Up on Your Toes – Bonita’s Dance Studios
In motion at the Bonita Academy of Dance
Bonita Springs – Bourne 2
Dance at 25091 Bernwood
Drive, # 8 is the new kid on
the block in Bonita Springs
when it comes to dance
instruction for youth. Sarah
Zecchino, owner, and two
instructors opened at the
present location just a year
ago after the former Dance
Dynamics, where they
taught, closed. Many former
students followed. The current
twenty students will
likely double by the time
school begins. Class variety
is typical of most dance studios:
Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Point,
Contemporary, Hip Hop,
Creative Movement and
African. “Creating excitement
right now,” said
Zecchino, “is the planned
class for ‘Daddy and me,’ in
January, a class that has been
very successful in the New
York area.”
Unique to Bourne 2
Dance is the shared studio
with Florida Gulf Coast University’s
Dance Team. The
Company, an advanced class
at Bourne 2 Dance, will perform
with the FGCU Dance
Team at basketball games
in the future. The sheer joy
of dancing guides the programs,
however, competitive
venues may be considered.
Students perform at recitals
and community events.
Instructors have strong
dance credentials. Zecchino
holds a degree in psychology
and dance and performed
with the Buffalo, New York,
Jane Reed and Dancers.
Classes began in August but
have open enrollment.
“Perhaps the popularity
of dance studio instruction
results from the reduction
in public school budgets.
Students no longer have as
many choices in the school
system and parents recognize
the life-long value of
dance instruction,” explains
Patrice Shields, Marketing
Director at the Center for
the Arts, 26100 Old 41 Road
where Angela Hicks, Education
Director and professional
dancer teaches the
children’s dance program.
Hicks will be performing
with her sister in “Live” at
the Promenade, October 11,
for a show that even includes
sword balancing.
Center for the Arts student
enrollment varies from
fifty to a hundred students.
Fall classes begin the second
week in September and
include: Ballet Fairytales,
Jazz/Hip Hop, Ballet, Dance
Around the World, Broadway
Dance, Creative movement,
Modern dance and
more. Competitive events
are not part of the program.
The object is self expression
through the art of dance
and includes community
performances.
“We are the opposite of
‘Dance Moms’, the reality
television show,” assured
Chris Shelly, lead teacher at
Angelica Dance Academy.
“Dance and music bring out
children’s inner thoughts,
let them express themselves
while helping them to focus,
listen, follow directions –
all of which also contribute
to better academic performance.
They may start out
awkward, but with encouragement
each child blossoms
at their own pace.” Bonita
Springs residents watched
Angelica Dance Academy
students in bright red, white
and blue costumes at the
July 4 parade. According to
Lara Demetrides, owner,
“We are the oldest Bonita
Springs children’s dance studio.
We offer both noncompetitive
and competitive
dance lessons, it’s the student’s
and parent’s choice,
and provide the full range
of dance instruction options
including Dance Theater.”
Angelica Dance Academy
is a family affair. “My daughters
started here twenty years
ago, and now my grandchildren
are in classes,” said
the office manager, Beth
Foreman. Children stay with
the program from as early
as two years old through
college. They join local theater
groups, community
productions and some
receive professional contracts
and/or return to the
studio as instructors and
choreographers. Awards line
the walls of the second floor
dance studio at the “green
building,” 27771Tennessee
and Old 41, where approximately
a hundred students
receive instruction. “Many
of our students are home
schooled,” added Foreman.
“This gives them an organized
opportunity for socialization.”
Auditions are
currently open for a boys’
competitive hip hop team.
Bonita Academy of
Dance, one of the newer
studios, 10347 Bonita Beach
Road, is “small with only
75 students, making our
student to teacher ratio
about 1:6 per class,” according
to Director Kristina
Adamski. “Our main goal
is to make dance fun for
the kids and affordable. We
charge minimal fees for
classes and costumes and
no recital fees and give family
discounts for parents
with multiple students.
Classes beginning with age
two include: Ballet, Tap, Jazz,
Hip Hop, Lyrical, Contemporary,
Musical Theater,
Mommy & Me and Tumbling
- making them a one
stop shop for parents who
have kids interested in different
activities like gymnastics
and dance. Their
professional, award winning
teachers work patiently with
all students, beginning or
advanced and they are
famous for their “Kids Night
Out.”
Within all these programs
subtle differences exist. Parents
and guardians may observe
classes and ask questions to
discover which programs best
meet the needs of a particular,
potential dancing star who
wishes to get up on her or
his toes.
Angelic Academy dancers
Dancing at Center for the Arts
Posing at Bourne 2 Dance
Category: Features
