Dance Adventure Of Greenwich Brings 'A Joy To Learning About Dance'

This Patch article is sponsored by Dance Adventure, Inc..

Local businesses are the heart of our communities. Patch had a chance to talk with Nola Van Alstine, Director, of Dance Adventure, Inc..

Patch: Tell us a bit about your business or organization:
Nola Van Alstine: Dance Adventure, Inc. We teach students in different categories. First, there is the Parent & Child program, with creative movement classes for Parents & Toddlers, and Parents & 2-3 Year Olds. Parents or caregivers join in the dancing and music, mostly for moral support, and the children really make great progress in movement skills. Once children are 3, they graduate to learning on their own. All of the preschool classes, have live piano accompaniment which really brings excitement to the classes and adds a dimension to learning about dance and music. Once the students are 4-5 years, in addition to Pre-ballet Classes, we introduce Pre-Tap and Pre-Hip Hop/Jazz which are very popular classes. As the students move up in age, K-12, they graduate to studying ballet, tap or hip hop/jazz in depth (some take all 3 disciplines), and they really progress in these art forms. Some students stay with us, from toddler through teenage years which is always wonderful to see.

Patch: How long have you been doing business in town?
Nola Van Alstine: We opened up in 1991 at the Greenwich Arts Council and then to the Armory building on Mason Street. We moved to our current 36 Sherwood Place location in 2007 and have been there ever since.

Patch: What attracted you to the line of work you’re in, and how did you get started?
Nola Van Alstine: I started out as a dancer in NYC, performing at Lincoln Center and popular modern dance venues in New York. I began teaching young children the art of dance almost immediately and mostly at Ballet Academy East in Manhattan. My husband and I moved to Greenwich to start Dance Adventure, and the Dance Center of Greenwich for older students.

Patch: What's the most common piece of advice you give to customers?
Nola Van Alstine: We start students learning technique right away, but for the early years we do so with music and stories. The stories I write keeps the passion alive both in teaching and learning for our preschoolers. The stories, props and themes are always changing, and they keep the student's interest while learning dance at the same time.

Patch: What’s the most satisfying part of your job?
Nola Van Alstine: I love to watch the students progress and have fun learning dance. While I am of course thrilled to have some very fine dancers develop over the years, most students succeed in learning about the variations and expressions in dance and movement and look back at their classes here fondly, and that makes me happy.

Patch: How would you say your business or organization distinguishes itself from the others?
Nola Van Alstine: We have great teachers, a wonderful space, and try to bring a joy to learning about dance. We have taught well over 8,000 students from Greenwich and the surrounding areas. Being in business over 33 years is a warm testament to support of the community, parents and students, and we are thankful to them all.