We're glad you asked! Don't miss the shows this Sunday June 8th at 1 pm and 4:30 pm at Wilton High School, but also don't miss these thoughts from current and former dance students about what the studio has meant to them to understand the magic of this performance. Here's what they had to say:
“To see us dance is to see our hearts sing” is the message in a frame on the wall of the Wilton Dance Studio because it’s exactly what they’ve wanted to share for the last 25 years. This year the studio celebrates a quarter century of not just teaching dance but also helping students express themselves through its many forms.
“I started dancing when I was 3 years old so I think this is my 14th year here at Wilton Dance Studio,” said Madeleine Woodworth, a senior at Wilton High School and current WDS student. She continues, “When I was little I always dreamed of being one of the big girls and going en pointe and wearing a tutu. I kept this dream alive until I finally achieved it. When I was little my mom introduced me to a lot of different sports and activities. But nothing was quite like dancing here at WDS.”
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Hundreds of current and former dancers share Woodworth’s view of dance in general and the community WDS has created: “My love for dance and the environment that I learned it in was what really kept me involved for all of these years,” Woodworth said.
Another current student and Wilton High School senior Kathleen Smith said, “I've been dancing for 13 years. I started because my best friend danced. She left to play other sports and I stayed. I love dance, both the mental and physical challenges. I play multiple instruments, so I love the musical aspect. Mostly, though, I just love the girls I dance with. We are as close as best friends.”
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Brenda Froehlich, Wilton native and owner and artistic director of the studio, explains that her commitment to dance education and creating a community of dancers has been life-long. She said, “I've known since I was a young teenager that I wanted to be a teach dance. I started out teaching for another school moving through the ranks of novice teacher to Ballet Division Director. I briefly left teaching to start my own family but in 1989 my husband, Mark Froehlich, gave me the encouragement and support I needed to go out on my own. Being a dance teacher is not the easiest or the most glamorous job in the world. But there are many reasons to rejoice that I chose this field so many years ago. Every day I have the opportunity to touch a child's life in a positive way.”
Current and former WDS students share positive feelings for what dance has meant to them. “One of the things I most fondly remember about Wilton Dance Studio was all of the support and care that everyone there showed for one another, particularly at the times when we all were needing it the most. This was something that I felt from Day One until the very end of my time with WDS,” said Alexandra Bradley, a former WDS student who now lives in Washington, DC.
Froehlich explains that this environment is by design: “A dance studio like ours embraces each student's individuality. We recognize that there are many different learning styles and types. Dance innately reaches a large portion of the population by utilizing components from every learning style.”
Bradley shared a special memory about how dance helped her build confidence:” This memory goes all the way back to the first time I performed my own choreography on the big stage. I had worked really hard preparing a piece for one of our friends-and-family-style showcases when I learned that we weren't going to be doing one that year, and I was devastated because I had put so much into creating it. Mrs. Froehlich found out and not only found a way for me to perform it, but gave me a spot to perform in All That Jazz at the spring recital! I was so nervous, but I went out there and performed the piece with all I had in me. When it was over, all my WDS friends started screaming and cheering for me, and I just felt so proud. That willingness to nurture my sense of creativity paid off so well and sparked a sense of confidence in me that I rarely had at that fragile age.”
Current student Woodworth agrees: “Dance has taught me a lot of things, but I didn't expect that these things wouldn't just apply to performing. Anyone who hasn't danced may say that dancing is learning how to point our toes, pirouette, and wear tutus while doing it. But it is so much more than that. Dance has taught me discipline, how to work together with and respect other people, the importance of hard work and how it does indeed pay off in the end, and most importantly, dance has taught me to be confident in myself, and to never fear the spotlight.”
As has become a studio tradition, WDS will put on their annual Spring Show with two performances on June 8th . Froehlich said, “We are so happy to share our 25th anniversary with this talented group of dancers. It’s our pleasure to bring the magic of dance in all its wonderful styles to the community in our Spring Shows. The dancers work so hard and we can’t wait for everyone to see the results of the efforts come to life on stage.”
Smith is excited about her final show, but wistful as well: “I'm so excited for the spring show, but I know I will be holding back tears, because I just don't want it to end. This is going to be the hardest thing for me to leave.”
What students learn though dance at WDS doesn’t end when their classes are over. Bradley said, ”Aside from giving me great posture, grace, and body language, dance taught me so much about myself and honestly I can probably thank my years of dancing for helping me figure out who I am as a person. Everyone there embraced me for who I was and made me feel safe to be me. In fact, dance gave me a means of expressing that personality. Not everyone has to be the princess in the story lines of a ballet -- there's also room for mischievous Puck, for the Rat King, for a dark tango about betrayal, and for all the other character roles. To this day, I am still developing that confidence and that unique personality that I finally had the courage to discover through dance.”
WDS continues to evolve as it looks to the future. Froehlich said, “I see the school continuing to grow with the changing tastes in dance techniques and styles, while remaining true to our roots of providing a high quality ballet foundation. We are a strong neighborhood school that offers classes for both recreational students (kids that take one class a week) and for the serious student looking for a career in dance.”
This approach has led to success for students. Froehlich said, “Many of the dancers who have passed through the studio doors go onto become lawyers, doctors, models, professional dancers, mothers, actors and so much more. One of our former students was the youngest American recruited by The Bolshoi in Russia. But most of all we’re delighted to watch them become successful and confident adults.”
Over her 25 years with WDS, Froehlich notes some changes: “Technology is a great change. It's amazing that you can think of a song you need and presto! It's downloaded on your ipod ready to use in class. What has changed for the worse are the stresses and pressures that so many teenagers are under these days.”
Dance at WDS is meant to be a release from those pressures. Said Froehlich, “Dance is just plain fun! Where else can children be themselves, express themselves and their emotions without the risk of ridicule? It's a place where they can feel safe and forget about the outside world and all its pressures. It's a place where they can do a leap on a stage and feel completely free!”
The 2014 Spring Show will feature more than 200 students from seven area towns including more than 80 from Wilton. The shows are on Sunday, June 8 at 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Wilton High School’s Clune Center for the Performing Arts. The show begins with a ballet, “The Forest.” In addition, students from the studio’s broad array of class styles perform in “All That Jazz,” a revue featuring jazz, tap, hip-hop, contemporary and Irish dance, as well as individual ballet performances. These reflect the work of a year of dance class and a fun variety of music styles, as well as student choreography from some classes.
Also included in the Spring Show 1 pm performance is Mother Goose’s Nursery Rhymes, featuring the studio’s youngest dancers from three years old through Kindergarten age. This show is designed to let each dance class take a turn on the stage while also making it comfortable for younger dancers just getting used to performing.
The Wilton Dance Studio Spring performances will be on Sunday, June 8, 2014 at 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. at Wilton High School’s Clune Performing Arts Center. Tickets are also available at the door on the day of the show. For more information about the studio including summer dance options visit http://www.wiltondance.com/
