Learning Life Lessons, Self-Esteem at Northville Dance Studio

's owner and director, Lisa Shapiro, moved her studio to Northville in 1992. Since then, she’s seen children grow up before her eyes, dancing — but also learning valuable life lessons that help them down the road.

“Kids gain self-esteem through dance,” Shapiro said. “One student was telling her mother that was she selected to speak in front of her class, and her mom said, 'Aren’t you nervous?' She said, 'Mom, I get up and dance in front of 500 people, why would I be nervous about talking to my friends?' It’s that kind of confidence that dance can build.”

Moving to Northville from her original studio in Walled Lake has brought an invaluable amount of community support to her dance company, she said — support that she and her students give right back to the city.

“The whole element of supporting the children in these after-school activities is really strong,” Shapiro said. “The family dynamic (is) very conducive to what we’re trying to do.

"We have a very strong community outreach philosophy," she said. "We participate in all sorts of Northville activities ... fortunately for us, it’s a community where that’s what they want to do. The Victorian festival, Fourth of July parade, Relay for Life — we’re out there, and we want to be because it’s a way of enhancing dance education by helping the kids understand what they can do with it.”

Students learn a variety of skills that can help them as they go through life, from teaching as junior faculty to helping with production, music editing and lighting.

“We’re really proud of what our kids take with them when they leave,” Shapiro said. “Over the 23 years of hearing them tell us things, like how they stepped in and ran something because of their experience here at the studio. It’s that sort of thing that they take with them that we’re very proud of.”

Meredith Njus, a junior faculty member, has been with Center Stage nearly all of her life. Beginning at age 3, she has danced her way up to teaching apprentice with a skill and appreciation for dance that Shapiro said was evident from an early age. Now 18 and moving on to college at the University of Michigan next fall, she will have to adapt to life without Center Stage.

“We have a lot of fun around here,” Njus said. “I’ve been around here a long time, so I’ve known a lot of the people that have come and gone, and I like when they come back and visit and being able to grow up with all the people I’ve met and worked with for the past 15 years. Next year, when I go to college, I’m not sure what I’m going to do with myself. ”

As much as Shapiro hates to see her students leave, she knows that in a small way, she’s helped raise them and knows they’ll go off to do great things. Luckily for her, not all leave for good. Her staff is almost completely made up of former students.

“I’ve 'raised' all of our staff, except for our assistant director, and she’s been with me for 22 out of the 23 years," Shapiro said. "All of our teachers here were just little things, and now they're teaching, and their children are dancing with us, too."