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| Brenda Oehmig, Hope Glymph |
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| Anna Giles, Kathleen Langbehn, Kathryn Yon |
May 2014 at Anderson University's Rainey Fine Arts Center,
Anderson School of Dance said goodbye to eleven dancers they've taught for many
years.
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| 2014 Graduating Seniors |
As parents, we appreciate not only their instruction,
but their love and support. At
Anderson School of Dance, it's more than dancing. It's a tradition of friendships and a world
of memories. Pictures of the studio,
friends, teachers, recitals and costumes live in their minds, along with a sign
in the downtown studio:
Keep
Dancing No Matter What.
And that's what they did.
They danced with homework and projects waiting at home. They danced before and after volleyball,
softball, soccer, and piano practice. They danced when they passed or failed a test.
They danced when the teacher said,
"do it over." They kept dancing when they turned the wrong way, let
their hands flop around, or bounced too much with heads and ponytails bobbing. They
danced when their sweet hearts were broken or their feelings hurt. They waited with twisted ankles, broken arms,
ear infections, or stomach bugs, then returned to dance on happy as well as sad
days.
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| Sally Hancock |
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| Hope Glymph, Anna Giles |
They kept dancing with holes in their shoes, hair uncombed, and
tired legs. A
young, cute, but very tired Sally Hancock feel asleep in tap class, but she continued
to tap through her senior year. Mrs.
Brenda told Sally and Hope they might be more "jazz instead of ballet
girls." That faster pace was fine
with them, and we enjoyed their senior solo jazz performances. I've tried to picture Hope Glymph's senior
dance through 14 recitals, but her smile and personality were better than I
imagined.
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| Adison Markely, Sydney Hamby, Peyton Finley |
With years of ballet, tap, and jazz experience, Peyton
Finley, Adison Markley, and Sydney Hamby had enough confidence for a solo, but
these great friends (on and off the stage) chose to tap together for their
final recital. Kathleen McElhannon and
Kathleen Langbehn wowed us with their poise and proved ASD's commitment to artistry.
Kristen Gurley brought smiles with a
bright and fun tap performance. Samantha Shaw joined senior dancers for classic
disco.
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| Monday night jazz class, Disco |
Due to an injury, Emily Stafford
couldn't dance for her senior recital, but she didn't miss her picture. Why? Anderson School of Dance taught them to
dance in the sunshine and the rain, like Matt Constanzo as Gene Kelly.
We held their hands and marched them up the steps lined with
Carolina jasmine through the red door surrounded by ivy into the downtown
studio where they learned to skip, hop, leap, and turn with initials written on
the bottom of their shoes. We bought dozens
of tights and shoes, took an obnoxious amount of pictures and wrote hundreds of
checks. We curled, combed, and bobby-pinned
hair, smiled at their fantastic costumes, ordered flowers, laughed, cheered, and
proudly watched them dance.
A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a
time to dance. Ecclesiastes 3:4
For these eleven senior dancers, the giggles and stretching
on the studio floor has ended, but they'll
keep dancing no matter what. They'll
work and study, win and lose, fall in love, fall out of love, make new friends,
cherish old ones, and find their passion in life.
ASD memories are locked in their hearts,
offering confidence, creativity, and discipline to keep dancing through life's many
seasons.
King Solomon writes of the seasons we all experience: good and bad,
happy and sad, muddy and clear, healthy and sick, victorious and defeated.
Keep
Dancing No Matter What
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