From left to right: Sophie Aloisio, Madison Cummins, Devon Coe, Avery Thomas, Katie Belle Crosswhite and Nora Okes pose on the street in Abingdon, Virginia.
April Grace has been teaching dance and gymnastics for 16 years. She has a bachelor's degree in dance from Radford University, Radford, Virginia. She is the owner and director of Grace Studio of Motion and Dance, Abingdon, Virginia. She also teaches rhythmic gymnastics at Mountain Empire Gymnastics and choreographs the musicals at Abingdon High School.
Her studio teaches ballet, jazz, modern lyrical, hip-hop and tap. They offer a tiny tot class for 18 months to 3 years, and regular classes for ages 3 and older.
"Dance education is so important because it teaches discipline, respect for instructors, fellow students and oneself. Dance students learn a variety of life skills including time management, organization, health awareness, respect, manners; the list goes on and on. Dance also empowers students to express themselves, teaches students to work together in a group and most importantly evokes confidence that can follow them through life," Grace says.
Grace's students participate in a Christmas recital and a spring recital. They have also performed at Abingdon's annual Community Christmas program, Mistletoe Market, Abingdon's Earth Day Celebration and long-term care facilities. They organized a "60s themed flash mob for the Beatles tribute band during the Virginia Highlands Festival.
They also have a competition team. The team has competed at Encore Dance Competition and Epic Dance Showcase. They plan to add an additional competition this season. The team also attended the Epic Dance Showcase Convention, where they took classes with instructors from the popular show "So You Think You Can Dance," as well as other well-known choreographers and a previous Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.
The competition team has won several first place, platinum, high gold and gold awards, as well as a special judge's award for "Cool Concept" in a dance piece in 2016. Their team dancer, Avery Thomas won first place overall in her age group with her lyrical solo. She also was awarded a scholarship to the Epic Dance Showcase Convention and a special judges' award for "Future Rockette."
The studio offers different levels of commitment. Students can sign up for one class per week or as many as five or six. Girls on the competition team are required to take an additional technique/conditioning class once a week, which is also offered to recreational students. They also have additional rehearsals throughout the month.
"Dance is an ever changing thing like most art forms. Of course, the basis of each style remains the same. Ballet, for example, is very controlled, precise and graceful. Jazz is known to be a bit more sassy and includes big jumps and big smiles. Hip-Hop is done to hip-hop or pop music and is lower to the ground and requires a big attitude. Modern is often done barefoot and is a free flowing type of dance that expresses different emotions. The struggle of each dancer is to make something that's so difficult look effortless," Grace says.
Grace just moved her studio to a new location on Valley Street in Abingdon, Virginia. The school has three spacious studios, two of which have bamboo dance flooring with a dance pad underneath for optimum jumping and joint safety.
"GSMD believes that movement is the key to health and happiness. Our goal is to help our students understand and appreciate dance as an art, while giving them confidence in their everyday lives. We believe that it is never too late to learn to dance and offer a welcoming atmosphere for all levels," she says.
GSMD staff also includes Kathy Gibian, local artist and tap dancer who teaches the tap class. Kelli Slagle teaches hip-hop and lyrical. Slagle has more than 17 years of dance experience and has been teaching at GSMD since 2011. She also serves as a choreographer for the dance team. Avery Thomas and Madison Cummins are advanced students as well as Pre-K instructors. Sophie Aloisio is a student and the studio's teaching assistant.
For more information visit www.gracemotionanddance.com or call 276-525-1786.
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