Dancensations Dance Center: On Its Toes for More Than 20 Years

The buzz of youthful energy bounces off the walls as Pat Hawkes makes her way down the hall between studios. The corridor is lined with years of photos of smiling, posing dancers.

A former student home from college stops by for a hug. “I believe it,” she laughs, as she considers the fact that she has owned the business in the Hayfield Shopping Center since 1989.

As a young girl in Newburyport, Massachusetts, Hawkes danced at a local studio until she graduated from high school. Soon after, she left New England to become a military wife, but she never left dance. “It kind of just stayed with me,” she said. She taught in several places until a group of parents in Springfield suggested she open her own studio. Dancensations was born.

What keeps her going? “You get really close to the kids,” she said. “These kids are like my own,” she smiled, as she choked back tears. Hawkes said tears come easily after weekends like this past one spent at a Starpower dance competition.

“We didn’t do as well as the first couple of competitions, but we did very well,” Hawkes said. “They danced very well and that’s the important thing. There’s always somebody out there that’s going to potentially beat you, but if you do the best you can do, that’s all we can ask them to do. And they did. We’re very pleased with them.”

Dancensations also boasts a competitive gymnastics team. Hawkes said most of the students there are naturally competitive, and that’s fine with her. She believes that has helped many of them earn everything from college scholarships to careers with some of the nation’s most prestigious dance companies.

“They are that good because they compete,” Hawkes said. “They see what is out there and what other studios are doing, and what they need to do to get to that level. Then they come back to the studio and work really hard … People that say that competitions are terrible, it’s not true. It’s what makes these kids as good as they are.”

 This summer there will be more opportunities for young dancers and gymnasts to work hard. In addition to the regular dance camps and intensive there will be gymnastics camps.

“We strive to make the best dancer we can out of each child, rather than the best competitive group just to win,” said Hawkes. “We’re training them in technique and behavior, and just life lessons that they get from interacting with each other and striving for a goal and actually accomplishing it, then picking out another goal and striving for that and accomplishing that.”

Hawkes also said she loves the Dancensations location because it is easy for busy parents. “There’s a lot to do in this area while their kid is in class,” she said. “And now we have an evening Zumba class. While their child is in a dance class they can come and take Zumba. It’s convenient for a lot of people, but [the dancer or gymnast] is getting a quality education. We’re not just babysitting.”

*****

Dancensations Dance Center

7572 Telegraph Rd., Alexandria, VA 22315, 703-922-8878/79

Hours: Monday-Thursday 4:00-8:30 p.m., Saturday 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

http://dancensationsdancecenter.com