For the first time since the start of the pandemic DanceWorks students will perform in public on stage.
Christine Brunet, studio owner, director and teacher said the event is a fundraiser with all proceeds going toward assisting the company team with their entry fees for upcoming competitions. The team will be participating in the April Bedazzled Dance competition in Collingwood, the May View Dance Challenge in North Bay and the upcoming summer dance workshop in August.
Since the start of COVID, DanceWorks has been holding classes for its students while adhering to pandemic restrictions. The studio currently has 150 students enrolled offering classes for pre-school ages two and three years old, Kinder dancer classes age four and five and classes levels one, two and three for tap, jazz/lyrical, ballet and hip hop.
The studio also offers adult programs in tap, jazz, ballet and hip hop and Sunday evening yoga.
Brunet has owned, operated, and been associated with the studio for 33 years. DanceWorks has a long history of dance and wellness classes since it was founded by Brunet in 1989. Students have held popular annual dance performances for the public in Elliot Lake.
The DanceWorks studio was repurchased back in August 2021 by Brunet the sole founder back in 1989. Brunet sold the studio to Studio Dance Arts in 2010 to do Real Estate full time but has never left the studio and has been the studio director the entire time. However, due to COVID and the owner deciding to sell, Brunet purchased the studio back and brought back the name DanceWorks. Brunet has been teaching dance in the community from its beginning to present.
She said the studio, “has a wonderful faculty of teachers and dance parents.”
The studio is located at 126B Ontario Avenue. Tickets for the March 27 performance are $15 and can be bought at the dance studio (located next to Berthelot Law office) or from any Company dance parent. The studio number is 705-848-7191 or people can contact Brunet on her cell at 705-849-6522.
The fundraiser is sponsored by the North Shore Parents Association of Dance (NSPAD) featuring the Competitive Dance team of DanceWorks. It will feature dance routines in Tap, Jazz, Ballet and Lyrical Groups and solo performances.