Congratulations to our dancers!

For some of our students, this was their very first performance on stage! We hope you enjoyed your time in the spotlight! For our seasoned performers, we hope you cherished the moment and felt proud of your work. From our tiniest tutus to our Performance Company members, we want to congratulate all our performers on a job well done. Your courage, confidence, and poise truly shined! 

Dancing for a Cause

We are especially proud to share the impact our dancers made beyond the stage. Across our ticket sales, donations, and bake sale, we were able to raise a grand total of $1,445 for Darby’s Dancers. For those who aren’t yet familiar, Darby’s Dancers is an adaptive dance class for children with disabilities. To learn more about this amazing program, visit our website here! 

Kind Words From a Parent’s Perspective

We’re also thrilled to share this beautiful testimonial from one of our dance families. Morgan highlights what the Nutcracker experience meant to her this year:

“Where some little girls struggle to find a place where they fit, you give girls like mine a place they feel they belong. My daughter has always struggled with motor skills since she was born, and has struggled in sports and other activities because of it. Dance gives her a place that goes at her pace, teaches her grace and even if she isn’t the strongest dancer there she has a sense of belonging to something. You give her and so many others a reason to dress up, build their self confidence and have a purpose they may not have ever had. So thank you <3”

~Morgan, DU Parent

Thank you, Morgan for your kind words. We absolutely love hearing about the difference we make in a child’s confidence. 

Pictures From The Show! 

During the Rehearsal Process, we knew that our production was going to be a magical show that needed to be captured! Mark and Dee Walker took hundreds of pictures at Dress Rehearsal and they are stunning! Below are links to several albums on Facebook, but for a quicker glimpse, scroll down to the end of this post! Thank you Mark and Dee for your beautiful photography! 

• • Album 1
  • Album 2
  • Album 3
  • Album 4
  • Album 5
  • Album 6

Click here to view BACKSTAGE FOOTAGE of the performance by the team at Keeping Pace Video Production.

A Heartfelt Thank You! 

As we reflect on the amazing performance, we want to send a heartfelt thank you to our dancers, their families, and our amazing staff. Your dedication, support, and love for the art of dance are what make this studio such a special place. Producing the Nutcracker has been a long-time bucket list item for Ms. Laura, and this year’s performance was a dream come true!

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A Few Highlights from Recital 2024: Elevate

• 3 Shows of Incredible Dancing! From our tiny dancers taking their very first steps on stage, to our advanced dancers showcasing their technique progress from the year, there were so many fabulous moments. Whether your child was working on building confidence or building skills, we should all be so proud. 
• Congratulations to Natalie Brown, the recipient of our 2024 Cynthia Sproul “Dancing Heart” Memorial Scholarship! This special award was created to honor the memory of Mrs. Laura’s mother, Cynthia, who lost her battle with cancer on May 22, 2021. Ava Marchand and Hope Zuis (co-recipients in 2023) helped present the award on stage with Mrs. Laura.
• Did you catch our 2024 Digital Program Yearbook? Click here to view and download our full line-up of cast members and dancers as another keepsake from this year’s recital!
• Coming soon – Recital Videos! We hope to have all the recital videos edited and to you by late July – early August. Keep an eye on your inboxes! 

Thank you to…

• All of our dedicated dance parents. Without your countless hours of support, our 2024 Dance Recital would not have been possible. Thank you for supporting your dancer’s goals and supporting our mission! 
• Our Spotlight Sponsors: Beale’s Plumbing, Gallant Therapy Services, General Concrete Cutting Services, Hasenfus Family Dental, KDT Towing and Repair, Steve’s Welding
• Our Star Sponsors: The Bouchard Family, College Carryout, Comprehensive Land Technologies, Inc., The Gunshop, LLC, Gosline Insurance Group, Hair Emporium, K&A Property Services, Lajoie Brothers Construction, The Nener Plante Family, Nickerson Construction Services, Ottos on the River, The Turcotte Family, The Roderick Family, The Rood/Chen Family, Timeless Treasures, Vallee Harwood & Blouin Real Estate

If your child had a total blast at recital and wants to keep the fun going, it’s not too late to join us for Summer Dance at the studio! Here’s what we’ve got going on for the remainder of the summer:

Dance Camps & Technique Classes
Click Here to Learn More and Register! 

• Princess Camp (Ages 3-5): August 12th & 13th
• Bluey’s Dance Mania (Ages 4-7): August 5th-8th
• Dancy Nancy (Ages 4-7): August 5th-8th
• Sea Dogs Dance Camp (Ages 6-18): August 19th-23rd
• Triple Threat Experience (Ages 7-14): July 29th – August 1st

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Recital 2023: Simply Legendary

This year’s recital theme was a celebration of various music and movie legends over the years. Our students embraced the songs and dance moves of the world’s greatest superstars, and became superstars themselves along the way! 

We hosted five spectacular shows with dance performances from our twirling twos all the way up to our graduating seniors and adult programs. Each and every show was a giant success and our students’ sparkling smiles lit up the stage. 

In addition to amazing performances, we also announced the recipients of our 2023 Cynthia Sproul Memorial “Dancing Heart” Scholarship. This award was created to honor the memory of Mrs. Laura’s mother, Cynthia, who lost her battle with cancer in 2021. This year’s announcement was particularly special because the former recipients from the past two years joined us to pass on the tradition. Congratulations to our 2023 Recipients, Ava Marchand and Hope Zuis!

In case you missed the magic, you can view our 2023 Recital Program online here! Between witnessing some beautiful dancing, recognizing our students’ incredible accomplishments, and being a part of priceless memories, it was a weekend worth celebrating. Congratulations to all our performers and thank you to all of our dedicated dance parents for making it all happen!

Walt Disney World 2023

Immediately following Recital festivities, the hardworking members of the Dance Unlimited Performance Company headed to Disney World to participate in the Disney Youth Performing Arts Program. In case you missed their performance, we livestreamed it on Facebook! Click here to view.

Our students bravely took the stage, stepped out of their comfort zone, and represented Dance Unlimited with great poise. We’re so proud of them! Check out just a few pictures from our magical trip below! 

To all of our DU Families, thank you for an absolutely phenomenal year. This season has been truly incredible! 

The post Wrapping Up Our Simply Legendary Dance Season! appeared first on Dance Unlimited, LLC.

After 5 shows and countless smiles, we couldn’t help but want to share some of the magic. This month’s blog post is a recital recap for those who didn’t get to see all of our performances, or those who love admiring our students’ successes as much as we do!

A Few Highlights from Recital 2022:

• 5 performances of simply STELLAR dancing! From our Twinkle Toes to our Adult Classes, our dancers exemplified the courage, dedication, and confidence that it takes to hit the stage! They danced beautifully and we could not be more proud.
• Congratulations to Bailee Roes, the recipient of our 2022 Cynthia Sproul “Dancing Heart” Memorial Scholarship! ​​This special award was created to honor the memory of Mrs. Laura’s mother, Cynthia, who lost her battle with cancer on May 22, 2021. Mimi, as she was better known, had a lifelong love of dance and shared that passion with Mrs. Laura.
• Over $3,000 in scholarships and prizes! We love recognizing our student’s hard work. Congratulations to Riley Fish, Alyvia Cleary & Elia Morgan, our top 3 scholarship winners!
• Keepsakes and gifts for our dancers. Each of our performers received a special Recital T-Shirt, full color Recital Program Yearbook, and a star dancer medal for their accomplishments this year. We love giving our students keepsakes to look back on their Recital memories fondly for years to come!
• Did you catch our 2022 Digital Program Yearbook? Click here to view and download our full line-up of cast members as another keepsake from this year’s recital!
• Some phenomenal sponsors! Follow along on our Facebook Page, as we spotlight each of the great local businesses that sponsored this year’s recital. 

Check out some pictures of the talented dancers, beautiful costumes, and sparkling smiles that made this year’s recital one of the best performances in Augusta!

As always, we pride ourselves in making the Recital Experience easy and affordable for parents. Our All-Inclusive tuition includes our students’ recital costumes, tights, accessories, keepsakes, and two complimentary tickets in our dance parents’ single monthly payments. On top of that, every dancer will receive a digital download of all 5 recital videos later this summer. Read more about our All-Inclusive tuition here!

As we close out the year, join us in celebrating a phenomenal end to the 2021/22 Dance Season. We’re sending a round of applause to our dancers AND their families. Congratulations on an amazing year! 

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Here are 4 Ways That We Are Creating JOY This Holiday Season:

1. Nutcracker Tea at Dance Unlimited

The Nutcracker is every dancer’s FAVORITE holiday tradition. Because theatres and dance companies haven’t been able to host live performances due to COVID-19, it was the perfect year to enjoy this holiday tradition in a NEW way.

This past Saturday we hosted a Nutcracker Tea event for our dance families. This magical event included a Nutcracker inspired ballet class, crafts, and a tea party, all in a safe and healthy environment.  

Click here to see some of the magic we captured at our Nutcracker Tea.

2. A Virtual Performance from our DUPC Dancers!

For 20+ years, Dance U has performed at the Augusta Holiday Tree Lighting to kick off the Holiday season. COVID-19 interrupted that tradition this year, but that doesn’t stop us from being innovative and taking advantage of every opportunity to perform! We have been hard at work rehearsing and filming our favorite holiday tradition, our HOT CHOCOLATE tap routine and added a new favorite – a variation of the Nutcracker’s Sugar Plum Fairy.  We are so thankful to utilize the Colonial Theatre this year for filming during its restoration.

Click here to view our AMAZING performances from our DUPC dancers! 

3. PJ Day Dance Challenge

Being thankful and giving back is such an important part of holiday magic! It reminds us that true holiday joy is about being kind, not presents and toys. So this year our dancers participated in the Pajama Day Dance Challenge to support Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. 

In just two days, we were able to donate $500 dollars to the cause! And just because cancer doesn’t only happen in Connecticut, we have also made a $500 donation to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital right here in Maine! Click HERE to see our students’ challenge dance on Tik Tok and click HERE to contribute to this AMAZING cause! 

4. Dance Unlimited Food Drive

One of the best ways to create joy both within ourselves, AND within the community is to help others in need. This year, more than ever before, families in our community are struggling. That’s why we have paired with some local businesses to create a food pantry project this year. 

We are now accepting donations at the studio through December 15th. Drop off any non-perishable food item at the front desk! You can also make a financial donation which will be used to purchase items to donate. Thank you in advance for taking part in this special effort!  

When looking for holiday joy during a pandemic, we couldn’t help but reflect upon what the season is really about. Presents are fun, visits with Santa are cute, and Christmas cookies are yummy. But spreading joy and love to others is what makes the season special. 

The holidays in Augusta are going to look different this year, but just like the rest of the year, we are determined to make the best of the circumstances! Putting extra emphasis on giving back during a tough year has reminded us of how special our dance families are!

From all of us here at Dance Unlimited, happy holidays! May YOU continue to find JOY this season! 

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