Finding mutual support for dance teachers and opportunities for kids through unity

By Maureen Janson

Surrounded by mountains in Treasure Valley, a region of southern Idaho named for its abundance of resources and opportunities, a group of dance teachers gathered last spring in the small meeting room of Dance Arts Academy in Boise. Enthusiasm filled the air as the studio’s owner, Dotty Hancock, reviewed some financial figures. The group’s mission? To determine how to give away $11,000.

All BDTA member schools participate in the annual "Freeze Frame" fund-raiser. Here, Meridian Stars Dance students perform “Men in Black.” (Photo courtesy Meridian Stars Dance)

This energetic group follows a successful formula for creating opportunities. Rather than compete with each other, they have joined forces as the Boise Dance Teachers Association (BDTA) to assist their dance students and support each other in the general functions of running a studio. Whether their studios emphasize ballet, jazz, or other dance forms, they have found common ground by devising and managing a unique scholarship system.

This night, one of their monthly membership meetings, was particularly electric. In their annual concert fund-raiser the previous January, the 15 studios that make up BDTA had raised $11,000, the most money ever in the organization’s 43-year history. And they will give back every penny to their students.

Dance studio owners in a small city working together sounds like a Utopian vision. Hancock, a former president and now treasurer of BDTA, thinks the group thrives because its objectives are both professional and social. “We gather during the school year to plan and promote dance events, primarily our annual fund-raiser show,” she explains. “We realize that by working together we can bring more opportunities to our dancers than we could individually, and that also fosters camaraderie of dance professionals in our area. Because BDTA’s goals can help our students further their education, involvement is positive for everyone.”

When BDTA was formed in 1966 by Boise ballet teacher Lloyd Carlton, it was with the goal of establishing scholarship opportunities. As an independent enterprise, the group presented an annual fund-raising concert called “The Night Before Christmas.” When it became a nonprofit organization in 1986, its mission remained the same but became more clearly defined. Presently BDTA has 26 members, although member studios do not require everyone on their teaching staffs to join. Dues are $15 per teacher per year, which brings in about $350 annually. (Some lifetime honorary members do not pay dues.) Membership requires attendance at the monthly meetings and includes an invitation to participate in the “Freeze Frame” fund-raiser performance; those who accept the invitation are obliged to help produce the large-scale show.

“Freeze Frame,” held annually since the 1980s, raises the majority of money earmarked for student scholarships each year. Coordinating the production and putting hundreds of dancers together for one day can be daunting, but the format is well established. Members help during the preceding months by selling tickets and printing programs. On performance day, other members sell flowers and T-shirts or manage the dancers backstage.

The scholarship money primarily has gone toward sending students to the Idaho Dance Arts Alliance/College of Southern Idaho annual Summer Dance Camp, held 100 miles away in Twin Falls. Dancers ages 12 to 18 attend the camp for one or two weeks, living in campus dorms and studying ballet, jazz, tap, and modern technique under master teachers. Their studies are supplemented with classes in musical theater and choreography, plus social activities. The July 2009 camps will cost $750 for two weeks and $418 for one week, including room and board.

Kim Machado and her business partner, Melissa Larson, run Elevated Dance Project studio and encourage their students to audition for camp scholarships. “We’ve been BDTA members since opening our studio several years ago. Last summer two of our students, out of about 16 girls who auditioned, received scholarships,” says Machado. “The excitement about the camp influenced 11 more dancers from our studio to go to Twin Falls. The camp experience affected one of my own daughters even more deeply than I thought it would. She gained a true appreciation of ballet.”

‘We are reevaluating the way scholarships are distributed. Some kids are never going to be the top, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t go to camp.’ —Dotty Hancock, BDTA treasurer

Seventeen-year-old Kristina Hahn has attended the camp for seven consecutive summers. For six of those, scholarships covered  60 percent to 80 percent of her tuition. “I love tap, and I had a chance to study with guest teachers—hoofers as well as classical tappers,” says Hahn. “I also got to take classes like world dance, which isn’t available at my studio.” She says that after two weeks at the camp she felt she was a stronger dancer. On a typical day, she would wake up at 6:30 a.m. and dance from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. “You have to take four classes a day, choosing from the seven daily classes offered. It’s exhausting and really intense, but so much fun. At the end of the time, you really feel like you’ve accomplished something.”

Hancock attended the dance camp in the late 1980s as a BDTA scholarship winner. “I was aware of the dance teachers association as a teenager because I had participated in ‘Freeze Frame’ and scholarship auditions. My own participation in the dance camp feeds my current appreciation and firsthand understanding of the impact of BDTA on students.”

Every year BDTA rents a Boise high school auditorium for a “Freeze Frame” date in January. The member studios work independently on creating a total of nine minutes of dance that can be divided into six dances—three for each of two shows. The grueling performance day starts with a rehearsal from 8 a.m. to noon for a 1:30 p.m. show, followed by another rehearsal at 3:45 and a 7:30 show.

Ticket fees cover the shared costs of the auditorium use and marketing. The remaining box office revenue (60 to 76 percent), plus the proceeds from BDTA T-shirt and flower sales, go toward the scholarships.

“It’s always a family-friendly show,” says Hancock. “We have a policy—no bellies, no boobs, no butts. We only allow clean music. So far, we have never pulled a number for breaking the rules, but we have asked choreographers to change movement if it’s too provocative. We encourage large classes to perform, and a variety of age groups and styles, particularly younger dancers. We want to build our audience. A 15-year-old is not going to pull in all the aunts and uncles that a 5-year-old will.”

Once the money has been raised from “Freeze Frame,” an audition process begins. Only students of BDTA member studios are eligible. There are no restrictions on the number of times a student can be awarded a scholarship; however, those over 18 years of age are not eligible. To keep the audition process objective, BDTA invites university teachers or dance team teachers who don’t have a studio affiliation to conduct the audition classes. Different judges award the funds each year and placement is confidential; students are informed only of how much money they received.

Hancock explains, “In our current model, we divide the students into age divisions, and they can audition for funds in ballet, tap, or jazz or any combination of the three. Dancers are judged on such criteria as technical ability, presentation, and potential. We distribute money to three to five dancers in each age division and class and then split remaining funds among the studios to distribute to deserving students.” Forty to 50 students receive scholarships each year.

Hancock says that the current incarnation of BDTA strives to keep things fresh by seeking new opportunities for students. “If you add up the number of students, we’re currently only helping a small percentage. Last year we gave $11,000 in scholarships. Since the summer dance camp gives $2,500 in matching funds, we are now thinking of reserving some proceeds for things like bringing master teachers to the area and hosting workshops. We are also considering offering scholarships to other camps. And we are reevaluating the way scholarships are distributed. Some kids are never going to be the top, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t go to camp.”

In spring 2008 BDTA implemented a new idea expanding its fund-raising and scholarship opportunities. The members arranged a day of classes taught by Sabra Johnson, the third-season champion of the TV show So You Think You Can Dance. Johnson, who was visiting her mother in Boise, agreed to donate her time as a master teacher and scholarship judge. This members-only opportunity cost each dancer $5. When 400 dancers took the classes that day, BDTA immediately turned around the participation fee money, giving out approximately $2,000 in scholarships.

Machado looks forward to increasing educational opportunities for her students, regardless of whether they plan to be professionals. She feels that under its new president, Alexis Langworthy, BDTA will grow in new directions.

Langworthy is considering moving away from the previous audition format for awarding scholarships. “We’re thinking of splitting the ‘Freeze Frame’ proceeds evenly among BDTA studios,” she explains. This would allow the studios, like her own Xpressions Dance Academy, to use individual criteria in determining who receives the financial support. “We aim to broaden the BDTA spectrum this year and put some of the money toward hosting a fall workshop for our dancers instead of putting it all toward summer camp.”

The ongoing connection with other studios has become invaluable to BDTA members. “It’s not always just about fund-raising,” says Hancock. “We refer students to each other when they are looking for a studio closer to their home. We have become familiar with the differences in each other’s programs so we can send dancers in the right direction based on their needs and wants in a studio.”

And the monthly meetings become a forum for news announcements and sharing other information. “We talk business; we talk pros and cons; we talk taxes,” adds Langworthy. “Our businesses grow more successful because we can bounce ideas off each other and learn something new every month. We’ve become a very good example of how even competitive businesses can come together for a common cause.”

BDTA members will admit that things are not always perfect. “Of course, like many organizations,” says Hancock, “there are always a few of us who end up doing more work than others. But we all face common issues such as difficult parents or students, and we share this information with each other. We don’t encourage bad business practices. If a studio is deliberately trying to steal students, it is not invited to become a member. And if we sense that there is some negative issue at one of our meetings, we try to get it out in the open immediately. We always aim to have a good time.”

Machado embraces the BDTA desire to offer new experiences to dancers. Looking beyond the primary focus of scholarship money, she expresses the fundamental value of her membership. “BDTA has created a place where friendships are formed among students and teachers alike. When students see their dance teacher smiling, hugging, and talking to teachers from other studios, it sets the example for them to follow.”

One Response to “Banding Together in Boise”