The Dance Gallery of SD is a seven studio school in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, that offers a wide variety of classes and levels for all ages. Their emphasis is on a solid foundation in dance technique, so that their students have an opportunity to excel beyond their high school years, giving them the opportunity to continue into a post secondary education or audition for various dance companies.
Although their schedule offers all types of dance (ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, hip hop, modern, Broadway, lyrical, and competitive dance), their real focus is on ballet. Most of their dancers are students of the Cecchetti method, and take part in the nation examination process.
According to Jackie Kriens, owner, director, and instructor, many of the studios in their area have more of a focus on competitive dance, and do not offer a schedule of classes that actually teach technique. Their school is first, and foremost, a dance training school with the option of being a part of the competitive dance division. Dancers in their school must be enrolled in classes in order to be in a competitive dance group. Jackie believes that this sets them apart from other schools that do not have this requirement.
Also, since their students are examined by national Cecchetti examiners, the dancers are
being promoted based on standards set by a national syllabus through examinations.
Like every teacher, watching their students perform in professional ballet companies, and getting accepted into college dance programs are definitely moments of pride for Jackie. The other thing she is really, REALLY proud of is the fact that their student population has discovered the importance of being positive role models to the younger children at their studio. By working hard, dressing appropriately, being respectful, and being supportive of their peers, the children have learned what a good dancer looks and acts like!
Generally, Jackie thinks that all of their teachers feel that dancers tend to forget about the strength of their core and how that foundationally impacts body alignment in EVERY type of dance style. But, more importantly – the biggest mistake that she sees in her students is that when given a correction, that it is not applied “today and forever!” Application of corrections is the primary difference between dancers that excel, and those that do not.
Jackie’s main goal is making it through eight performances of the Nutcracker without any injuries or illnesses. An additional current goal is working on deciding on their next winter ballet for the school, just staying ahead of the administrative duties of a seven studio dance school!
Originally, Jackie was trained to be a classroom teacher. She loved it, but the freedom to be creative became more and more difficult due to the curriculum and the drive to “teach to the test.” She was teaching a couple of classes a week at a local studio, and saw things that she thought could improve, but it was not her place to give suggestions. She decided to take one year off from teaching to try to open a dance studio. The one year off became two years, and then eventually, the studio was growing at such a fast pace that it was necessary for her to give up her elementary classroom teacher position in order to teach and run the studio. According to Jackie, it was the best decision she ever made! Recently, her husband retired from his construction company, and does a lot of the administrative work for Dance Gallery, and they couldn’t be happier about their career changes!
Dance Gallery is celebrating its SWEET 16th birthday this year. They have 500 dancers and 23 staff that come through their doors each week, which keeps life energetic! Other than the various classes they offer to dancers, they also offer teachers the opportunity to train and examine for the teacher’s qualifying exams for the Cecchetti Council of America. They also work with interns that are willing to move to Sioux Falls in order to train to teach in various types of classes or administrative positions. The internship program has been very successful so far as their students are being exposed to new teachers and concepts, as well as helping interns to train in various styles of dance that they can carry with them to future jobs.
If you would like more information about the Dance Gallery of SD, visit their website at dancegallerysd.com or call them at 605-338-3740. You can also “Like” them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
Please post a comment if you have had any experience with Jackie Kriens of Dance Gallery of SD.
Written By Cyndi Marziani
Owner
BDancewear.com
