A couple of dance recitals will take place at Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center over the next few weeks.
On May 23-24, Tammie Locklar’s Dance Studio will celebrate its 30 year anniversary with a performance called “Dancing Through Time.”
The first performance will be at 7 p.m. May 23 and the second will be at 7 p.m. May 24.
“We are celebrating our 30th anniversary this year,” owner Tammie Locklar said. “It’s a big deal for us. Our theme is dancing through time and we’re celebrating the last 30 years. We’ve got some of our alumni that’s coming back to dance this year. We’re doing a lot of special things.”
Locklar’s studio has about 250 students. The range of the students’ age is from 2 1/2 – adult.
Local dancers will be performing tap, ballet, jazz and hip hop dances that they’ve been practicing this year.
“It’s going good,” Locklar said. “We just have the typical craziness before a show. We’ve had recital practices in the last couple of weeks. We’re just trying to get all the kids to know where their dances are, that sort of thing. It’s been fun though.”
For Locklar and her dance studio, being in business for 30 years has meant a lot.
“I’m just super excited,” Locklar said. “We didn’t expect to be doing this for that long. I’m super excited to be able to celebrate this with all our students and alums. When you start your career at such a young age, you just never know where life will take you. It’s been fun. I love watching the kids grow up. We’re a family here. That’s one thing that’s a huge connection for all of us. All the teachers love the kids. It’s a big family and a testimony to see the alumnae come back and be in our show. Not everyone is able to come back but a lot of them do. That’s super exciting for us. We have kids now that are second generation here at the studio which is so awesome. I have parents that I taught that are bringing their kids here and that’s been so fun to watch.”
Tickets for the show can be found at tinyurl.com/2a93ur6h.
“This is our last hurrah for our season,” Locklar said. “We’ll start our summer session in June.”
For its final performance of the season, Dance Connection will be going back in time with a 1920s theme.
The performance, titled “The Great Dance Recital” will take place at 7 p.m. May 29 at the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center.
“We have over 105 students that will be there,” owner Kim Ronquillo said. “Our theme is going to be the 1920s. So we have a jazz ballet and all different styles of dancing. We’ll be showcasing what the girls have been learning over the past season.”
Ronquillo says this will be the first performance since before the pandemic.
“It’s exciting,” Ronquillo said. “To be able to see the kids doing what they love to do and me being able to do what I love to do is a good feeling. I’m excited to see them on stage.”
The students at Dance Connection range from 3-18.
“We usually do two shows a year,” Ronquillo said. “We have opened up since COVID. This is the first year that we have opened up since COVID. It’s our first one. We usually do two but this year, we did one.”
Since it’s the first show since the pandemic, Ronquillo says there have been a few challenges in getting ready.
“For this particular show, it’s just been about getting everyone back into their comfort zones,” Ronquillo said. “We’re trying to get the students out of their zone of being cooped up at home and be social. We’re trying to get them to be confident again. I think the students are doing pretty well.”
Dance Connection currently has 105 students.
This performance will also be the last before Dance Connection merges with the Dance Company.
Ronquillo says that process of merging has just started and should be completed before the fall.
“I’ve been doing this for six years by myself,” Ronquillo said. “We want a place where everyone in the community can train in one place. I had some of my dancers train at his place just for hip hop and tumbling, which I didn’t offer at my place and vice-versa. We just figured to do it together.”
Tickets for the performance can be found at tinyurl.com/2p9vt6xr.
If you go
- What: Tammie Locklar Dance Studio Recital.
- When: 7 p.m. May 23, 7 p.m. May 24.
- Where: Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center.
- What: The Great Dance Recital.
- When: 7 p.m. May 29.
- Where: Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center.
