Cuppett Performing Arts Center Marks 60 Years In Vienna

VIENNA, VA — It was the year 1962 when Alzine Cuppett's dance institution emerged in Vienna. Cuppett, a dance student of Hollywood Star Gene Kelly and Radio City Rockette, was content with raising her family at home. But while she was initially unsure she wanted to teach dance, Cuppett was convinced to dance lessons at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic School in Vienna.

That was the humble beginning for Cuppett Performing Arts Center, which has now grown to a well-known dance institution and is celebrating its 60th anniversary in Vienna.

Alzine Cuppett got her start in dance by attending a local dance studio in Johnstown, Pennsylvania called Kelly School of Dance. She got training from Gene Kelly, who went on to become an actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, and director. After her high school graduation, she made her way to New York for an audition. But by a fortunate mistake, she ended up in the audition room of the Radio City Rockettes.

"She was there to audition for something else, and she ended up in the room for the Rockettes," Amy Cuppett told Patch.

Alzine Cuppett's professional career also included dancing at the Roxy Theatre and in the Broadway Musical "Marinka." After her dance career, she settled down and become a mother of five — later six after youngest daughter Amy was born.

Her career turned back to dancing when she was teaching grade school. The principal at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic School convinced Cuppett to teach dance. She put on a production at the school, and soon more parents were asking her to teach outside of school.

She started giving dance lessons in her Vienna house that same year. Three years later, she had a new house built in Vienna with its own dance studio.

"She taught out of that second Vienna house for a very long time," said Amy Cuppett. "She continued to become more popular."

As her dance lessons became more popular, the need for more space continued to grow. In 1980, she signed a lease for a dance studio space at 135 Park Street SE. That location remains to this day. Additional space for dance studios were found in 1989, 2001 and 2008.

Amy Cuppett joined her mother's business in 1996, eventually becoming manager and the director. She took a more business-minded approach, helping the dance studio grow its enrollment. At a peak, it had around 750 students and five studios. Today, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has four studios and around 475 students.

Cuppett Performing Arts Center has two major kinds of performances each year, a full-length ballet and several recitals, typically in June. There's also a performing company that is invited to perform at various community events, including the Vienna Halloween Parade, Oktoberfest and ViVa Vienna. In 2011, Cuppett Performing Arts Center was the co-grand marshal of the Vienna Halloween Parade.

As a community-minded business, dancers may perform at community events and locations, including nursing homes where dancers' grandparents live. It also gets involved with charitable causes. One recent effort was donating over 200 pounds of food to Food for Others' Power Pack Program to ensure students have meals outside of school.

In 2012, Alzine Cuppett continued to teach Cecchetti classes as Cuppett Performing Arts Center celebrated its 50th anniversary. In August, she died in her sleep at age 85.

The most meaningful dance Amy Cuppett has choreographed came in 2013, the year after her mother died. The dance piece centered around her mother leaving her, and in a way, it felt like her mother was guiding her "from the grave." She recalls coming out on stage with a portrait of her mom, and nieces came out with candles. Everyone in the audience got to their feet and started applauding.

"It was my way of saying goodbye to my mom. Her death was very hard for me," said Cuppett.

More recently, Cuppett Dance had to weather the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the dance studio had to quickly adapt and turn everything virtual, providing equipment and getting instructors to teach from home. Within 10 days, virtual instruction was ready.

"It was a big adjustment, and we had to act fast to keep providing services to our students who were enrolled," said Amy Cuppett.

Although Cuppett had to cancel recitals for the first time, students started to return to the dance studios in the summer. Strict health protocols are followed, especially since some instructors are older.

Nevertheless, Cuppett Performing Arts Center dances on through support from the Vienna community. Amy Cuppett believes Cuppett Dance's strengths are word-of-mouth advertising, a family-oriented environment and ability to be a "home away from home" for students.

For Amy Cuppett, the dance studio is home, too, from growing up watching her mother teach to making her own legacy as an instructor. Similar to her mother, she was able to raise four children as a stay-at-home mom while teaching dance classes.

"It is such a special place for me. It has been everything for me, and I think it has been everything to a lot of teachers who have been teaching a lot longer than me," said Cuppett.

Cuppett Performing Arts Center was started as a family-run business and remains in the family to this day. Founded by the late Alzine Cuppett, it is now run by the youngest of her six children, Amy Cuppett. Another daughter, Joyce Cuppett, helps with bookkeeping, and Amy's niece Ashley Cuppett is a professional dancer and runs marketing. The roots even run deep for the dance instructors, some of whom were students of Alzine Cuppett when Amy was a young girl.

"I'm just really proud that we're a woman-owned business. The business will stay in the family," said Amy Cuppett.