According to Katie Stahlhut, Executive Director of Stage 1 Dance Academy, their mission is to provide a nurturing environment to motivate and inspire the love of dance in children, while building character, self-respect and confidence. Our qualified faculty instills wholesome values of outward focus, community, acceptance and love for one another.
Stage 1 is proud
to stand for high moral values. They portray this by always dressing their dancers in tasteful, age-appropriate costumes. Also, their faculty is homegrown or currently a professional dancer in their area. Stage 1 creates a family-friendly environment focused on making each student feel special and welcome.
In an effort to create a positive, loving, caring environment for every child that desires to learn to dance Stage 1 strives to give every student the same special attention, provide a qualified teaching staff that has a passion for dance and for teaching dance, provide a studio with up-to-date facilities that are clean and comfortable, and an office staff that will keep you informed of details and assist you in studio matters. They also provide a Dancer’s Boutique that sells all dance needs at reasonable prices.
Stage 1 has many classes including the Shining Stars (for two year old boys and girls, Sparkling Stars (3 to 5 year olds), Rising Stars (1st through 4th grade), Intensive Dance Program (5th grade and up), Hip Hop Classes (Kindergarten and up), Pom/Gymnastics (Poms as young as 1st grade and Gymnastics for 3 years old and up), Musical Theatre (1st grade and up), an lastly, is their Performing Dance Company Class (6 years old and older with 1 to 2 years of dance at Stage 1). Depending on the class and the age of the students, the members of these classes learn creative moment, creativity, rhythm, coordination, gymnastics, ballet, tap, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Jazz, Contemporary, and Pom. They also have fitness classes and for the month of September, Stage 1’s clients can Exercise for a Cause. All month long, the proceeds from their fitness classes will be donated directly to the Army National Guard.
In the Musical Theater class, Stage 1 uses various musicals to teach acting and singing in addition to dancing. This class is for 4 years old and up. The Performing Dance Company Class begins with six year olds and up. This class requires a great deal of time, dedication and financial commitment.
The Stage 1 Performing Company is a marvelous opportunity for dancers who desire to take their dance training to the next level. The Performing Company requires much more commitment in terms of time, finances and effort than the regular classes. It is made up of an elite group of dancers who have been chosen based on their dance technique, work ethic and positive attitude in the classroom. They perform at the annual Company Concert, multiple competitions, and at community events. It is a real honor to be selected to be a member of the Stage 1 Performing Company.
Katie’s proudest moments while teaching occur when she has a classroo
m full of children that love every minute of what they are doing. Even if they are sick, tired, stressed, etc., they come in to class excited, ready to dance and learn. She loves watching dancers evolve and grow into wonderful young people
The biggest mistakes Katie sees dancers make tends to come from overuse of technology. In this day and age, many children have phones, a tablet, laptop, etc. She finds that dancers have a much more difficult time staying focused and retaining choreography than ever before. Students are relying on their parents to video their dance each week so that they can practice; whereas, when Katie was growing up, they had a cassette tape with our music and they were responsible for practicing themselves without notes or a video from their teacher. Katie believes that if students could minimize distractions in their daily life, he or she would be more successful in the classroom.
Katie’s goal for Stage 1 this year is to create more community service opportunities for their studio. She thinks it is critical to teach youth the importance of giving back. She believes an outward focus is much more rewarding than an inward focus.
Nine months ago, Katie purchased Stage 1 Dance Academy from her dance teacher and mentor. The previous owner was ready to retire after having owned the dance studio for 55 years. Katie feels blessed that she has been given the opportunity to carry on such a legacy!
She began dancing at Stage I Dance Academy in 4th grade and danced all the way through high school. She then continued teaching at the studio all through college. Katie is highly qualified to own and run a dance studio. In addition to all of her dance training and experience, Katie graduated from the Kelley School of Business with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Management.
In Katie’s opinion, Stage I Dance Academy is a wonderful place and she counts herself fortunate to be able to work with her best friends every day as they instill the love of dance into their commu
nity’s youth.
It is Stage 1’s vision to be the Step-Above Dance School where every child receives the same special attention, where Stage 1 provides an atmosphere that will make students and parents feel welcome, and provide a place where students learn life skills as well as dance skills. They go to great lengths to create wonderful memories of Stage 1 for their students. Stage 1’s values include high moral standards, teaching each student that to dance is to love, establishing and growing strong, positive relationships with their students and their families, and teaching their students that desire and love to dance is more important than their physical abilities. They endeavor to build self-confidence, discipline, responsibility, respect, integrity, dedication, teamwork, proper dance technique, healthy bodies, and stage presence.
The most rewarding and exciting event at Stage 1 is their annual Dance Recital. Each class, except the creative movement and tumbling classes, will perform one dance in the recital. Because Stage 1 does not want the recital t be a burden for anyone, Stage 1 offers fundraisers to their families to help defray the expense of costumes and recital fees. Stage 1’s hope is that the recital will give each child the opportunity to feel special and be acknowledged for their hard work. Stage 1 believes that the recital performance will build skills that are important to every child’s development – skills such as stage presence, teamwork, self-confidence and a sense of accomplishment.
If you would like more information about Stage 1 Dance Academy, visit their website at www.stage1danceacademy.com, email them at Stage1DA@yahoo.com, or call them at 317-881-2021. You can also “Like” them on Facebook, check them out on Google+, and view them on YouTube.
Anyone who has danced at Stage 1 Dance Academy, with Katie Stahlhut or with any of the other instructors at Stage 2, is invited to comment on our blog.
Quote: “Katie believes that if students could minimize distractions in their daily life, he or she would be more successful in the classroom.”
Tags: dance studio, dance, studio, dance classes , Pom, Poms, Gymnastics, Tumbling, Musical Theatre, singing, acting, Ballet, Tap, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Jazz, Contemporary, fitness
