Apple Valley Dance Studios Leap Into Another Season

The fall dance seasons at Apple Valley's dance studios are getting underway, and after more than 35 years experience each, two instructors in particular will be teaching a second generation of Apple Valley residents about the lifelong enjoyment of dance.

Betty Jo Schmitt of and Monique Kampa of said dance continues to be a popular extracurricular activity.

“If you love teaching it’s a very rewarding career," Schmitt said. "Just to see those kids get up on stage. It gives them a lot more than just dance training. I think it helps them when they’re in high school to give a speech and their poise. There’s discipline involved also, especially ballet."

Schmitt, a former elementary school teacher in Bloomington, built her own studio in the Knob Ridge Business Park six years ago after renting space in Rosemount for several years. The studio features four rooms, one with a Marley-type raised floor for the ballerinas and one with a maple wood floor for tap dancers. She has 11 instructors that teach ballet, jazz, tap, musical theater and hip hop.

Kampa was born a dancer—her mother doscovered her doing the splits as she slept. A former Rockette, she and her two daughters work in the family business, located next to Ace Hardware in Apple Valley. Classes are available in ballet/pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical and hip hop. This year will mark the third time Kampa will take students to New York City to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Both instructors said dance teaches so much more than how to get beyond that awkward first teenage dance.

“Dance is an art form that you can use throughout your entire life,” said Kampa, who studied at the Conservatoire de Geneva, achieving the status of Prima Ballerina. Born in Switzerland, she became the youngest performer and soloist with the Geneva Opera Company.

Judging by the current number of fall registrants at local studios, the poor economy has had little, if any, impact on budding dancers.

“Parents somehow always find the money to give their kids what they can,” said Kampa. Support for student dancers also is evident at the high schools in Apple Valley, as both  and 's teams went to state last season and brought home honors.

“Right now, we have a ton of little kids. … I don’t know where they all are coming from,” Schmitt said. Her fall classes are almost all filled, she said.

The popularity of reality television shows and competitions in recent years hasn't failed to get viewers interested in dancing, either. But Kampa and Schmitt point to one dance-themed reality television show of the several out there—“So You Think You Can Dance"—as a good example of where proper dance training can lead.

“It’s what we do; it’s the real training," Schmitt said. "It’s not just competition stuff. All the choreographers they have on there are top notch in the country."

From training in Apple Valley, students with talent and interest can go on to different types of dance-related careers.

Several of Kampa's former students became professional dancers on cruise ships or opened their own studios, she said; another former student is a chiropractor who works especially with dancers.

Contact the studios for more information about classes, or go online to Monique School of Dance or Betty Jo’s Dance Center.