Dancing with the ‘Stars of Tomorrow’

For 40 years, Kathleen Cirioli has been sharing her passion for dance with youngsters at Kathleen Academy of Dance.

Cirioli began dancing “as a little girl,” she recalls. “I never wanted to do anything else but be a dance teacher. I used to put on shows in my neighborhood.”

After training at the Boston Conservatory of Music, she opened Kathleen Academy of Dance in 1971 in Manville. The school later moved to Bridgewater before opening its doors on Route 206, behind Dunkin’ Donuts.

“I’ve grown as a teacher. I still study,” says Cirioli. “I am always trying to continue to learn (taking classes with Master Teachers).

Over the last 40 years, she admits that she had seen changes in the industry.

“Kids are still kids, but it’s very different – today’s kids have so many choices. Things have definitely changed. We used to dance to LPs and then cassettes. Now we’re teaching from IPads,” she laughs.

Plus, she points out that while ballet remains very traditional, other dance forms have evolved over the years.

Today, Cirioli and a staff of about 10 teachers, including one who started as a student almost 30 years ago,  teach hundreds of students each year from ages 3 through adult in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop and lyrical dance styles in the three studios at the academy.

“Some of the students are here four or five times a week so you get really close with the students and get involved in their lives. We’ve produced a lot of good dancers. We have students on Broadway,” she says proudly.

An award-winning tap instructor highly recognized in the tap community, Cirioli is the founder, artistic director, and choreographer of the Youth Tap Company, “Kids On Tap,” who have performed intricate and highly synchronized numbers in many different venues.

Tap dancers, she said, are “musicians, drummers dancing with our feet. We make the same rhythms and are often more complex than what a drummer does. Tap dancers are percussionists.”

Chelsea Turiana, 19, of Montgomery has been dancing with “Miss Kathleen” since third grade.

“Tap has always been my favorite. Tap is an art form people don’t talk about. It’s addictive,” she says.

Logan Davis, 16, of Montgomery, started taking lessons about 7 years ago when his sister started joined the school. “I hated it for the first 2 months; I was the only guy,” he recalls. “Now I love it. It’s something about the rhythms.”

In the jazz class, 16-year-old Devon Wetter of Hillsborough, who has been dancing since she was 4, says, “It’s just a lot of fun. I have been with same girls for a lot of years.”

Jessettee Spencer, 16, also of Hillsborough, agrees: “It’s great to be with your friends and I can go crazy.”

As the annual “Stars of Tomorrow” recital approaches (the curtain rises at 3 and 7 p.m. June 25 at Montgomery High School’s Montgomery Performing Arts Center) another class has been added to the offerings – the Dancing Dadz. For about 6 weeks each year, fathers of some of the dancers gather – this year there are 17 of them – to prepare a special routine for the recital.

After the recital, Kathleen Academy of Dance takes a break from its normal schedule and offers several special programs during the summer months. This year’s summer schedule includes:

• Storybook Ballet Camp: ages 3-7; 9-11 a.m. Monday-Friday, July 18-22
• Choreography Workshop: Monday-Friday Aug. 1-5; ages 8-12 5-7 p.m., ages 13-18 7-9 p.m.
• Adult Ballet / Tone & Stretch: 7:15-8 p.m. Tuesdays, July 12-Aug. 16

The academy is also available for dance-themed birthday parties.