Do you know how to do a plié?

If you don’t know how to do a plié, you’re not alone.

Luckily for those interested in dance, Antonia Marchese of the Lynbrook Recreation Center is here to help.

Marchese, the center’s dance specialist, coordinated a remarkable dance recital this June titled “Night at the Movies”. The Disney-inspired recital featured 193 performers and 1,008 tickets sold.

Marchese, a 23-year-old Franklin Square resident, has quite a resume in dance. She has danced since she was 3 and was captain of the Manhattanville College dance team. The family joke is that Denise Marchese danced while she was pregnant with Antonia.

Marchese wanted to inspire others through dance, and the Lynbrook Recreation Center program was the perfect fit. Marchese said some of the older dance students didn’t know what a plié was. She knew she had work to do.

“It was a full-circle moment,” Marchese said. “Obviously I’ve seen and been in a million recitals. It was very rewarding to see everything come together. I think a lot of people don’t expect it to be so good because it’s a rec center. I like to think I elevated the program.”

Marchese is quick to praise not only her dance teachers and the dancers themselves, but village officials. She said Mayor Alan Beach and Parks Supervisor Keith Bonomo were instrumental in supporting the program.

“Mayor Alan Beach and the village board gave me a lot of support in letting me set up and lead the program, which I appreciate,” Marchese said. “Keith Bonomo has been so helpful and supportive. He installed ballet bars in the rec center.”

Malverne theater expert David Coonan helped Marchese with lighting for the June recital to provide a professional atmosphere.

“She put the whole thing together,” Coonan said. “I can see talent in people. I know where there is something there. She has the talent. She was very well organized and she created exactly what she wanted. I was immensely impressed with what she was able to accomplish.”

For more information about the program, or to register for upcoming dance classes, visit Lynbrook.RecDesk.com. The dance programs are open to Lynbrook residents and also students from neighboring areas.

And for the record, a plié is a fundamental movement in dance.