Mother-daughter duo continue teaching tomorrow’s dancers
Writer & Photographer / Stephanie Duncan
The Village Dance Studio has been offering dance education and classes for the past 39 years, and there are no signs of stopping. Founder, Annette Pettigrew is passing over the directing reigns to her daughter Traci Broman, so she can keep doing what she does best — teaching students to dance.
Annette always dreamed about opening a dance studio ever since she was a small girl. She started dancing at the age of 4.
“I could visualize it,” Pettigrew says. “But there was not hip-hop in my dream,” she says laughing.
The Village Dance studio started when Annette and her husband opened a small studio on the 2nd floor of the Old Town Hall and originally only offered ballet, by Annette. It has added more instructors along the way and has gone through a few locations before settling at its current location at South 700 East, Whitestown, IN.
This year, to celebrate 40 years of the Village Dance Studio, Annette and her daughter Traci are hosting a reunion after their biannual recital. The Alumni and Staff Reunion will be on Saturday, May 20th, and the Village Dance Studio Family Celebration will include former and current dancers, families and staff that will honor Annette and her 39 years of dedication to the Zionsville Community. With 40 years, and more than 200 students taught a year, Annette is excited to see familiar faces.
“I’m now teaching some grandchildren of students I taught,” Annette says. She expressed how the studio has become a family. “People appreciate the values we teach, and we help each other.”
Traci Broman, like her mother, has also been dancing since the age of 4. Growing up with the growth of the Village Dance Studio, she’s excited to take on the director role and continue to share the love of dance to the Zionsville community. Traci has a degree in Arts Management from IU with a concentration in dance.
“We’ve been sharing roles for a little while, so I’m not worried,” says Traci when asked if she was nervous to take on the director role.
The Village Dance Studio truly is a family effort, and you can see how this mother and daughter support each other.
The Village Dance Studio offers many classes in a variety of dance styles including ballet, jazz, hip hop, tap and more. Unlike other competitive studios, Annette stresses the importance of teaching dance without the pressure of competition.
“We teach the students how to dance, rather than teach a student a dance,” Annette says.
She explained that the students are learning the proper techniques, they then have the skills to take dance to the next level, if they wish to.
To find out more information about The Village Dance Studio, check out VillageDanceStudio.com for classes and recital information.
