At the Gainesville Dance Center (GDC) in Gainesville, Virginia, they believe that a student should leave his or her class with a strong sense of accomplishment. Instruction at Gainesville takes place in a nurturing environment. The discipline and commitment to be one’s full “self” is taught in their classes and they want that knowledge to stay with their students for a lifetime. The artistic facility at GDC places children, teens, and adults in classes appropriate to each individual’s level of ability and strength. Each class placement is determined by the age of the student and the number of years in training the student has acquired. Students are continuously monitored and moved to higher levels as the student’s progress permits.
Gainesville is a second generation, family-owned dance studio located in Northern Virginia. Their professional staff of instructors is accredited with numerous International and American Associations including such as Royal Academy of Dance, Checchetti Council of America, Vaganova, Dance Masters of America Dance Educators of America, and Professional Dance Teachers Association. They also feature Master Classes throughout the season that are taught by “special guests” that are always a pleasant surprise to all area dancers!
Gainesville is very excited to be celebrating their 15th Year Anniversary! Their dance program is geared to the recreational student as well as the more serious, competitive student. GDC’s main goal is to establish the “love” of dance in their students, and to transport their students to their highest goal with great self esteem and lots of positivity. They offer instructions in Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Contemporary, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Acro, Tumbling, Boogie Fever, Leaps, Jumps & Turns. They also offer a fitness class – “Total Body Workout.”
In addition to their dance classes, GDC offers competition pom teams and competition dance teams to the more serious, competitive pom students and dancers who love to perform. The competition teams offer opportunities for the more experienced students to be involved in shows, conventions, competitions, and parades! Members of the competition teams are selected through instructor’s recommendation, class audition, and/or director invitation only.
In the opinion of Patricia Bray, Owner and Director, Gainesville Dance Center strives to eliminate the stigmas of “studio rivalry” that pit the local studios against each other. Their studio motto “Ohana,” which means ‘family’ in Hawaiian, is what they strive for in all aspects of their business. They have introduced their unity project “Unity N Dance” where they hold jam sessions, master classes, and provide community outreach within the studio for all of their area dancers. In a business full of negativity they want to promote positive training for all students above all else.
GDC is attempting to share the love of dance and the idea of being kind to their fellow dancer with other dancers and their studios. They invite students and instructors from other studios to participate in a unity mission to obliterate the stigmas that pits studios against studios in a negative way. The first mission of their unity project is to extend their Friday Night Jam sessions at their new Gainesville location to as many local studios as they can. They hope to promote the love of dance through instruction with guest teachers – teachers not only from their own studio, but also from other studios both locally and nationally. They will even offer international guest teachers! Their new Gainesville location offers the largest dance and tumbling center in Prince William County with over 10,500 square feet!
As a director, Patricia loves watching her students succeed through their love of dancing. This year GDC has a second student on Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, in the same amount of years. In 2015, their student, Jaclyn Hamric, was in the top 28 dancers in the nation. This year their very own J.T. Church is in the top ten of their new adaptation of the show So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation. So please make sure to vote for J.T. Church!
From Patricia’s experience, she believes that the biggest mistake dancers make is taking critiques personally instead of accepting them and applying them to their dancing. It is a mistake that she has seen stunt even the most talented dancer, no matter their age. The ability to be coachable is a sought after commodity with teachers and most likely will allow the dancer to unlock a hidden trove of potential. She advises, “Be respectful, be humble, and allow the teacher to teach you. They are here in your best interest to your craft.”
Patricia’s goal for this year is to expand their ‘boys’ program by offering more scholarships to those in need and new opportunities for boys of all levels and genre preferences. This year they kicked off their “G-Crew” which is a competition Hip Hop team that has been a great outlet for local boys as well as their female classmates to erase the lines of gender division in dance. Gainesville welcomes boys with open arms to their studio for they believe that dancing is for everyone. They are doing their part in making sure that the boys are in an atmosphere where they are the most comfortable for their training.
Patricia’s mother, “Miss Pat,” owned a dance studio in Arlington, Virginia, for 35 years called “Patti’s School of Dance.” She is Patricia’s role model. Patricia grew up, taught, and trained there. Miss Pat has been such an inspiration, and she has touched so many lives through her career. Patricia wanted to keep that going, to offer a place where people can come and feel a part of while offering them a chance to explore their love of dance.
Many of Gainesville’s students began their training with GDC at a young age, 3 or 4, and have continued to dance with them up to and through their senior year of high school. Gainesville has added an alumni network that keeps all of their alumni in contact with each other as well as with the studio. They love for their kids to come “home” to visit for it reinforces the feeling of a “home” atmosphere. “A Great Place To Grow Up” is another motto of theirs that originated because of the atmosphere. They strive to give every child the opportunity that they deserve to follow their dreams, the support system to chase them, and the love of dance to succeed through their passion.
Among other accolades, Gainesville was named the 2016 winner of Northern Virginia Magazine’s “Best Dance Studioi in Nova.”
They are trying to fill the negative gap in the dance world with positivity and they are Flooking forward to making new friends and memories through the unity of dance! If any students or teachers from other studios are interested or would like to set up a “unity” connection with them in order to keep in touch with upcoming Unity in Dance events, please contact GDC through their website. GDC is very excited to have these dancers as their guests!
If you would like more information about Gainesville Dance Center, visit their website at www.gainesvilledancecenter.com, call them at 703-257-5000 or email them at gdc@verizon.net. You can also “Like” them on Facebook and watch them on YouTube.
Anyone who has danced at Gainesville Dance Center, with Patricia Bray or with any of the other instructors at GDC, is invited to comment on our blog.
Be respectful, be humble, and allow the teacher to teach you.
