Dance lessons teaching kids steps of life
By Samantha C. DePoy
Staff Writer

FARMINGTON – The funky, throbbing beat of hip-hop shakes the studio, causing the wall-sized mirror to rattle and the hips of a company of children to sway in sync.

Bump. One. Bump. Two. Bump. Three. Bump. Four. Now turn. And again.

Leading the pack as they stare dead-ahead at the grooving reflection of the group in the mirrored wall is 20-year-old Tenile Pritchard and 16-year-old Mally Smith, both of Boston.

Keeping step behind them is a dozen or so area children, all of whom have kicked off their summer flip-flops and put on their dancing socks to partake in 10 days of free lessons from City Lights Dance Studio North, located in the newly-renovated State Theater building on Broadway.

Pritchard and Smith, both members of the Boston City Lights dance troupe, are happy to be in town leading classes at CLDSN, and despite the rigorous paces they are put through, the smiles on the faces of Farmington-area dance students show they are happy to be taking the classes.

The program teaches a wide range of dance styles, from hip-hop and martial arts, to classical, rhythm and blues and jazz. Pointers in singing and acting are also taught as a dancer must be prepared for anything. BCL opened the studio in Farmington because it found the community had the right atmosphere.

“People up here – they care about arts and they care about their kids and those are two very big things,” said Duggan Hill, executive director of BCL. “Here, people put their kids first. To be an asset to this community, that’s all we are trying to do, and I think we’ve accomplished that.”

An actor/singer/dancer/choreographer, Hill said the classes give kids a chance to test their moves.

The classes allow dancers with past experience to hone their skills, and new participants are able to discover a new passion.

Although kids as young as 6 are learning how to move, the classes are run with an eye for professionalism, which Pritchard said helps teach students a discipline that carries over in their life beyond dancing. “We structure the classes so that they are learning, but still having fun at the same time,” she said. “It gives them a chance to see something different. They’re smart, they’ve got a lot of talent and, day after day, they keep coming back.”

Smith likes the feeling of accomplishment that teaching Farmington-area residents dance provides her. She teaches them to move, but in the end, Smith said, she will be the one moved to tears when the classes do a culminating performance June 29.

“It’s knowing that someone has gotten something out of it that makes it worth it,” she said. “You can see the difference over the course of a class. When you can say this person is more confident because of something I’ve done, that’s pretty incredible.”

The classes are open to the public, no experience is required and participants can come for one session or every session. The studio will again be open for classes at the end of July and from Aug. 10 to 13.

sdepoy@sunjournal.com