Studio History Hello Parents and Friends, The years have flown by in a flash of arabesques, shuffle-steps, and jazz squares, sparkly sequins, fluffy tutus, and tiaras. It has been 41 years of magical moments, watching dancers develop from taking their first tentative step on the dance floor to grow into confident performers onstage. I want to share with you my journey to become a dance teacher and the Director of Commonwealth Dance Academy. I had always planned to go into a ballet company when I graduated from Brookline High School, but I filled out college applications because the guidance counselor insisted on it. One day, just as I was leaving for my ballet class with Leon Danielian, principal dancer with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, an acceptance letter arrived from Northeastern University offering an almost full scholarship! When I walked into class Mr. Danielian said, “Bettijane, I meant to ask you last night, I want you to go into Ballet Russe. You won’t need an audition, just my recommendation.” I showed him the letter from Northeastern and said, “If you asked last night, I would have said yes, but I think I should accept this scholarship. What do you think I should do?” He replied, “This scholarship is a wonderful opportunity for you to get an education, but when you graduate, my offer will be there if you want it.” In the Spring of my freshman year a friend of the family asked me to take over dance classes that she taught at a recreation hall. There were three classes on Saturdays, with a total of 25 students. Each week they raced into the hall, eager for their lessons. At one end of the hall there was a stage. I decided to have a little recital at the end of the summer, and perhaps attract more students. On recital night as I stood backstage looking at the youngsters perform with beaming faces, I felt a thrill. This was my “aha moment”. I had not only taught my students some recital dances, I had inspired them with the joy of dance! Forty-one years ago my husband and I decided to move out of Boston to a more suburban area. For months we looked for a property that had a house and a barn that we could turn into a dance studio, but we were unsuccessful. One Sunday morning Bob announced, “I’ve found our house, it’s in Walpole with a dance studio attached, we don’t need a barn!” The real estate agent told us that Walpole was known as “The Friendly Town.” Everyone really was friendly, we felt welcomed by everyone we met whether it was at line dancing at Blackburn Hall, the Concerts on the Common, shopping at Walpole Mall, or sampling chocolate at Watson’s. Moving to Walpole was such a fortunate decision. I am proud to be a member of this warm and friendly community. I am looking forward to the new season of dance, our 42nd! I can barely wait for September to welcome our dancers from timid preschoolers to confident teens to our CDA family Bettijane Robinson, Director |
