education, including 30 years of dance excellence and 31 years as the area’s leader in dance education. The owner and artistic director, Julie Otani, holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from Montclair State University, is certified with the US Gymnastics Federation, and has studied at the NJ School of Ballet, Broadway Dance Center, and Dance Space. Faculty member Ashley graduated from Montclair State University in 2017 with a BFA in dance and a minor in criminal justice, works at Union High School as the director of dance, choreographs the high school’s musicals, and coaches the high school’s dance team. Faculty member Emily holds a BFA in dance from the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman International School of Dance with a focus on choreography and serves as Artist in Residence at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, where she performs, choreographs, assists Debbie Allen and other instructors in training students, and teaches Spanish to middle school students. The school states that its mission is to motivate and challenge every student at both recreational and intensive levels, to instill passion for dance while nurturing creativity, and to provide an education in dance that benefits the body, mind, and soul from a child’s first class through senior year. According to this mission, students receive quality training and professional performing experience, develop confidence, self-esteem, and self-discipline, and are encouraged in teamwork and life skills related to hard work and determination, with a pledge to provide dedicated instruction and positive dance lessons.
Turning Pointe Dance Center is the official sponsor of a Secondary Chapter in the National Honor Society for the Dance Arts (NHSDA). NHSDA at this studio recognizes dance students for outstanding artistic merit, leadership, and academic achievement in dance, and promotes appreciation of dance as an art form worthy of recognition and prestige. The NHSDA chapter is open to dancers who meet induction requirements, with invitations to apply sent at the end of a student’s sophomore year and induction typically occurring the following year, and all inducted students are recognized at the yearly recital. Turning Pointe Dance Center has a strong, multi-level competition team that participates in multiple regional competitions as well as national competitions. The studio has received the ADCC Studio of Excellence Award in 2018, 2019, 2024, and 2025. The program describes itself as a versatile and award-winning studio that has been a second home for thousands of students, and states that Julie and her staff create an environment where fun, fitness, and art unite.
Parent and alumni testimonials describe students taking many styles of dance at Turning Pointe Dance Center, including ballet, modern, contemporary, hip-hop, jazz, tap, and acro, and participating on the competition team. Testimonials also describe long-term involvement at the studio, including students who danced there for 15 or 16 years, assistant taught younger students, and maintained connections with staff and peers after graduation. Several parents and former students refer to Turning Pointe Dance Center or TPDC as a “second home” or “home away from home,” and note experiences with recitals, multiple years of enrollment, and relationships with the owner, Miss Julie, and the teaching staff.
Last updated April 16, 2026.
• Ages: 2–18 years old
• Schedule: Class options Monday–Friday afternoons and evenings, and Saturday mornings and early afternoons
Turning Pointe Dance Center opened in July of 1993 and celebrates over 30 years as a leader in dance education, including 30 years of dance excellence and 31 years as the area’s leader in dance education. The owner and artistic director, Julie Otani, holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from Montclair State University, is certified with the US Gymnastics Federation, and has studied at the NJ School of Ballet, Broadway Dance Center, and Dance Space. Faculty member Ashley graduated from Montclair State University in 2017 with a BFA in dance and a minor in criminal justice, works at Union High School as the director of dance, choreographs the high school’s musicals, and coaches the high school’s dance team. Faculty member Emily holds a BFA in dance from the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman International School of Dance with a focus on choreography and serves as Artist in Residence at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, where she performs, choreographs, assists Debbie Allen and other instructors in training students, and teaches Spanish to middle school students. The school states that its mission is to motivate and challenge every student at both recreational and intensive levels, to instill passion for dance while nurturing creativity, and to provide an education in dance that benefits the body, mind, and soul from a child’s first class through senior year. According to this mission, students receive quality training and professional performing experience, develop confidence, self-esteem, and self-discipline, and are encouraged in teamwork and life skills related to hard work and determination, with a pledge to provide dedicated instruction and positive dance lessons.
Turning Pointe Dance Center is the official sponsor of a Secondary Chapter in the National Honor Society for the Dance Arts (NHSDA). NHSDA at this studio recognizes dance students for outstanding artistic merit, leadership, and academic achievement in dance, and promotes appreciation of dance as an art form worthy of recognition and prestige. The NHSDA chapter is open to dancers who meet induction requirements, with invitations to apply sent at the end of a student’s sophomore year and induction typically occurring the following year, and all inducted students are recognized at the yearly recital. Turning Pointe Dance Center has a strong, multi-level competition team that participates in multiple regional competitions as well as national competitions. The studio has received the ADCC Studio of Excellence Award in 2018, 2019, 2024, and 2025. The program describes itself as a versatile and award-winning studio that has been a second home for thousands of students, and states that Julie and her staff create an environment where fun, fitness, and art unite.
Parent and alumni testimonials describe students taking many styles of dance at Turning Pointe Dance Center, including ballet, modern, contemporary, hip-hop, jazz, tap, and acro, and participating on the competition team. Testimonials also describe long-term involvement at the studio, including students who danced there for 15 or 16 years, assistant taught younger students, and maintained connections with staff and peers after graduation. Several parents and former students refer to Turning Pointe Dance Center or TPDC as a “second home” or “home away from home,” and note experiences with recitals, multiple years of enrollment, and relationships with the owner, Miss Julie, and the teaching staff.
Last updated April 16, 2026.
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