Step with Style

WELCOME BACK EVERYONE!

2011-09-14T14:57:00.007-04:00

So this is the blog for Step with Style. Also known as SWS. For all of those out there who have heard sooooo very much about us we would love to meet you so you can put faces to the name!

Stay posted for an open house- a meet and greet with the directors. My husband and I look forward to meeting many new families and answering all your questions!

Currently we are into our first week of classes for the 2011 season. Registrations for Part time Competitive level as well as the Recreational team are still in progress! The office is open Mon-Thurs 5-9pm.

We want to send out a big welcome to all of our new and returning members this season! Classes are off to an excellent start! Looking forward to seeing you all in the studio!

Mandy

SWS PROMOTES DRUG FREE TEENS!

2011-08-29T14:36:00.005-04:00

SWS was happy to be requested to perform for the Neutron Fitness and Sports Organization. Neutron was hosting their teen fitness competition at the Oshawa Little Theatre and requested Step with Style as the opening act! The students had a wonderful time and Neutron is looking forward to having SWS next season! Thank you to all the students who participated in this seasons Fitness show! Working otgether to promote a drug free environment for all was our pleasure!

To find out about our 4 different dance programs -Recreational, Pre Competitive, Part Time Competitive or the Advanced Competitive Team please call the office Mon-Thurs 5-9pm at

905 723 1133

RECREATIONAL PROGRAMS

2011-08-29T14:18:00.008-04:00

The faculty are gearing up for our annual recreational recital meeting!

Every September faculty members sit and create the theme and direction for our show before the season even begins. Each class involved in our recreational program (Ages 1yrs - Adult) are involved in a year end performance. This year end performance follows a theme. Last season it was: "Step into Summer!"

Each recreational class was a part of one of 5 sections- Park, Picnic, Water, Beach or Carnival section of the show! We have an excellent idea for this seasons show and the faculty are all meeting in the beginning of September to prepare as SWS heads into our 6th season!

We look forward to seeing all of our returning recreational students as well as introducing dance to many recreational dancers and their families for the first time!

SWS has mom and tot for ages 1-2yrs

2-3yrs have the choice of ballet, jazz and or tap.

4-5yrs are offered ballet, jazz, tap, musical theatre, hip hop or pre comp levels

6-8yrs have the options of ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, musical theatre, break-dance, acro or pre comp levels

9-12yrs can choose between ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, break-dance, musical theatre, lyrical/contemporary, and or acro.

13-18yrs (teen classes) available are: ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, break-dance, musical theatre, lyrical/ contemporary, modern or acro

Adult classes running are: jazz, hip hop, tap and NEW this season Burlesque!

There is something for everyone in the family!

Registration dates are every Mon-Thursday 5-9pm at 871 Wilson Rd South

INFO ABOUT AUDITION ROUND WINNERS

2011-08-29T01:17:00.007-04:00

Previously our blog spoke about our Audition round winners. Every intensive we host finishes with an audition class with one of the top agencies in Toronto. Our students are put through a mock audition that includes two rounds of dance and the final 5 dancers audition with a vocal piece.

This season as I watched our students make through the cuts there were some surprise faces we have not seen before make it to the top ten and then on into the final five. Summer lessons can advance a student so very much and that is exactly what happened this summer! Congratulations again ladies!

The final 5 of each age group Junior Inter and Senior completed a slate for camera that included an introduction of their name age and where they were from. With each student that proudly said I am from Step with Style Dance Productions loud clear and confident my eyes filled with more and more tears of joy. Some of these students we have now had with us for 5 years as we move on into our 6th season. Over the years we have grown incredibly close and each success that a student has our faculty are so proud of them. There are definitely stars in the making at SWS. The audition rounds this season were so wonderful it brought tears to our eyes!

The singing section of the audition round is my absolute favorite to watch. As a dancer I know how hard it is to sing in front of others .. I have so much respect for those dancers who accept the challenge of stepping out of their box... this is NOT easy. With every year that has passed our students have grown more and more comfortable exercising their vocal knowledge and performing with confidence! This is something that my husband and I never had. We were not trained vocally and lost out on several jobs due to not being able to sing. Although we had a wonderful career in dance we always wanted to provide our students with more opportunities than we had... much like being a parent. You always want to provide more for your children than you had... and this is us as instructors. This is how much the faculty care. We will always open as many doors as we possibly can for our students and look forward to helping each of them walk through the doors they choose.

END OF SUMMER

2011-08-28T17:17:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone so yes it's the end of summer! Absolutely crazy that it has passed so fast! The SWS Intensive was our most successful to date! MANY instructors commented on how disciplined and hard working our girls and boys are and raved about their technique! When guest instructors have such a great experience it is incredible for the students and the studio. Last season for example, Twitch had such a good time working at SWS that he spoke personally to his friends in the business promoting our studio!
Congratulations to all who won their audition rounds. Stephen from DaCosta continues to be impressed with the progress and training!
Congratulations to:
Tayja
Emily
Jazmyn
Brittany
Andrea

Andrew is in the office this Monday through Thursday from 5-9pm registering, booking meetings and answering questions about our 4 different programs we have available! 905 723 1133

Talk soon!

COMMENTS FROM STUDENTS AND PARENTS WHO JOINED JUST THIS SUMMER

2011-08-25T13:47:00.006-04:00

We thought we would share just a few of the comments that students and parents have made this summer!

"I have been to three studios in the area and NO ONE has ever taught me like this! I am so happy to be here!"

Thomas 16yrs- student new just this summer

"I have not seen training like this in all my 12yrs with my daughters involved in dance. Best training ever!"

Tamara- parent

"If I didn't live so far away I would be training at SWS!"

Anna- parent of students who took summer open class program

"I wish I switched to SWS earlier!"

Zoe 15yrs- student new to SWS this summer

"My daughter didn't enjoy tap but after Mandy's class I couldn't get her to stop tapping!"

Adrianna- parent new to SWS this summer

Come on in and see why everyone has so many wonderful things to say!

ATMOSPHERE IS AMAZING!

2011-08-06T21:53:00.002-04:00

If you have not been out to an open class yet this summer come on out! The faculty are all very excited about our returning and new families joining us for SWS's 2012 season! The atmosphere in the studio is amazing! Everyone is working so hard towards their personal goals and are all motivating each other which is wonderful to see!

If you are looking to become a part of a great team come on out and try a class!

OPEN CLASSES ARE ON

2011-07-11T10:12:00.002-04:00

Have you ever wondered what SWS is like? Heard a lot but never seen it for yourself?? Come on out and try an open class. We have many levels. Some more advanced and some less. No matter what your age its never too late to find out how far you or your little one could go! The office is open Mon-Thurs 5-9pm for open classes, private lessons and our recreational summer program.

Artistic Director Amanda Coatham is back this season! Last season she was off as she just had her baby girl Mya. Now she is very excited to be back full time this summer for open classes and its one of her favorites times of year! SWS has many outstanding faculty members that will be instructing during the open classes. For example: Tuesdays include Danny Davalos and O.I.P. staff for hip hop and there are many more exciting classes going on!

You can find the schedule on the website under competitive summer open classes.

We hope to see you there!

INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP MEETINGS

2011-04-27T18:10:00.002-04:00

Next week Tuesday May 3rd 2011 Sasha and I are excited to be hosting group and indiviual meetings for all those interested. If you would like to reserve a time slot please call our office manager Andrew at (905) 723 1133. Group meeting are extremely beneficial! Often times other attendees will think of questions that you may not have thought to ask. We welcome everyone to book a meeting and ask as many questions as they like about our program and its results.
Looking forward to meeting many families that are in search of a program that will show progress, because afterall if you are going to invest in something everyone wants to see results.

Take care and we'll see you soon!

MEETINGS AVAILABLE WEEKLY!

2011-04-15T13:51:00.005-04:00

Have you ever had questions about SWS but never had the opportunity to ask them?

Get the information straight from the source!

Meetings with the Artistic Directors are happening weekly!

Our office Manager Andrew will be happy to help you find a time suitable for you!

Call (905) 723 - 1133

SWS MAKES HEADWAY

2011-04-15T13:18:00.006-04:00

So we are back from our first competition of the season and are glad to say we have some very very good results and noticable improvement from the ENTIRE studio. Not only have students ages 6-18yrs have improved but the faculty has truly outdone themselves this season!

Step with Style earned the HIGHEST MARK in the entire competition with a mark of 97 for Can't Stop 12yrs Open extended Line! This was 1st place from 721 routines! CONGRATS to ALL!

We urge everyone to come and view this routine. The electric energy in the audience and on stage is something you cannot describe. This routine performs next at the Richmondhill Theatre Sunday May 1st at 12pm for the Rhythm Dance Competition. We encourage ALL to come out and see it!

Earning the top mark in ALL divisions Junior Intermediate and Senior! Step with Style took ALL three of the Galaxy of Stars Supernova awards (the top mark of the entire division.) CONGRATS to all students and instructors for your hardwork!

JUNIOR SUPER NOVA WINNER:

"Dance Like Michael Jackson"

10yrs Tap Group

Choreographer Amanda Coatham

INTERMEDIATE SUPER NOVA WINNER:

"Can't Stop!"

12yrs Open Extended Line

Choreographers Amanda Coatham, Sasha Chifman, Maria Freethy, Almitra McMillan & Heather Humphries

SENIOR SUPER NOVA WINNER:

"Love The Way You Lie"

16yrs Open Group

Choreographer Amanda Coatham

Earning high marks in tap jazz open acro ballet etc the studio was also recognized for countless choreography awards for many members of the faculty!

A special shout out to our Novice group "Belle" 6yrs Song and Dance for earning 1st place AND Highest mark for Novice Group/Line-EXCELLENT FIRST TIME OUT!

Judges Heather Leslie, Lara Lever and Robin Calvert were extremely impressed with how versatile our students are. Comments from the judges -"Very hirable students!" "SWS students have a bright future ahead of them!" and "Excellent training keep up the good work!"

The song and dance groups were a HUGE hit! Murmurs from the audience could be heard no matter where you sat, "Those girls are actually singing!" "Oh my they can SING TOO!"

We are very proud -each and every student from SWS SANG as well as danced. Many routines performed so well people thought it was a recording! We want to thank Tony Chilco for your help with the microphones backstage YOU ARE AMAZING!

We thank all the dads and moms for your help with props backstage. We could not do it without you! And of course THANK YOU to Andrew our office manager! Andrew came out and stayed the entire weekend to cheer on everyone at SWS. There is such an amazing family at SWS. You guys all rock and we can't wait to see you at Rhythm!

The website will hold all of the results soon in the awards and recognition link -(Competitive) Stay tuned for that!

Showcase Around The Corner!

2011-02-21T19:05:00.002-05:00

With March slowly closing in on us, its definitely time to be looking toward the Competitive Showcase. Each year we take the majority of our competitive routines and put them onstage for a rehearsal before the dancers head off to competition and this year is no different. March 19th at 2:00 pm we will be at the Bowmanville Highschool putting on a show like none other! We are extremely excited this year to have some killer routines to show everyone! For ticket information please contact the studio at 905-723-1133. Tickets are $15.00 per person, and will be available until that day and at the door! Seats are not assigned, and are seated on a first come first seated basis. We look forward to seeing everyone there!

MESSAGE FROM SWS CO OP STUDENT CARLY ALMON

2011-02-15T15:10:00.005-05:00

Hey there! I'm Carly Almon, I am not only a senior student here at Step With Style Dance Productions, I also have the priviledge this year of completing a co-op placement at the studio. This is great because I can give you the inside scoop on what is going on at SWS!

This time of year, everyone at the studio is extremely busy working long hours to ensure they have the best out come for their routines. All SWS's dances routines for 2011 are very exciting, original and creative- thanks to the amazing Faculty at SWS! As a senior dancer I can tell you that the entire team is very excited for another successful competition season. Everyone that is apart of SWS knows a successful year comes with working hard and being committed to your team! I have been at Step with Style since it opened and am proud to say Step With Style is like a second home to me everyone else who dances on our team.

I'll be updating the blog more and more to keep everyone updated! So check it out more often to hear more about all the exciting news that's going on at SWS!

HOW DO YOU STEP?! :)

January 22nd Contemporary Workshop

2011-01-13T20:34:00.003-05:00

We at Step With Style Dance Productions are excited to announce our latest workshop opportunity for our recreational and competitive dance teams.

Saturday Jan 22nd Adam Sergison will be here to run a contemporary workshop. The Schedule will be as follows;

1:00-2:00 - PreCompetitive & Company 1 teams in addition to recs between the ages of 6-9

2:00-3:00 - Company 4,5,6 & 7 and recs 13 and up.

3:30-4:30 - Company 2 & 3 and recs between the ages of 9-12

All competitive students will be attending the workshop during regular class hours. Any recreational student that wishes to attend the workshop is more than welcome to. There is a $20.00 fee for anyone who wishes to attend. Please let us know in advance if you wish to attend so that we can ensure there is space for your child!

Below you can read Adam's Bio and see some of the great work he has done!

A professional dancer, actor/singer, Adam has worked with some of the industry’s most admired companies including Disney and Mirvish Productions. He recently danced the role of Tadzio in the Canadian Opera Company's critically acclaimed production of "Death in Venice". He appears in the ensemble dance cast of the movies “Camp Rock” and “Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars”. On stage, he was a member of the Toronto cast of “We Will Rock You” (Mirvish) and “Peter Pan” (Neptune). In 2011, he will be part of the cast of West Side Story (Neptune).

Adam performed with Toronto’s Premier Jazz/Contemporary Professional Dance Company: The Helix Dance Project in their full length dance production entitled “Rain-Life in Full Bloom” and with Fayez1 Productions in "Grief: Another Common Bond". A personal highlight was the opportunity to assist Mia Michaels during the first season of “So You Think You Can Dance Canada”. He has worked with industrial shows such as The LiveRight Gala for the Canadian Liver Foundation, Puma Fashion Show, Rogers Cup and he has appeared in several national commercials.

As a choreographer and teacher, Adam has conducts workshops for The Travelling Stage at Durham elementary schools as well as many dance studios throughout the Greater Toronto Area. His training includes ballet (Vaganova), jazz, hip hop, lyrical, tap and partnering. Histhirteen successful years as a competitive dancer have given Adam valuable perspective and he loves to share his knowledge by giving back to the dance community.

GOOD BYE SUMMER HELLO SEASON~!

2010-09-19T21:46:00.002-04:00

What a great summer we had! Promotional shows, open classes, Tamara leaving for her first contract, Cedar Park studio adventure, studio BBQ's & pool parties, summer intensive AND little Mya Grace came!! What a GREAT summer SWS had!

As we wish our graduates goodbye we look forward to the new season ahead! Sooooooooo many new faces have joined SWS this season! We are proud to say that Step with Style's competitive team is bigger than ever this season! -Proving that when parents & students come and see what its like for themselves more and more are making the decision to join! Our instructors are raring to go with choreography and ideas for this season and we will begin SOON!

Our recreational team is growing larger each week as parents and students do their research to find the school that best suits them.

This season our recreational team is having their very own themed recital performance on a friday leaving the weekend FREE! Our recreational students recieve more stage time for less! Each student recieves stage time doing our recreational finale piece as well as their group routine allowing parents to enjoy their children performing MORE!

Registration is still going on for all who are interested!

Mon-Thurs 5-9pm at #871 Wilson Rd South

905 723 1133

SWS WISHES EVERY STUDIO WELL!!!

2010-09-17T18:28:00.003-04:00

Step with Style wants to wish every dance studio out there a great season!!
There are so many of us now and we all have much to offer and are so very diifferent. We hope all families find the dance studio that best suits their needs. All the best for 2010-2011!!!

HOW CAN YOU BE SURE TO FIND A GREAT DANCE STUDIO?

2010-09-01T18:59:00.003-04:00

It's hard for parents without a dance backround to know which dance studio is right for their family....

How do you choose? With so many studios out there how can a family make sure they are choosing the right school for them?? Especially when many of the advertisements say the same thing...

Our advice to ALL families out there trying to find a great studio for their children is: GO and see the results the schools produce by visiting the directors, viewing a class, see their year end show DVD or better yet go and view the year end show for ALL of the schools in your area!!! This is the BEST way to know what the studio is about and what their results are... any school can say they have been number one for x amount of years, or that they have amazing faculty, the only way you will truly know what studio is best is if you go and see for yourself. Never take the ads you see at face value. Unfortunately people can write whatever they wish and twist words to make them sound like they are better than they are.

Watch out for studios that are huge... class sizes are too big and students can become overlooked (just a number) in the classroom rather than a person.

Watch out for schools that combine recreational and competitive together and say that you are recieving great training. Too many levels in a class equals chaos.

When a studio says you can have unlimmitted classes... watch out.. it sounds wonderful but are you really getting great training? Half those classes have too many people in them and are combined levels.... Ask yourself what is the QUALITY you would get from this... in the end is the "great unlimmitted price" really that effective?

Every family is different. Each student needs and wants different things. Don't allow your children to be just a number. Get to know your Artistic Directors and instructors.

Good luck out there finding the studio that is best for you!

Step with Style is known as the best dance studio in Durham however we are a small studio. With 60-80 competitive members and approx 100 recreational each season our studio does not over fill classes and provides great training with the correct levels in a classroom. The quality of class and year end performances is excellent! We welcome you to attend our show this season! or even better come by and see our students in action!

2010 INTENSIVE!!

2010-09-01T13:50:00.006-04:00

Step with Styles students had an unbelievable time working with instructors such as Theresa Howard (Ballet Master From Alvin Aliey), tWitch (hip Hop extrodinaire and finalist from So You Think You Can Dance USA), Brandon Bryant (Professional Contemporary Dancer and finalist from So You Think You Can Dance USA), Stephen grueg from DaCosta Talent- the top agencey in Toronto for dancers, as well as many more!

The intensive included classes in all styles; ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, vocal, drama, hip-hop, audition and more! Students trained throughout the week and completed the session with an audition class with Stephen. We are proud to say several of our dancers have made it onto the Roaster with DaCosta Agencey!

Congratulations to the top dancers from the audition round!

WINNERS

11 and under

Sarah Mulder

Kayla Coatham

Shyla Davenport

Santana Welsh

11-13yrs

TOP 3!

Kyal Rankine, Kiera Breaugh & Emma Reily

14+yrs

Thank you to all of our instructors for pulling so much out of our students in such a short time!

Thank you to all dancers who attended! You worked incredibly hard and we are so proud of you! We look forward to seeing you next season!

NEW STAR IN THE MAKING!

2010-08-30T19:54:00.003-04:00

Do you have a new star in the making?!

If you believe that your young one appreciates music and loves to wiggle!- join SWS today!
Step with Style has wonderful classes designed for the youngest dancer to adult!

MOM & TOT
Mom and Tot class is a great way to get both mom and baby enjoying time together. This class is taught by Angela Casalino Saturdays 12-12:30pm at our #214 King Street location. In this class mom and tot together stretch, bounce and play to music. Mom and tot use props such as hats, caines, wands, tambourines and more to explore movement together.

Dance isn't just exercise it's art! By introducing your child to music and movement you are broadening their horizons. Our job as parents is to open every door possible! Have your young dancer explore their creative side in a Mom and Tot class... who knows you may have a little star on your hands!

BALLET & TAP
Step with Style also has ballet and tap classes for those 2-3yrs just starting out.
As all moms know tiny ones don't always have the best day and we can't always understand why a 2-3 year old decides to do what they do. Be patient with your young dancer. At 2-3yrs they won't always want to go inside the classroom.. they may cry for a few weeks.., but the young students flourish with repetition and structure. Continue to take them to dance class for at least 12 weeks before deciding it isn't for them.
Scientists say a child needs to try a food 17 times before truly knowing if they like it or not.. the same amount of time is needed to truly know if they like an activity like dance or not. Be patient and give your child the true chance to see if dance is something they enjoy!

2-3yrs Ballet 10:30-11 Saturdays Instructor Angela Casalino (Bio on web)
2-3yrs Tap 11-11:30 Saturdays Instructor Angela Casalino (Bio on web)

Step with Style has many classes available for students ages 1 1/2 to adult.
Get involved in the finest recreational dance program there is! Join SWS today!

JOIN THE FINEST RECREATIONAL PROGRAM IN THE CITY!!!!

2010-08-30T17:06:00.004-04:00

Step with Style is so proud to have the Finest Recreational Program in the City!

With unbeatable prices (classes start as low as $4.50!) and phenomenal instruction Step with Style works hard to provide the best dance education possible!

This season we are thrilled to have instructors from So You Think You Can Dance (Canada) with us ALL season long instructing our RECREATIONAL dancers!

Jazzy Jester-Jessie Catibog from Canadas first season top 12! is with us for our hip hop and break dance classes but space is LIMITED! If interested register as soon as you can! Search You Tube for Jazzy Jester to see his work!

Torontos own Maria Freethy- also a part of So You Think You Can Dance Canada- is also with us ALL season long instructing ages 4-18yrs!

For more on our incredible instructors and program visit the web!- About Us/Faculty link

Our Recreational Director Heather Humphries has been working hard all summer on our plans for our recreational programs year end show! Our recreational dancers have their very own year end performance being held at the Oshawa Little Theatre June 24th at 7pm this season and it is sure to be an amazing show!

Join the FINEST RECREATIONAL PROGRAM IN THE CITY!

Registration Mon-Thurs 5-9pm at #871 Wilson Rd South Oshawa

905 723 1133

http://www.stepwithstyle.ca/

PUT THE RUMORS TO REST

2010-08-30T16:12:00.010-04:00

There are many rumors surrounding SWS. It is quite unbelievable what some will say in order to detour people from making their own choices and or getting the correct information. Don't believe everything you hear! Get out there and see for yourself what SWS is all about!

The TRUTH about SWS:

-SWS PUTS EQUAL ENERGY INTO OUR RECREATIONAL TEAM! We have a Recreational Director who over sees the entire Recreational Program stay tuned for more info about this.... and our Recreational dancers have their very own yearend performance! Some of our instructors for our recreational program are straight from So You Think You Can Dance!

-WE ONLY HAVE ADULT INSTRUCTORS FOR BOTH OUR RECREATIONAL LEVEL AS WELL AS COMPETITIVE!

-WE DO NOT HAVE WEIGH INS This rumour is ridiculous.

-WE HAVE DIFFERENT LEVELS NOT EVERYONE IS AS ADVANCED AS THE NEXT So many are afraid they would not make the SWS competitive team however this is because they are not aware we have MANY different levels of competitive!

-WE BELIEVE BEING A GREAT PERSON FAR OUTWEIGHS WINNING HOWEVER WE EXPECT NOTHING LESS THAN THE STUDENTS VERY BEST People will often forget a great dancer but NEVER forget when someone is good to them.

-WE DO NOT FAVOR STUDENTS All students get routines and praise as deserved. All the instructors ask if that students work to their fullest potential.

-OUR COMPETITIVE STUDENTS HAVE A SCHEDULE OF 3 DAYS A WEEK ANY MORE THAN THAT IS THE FAMILIES CHOICE

Anyone that believes that SWS doesn't have a fun friendly atmosphere...
has never seen Sasha participate with the kids in a pool relay race.

Anyone that believes SWS only cares about winning...
has never heard Mandy and Sasha saying "Being a great dancer is wonderful but if you are a great person you will always be remembered."

Anyone that believes SWS's recreational team is expensive ...
has never seen our price chart where the average per class can be as low as $5.50!

Anyone that has been told the SWS competitive team is too expensive..
has never had a meeting with Sasha to discuss how many routines they wish to do (How many routines you do is the families decision SWS does not force families to do more than they can afford. Some dancers stick with the base amount of 3 routines and others do more.. it's really up to you!) The program itself is approx $6 per class and there are ONLY competitive students in the class. This is an unbelievable price!

Anyone that believes being tough on a student isn't the way to teach..
has never read the write ups from the graduates to the directors in the SWS yearbook.

Anyone that believes SWS is scary..
has never seen the Artistic Directors at the annual Christmas Party.. last season Artistic Director Mandy was a french magician and Artistic Director Sasha hosted dressed as Santas helper!

Anyone that believes they are not good enough to be accepted to SWS...
has never met with Sasha to discuss our different levels.

Put the rumours to REST!

Whenever you hear a rumour about SWS ask yourself ..
Why would this person speak poorly of SWS??
am I hearing this from someone who just didn't get their way??
am I hearing this from someone who wouldn't want me to get the correct information??
and
Don't believe everything you hear!! Find out for yourself!! Come and see for yourself what SWS is really like!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

2010-08-30T15:58:00.004-04:00

CONGRATULATIONS TO:

Tamara Freethy, Patrick Derry and Sadie Brooker!
All three dancers are graduates of Step with Styles Triple Threat program and ALL THREE dancers were hired by Royal Caribbean for performing contracts!

I have had the pleasure of teaching Tamara Freethy since she was 8 years old. It has been wonderful to see her progress through the years into a phenomenal dancer! Not only is she an incredible dancer but she is also a fabulous teacher and role model! She will be greatly missed! We look forward to her return in April to assist with SWS's competitive team. CONGRATS!

Patrick Derry came to SWS three years ago to catch up with the training that had been lacking at his previous studio and did he ever work hard to get to where he is now! Hard work absolutely pays off! Patrick is a completely different dancer than he was when he first came to SWS. Now a well-rounded performer with great technical skills Patrick is ready to go pro! CONGRATS!

You can find Patrick on You Tube.. he is not just a dancer but as a triple threat graduate of SWS he is a wonderful singer as well!

Sadie Brooker came to SWS three years ago looking for the training she needed to become a professional! One of our hardest working students I had the pleasure of teaching. She is thrilled to have her dreams come true! , and we could not be more proud of her. CONGRATS!

SWS is so very proud and wants to wish Tamara Patrick and Sadie all the best in their travels!

PROMOTIONAL SHOW!

2010-08-12T21:04:00.002-04:00

SWS Promotional Show!

When: Saturday September 11th 2010
Where: Bowmanville High School
Show Times: 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm & 7pm

Are you curious about SWS's competitive team? Have you never had the chance to see our dancers? If you are interested in seeing what SWS is all about and or meeting the Artistic Directors, come on out to see SWS's promotional show! Members from Step with Style's competitive team will be doing 20 min show times throughout the day for all to enjoy! All are welcome! We look forward to seeing you there!

Registration Week at Oshawa Centre

2010-08-12T21:01:00.002-04:00

THANKS FOR COMING EVEYONE!!!!!

What's happening?
Ask our Artistic Director questions about our Recreational and Competitive Program Thursday-Saturday from Mall opening to 4pm! Our Office Manager will be helping all those inquiring in the evening.

What's available?
Registration paperwork, schedules, pricing, and appointment bookings!

Show Time!
We are performing every day at 2pm. Come watch our great show!

DANCE ODYSSEY OUR THIRD COMPETITION!!

2010-05-09T22:18:00.003-04:00

Dance Odyssey #1 (Hamilton) - April 29th-May 2nd, 2010

SWS had its most successful weekend to date! Up against studios whom have been around over 15years, SWS in only its fourth season came out on top! Congratulations go out to all students whom worked so hard all season and the faculty that helped them achieve their goals!

Over the weekend SWS was adjudicated by Tracy Davenport, Kathy King, Daniella Rousal and Rebecca Brettingham. SWS showed strong in every dance discipline. Earning the highest marks in every dance discipline, adjudicator’s choice awards, scholarships, overall awards, choreography awards not to mention THE HIGHEST MARK OF THE ENTIRE COMPETITION OUT OF OVER 700 ENTRIES with “Time To Say Goodbye”! As well as both the junior and senior division winners for Dance Odyssey’s Favorite Dancer!

DANCE ODYSSEY’S FAVOURITE DANCER
SWS was so very proud to have many of their students enter the audition/competition for Dance Odyssey’s Favorite Dancer! This audition experience is a wonderful way for all students to gain experience. In both Junior and Senior categories SWS had their dancers make it to the final 2 and 3 of the audition round. Congratulations to Dance Odyssey’s Favorite Dancers:

JUNIOR DIVISION WINNER: Kyal Rankine

SENIOR DIVISION WINNER: Tamara Freethy

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TOP 5 MARKS OF THE ENTIRE COMPETITION!!!!!
13 AND OVER

■1st Place “Time To Say Goodbye” 16yrs Contemporary Large Group
■2nd Place “It Doesn’t Hurt” 18yrs Contemporary Solo Tamara Freethy
■5th Place “Hero” 14yrs Contemporary Duet Jamie & Madison

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TOP 5 MARKS OF THE ENTIRE COMPETITION
12 AND UNDER

■2nd Place “Everybody” 12yrs Open Extended Line
■3rd Place “Jai Ho” 11yrs Open Line
■4th Place “Shotakovich Waltz” 11yrs Ballet Large Group
■5th Place “Ramma Lamma” Acro Trio Ashlyn, Courtney & Ciara

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ADJUDICATORS CHOICE

OVERALL EXCELLENCE MINI/JUNIOR - One routine was chosen from over 350 routines!
Winner SWS routine “Shostakovich Waltz” 11yrs Ballet Large Group

WELL ROUNDED STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP - One student was chosen out of over 600 students that attended the competition!
Winner: SWS Dancer Jamie Nix

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CHOREOGRAPHY AWARDS
■“Rude Box” 16yrs Tap Large Group Choreographer Amanda Coatham
■“I Wanna Dance” 14yrs Contemporary Small Group Choreographer Mandy Moore
■“I Can Only Imagine” 8yrs Lyrical Large Group Choreographer Amanda Coatham
■“The Elite” 16yrs Tap Trio Choreographer Amanda Coatham
■“Ramma Lamma” 12yrs Acro Trio Choreographer Almitra McMillan
■“Here Comes The Rain Again” 14yrs Contemporary Large Group Choreographers Amanda Coatham and Tamara Freethy
■“Cannon Ball” 17yrs Contemporary Small Group Choreographer Mandy Moore
■“Satans Little Lamb” 11yrs Jazz Solo Choreographer Tamara Freethy
■“Everybody” 12yrs Open Extended Line Choreographers Amanda Coatham, Sasha Chifman, Almitra McMillan, Tamara Freethy, Patrick Derry and Kristen Morgan

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HIGHEST MARK PER DISCIPLINE

This is where for example every single ballet routine (solo, duet, trio, group line etc) are marked and the highest mark from ALL of these routines wins the award. SWS was very proud to receive many of the highest marks per discipline for each age category. These awards show how well rounded SWS students truly are!

MINI HIGHEST MARK PER DISCIPLINE

■Ballet- “Prelude” 8yrs Ballet Group
■Acro- “Supergirl” 8yrs Acro Solo Shelby Bain
■Jazz- “Baby I’m A Star” 8yrs Jazz Solo Shelby Bain
■Lyrical “I Can Only Imagine” 8yrs Lyrical Large Group
■Open “Abracadabra” 8yrs Open Large Group
■Tap “Blame It On The Boogie” 8yrs Small Tap Group
JUNIOR HIGHEST MARK PER DISCIPLINE

■Ballet- “Shostakovich Waltz” 11yrs Ballet Large Group
■Contemporary- “Heaven” 11yrs Contemporary Large Group
■Hip Hop- “Belly Dancer” 11yrs Hip Hop Large Group
■Jazz- “Covergirls” 11yrs Jazz Trio Aidan Joelle and Emma
■Song and Dance/Musical Theatre- “Singing In The Rain” 9yrs Solo Shyla
■Open- “Jai Ho” 11yrs Open Line
■Tap- “The Beat Goes On” 10yrs Tap Duet Lauren & Kayla
INTERMEDIATE HIGHEST MARK PER DISCIPLINE

■Acro- “Ramma Lamma” 12yrs Acro Trio Ashlyn, Courtney & Ciara
■Ballet- “Romeo and Juliet” 14yrs Ballet Duet Jamie & Madison
■Contemporary “Hero” 14yrs Contemporary Duet Jamie & Madison
■Lyrical “Long Distance” 14yrs Lyrical Solo Madison
■Open “Everybody” 12yrs Open Extended Line
SENIOR HIGHEST MARK PER DISCIPLINE

■Contemporary- “It Doesn’t Hurt” 18yrs Contemporary Solo Tamara
■Open- “Time To Say Goodbye” 16yrs Open Large Group
■Tap- “The Elite” 16yrs Tap Trio Jamie, Angela & Sadie

For even more info on the results please visit our website www.stepwithstyle.ca gallery link-competitive awards and recognition.

RHYTHM DANCE OUR SECOND COMPETITION OF THE SEASON!!!

2010-05-09T22:11:00.004-04:00

Rhythm Dance - April 23rd to 25th, 2010

SWS’s dancers were up against some very strong schools whom have been around the block, (some who have been open for over 25 years)! SWS only in it’s fourth season is producing outstanding results! Competing against seven different schools Step with Style took home 2 out of 4 of the Rhythm Cups for highest Mark in the Mini Division (Ages 8yrs and under) as well as highest Mark in the Junior Division (Ages 9-11yrs)!

Not only did SWS dancers receive special awards, adjudicator’s choice awards, overall awards dancers won over $3000 dollars this weekend!

Rhythm Dance recognizes the highest Mark for Ballet and Hip Hop only. SWS is proud to be the recipient of BOTH AWARDS! We received the HIGHEST BALLET MARK for our intermediate duet “Romeo and Juliet” as well as the HIGHEST HIOP HOP MARK for our “Bring It Back” senior hip hop group. These two routines won the highest mark out of hundreds of entries!

Congratulations to the dancers for your hard work! It has definitely paid off and the entire faculty is very proud!

SWS IS WINNER OF THE MINI RHYTHM CUP!!!!

Congratulations to dancers in “I CAN ONLY IMAGINE” 8yrs Lyrical Large group. ($200 prize!)

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SWS IS WINNER OF THE JUNIOR RHYTHM CUP!!!!

Congratulations to dancers in “JAI HO” 11yrs open Large Group is (A $1000 prize!)
SWS’s routine “Jai Ho” won out of 29 Junior Group routines entered! CONGRATULATIONS!

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SCHOLARSHIP

Congratulations to Jamie Nix for being chosen from all dancers 14years and over as the winner for the Scholarship to “Soul” dance workshop with Tiffany McLean!

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ADJUDICATORS CHOICE

Each adjudication only one routine is selected and given an “Adjudicators Choice Award” for it’s creativity, choreography, concept and execution. SWS would like to congratulate the choreographers and dancers of the following routines: “SINGLE LADIES” 14yrs Tap Large Group Choreographer Amanda Coatham “CANNONBALL” 17yrs Contemporary Small Group Choreographer Mandy Moore

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CHOREOGRAPHY AWARD

SWS was proud to receive the choreography award for: “BLAME IT ON THE BOOGIE” 8yrs Tap Small Group Choreographer Amanda Coatham

For more information on all of the awards won this past weekend check out our website Gallery-Competitive (awards and recognition link)!!

FIRST COMPETITION! BREAKTHRU DANCE CHALLENGE

2010-04-12T02:41:00.012-04:00

Hello there everyone! Below are just a few tid bits from our first competition of the season! Congratulations to all dancers and thank you to all for a wonderful weekend! Sasha I and the rest of the faculty could not be more impressed and proud!

We have put together a few stats for you and your dancers so you can really see how much congratulations are in order!

CATEGORIES WITH ONLY 2 ENTRIES
First of all please note that any category that only had 2 entries but were given the same class (ie gold/gold) Sasha made sure to approach the owners and retrieve the marks for both groups... and EVERY TIME SWS had the higher mark! So ladies in Hot Like Wow congratulations if you had not heard yet you won.... there were a few dancers that had this issue just know that we did check the marks and you DID win 1st place congrats!

STRENGTH IN ALL STYLES OF DANCE
The faculty is extremely proud of all of our dancers! SWS came out on top in every type of dance! Earning wonderful marks in ALL Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip hop AND Acro! There was not one type of dance that SWS showed weak in. There were dance schools present who are known for their excellent Acro and Tap for example and our studio that is known mostly for it's Jazz and Lyrical came out on top in the tap and acro categories against these schools! Our ballet routines were also outstanding taking 1st and 2nd in many of the divisions ...WOW! CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU FACULTY our students truly are receiving well rounded training!

OVERALLS
27 out of 48 Major overalls went to SWS! As well as 1st Novice Junior 1st Novice Inter AND 1st Novice Senior solos! Over half of the Major overall awards were earned by our studio! This is OUTSTANDING! The only category that we did not take overall awards in was junior lines and intermediate lines as we did not have any entries for these categories. Please note ..There was a mistake with the overall for Time To Say Goodbye they had placed in as 2nd in a small group category. It is a Large group.. what does this mean?... well Senior large groups had a clean sweep by SWS- Time to Say Goodbye had 1st place Cannon Ball 2nd and RudeBox had 3rd! We are so very proud to have a clean sweep of 1st 2nd and 3rd for ALL: Highest Mark Junior Soloist, Highest Mark Int Small Group, Highest Mark Int Large Group, and Highest Mark senior Large Group!!!! THIS IS AMAZING! All of our overall awards will be posted on the website as soon as possible! OK This is where it gets very interesting!!......

DID YOU KNOW?

Our 8yrs Junior small groups received the 1st and 2nd highest mark out of 10 small groups! Winning over many groups with the average age of 10yrs!

Our 8yrs Junior Large groups recieved 2nd and 3rd overall out 11 groups!... some of which were 2 years older!

Our inter small groups earned 1st 2nd and 3rd top marks out of 23 small group entries!

Our 11yrs Large groups earned the top 3 marks 1st 2nd 3rd overall out of 21 large groups! some of the groups they won over were 3 years older! This is extremely impressive!

SWS earned the ONLY choreography Award of the entire competition for "Time To Say Goodbye" as well as the highest mark for the ENTIRE COMPETITION with extended line "Everybody!"

BEST COMMENT OF THE WEEKEND!: Judges and hosts approached Sasha and I after the comp to talk about how positive polite and respectful the SWS students were. They talked about how SWS students cheered for everyone and looked the judges in the eye and said thank you when receiving their ribbons. It meant a lot to them and they said they felt our students were very appreciative and kind.

The entire faculty know that we can teach our sportsmanship morals but it truly comes from great parenting! Congratulations on a job well done parents! We are looking forward to our next competition! So proud of everyone! Thank you for being a part of SWS!

Below we have posted a video of Sasha. He promised the students if they did well he would do his one handed backhandspring for them ... they did .. so he did!

IS THE SACRIFCE WORTH IT TO BE A DANCER?

2010-04-05T01:00:00.005-04:00

As dancers in the making you all sacrifice to learn and be wonderful at our craft. However I can tell you that the sacrifices are more than worth it! When Sasha and i were training we missed out on many things when making the choice that we wanted to be truly great at what we was doing... but what we got in return was far greater (than attending a few birthday parties for example.)

Our careers have taken us all over the world. We have done things that some people will never do in their entire lifetime... and we owe it all to dance and the instructors who taught us dedication and hard work.

(keep in mind this list is not of the places we have been to,.. for that it's easier to say where we have not been.. but rather a list of some of the great experiences we have had thanks to working hard when we were younger.)

Some of the great experiences we have had are:

-Ate a Belgian Waffle in Brussels Belgium
-Seen the Famous Seven Sacred Falls Hawaii
-Been to a louwou in Hawaii
-Been under water (in the ocean) in a submarine
-Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower
-Been at the Pearl Harbour Memorial
-Para Sailed in Acapulco
-Seen the Berlin Wall
-Been to a concentration Camp in Pol land
-Seen the Viking Museum in Norway
-Climbed on a glacier
-Watched blown glass be made
-Seen killer whales in the wild
-Hiked up an Alaskan mountain
-Swam with Dolphins
-Been to the Louvre and seen the Mona Lisa
-Seen Napoleons Tomb
-Been to the oldest Amusement park in History "Tivoli" in Denmark
-Danced outside the Moulin Rouge
-Seen Alvin Aliey 3rd row orchestra in St Petersburg Russia
-Watched the Kirov perform live in St Petersburg Russia
-Seen and been in the church of Spilled Blood Russia, Notre Dame de Paris, and St Isaac (the 3rd largest church in the world)
-Explored the Hermitage Museum-the Royal Winter Palace that is now the 2nd largest museum in the world
-Road horses up and Zip lined down a mountain in Costa Rica
-Walked under and over the Natural Bridge in Aruba
-Stood on the stage of the Russian Music Hall
-Been inside a bat cave!
-Attended the famous Fantasy Fest in Key West Florida
-Attended Mardi Gras in new Orleans
-Climbed a palm tree in Jamaica
-Stood at check point Charlie
-Walked on the beaches of Normandy
-Explored the Summer palace of Peter the great-(Peterghoff) famous for it's fountain cascade
-Saw the tombs of the entire Romanov family
-Raced a sail boat in st Martin
THERE IS SO MUCH MORE THAT WE HAVE SEEN AND DONE...

These are just some of the things my husband and I got to experience due to our careers and travels as dancers. These amazing experiences Sasha and I would not have had without putting forth our best effort and making sacrifices to dedicate ourselves to learning dance. Is the sacrifice worth it? YES a thousand times over!

SWS SHOWCASE TRIVIA!!!

2010-03-31T01:01:00.002-04:00

TRIVIA THIS WEEKEND!
At showcase we had a lot of fun playing SWS Trivia with the crowd! Even though SWS has only been open for 3.5 years now there is so much history behind it. Our Trivia game allows the audience and members to learn a little bit more about who we are, who our students are, where we came from etc..

Trivia questions this season were:

1/Which program did we ad more hours to this season?
Acro- It definitely shows Almitra has done some wonderful work this season!

2/How big was Step with Style’s very first studio room?
a/20x21 b/20x31 c/20x41
Answer was a/20x21 SUPER SMALL!

3/What was SWS’s first competitive extended line called?
"How Do You Step?!"

4/Last season Sasha performed in a routine.. what was his character in this performance??
Restaurant Owner/Manager

5/ SWS originally opened in Millbrook. On our present team we still have 4 members that were enrolled and put on our very first class lists in our first location.. who are they??
Angela Casalino
Sarah Mulder
Trinity Coatham
Kayla Coatham

6//How many faculty members were a part of choreographing extended line this season?
6-Mandy Sasha Almitra Tamara Patrick and Kristen

7/Who won Most Improved Junior in our 2nd season?
Joelle Joncas

8/We had 17 students on our competitive team in our first season. How many members did we have in our 2nd season?
64

9/There are two SWS moms who can do baton and do it well… who are they??
Colleen Pacione and Shelly Williams

10/ In our 2nd season who told Sasha and Mandy “I can’t believe this is only your second season….. I don’t want to meet you at a competition in five years.”
Joanne Chapman-owner and director of Ontario's finest dance studio Joanne Chapman School Of Dance for 35yrs!

11/For everyone thinking Mandy swallowed a basket ball… she did not.. when is the due date for Masha?
a/July 8th b/July 10th c/June 28th
Answer was: b/July 10th

12/What was SWS’s very first production?
"Madonna"

13/Which routine won the highest mark at Dance Odyssey for highest mark of the competition?
"To Where You Are"

14/How many fish does SWS have?
3

15/Which one of the SWS graduates just got hired by Royal Caribbean?
Tamara Freethy she leaves in July!

Good luck at next seasons Trivia! Thank you to everyone who participated! Winners each received a $25 gift certificate to a restaurant of their choice!

SHOWCASE 2010!!

2010-03-31T00:25:00.006-04:00

Step with Style had an amazing showcase this past weekend!
March 27th the Junior group routines were all the talk!
March 28th the intermediates and seniors brought the house down!

Showcases are meant as dress rehearsals for competition. As a dress run everything went very smoothly. No major problems with costumes, hair and make up looked GREAT, and the routines were very polished!

There was a huge reaction from intermediate and senior parents.. much of this is due to the fact that at this level most parents decide to stay away from the studio and be surprised! Many parents of the inter and senior dancers have been in the competitive industry for years now and have learned that if they don't watch everyday the progress is much more noticeable!

After the Junior showcase Sasha and I went back to the house and watched some of the old tapes. It was unbelievable how much progress the juniors have made! We hope all the parents go and pull out these old tapes too! "Supermodels","You" and "We Will Rock You" from 2009 were wonderful routines.. but WOW "The Fame","Jai Ho" and "Abracadabra" are at such a higher level this season! Congratulations dancers!

We want to give a shout out to all the Pre Comp students for doing a great job in their first Pre Comp performance in "5678!" Great job my little ones!

To all of our students you have made us so proud! we could not be happier with your progress! The faculty looks forward to polishing a bit more in the next few weeks and then sending you out there! To compete with the BEST you have to work like the BEST and you truly do! We love you!
Love Mandy and Sasha

LONGER DANCE SEASONS EQUAL MORE PROGRESS

2010-03-27T02:00:00.006-04:00

Step with Style's Dance season is longer than many dance schools. Classes run from September through to the end of June. Therefore, our students have more time to learn new techniques and styles before settling into their routines for competition/recital and the progress is that much greater than students who have a much shorter year at other dance schools.

Step with Style has always used the time throughout the year to it's fullest to maximize the progress for all of their students recreational and competitive. We begin classes the 2nd week after school starts. We have always found the first week of school is an extremely busy week for families. Getting into their school routine first before getting into the classroom helps students adjust back to the busy fall schedule. Classes run through until Christmas, then recreational students have 2 weeks off. Competitive students who wish to continue choreography for their solos, duets trios and small groups give their availability in to the office and continue if available. Christmas is not mandatory for competitive students however most students on the competitive team make the decision to use this time wisely.

After Christmas Break classes start up again the week the students go back to school. March break week is off for recreational students, however the first half of March break Saturday-Tuesday is mandatory for intermediate and senior competitive students and Wednesday-Sunday is mandatory for Junior competitive students. This time is used for choreography sessions as well as cleaning before our big showcase at the end of March, while also allowing each group to have a lengthy holiday for the other half of March Break.

Classes continue when school is back in session until the end of June with days off for holidays such as Easter and Victoria Monday. Step with Style always holds the recital mid to late June. This is MOST beneficial for the students as the longer season allows them to learn so very much more than the average program!

There are 2-3 weeks off after the recital show and then our open classes commence for both recreational and competitive levels. Throughout the summer students who take open classes often make tremendous improvements. Without having school work to do this extra time to focus can help push a dancer to new levels. SWS has had students in the past who have attended open classes regularly and improved so much they jumped three levels by the time assessment time came in September!

The more opportunity a student has to take regular class the more they learn and strengthen no matter what level they are.

As a dancer I remember taking as many classes as I possibly could. When I was a competitive dancer I would take every competitive class I could and on my breaks would jump into recreational stretch and ballet classes as well, and I did this 6 days a week. This dedication and repetition allowed me to improve and build a technical base that will never leave my body. (However our dancers do not dance 6 days a week.) Our goal at SWS is to give that same opportunity to our students by ensuring they get the most out of their year with a schedule that is approx 3-4 days a week for our serious competitive students while our recreational dancers can have a schedule that is as low as 1 day a week or up to 3 days a week.

Step with Style strongly believes longer dance seasons equal more progress!

JUNIOR RUNTHROUGH HIGHLIGHT REEL

2010-03-26T12:21:00.005-04:00

So another run through has passed. Our LAST before the big day! Junior showcase is tomorrow! Sat March 27th! 5pm invite everyone you know! This show will be great for all friends and family of all ages!

Last night the routines ALL looked better than our last run! The instructors got together and put their heads together for the five routines that made the HIGHLIGHT REEL this time around. This was a hard job to do as their were so many dancers who came out strong!

HIGHLIGHT REEL
#1
Justine Tooth was on fire last night. She performed her 9yrs Jazz solo (Choreographed by Almitra)and surprised everyone with how professional her performance was from the moment she started to the time it finished. Justine held her character throughout the entire routine, never lost her smile and she completed every single step of her choreography on time to the music. Her audience felt very confident that she knew exactly what she was doing and was in complete control. CONGRATS JUSTINE!

#2
Courtney Raney came out with some serious ENERGY and PASSION! I think everyone would agree that Courtney has one of the toughest (physically challenging) solos in the entire studio and wow did she ever impress everyone last night! You would have to see this solo to believe it. In "Battlefield" 13yrs Open solo (Choreographed by Mandy) Courtney doesn't have time to think or breathe. This routine is jam packed- with aggressive dance, tumbling, switch splits etc and last night was the first time she really hit every step! CONGRATS COURTNEY!

#3
"Abracadabra" 8yrs Open Group (Choreographed by Mandy). The prop work was SO much better this time around! Great tricks guys! Their secret weapon "Julia In A Box" worked great! Working with props is a very difficult thing to do so we congratulate all dancers in this routine for getting their tricks together! GO ABRA!

#4
Nicole Staite 14yrs tap solo (Choreograhed by Tamara) was a thousand times better than last run! There was a HUGE difference in the quality of sound this week. It's absolutely wonderful to see when students make that kind of improvement in just a week with taking a few notes from their instructors and really making them count. CONGRATS NICOLE on a job well done!

#5
Shostakovich Waltz 11yrs Ballet Group (Choreographed by Sasha) WOW that turning combination was dynamite! The entire studio roared with applauds after. It was definitely a highlight of the night. You could see the younger dancers looking up at these girls as they turned absolutely in sync with great admiration. We LOVE that you dancers are inspiring each other!

There are many routines that have been coming along quite nicely but haven't yet made it to the Highlight Reel. After showcase we will keep you posted with any routines that wowed the audience that day!

It's definitely time! The students excitement this week has been contagious in the studio as they gear up for showcase! It's so wonderful to see all the parents feeling that excitement as well! Many SWS dads showed up to watch run through last night and are just as excited as everyone else which is AWESOME to see! Dads and brothers are a tough crowd to please.. you gotta keep it interesting for them to watch.. so this is a great sign that we have so many coming out to watch and it isn't even showtime yet! Congrats to all dancers for your hard work, and good luck at showcase we all know you will be amazing!

WE LOVE RUSSIAN BALLET!

2010-03-22T01:37:00.009-04:00

There are so very many reasons we LOVE Russian style ballet! As a dancer, choreographer and Artistic Director I appreciate the Russian style of Ballet (Vagaonva) so very much. It's presence has been so valuable in my life.

I can honestly say that without taking ballet seriously I never would have became a dancer. It changed everything about the way my body formed and functioned. I have taken every style of ballet there is and strongly believe there is no other syllabus that can possibly attain the results that the Russian Vaganova system does on a daily basis.

As a choreographer you can easily pick out the students who take Russian ballet at auditions. Dancers who take Russian ballet are physically stronger, more passionate in their portabras and are the most exciting dancers to watch. We have had many new joining students come through our doors stating that they hated ballet at their previous studio. They have said "Ballet is boring", "I don't feel like I accomplish anything in a ballet class", "I just don't like ballet" etc... It is absolutely unbelievable how many new joining students have said these things and not understood why they felt the way they did about ballet, only knew that they did. These students then take one of Sashas ballet classes and change their minds completely. Every single student whom ever walked into our studio said they hated ballet class, after one class with Sasha they have changed their minds. This is how wonderful the Russian syllabus is. It can take someone for example who only loves hip hop and open their eyes to a whole new world.

As an Artistic Director I have seen many students under Sasha and our staffs supervision make astounding progress each year. At competition adjudicators recognize the skill level, style and technique from our students. At recitals it is always noticed how beautiful the ballet is. Our ballet program is one of our most talked about programs from our studio. Our instructors truly love what they do and it shows. Students can feel the passion from their instructors and it has been a pleasure to watch them be inspired when Sasha and staff demonstrate a movement.

All over the world the Russian system Vagaonova is highly respected for it's unbelievable technique and boundless passion. The Russian Syllabus is not boxed in like others. Rather, it welcomes the audience into its dance with each portabra, it is larger than life and absolutely stunning. Students who take this style of ballet seriously not only improve in ballet but it also improves their jazz, contemporary, lyrical and modern technical base tremendously!

Step with Style is so very proud to be able to offer every single one of their interested students the best ballet program possible the Russian Style of Ballet!(Vaganova)

HOW IMPORTANT IS EXTENSTION/FLEXIBILITY??

2010-03-20T20:56:00.010-04:00

HOW IMPORTANT IS EXTENSION/FLEXIBILITY?

They say Pictures are worth 1000 words.... How important is it for a dancer to have great extension/flexibility?... VERY.

Step with Style's dance program highly encourages extension and flexibility from all it's students. It is because of the encouragement and wisdom of the faculty that Step with Style is recognized by audiences and adjudicators for producing dancers that have great extension and flexibility.

Extension/flexibility go hand in hand when creating great lines for your adjudicators and audiences to see. Great lines in the air as well as on the ground can only happen when your flexibility allows it. This is why so very many dance instructors stress that students improve their flexibility.

If you struggle with flexibility remember you have to be patient! You can't just dive in and stretch for a long time until you hit your splits-that is how so many get injured.... you need to work your muscles into that position. Anyone who wants to be more flexible we won't lie... stretching hurts.. and the only way to be flexible is to stretch. There is no short cut to greatness.

Start by stretching just a little bit when you are watching tv or getting out of bed in the morning.. then day by day slowly increase your time spent leaning forward touching your toes and remember to BREATHE! Just a little bit each day is the best way for you to actually see results. If you do too much the following day you will be further away than you were the night before. The good news is if you are persistent and perform stretches everyday you WILL see results... the bad news is that once you hit your split line you can't stop stretching daily or you will loose it... and stretching never feels good,your body does get used to it, but it will never feels great. However, that being said- someone who truly loves dancing and being a dancer always feels a little pain and hard work is worth being able to have great lines!

Make your picture worth 1000 words.. get stretching! ;)

CONGRATULATIONS- NEW TRICKS LEARNED!

2010-03-20T20:28:00.011-04:00

Our Acro program has come such a long long way this season! Thank you to Almitra for all her hard work with the program and students!

Some tricks that our students are working on within their acro classes include:
-Walkovers (front and back)
-chest stands
-elbow stands
-aerials
-handsprings (front and back)
-tucks (front and back)
-layouts
-whipbacks
and more!

We just wanted to give a shout out to all SWS students who have learned a new trick this season!

*If we have missed anyone and or you learn a new trick after this post do let us know and we will edit this blog to include you!

CONGRATS TO ALL DANCERS

Please note*These tricks are not all our students can do but are recent additons to the many tricks our team has learned over the past few years.

Courtney Raney 13yrs NEW TRICKS!-Backhandspring straight into a Layout
Kyal Ranine 13yrs NEW TRICKS!-Front Aerial, Right Aerial
Tori Williams 11yrs NEW TRICKS!-Left Aerial, front walkover
Kristen Pacione 13yrs NEW TRICK!-Left Aerial
Madison Bell 13yrs NEW TRICKS!Front Aerial, Left Aerial
Jamie Nix 15yrs NEW TRICK!-Layout off of the BEAM!
Ashlyn Secord 12yrs NEW TRICK!-Backhandspring
Shyla Davenport 9yrs NEW TRICK!-Backhandspring
Jessica Saunders 16yrs NEW TRICK!-Whipback
Tiffany Hsu 13yrs NEW TRICK!-Right Aerial
Justine Tooth 9yrs NEW TRICK!-LeftAerial
Rachel Brennan 12yrs NEW TRICK-Right Aerial
Melissa Blackburn 12yrs NEW TRICKS!-Front and Back Walkovers
Emma Reilly 12yrs NEW TRICKS!-Front and Back Walkovers
Jessica Bellows 15yrs NEW TRICK!-Layout
Santana Welsh 9yrs NEW TRICK!-Left Aerial
Jazmin Miranda 8yrs NEW TRICK!-Back Tuck
Ashley Welsh 14yrs NEW TRICK!-Right Aerial
Cailey McCurdie 14yrs NEW TRICK!-Back Handspring
Katie Blow 14yrs NEW TRICK!Back Handspring
Emily Krolick 12yrs NEW TRICK!-Right Aerial
Kelly Bradley 15yrs NEW TRICK!-Right Aerial
Kiera Breaugh 11yrs NEW TRICK!-Right Aerial

Congrats everyone we look forward to adding on to this new trick list with new names and new tricks!!

MARCH BREAK CLEANING MADNESS!

2010-03-20T19:29:00.004-04:00

This past March break competitive students ages 5-18yrs got together and were a part of SWS's March Break Cleaning Madness! No no .. dancers were not sweeping or cleaning mirrors they were working on cleaning up their routines before this weeks showcase.

There were a lot of hours put in by the faculty and students, and each one of these hours made a big difference in the routines.

If you are thinking "What is cleaning a routine?... what does that mean?"
Well .. competitive dance students are all taught enough choreography that they have an entire competitive routine approx 2:30-3min long. After the students have learned the routine, sometimes not all dancers are doing the exact same thing. Things as little as a head movement-to the side or to the front?? ... are some of the details that can need some work after then routine has been taught. Cleaning is basically where the instructors review the routine with their class many many times over to ensure everyone is doing exactly the same thing. of course there is no such thing as perfect but that doesn't mean we don't try!

At the end of the week all the companies 1-7 got together to work on their extended line. What a great feeling it is to see 70 dancers move at the same time! Very powerful! Thank you to each and every dancer who spent their March Break with us! It will absolutely pay off for you xoxoxoxox
Mandy and Sasha

WHERE THE FACULTY STANDS

2010-03-11T18:26:00.007-05:00

WHERE THE FACULTY STANDS..

THINK POSITIVE THOUGHTS AND POSITIVE WILL HAPPEN..
It is very easy for dancers to look out at the dancers in their category performing and hope that the dancer(s) makes a mistake or doesn't do well. This is something SWS faculty work very hard at getting our students NOT to do. Whether they are in the category with their friends or other schools. We are teaching our students if they allow these kinds of negative thoughts to enter their mind before they hit the stage it will affect their performance in a negative way. The more positive thoughts a dancers thinks towards every one of their competitors positive will come back to them.

COMPETING WITH FRIENDS..
Many of our categories include more than one SWS group or dancer. Students are being taught by the faculty that when this happens we are not against other SWS members we are competing WITH them. Judges opinions vary between competitions and while at one competition Suzy may win, at another competition Judy may win.. While winning and receiving placements is a goal as a competitive dancer it is very much a "studio" goal. It doesn't matter who receives 1st, 2nd or 3rd, if the team is doing well every member should rejoice in it. Our students have always been very good in the past cheering each other on and we are sure this season will be no different.

IF YOU DO YOUR BEST WE ARE HAPPY!
Every single faculty member at SWS only wishes for our students to do their absolute best out there! Personal progress is #1...and if winning happens to be a part of that wonderful- that's a bonus. As a competitive athelete of any kind, dancer included of course your goal is to win. Who goes to the Olympics for example or the Stanley cup finals without the goal of winning?.. however if our students do their absolute best out there we are HAPPY!! the placement is not important at that point. This is absolutely all we want as a faculty, because when the students perform to the best of their ability they know it and feel good about it. We are all here and a part of this studio to help out students be the best they can be.

BE A GOOD SPORT
No matter who you are competing against good sportsmanship is more important than anything to the instructors at SWS. At every competition SWS has ever atended students have been recognized for their sportsmanship, and this is something all instructors are continuing to instill in our students. Because bottom line is that great dancers come and go but great people are remembered forever.

Good luck this season everyone!

JUNIOR RUNTHROUGH

2010-03-10T03:08:00.003-05:00

We recently had our 2nd Junior runthrough- held at the studio. The students ages 8 through fourteen performed their groups, trios, duets and solos as a prep for our upcoming showcase. There were a few incredible highlights that day that SWS wants to share!

The faculty want to say CONGRATS to a few dancers who really did an outstanding job!

Kayla Coatham 10yrs performed her Contemporary solo "The Climb" better than any instructor has ever seen her do it! Her musicality was dead on. Each movement she made brought out a different piece of the music as she floated through her solo and made it look so easy. CONGRATS KAYLA on a job well done!

Miss Stephanie McCandless 5 years performed her cameo in "I Could Only Imagine" Junior lyrical group. She might be small but my my she is mighty! Beautiful smile and she is sure to have everyone at showcase smiling with her! CONGRATS STEPH!

Miss Julia Blackburn 5 years has a cameo performance in "Abracadabra" our junior open routine. In her first live performance she did not make one mistake, smiled and even performed her magic trick dead on time! CONGRATS JULIA!

The biggest highlight of the day had to be Miss Tori Williams 11yrs. Tori won 1st Overall Novice last season 3 times out of 4 competitions.... but everyone knows that novice categories are not as difficult as being in with the students who have competed since they were 5 and 6 years old. Now another year older than last season, Tori was given a solo that was much harder than before and no one really knew what to expect from her in her first year out of novice. Well well.. I only wish I had her on tape for you! Tori was OUTSTANDING! She performed her jazz solo "Rich Girl" for everyone and knocked everyones socks off! No one was quite expecting the performance we got! Her technique had improved so very much and her facial performance had everyone wanting to be up there with her. It was nothing but FUN FUN FUN! She really and truly looked like a little professional! The best part was when all the students realized what a great job she did they ran to her and gave her a big hug! They are such great team mates! CONGRATS TORI!

This was our 2nd runthrough and it was much better than our first! Thank you to all the students for all their hardwork.. these cleaning rehearsals are definitely paying off!

The faculty look forward to seeing who will be in the highlight reel next run through!

ATTENDANCE

2010-03-10T03:01:00.002-05:00

The entire faculty want to congratulate Miss Emma Reilly for having PERFECT ATTENDANCE this season! Just this past season in June 2008-2009 Emma Reilly was presented the award for Most Improved Junior and it is no surprise that she has continued to make tremendous progress as she NEVER misses class!

Every class that a student has to miss due to sickness, injury etc can set a student back. As students all over continue to take class and get stronger a student who misses class misses the opportunity to improve. Of course everyone understands that people get sick and injured and this is a part of life... but we hope students learn to take good care of themselves by washing their hands, warming up properly, wearing their coats when it's cold out etc, to prevent sickness/injury and the amount of times they must miss class.

Take care of yourselves students! The more classes you take the better you will be!

OUR STUDENTS MAKE OUR WORLDS GO ROUND

2010-03-09T00:52:00.004-05:00

Some evenings it hits you a little harder than others... Tonight was one of those nights where you realize how much people mean to you. We definitely do not have any time for social visits during our classes... SWS is pretty business business while in classes working hard on all our techniques and dances.... however, tonight on our dinner break I had the opportunity to chat with some of my senior students.

I truly feel very fortunate to have such amazing and caring young people with us in our studio. I had such a wonderful time chatting and listening to them. They are so dedicated to their craft, have great sense of humors and are so very respectful towards others.

My husband and I have been instructors in this business about fifteen years now and we have seen many students come in and out of our lives. But I have to say students that we seem to draw into our studio are some of the most respectful, dedicated, hardworking and caring individuals we have had the pleasure of meeting.

If someone is injured they care, they check up, they calm them down by letting them know it will be ok and they will get through it. If someone is lost in a class or missing due to sickness, they are there for them in any way they can be, including coming in extra hours to help their friends out. If someone is new we have seen our students time and time again take them in with welcoming arms and make them feel right at home.

Yes a lot of this team work is instilled by our incredible faculty however Kyal told me a chinese proverb that is very suiting...
"A teacher can open a door but you must enter yourself." Without having the students make the choices to be these kinds of people it wouldn't happen.

Tonight as I listened to our students talk with eachother I was not just proud of them as dancers but so proud of them for the people they are becoming. I couldn't imagine my life without them. Our students truly make our worlds go round.

Seen here in the image is our senior class during our Secret Santa December 2009.

CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S ALMOST HERE!!!!

2010-03-05T22:25:00.006-05:00

My my how time flies when you are having FUN! We can't believe it's almost here! showcase is right around the corner. The faculty and students have worked so very hard all season and are ready to show you what they have produced!

Our acro program has truly come a long way this season. Many students have mastered new tricks thanks to our wonderful acro instructor Almitra McMillan! This showcase look for "X FILES" and "ADAM AND EVE"

The tap is looking exceptional! Each routine this year has a lot of pizzaz, style and great footwork! We hope you check out one of our most fun routines "BLAME IT ON THE BOOGIE" performed on March 27th.

This season we are also excited to be showcasing some new styles as well. The students have worked hard and have begun to mold into beautiful contemporary dancers! This is new to SWS and the students have worked so very hard to understand this new style. Doing Contemporary for their first time are the dancers average age 11yrs in the routine "HEAVEN" being performed March 27th.

SWS has the most well rounded program and we are all so very excited to share the end results with you during our showcase. Come on out! March 27th and 28th Two completely different shows. The 27th at 5pm is our junior groups and inter/senior soloists while the 28th at 2pm is our senior groups and our junior soloists. Both shows are sure to be entertaining! Hard to decide??? Come to both! Hope to see you at the Bowmanville High school March 27th at 5pm and March 28th at 2pm!

AN AVERAGE DAY OF AN SWS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

2010-03-05T04:28:00.007-05:00

Hello there everyone! Many students from SWS and other studios wish to become dancers, teachers and even studio owners themselves one day.. and many of them have asked what a regular day is like for someone in our profession. This blog and others will allow those who have those types of questions the insight into our day and profession. If you would like more info about our program do keep checking back as this blog site will include the Artistic Directors daily work and thoughts as well as program info and updates from the studio itself. In the meantime if the blog does not have the information you are looking for you can always check our website at www.stepwithstyle.ca or give us a call (905) 723-1133

AN AVERAGE DAY...
You dream you are at your showcase and the lights won't work or the music goes wrong... then you wake up yikes.. you think that better not happen. Hmm change of thought.. did I change that part of the dance to the choreo I wanted? I'll have to do that tonight...

The dog goes crazy because the mail man is at the door with another costume package. Go to the door grab your blackberry.. yup another 25 e mails to answer before breakfast.. schedule questions, schedule requests, costume questions, seamstress needs time with students, lighting questions for recital, did you burn that cd for us yet? think about March Break Schedule and the list goes on.

Call the insurance company get the insurance papers needed sent to the theatre.. grab some cereal.. usually something full of sugar like Nestlie Quick or Captain Crunch.. silly for a 30 year old to eat like this but hey we all have weakness lol.

Let Lady out, ask Sasha when he'll be back from hockey, put away cereal bowl,
Do the banking, do the paperwork, pay the bills, think about March Break schedule some more. Usually there would be choreography to do but we are at that time of year when routines are finished!!!! YAY leaving a little time for me during the day to think about the Nursery what colour to paint, if I'll be a good mom etc.., clean the closets sweep the floors and do the things every family does, laundry, toilets and more.

Write approx 10 emails to the office manager about things she and I need to remember... think over March break schedule some more.

Eat something else... somewhere along the way throw in some bathroom time... maybe text a family member.. what are you doing this weekend they ask.. working I say... next topic. Faculty member texts they can't make a certain day need a sub... find them a sub.

Go to the studio ask the office manager what the problems are for the day.. solve the problems. Teach a few classes- which feels like doing jumping jacks for an hour straight while talking. Did they understand the correction, does this part of the dance work, does that spacing look right, whose arm is late there, feet feet feet knees knees knees... all eyes peeled at all times on absolutely everyone for the entire time you are in the room.. because that's your job... to see everything and prevent bad habits.. no pressure... between classes visit office manager for any issues that need to be tended to (usually includes sorting who is doing what dance at the recital, in what costume, and how are the programs coming etc etc)

At the end of the teaching day pick up at least 20 waterbottles from kids who left them behind. Restock the bathrooms, collect lost and found, put away chairs, put away music, recharge I pod for tomorrow, remind Sasha to feed the fish,

Go home straight to the office while Sasha cooks and I deal with all e mails sent by the office manager during the evening with items to be tended to the following day... work on the networking facebook twitter and blogging! Eat watch some CSI or Criminal Minds with Sasha..Lay down... and notice... hmmmmmm someone is kicking me.... that's awesome!

Thats an average day.

OPEN MINDED STUDENTS BECOME WONDERFUL DANCERS

2010-03-04T04:22:00.003-05:00

At SWS our faculty teaches students to be open minded. Not only about what dance styles they learn but acting and vocal as well. There are many different avenues to take in the entertainment industry and the program our students are a part of gives them an edge at competition or when auditioning. The more well rounded the education the better the performer.

Open minds go a long way in the classroom. Students who keep their minds open and allow instructors to give personal corrections without getting upset make more progress than students who take these corrections personally. It is so important that parents and faculty work together to explain being told you are doing something wrong is a GOOD thing.

We have actually had students switch over from other schools get very frustrated and upset that they have never been told certain corrections before in their previous training. Phrases like "I could have been so much better right now." and "Why wasn't I told this before?" we hear all too often from newer students making the switch. For these students the faculty tell them not to look back and think of what could have been .. but to look forward to what will be with a little hard work.

Talk to your dancer today make sure they keep their minds open so they can make the progress their instructors know they are capable of!

Here in the image you can see some of our Junior students ages 9-11yrs

CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN!

2010-03-04T00:29:00.003-05:00

Students worked hard all night cleaning... no not the studio but their routines! Showcase is in 24 more days and dancers are getting more and more excited!
Tonight after ballet and vocal classes we worked on Single Ladies, Time To Say Goodbye, and Hot Like Wow! Single ladies is a funky routine that always has everyone in the room smiling, Time To Say Goodbye is a unique tribute to MJ and an extremely powerful routine sure to leave audiences quite and in awe, and Hot Like Wow ... well it looks just like is SOUNDS!
In the next three weeks I will be calling on the best of the best of our faculty to get our routines looking great! Our faculty has a nack for cleaning and can make any routine sparkle! Thank you to all who are helping students prepare and the students for their hard work!
Cleaning is hard work but it WILL pay off for you!

JAI HO COSTUMES ROCK!

2010-03-02T22:14:00.002-05:00

Students from Company 3 had their last fitting for their Jai Ho costumes this evening. They are stunning! You'll have to come out to showcase March 27th 5pm Bowmanville High School to see for yourself! Our seamstress Joanne did an amazing job with the design we gave her. The costume couldn't be more true to the character and feel of the routine. THANK YOU JOANNE!

SWS PREPARES FOR MORE THAN JUST DANCE!

2010-03-01T23:33:00.006-05:00

As dancers prepare for their upcoming showcase we are also preparing for something else! Now 5 months along.. 21 weeks to be exact. We had our last ultra sound on the 16th of Feb and they said they "think" it's a GIRL! Either way boy or girl my husband and I will be thrilled!

It has been an interesting and challenging job being the Artistic Director of a thriving competitive and recreational dance school while also being pregnant. You don't know how much it affects everyday life until you actually go through it. Thank you to our amazing staff Almitra McMillan, Heather Humphries, Kristen Morgan, Angela Casalino, Sadie Brooker, Tamara Freethy, and Kimberly Stewart.. all of whom helped a great deal in the early stages while I learned how to pace myself through the week.

She or he is moving quite a bit now, mostly when I am still... or at least thats what we think. When I am teaching I am moving too much to really notice just yet if she or he is enjoying the music...

Of course provided that they like dancing our child will dance, although we won't teach her or him ourselves for years to come. We work with our students by night to clean routines and work on our home by day to clean and organize... yes I have reached the "nesting" phase.

Sasha and I have been so lucky! Through the years we have seen so many great parents pass our door steps. We have seen what to do and what not to do. Owning a studio has been a great learning tool for us. THANK YOU to all the amazing SWS parents out there. You have inspired us to do the best job we can with your children as well as our own!

DANCERS ARE VERY EXCITED!

2010-03-01T02:32:00.002-05:00

GREAT WORK HAPPENED TODAY! Senior dancers Sadie, Angela, Jessica, Megan and Kristen had their final choreography rehearsal for their competitive routine "Not As They Seem". There are many cleaning rehearsals still to come, but what an excellent feeling it is to have the routine completed! This is sure to be one of the best from SWS this season. These five ladies bring so much passion into their dances you just can't help but get involved when watching them.

"Not as They Seem" begins with five ladies (friends) whom trust eachother completely. They rely on eachother and when they need someone they fall back on the friendship that they share. Everything in the beginning seems perfect.. too perfect. Throughout the routine situations in their lives come up where they may not have been completely truthful with eachother. The deceipt and betrails slowly bulid up and put a wedge between their friendships.. leaving everyone wondering who they can trust in life... as people are Not As They SEEM to be at times.

A very interesting and thought provoking routine... don't miss this at showcase March 28th!

SENIOR RUNTHROUGH

2010-02-27T19:20:00.004-05:00

Today was GREAT! From 1-6pm SWS senior students had their first runthrough of all their routines for the competitive season! Parents and friends peeked in throughout the day as the dancers performed. After seeing both Junior and Senior runthroughs I have to say my fave routines have to be:
-Jai Ho
-Time To Say Goodbye
-Hero
I look forward to the next run!... the more routines get in shape for competition the more favorites everyone will have! Great work to all the students!

Here in the image are our senior students on one of their spriit days. WEAR YOUR FAV SCARF DAY!

Competitive Showcase!

2010-02-27T11:20:00.002-05:00

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oshawa-ON/Step-with-Style-Dance-Productions/26997991066?v=app_2344061033

TIS THE SEASON

2010-02-27T09:52:00.002-05:00

Tis the season!!!! Late nights- of schedule making, choreographing, music editing, daytime -costume fittings, rehearsals, cleaning sessions, make up and hair lessons, prop buliding and more! For both the students and teachers this is CRUNCH time! 5678,.... here we go! With only 4 more weeks to the Step with Style showcase our faculty and students are working hard to make their dreams of a strong competitive season a reality! Ages 5-19 are working so very hard and I couldn't be more proud to call them my students!