A new school year begins - Let's dance!

After 11 years of helping local youngsters develop their talents, poise and strength through dance, Cresson Dance Director Stacy Smith is hard at work, physically and mentally. She's studying for certification in Yoga, choreographing shows at the Butte Opera House, and yes, still teaching kids to stretch and spin and dance and choreograph. Stacy will be teaching junior high and high school students in their 8th-hour Dance Elective in this 2010-2011 school year, and she'll keep working intensely with the Level III advanced dancers in the Cresson Dance Company.

Two familiar instructors whose dance-teaching skills Stacy has overseen and directed over the last several years will be teaching our younger dancers this year. Dana Richardson, who choreographed a lovely modern dance piece for the Cresson Dance Company last year and who dances with troupes from Colorado Springs, will be teaching Ballet I and II on Tuesdays, one class right after the other. We will have an adult on hand to supervise the Level II dancers while the first group is dancing. Mary Barron, who taught Creative Movement and Ballet I with Cresson Dance a few years ago, is returning to teach the preschoolers and kindergarteners in Creative Movement on Thursdays. Detailed schedules are always available on the website Calendar.

Both Dana and Mary (that's me!) studied dance for years with high-quality teachers and are looking forward to teaching high-quality students at Cresson! Stacy's Yoga classes at the June Hack Center are also on Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning shortly after our dance classes at the elementary school wrap up on those evenings. With the kids building their stamina and learning to use their energy admirably in dance class, adults often find Yoga a beneficial way to strengthen their bodies and relieve stress. Some families might want to give them both a try!

We have an extraordinary dance program to be part of here in Teller County, so let's get out our dancing shoes and get moving! Classes start the second week of September, the day after Labor Day on Sept. 7 for Ballet I and II. Creative Movement starts that Thursday, Sept. 9. Enrollment packets are available in the school office at Cresson Elementary, and completed forms can be returned there with tuition, marked for Cresson Dance, or handed off to any of the dance instructors or to a number of wonderful volunteers, Cresson Dance board members and school personnel who have long histories in support of the program. The complete list of people who can accept enrollments can be found in the Communications section of the 2010 Class Guidelines here on this website.