Dancer of the Month

  Our Dancer of the Month for December is in her third year of dance and working so hard.  Evangeline “Eva” Sutherlin is enrolled in ballet and tap.  She is improving so rapidly in both disciplines.  In ballet Eva is reciting movement vocabulary regularly.  At the barre she reinforces all of the barre etiquette and rules which apply in ballet technique.  Her great growth in her class focus is seen both at the barre and center floor.  She is able to maintain what is expected technically while moving with such joy for her art form.  Not only all of this, but Miss Sutherlin has a cheerful and positive attitude.  One of her strongest accomplishments in ballet is her beautiful tendu.  Currently, she will be starting her role as The Caterpillar in ALICE IN WONDERLAND.  In Tap Eva is a ray of sunshine working hard on shuffles, shuffle hop toe, shuffle ball change, and her newest one –Irish Step.  She loves Flash Trick Step and Boogie Woogies.  She is able to retain what she learns and even has memorized The Little Chickadees song at the end of class. Eva is a tremendous joy to have in class.

Dancer of the Month

  Our Dancer of the Month for November is in her third season of dance and making tremendous strides in ballet.  Gabriele Church is focusing hard on her technique and fine tuning the many details ballet requires.  From plies to grand battements, her barre work is improving so much.  She is utilizing the balance of resistance and allonge in plies and her port de bras as well.  She is fully extending her feet in tendues, which carry into the extensions with her legs off of the floor. When she is offered a correction she uses if and does not forget to apply it in the next class she takes.  Honing in on her pointe work and paying close attention to dancing over her box has improved her work en pointe tremendously.  Miss Church does not stop there because she carries this work ethic center floor and is also rehearsing the artistic elements of ballet at the same time.  She is not afraid to ask when she does not understand something.   If the combo is tough, she never gives up.  Miss Gabriele Church, you are a complete pleasure to teach in class, and Ms. C loves your positive attitude.                                             

DANCER OF THE MONTH

  Our Dancer of the Month for October is in her third year of dance at the studio.  Hayleigh Maxey is a bright, ambitious, hard-working technician and artist in the making.  Prior to this year she studied ballet, but she added modern to her disciplines and is excelling with every class she takes.  Hayleigh is a well-rounded ballet dancer.  She asks all the right questions and retains what she learns week after week.  When it comes to her ballet vocabulary, she is spot on.  Miss Maxey hears it once and remembers the French term for her next class.  As a matter of fact, Ms. Cynthia calls her the Queen of Vocabulary.  Furthermore, her technique is exquisite, and she always strives to improve.  Lately, she is working on quality of movement and expression.  The class is concentrating on utilizing the head and arms properly.  Hayleigh is mastering this engagement so well. In modern she is not afraid to fall to the floor and roll over her shoulder.  She will try any new movement or step without hesitation.  The technique in which she is working is aggressive, and she does not shy away from it.  Miss Maxey is a complete joy to have in class.  Thank you for your dedication, Hayleigh.     

Dancer of the Month

  Our Dancer of the Month for June is in his 16th season of dance.  I wonder if his Mom had anything to do with this?  He has studied tap, modern, and jazz through the years. He subbed in a few non-dance roles like a police officer in MARY POPPINS and King Kandy in THE THREE MUSKATEERS MEETS CANDY LAND.  However, after a 6 year break, Riley Whittle is back in the saddle again, dancing, and even taking the stage.  He is joined by his 5 partner’s in crime as a Smooth Criminal.  Watch Riley’s quick isolations and fancy footwork in the June Concert.  Working his spectacular hat skills, he has added partnering a few of the ladies to his list of talents!  This all brings back fond memories for Ms. Stefanie and Ms. Cindy.  Thank you, Mr. Whittle                                            

Dancer of the Month

  Our Dancer of the Month for May is in her third season of dance and has improved so much this year. Audrey Simmons arrives to ballet ready to work and learn.  She brings the most playful and bright personality to class.  If she doesn’t love ballet, she sure fools everyone.  Paying close attention to the details of her ballet barre work, she asks great questions and applies all the corrections given by Ms. Georgia.  Working hard to maintain her placement, Audrey performs plies with much grace and fluidity.  Also, Miss Simmons has the most beautiful feet.  She utilizes and articulates them completely in tendue and remembers to stretch as far as she can.  She carries this skill center floor as well.  In the Concert, Audrey plays the role of a Butterfly, which she has memorized and carefully rehearsed.  She remembers to stay very quiet before her entrance on stage.  This is a hard task for a 5 year old.  In her tap studies Miss Simmons brings that same smiling and eager personality to each class.  Currently the class is working on mastering shuffles, Maxie fords, and flaps.  She is quick to let Ms. Stefanie know that walking flap double heels are very difficult to do when they are fast.  Audrey loves Boogie Woogies.  So, if she is in doubt on what the next step is in her choreography, her go to is Boogie Woogies.  She has worked hard and improved a great deal in her tap studies.  Thank you, Audrey, for being such a positive light at the studio.                                         

Dancer of the Month

Our Dancer of the Month for April is in her 9th season of dance and has accomplished so much on so many levels.  Naomi Turner moved to Ballet III this year and has faced every challenge with a smile.  Miss Turner approaches class with focus and a ready-to-learn attitude.  She has done nothing but achieve.  Some of her strides have been in improving her rolling through her shoes in her pointe work.  She is better attacking the arrival en pointe.  This enables her dancing to be more expressive and artistic.  From piques to pirouettes, she is fluid and strong.  Naomi landed her first ballet solo lead role as Aurora in SLEEPING BEAUTY.  She has grown so much as a performer and is embracing all the challenges involved in portraying a lead character. Her core is improving and gaining much strength as she navigates her was through Level III/IV Graham technique in Modern.  She is mastering the Pretzel Preparation, which requires a great deal of strength in the abdomen and upper body.  Miss Turner continues to improve the flexibility in her torso through Spirals as well.  In jazz, she is working even more core work, isolations and gaining flexibility in grand battements.  Be prepared for her performance on stage in her jazz piece.  Naomi has danced in the Junior Company for years, but this is her first year dancing in Dance Company.  She is filling the stage with a variety of styles and strengths for us all to witness.  All of this, and she demonstrates for two classes as well.  Miss Turner is a tremendous role model and a lot of help to Ms. Georgia.  Thank you for all you bring to the studio, Miss Naomi!                                          

Dancer of the Month

  Our Dancer of the Month for March is in her 11th season of dance and working so hard.  Ada Simmons has improved so much this year.  Not only is she still making incredible strides in ballet, but she has added modern to her repertoire.  Also, she is a first-year Junior Company dancer and even performing in student choreography.  Graceful and precise are two words that describe Miss Simmons.  She carries these values in each and every discipline with which she works.  In ballet she is paying careful attention to her quality of movement while still embracing technique, whether it is applying resistance in developpe or sharply attacking her arrival en pointe.  She is continually rehearsing the proper manner of working port de bras while jumping. She has made much progress performing her role as a fairy in SLEEPING BEAUTY—it is a surprise which one she will be. In modern she is improving a lot by taking that graceful nature of hers and converting it into smooth and emotional story telling. Ada is definitely a leader in the classroom and keeps everyone smiling because she is giving and positive.  One of her accomplishments these past few months is her turning counting music into also hearing music, which not every dancer can master.  Miss Simmons is performing a variety of roles and styles of dance in her Junior Company works. Thank you for being a great example for other dancers to follow.  Thank you for your amazing dedication to this art form.                         

    

Dancer of the Month

Our Dancer of the Month for February is in her fourth season of dance. Hard working Katherine Truax has made tremendous progress in her ballet and jazz classes. First, she tackled a harder ballet technique class this year and is making leaps and bounds in her ballet skills. She focuses on applying technique while reciting her vocabulary in each class. Miss Truax is rehearsing the proper resistance in plies and articulating her feet splendidly in tendues, which also improves all of her foot work—from releves to jumps. She carries an optimistic attitude throughout the class and is eager to learn and accept new challenges in both disciplines. Katherine is the youngest dancer in her jazz class, but she keeps up with those big girls just fine. She asks detailed questions and applies all she learns. Miss Truax has a tremendous passion for dancing. She is even working partnering in the jazz class. She will be lifted in the air in the Summer Concert. Let it be noted that she was ill for 2 weeks after Christmas break and was able to catch up with the choreography already. Hooray for you, Katherine! Thank you for your determination, hard work, and cheerful dedication to dance.