Our Dancer of the Month for December is in her third year of dance and working so hard. Roslyn Miller takes her barre work in ballet very seriously.  She is finding perfect resistance in her plies and articulating her tendues beautifully.  Her attention is on her technique throughout her barre work and center floor. Miss Miller is focused, listens closely, and keeps a positive attitude. Some of her tremendous strengths are her ability to memorize and retain combos, recite vocabulary, and answer questions.  She is kind to her fellow classmates, as well. Miss Miller is in her second year of tap. She brings a big smile to each class. Her technique has improved so much, and she is starting to figure out fine tuning her sounds to make them crisp and clean. Some of the skills she is working on and improving are Buffalo, Maxie Ford, Walking Flaps and the newest–Walking Flap Heel. Roslyn is an absolute treasure to have in class!                                                     

Our Dancer of the Month for November is in her tenth year of dance and working harder than ever. Gwen Edgecombe studies all of the disciplines offered at the studio, and she excels at every single one. After an injury last season, she is returning stronger and eager.  In ballet she is mindfully training her turnout to utilize her hip socket differently and increase her extension.  Finding her full rotation in plie allows her to offer some explosive jumps.  Though she is not working en pointe yet, she is building some strong feet by fully working through releve and articulating her feet.  In modern she is building a strong core because she is slowly and methodically applying all the steps to a Graham plead. Also, she is taking two modern classes a week—one with Ms. S and one with Ms C.  Her tap speed and pullbacks are amazing.  The percussion sounds from her feet are clear and sharp. She even lends support and assistance to her fellow classmates.  Gwen added jazz this year and truly understands Luigi’s motto, “Never Stop Moving.”  The balance of this style is difficult, but she is working it like a pro! All of this and she is a new demonstrator/teacher aid in a young tap class, which she is handling with patience and skill.  Ms. C has put her in charge of props and set designs for the ballet this year as well.  By the way, good luck on your Company auditions too!                                                    

  Our Dancer of the Month for October is in her fourth year of dance and working so very hard.  Rosalind Merriett has been studying ballet for a few years, but this season she added modern to her list of dance to do’s. Miss Merriett is focusing on her center placement and the use of her arms on her back at the barre in ballet.  She is learning the technique of utilizing her head in plies and tendues.  She recites her vocabulary and asks great questions about technique.  Center floor she is working polkas, turns, small jumps, and grand jetes.  Rosalind really seems to enjoy both turning and jumping.  In modern she is learning bounces, which require using gravity to recover from, and she is not afraid to go full out on this exercise.  Her floor work is fluid and strong, and she is only a month into modern.  She pays close attention to the technique and gives her all no matter if it is a fall, jump, or balance.  What a joy to have in class—and she has back to back classes for two solid hours.  Thank you, Rosalind, for your dedication.                                                             

Our Dancer of the Month for May is in her third season of dance but first year of tap.  Ruthann Veach tried her hand at a new discipline this year and has turned this into a total success.  She demonstrates incredible work ethics while exhibiting the most pleasant personality.  Miss Veach comes to class to work but never forgets to give Ms. Stefanie a hug after class.  She took on a whole new discipline, which she knew was going to be a lot of extra work to play catch up with dancers in her class carrying a few years of experience on her.  Ruthann’s drive, never-give-up attitude, and determination lead her to accomplish all she needed in tap.  She quickly picked up the technique and has polished shuffles, flaps, Maxie Ford, and even the more advanced techniques like pull backs, wings, and pick-ups.  Working hard to increase her speed and articulation of her footwork, she is ready for show time.  We will keep an eye out and watch her take the stage with personality and skill.  Miss Veach, you are driven and a complete joy to have in class.                                                            

  Our Dancer of the Month for April is in her first year of ballet and improving with each and every class.  Aliah Mendoza brings so much personality to ballet.  She is full of smiles, cheerful, and is a little comical as well.  She enjoys making her classmates and teacher grin and giggle from time to time.  Do not let her silliness fool you, because Aliah is a hard worker and well-rounded dancer.  She has quickly learned her basic ballet vocabulary, practices and performs her barre work with much precision. Miss Mendoza pays close attention to the corrections she receives in class.  Her technique has improved tremendously since her first ballet class.  With her positive and eager-to-learn-ballet attitude, she accomplishes so much in every combination.  Her placement is spot on in plies and tendues at the barre.  Also, she carries this work ethic center as well.  Aliah is focused and full of energy.  She is sure to entertain with her Posh Pansy choreography in ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Thank you for your sweet personality and hard work, Miss Mendoza.                                                       

  Our Dancer of the Month for March is in her third season of ballet and improving in every aspect of her dancing.  Autumn George is paying close attention while working on the big balls center floor.  From articulating her feet completely in degages to controlling her center in the tuck exercise, she is applying herself completely, and she is growing stronger.  She brings all of that to the barre, where she displays beautiful placement and rotation simultaneously with each exercise—from plies to frappes.  Miss George has the most exquisite arms.  She performs port de bras with a balance of graceful and strong. Quiet and focused, Autumn retains corrections, utilizes her technique each and every time, and is embracing her character in the ballet.  What a performer she is during the piece “Painting the Roses Red.”  A beautiful technician and performer, it is clear that Miss George loves ballet.  Ms. Cindy loves having her in class.  All of this, and she is the sweetest young lady!                                

Our Dancer of the Month for February is celebrating her 10^th year of dance.  Hadley McArthur has really pushed herself technically and artistically this season.  In ballet she is very focused on her feet.  Working the articulation of them from flat–to ¾–to then en pointe, she has made tremendous strides in her overall pointe work.  By utilizing her feet in this manner, she has also improved all of the quality of her jumps—from petite allegro to grand allegro, she is so strong.  Miss McArthur is also working her port de bras with much grace. While conducting a jump combination, Hadley is careful to display gentle arms, a strong corps, and quick feet all at once.  This achievement requires a lot of rehearsing, so it is a delight to observe her arrive to this level.  She has absolutely no fear in attempting any falls or floor work in modern. Her modern technique has come so far because Hadley is very focused on all of the fine details it requires. She is in complete character while performing the work for our Summer Concert.  Ms. Cindy just loves seeing this side of her, and her audience will as well.  Thank you, Miss McArthur, for sharing these strides with us.