Dance connection

Margaret Edmonds trains all her students as though they were going to become professional dancers, knowing full well that 99% of them will not.

“It’s a competitive business, and a relatively short career,” she says.

Nevertheless, the youngsters who attend classes at Dance Connection are amply rewarded. “Dance Connection is a special place to come, to do special things and have fun learning,” Edmonds says. “They meet when they’re young and dance together as a team, possibly throughout high school. Since they come from schools all over the city, they develop a camaraderie with girls they might never have met otherwise.”

At least one of Edmonds’ pupils has gone on to dance professionally. Michelle Hill toured with a company out of Branson, Mo., and is now pursuing a dance career in New York City.

Another former student, Kasi Kirkpatrick, is now studying dance at Texas Women’s University, hoping to have a professional career.

Edmonds grew up in El Paso, where she participated in a number of sports before focusing on dance during high school. At the University of Texas-El Paso, she studied under Ingeborg Heuser, and, she says, “I absolutely loved it.”

Edmonds, along with faculty members Tina Cass and Courteney Strickland, teaches ballet, jazz, tap and hip-hop from age 3 through high school and sometimes into the college years.

Cass holds a degree in dance from Texas Tech, and Strickland is a Dance Connection graduate.

The studio presents two performances each year, one in the spring and one during the Christmas season. The Christmas performance alternates each year between “Nutcracker Magic,” a children’s version of “The Nutcracker Ballet,” and a tap, jazz and hip-hop presentation with free-will proceeds donated to The Empty Stocking Fund.

Students dance on a specially constructed floor with thousands of foam inserts beneath keeping them off the concrete. “The floor gives just the right amount,” Margaret says.

Dance Connection offers a line of dancewear, including tap, jazz and ballet shoes, dance bags, clothes and tights in a variety of sizes for parents’ convenience.

Dance Connection is located at 1541 JBS Parkway in the breezeway of Old Town Plaza. Parking is available in the rear. Registration for fall classes continues through Aug. 30. Classes start Sept. 4. Hours are from 2:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. For more information, call (432) 550-3432.