Watts Dance Studio's Showcase Dancers
Watts Dance Studio began in Elizabethton, Tennessee, 65 years ago, and opened a second location in Bristol, Tennessee, 51 years ago.
Founded by Ann Haynes Watts, the teaching staff includes her daughters, Chrisann Watts Tull and Carolee Watts Hacker; Jaime Lipford, Annalee Tull, Erika Turner, Jordan Fritts and Laurel-Cooper Metcalf.
The school focuses on the techniques of tap, ballet, tumbling, jazz, hip-hop and contemporary.
"A hallmark of Watts Dance Studio is the ability to provide technique and performance opportunities in all forms of dance. While many of the students study all forms of dance, the wide breadth of dance technique classes make it possible for students to enjoy the forms of dance that resonate with them.Discipline is required for all forms of dance.They involve using proper body placement and the mind incounting and moving from one move to the next.
"Ballet is perhaps the oldest dance form and highly technical.It is foundational to learning other forms of dance.For instance, one requirement to be in the Watts Showcase Dancers - the studio's auditioned performance group - is the continued study of ballet.
"Tap is another form of precision – making specific sounds and rhythms with your feet (and other body parts from time to time).Tap became popular as a street dance first moving to a prominent position through the stage and motion picture industry.Jazz and hip-hop grew out of the change in music styles. Contemporary is considered a blending of ballet and jazz and is often associated with telling a story through the movements.
"Tumbling is a form of gymnastics or acrobatics.At Watts Dance Studio, the tumbling classes involve gaining strength in one's body to be able to perform a number of tumbling or acrobatic moves without the assistance of spring floors.All forms of dance provide for learning technique and at the same time provide exercise that is good for the body," says Carolee Hacker.
In addition to the exercise benefit and creative expression, Hacker says dance education enhances her student's lives.
"Dance education has been shown to improve the success of students in educational environment. It allows a freedom of expression and a safe environment in which to do so.Dance can also be an individual and a team sport.Being a part of a group who moves with the choreography in a synchronized fashion creates a sense of reliance on working with others and a collective effort that creates the performance. It is an important skill that is taught through the classes at Watts Dance Studio," Hacker says.
Watts Dance Studio accepts students beginning at age 3 and has classes for all age groups including adults. Hacker says they have many second and third generation students at the studio, and many students return later in life or continue taking classes for enjoyment and exercise. "We are pleased to provide an environment in which our dancers want to come at all ages.
"Our dance studio has a strong focus on age appropriate material. Whether in costume, music or dance styles, we want the dancers to be showcased in ways that highlight their strengths.We believe that the focus creates an environment that promotes success for the dancer at any ability level and that is important for students to feel successful," Hacker says.
Students are expected to attend regularly scheduled classes.Dance mastery requires training and practice. Students in the auditioned performance group are required to attend rehearsals and extra workshops.Watts Dance Studio provides an opportunity for these students to meet dance professionals from around the country in private workshops in the studio with visiting artists or in national workshops.
All students at Watts Dance Studio have the opportunity to perform in an annual stage performance complete with costumes in a full-themed, stage production. It provides an opportunity for students to display what they have learned in an entertaining atmosphere for the audience.
Additionally, Watts Dance Studio is home to the Showcase Dancers, an auditioned group which performs regularly at area events, festivals and sporting events. The Showcase Dancers also travel. They have performed at Walt Disney World, on Premier Cruise Lines and on Carnival Cruise Lines. The group also performed for the Bahamian National Independence Celebration in Nassau, Bahamas.
"Watts Dance Studio has had literally thousands of young men and women grace our studios with their presence, and each student is a celebration to us.Many take dance classes for recreation and exercise.We have also had many remain active in the art. They are teaching at the college level, in studios in other regionsand performing on the stage.Whether our dancers choose a professional career in dance or just take classes for their enjoyment, each is an important part of the studio and the journey," Hacker says.
For more information about Watts Dance Studio, visit www.wattsdancestudio.com or call 423-543-3361 (Elizabethton studio) or 423-844-0428 (Bristol studio).
BACK TO THE MAIN STORY
>> Johnson City Circus Arts dances in air
