Faculty Spotlight: Who is Mr. Lue?
If you’ve ever spent time in the BBT hallway, chances are you’ve seen Mr. Dennis Lue hard at work teaching his students. Whether its jazz or ballet class, BBT4PD or First Step, Mr. Lue brings his technical expertise, compassion for his students, and passion for dance into the studio each day. But who is Mr. Lue, and how did he become such an important part of BBT’s faculty?
Mr. Lue was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in Queens, New York, where he fell in love with performing in his high school’s musicals and dance shows. He continued dance studies at SUNY Purchase where he earned a BFA. Mr. Lue began his professional career with the Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble and as a featured dancer with the Metropolitan Opera. He went on to dance with Tulsa Ballet, Alberta Ballet in Canada, and appeared as a guest artist with Louisville Ballet, State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara, CA, and Boca Ballet Theatre.
Mr. Lue at Teatro alla Scala
He returned to his musical theater roots when he joined the Broadway cast of Disney’s The Lion King where he also served as Dance Captain. Other musical theater credits include associate choreographer for Hello Dolly! and The Wiz at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, NY; performer in Susan Stroman’s Contact at Virginia Stage Company and Side Show at the Gallery Players; and performer and Dance Captain for West Side Story at La Scala Opera in Milan, Italy.
As a teacher, he’s been on faculty at Ithaca College and Penn State University, and taught workshops at Elliot Feld’s New School. He is the Jazz dance instructor at the Harid Conservatory and a full-time faculty member and an outreach director at Boca Ballet Theatre. “I enjoy sharing my passion for dance and all the information I learned from my teachers,” Mr. Lue says. “It's wonderful to see someone make discoveries; to develop and improve new skills and grow in confidence.”
When asked what advice he’d give to dancers aspiring to become professionals, Mr. Lue says, “My teachers always advised to expand beyond the part of dance that I found most interesting. Explore all forms of dance and as much of all the arts as possible. Load up on knowledge so you have more of yourself to bring to the work as a professional. I found that to be great advice and I share those nuggets with my young students often.”