DBSD was excited to have a booth and activities at the Middletown Health and Wellness Expo on Saturday, March 2, 2024. This event has been discussed by Main Street Middletown members for years, and recently a committee came together to create this amazing event. Miss Dee, Miss Ally, Miss Lori, Miss Bailey, Miss Izzy, and Miss Lexi had a wonderful time sharing info about our studio and visiting with community members!

Congratulations to the DBCT dancers, choreographers, and parents, on a terrific opening weekend! DBCT dancers & choreographers received a variety of special award and high score recognitions, and everyone (including the parents!) was representing with their DBCT shirts. Additionally, Brynn Munger earned the teen title award, adn Kate Hartinger earned the senior title award! The dancers were wonderfully supportive of one another, and each took home a "Joy" stone from Miss Dee that's designed to help them remember their "why".

Congratulations the dancers in our Adult Musical Theatre class on a fabulous Broadway Cabaret on Sunday, 2/11, 2024!  The adults and special guests performed ten selections in their cabaret hosted by Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre in Frederick. The bartender even created a theme drink, "Ken's Cosmo", in the theme of the performance!  The adults are grateful to everyone for their support.

Congratulations to the cast & crew of our first ever middle school DBTE production!  The entire cast was made of 5th-8th graders, and these awesome triple threats performed three shows during the weekend of February 9th & 10th, 2024. Miss Abby and Miss Lisa are so proud of the cast, and we're all very grateful to the teen volunteers and studio staff, as well as Ms. Alissa Burrall, who helped make the shows a success!

Our dancers and teachers had so much fun at our 2024 "Be My Valentine" mini-camp!  The sold-out camp was help on Saturday, 2/10, and was attended by more than 25 dancers ages 3-10. Miss Ally and our Young Teachers had such a terrific time with these spirited dancers!

Congratulations to the cast of our first ever DBTE Cabaret!  Our DBTE Theatre students performed 18 song-and-dance selections for an audience of almost 200 members, closing with the entire group singing "Fearless" together.  Miss Abby and Miss Lisa had a wonderful time working with these aspiring triple threats!

29 of our competition team dancers attended Tremaine Dance Convention in NYC in January of 2024, and the dancers had a terrific experience!  DBCT also had 31 attendees at Broadway’s “Moulin Rouge” and 35 attendees at “Wicked” the following evening. Congratulations to Caroline Ahalt and Isabella Thompson, who were scholarship finalists in the Teen and Senior rooms respectively!

Congratulations to Liberty Houldsworth, MADM’s Petite Miss Dance 2023, and Colton Eckenrode, MADM’s Junior Mister Dance 2023, on amazing farewell performances at the MADM title event in January of 2024!  Further congratulations to Cordelia Nathan-Barry, Naomi Mauldin, Caroline Ahalt, Eliana Bergman, Chloe Bryner, Grace Elwood, Leah Gordon, and Brynn Munger on fabulous performances and lovely representation!  Additionally, Coco is MADM’s 1st Runner Up to Petite Miss Dance 2024, and Brynn is MADM’s 1st Runner Up to Teen Miss Dance 2024!

We had so much fun during Winter Break at DBSD!  Our dancers enjoyed two days of Eras Mini Camps, featuring the music of Taylor Swift! Dancers also participated in mock auditions and private lessons, and we wrapped 2023 with a day of classes with our 2023 grads!  Thank you Keller Knight, Emma Kufta, Hannah Middlekauff, Jordan Wanuck, and Maddie Weir, for terrific classes!

Congratulations to our five most recently certified Acrobatic Arts Assistant Teachers!  Meredith Dunn, Bailey Hardison, Alexa Maly, Lila VandenBosche, and Brynn Munger all successfully completed their assistant training in December of 2023, and we are excited for their continued work with our dancers in acro classes.

Our Competition Team seniors were presented with their "Senior Era" shirts, and their "Believe in You Like We Do" gifts during their Choreo Week in December 2023. The entire staff and all of the dancers' classmates want them to feel supported in their next chapter. These are just a couple of reminders of their at-home cheering section.

Our Hippity-Hoppers and 1st-3rd graders had a terrific time at our first ever Holiday Mini Spectaculars on December 18th at Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre!  We enjoyed four mini-concerts throughout the evening, featuring Lyrical, Hip-Hop, Musical Theatre, Tap, and Jazz performances, as well as special guest performances by Miss Allison, Miss McKenna, and Miss Sarah.

We had a wonderful time at our 3rd annual "Everybody's Nutcracker" on Saturday, December 16th!  Our dancers performed an abbreviated Nutcracker Ballet with house light warm, sound low, and fidget gifts and ear plugs for all who were interested. We even had a visit from Steeler, the therapy dog!

Congratulations to all of our dancers who performed in our 2023 Nutcracker Ballet!  With more than 2,000 audience members, we had a wonderful time sharing this holiday tradition with our families and the community.

Congratulations to Leah Gordon and Addison Hopson on passing their Cecchetti Grade III exam, as well as Callie Baker, Amber DeVriendt, and Megan Homan on passing their Cecchetti Grade IV exam!

Our Middletown Valley Interfaith Dancers performed beautifully at 2023's "Christmas in the Valley". The dancers performed "O Holy Night", sung by McKenna Dunn, Alexa Maly, and Allison Beck.  Pictured, our four seniors Allison Beck, Megan Homan, McKenna Dunn, and Emily Smalt enjoying the town tree-lighting before the performance!

The dancers were so excited to have the opportunity to take class with Emma Kufta, Hannah Middlekauff, Keller Knight, and Jordan Wanuck during our Fall Break!  They taught workshop classes during our Shop Small Saturday event, and we had a great turn-out!

Congratulations to our 2023 MADM Open Scholarship Winners!  Madelyn Kiska was awarded the Senior Over-all Second Runner-up Award, Grace Elwood was awarded the Senior Jazz Award, Brynn Munger was awarded the Senior First Runner Up Award, and Leah Gordon was awarded the Junior Modern Award. Congratulations to these four dancers and all of our DBSD dancers who took classes and participated in scholarships!

Back in 2020 our dancers started demoing for the Alixa Flexibility program. Since then, McKenna and Kate have been demoing for courses for teachers all over the world, posed for the module handbooks and worked with Alixa on a regular basis. This fall they worked with her to become certified as teachers in modules 1-5 and we are so proud of them for all their hard work and commitment to the program! Our dancers benefit so much from having them as teachers and assistants in class because of their deep understanding of the work.

Congratulations to Leah Gordon and Sophie McKenzie for being recognized for Excellence in Jazz, Brynn Munger for being recognized for Excellence in Musical Theatre, and Grace Elwood for earning a scholarship for next year's convention!  Further congratulations to all of our DBSD dancers in attendance!

The MHS Marching Knights took 2nd place at the State Championship this November, and the Dance Line won 1st Place Color Guard! Congratulations to the entire band, and special congratulations to these seven Dance Line Seniors: McKenna Dunn, Allison Beck, Bailey Hardison, Kate Hartinger, Isabella Thompson, Megan Homan, and Emily Smalt!

We had so much fun at our Fall Festival 2023!  Our dancers participated in dance choreography, games, crafts, and trick-or-treating!  We love celebrating fall together!

Thank you so much to our Miss Denise for making another beautiful scarecrow for us this fall!  Miss Denise has been making our scarecrows ever since 2009, and they're always terrific!

Our DB Comp Team dancers did an amazing job performing in a very windy and rainy Heritage Festival Parade on Saturday, 10/7.  We're so proud of them for dancing so fabulously during the inclement weather, and they kept smiling throughout!

Thank you to the owners and staff at "Dance Supplies, Etc" for taking such wonderful care of our DBSD pointe dancers!  "Dance Supplies, Etc" is in Severna Park, 

Our newly inducted NHSDA members hosted a free Back to Dance Glow Party for our DBSD elementary aged dancers, and the participants contributed more than 100 canned goods to our local food bank!

Congratulations to Paige Leatherman, Mia Polansky, Caroline Ahalt, Chloe Bryner, Logan Hesse, Brynn Munger, Eliana Bergman, Grace Elwood, Addison Hopson, Leah Gordon, Marissa O'Brien, and Olivia Parmenter on being inducted into our studio's junior chapter of the National Honor Society for Dance Arts!

Congratulations to Madison Whipp, Emily Mathews, Emily Smalt, Alexa Maly, Megan Homan, Bailey Hardison, Allison Beck, Madelyn Kiska, Isabella Thompson, Nya Rifenberg, Meredith Dunn, McKenna Dunn, Lila VandenBosche, Alli DeVriendt, Sophie McKenzie, and Kate Hartinger on being inducted into our studio's senior chapter of the National Honor Society for Dance Arts!

Congratulations to all of our studio dancers who participated in "The Wizard of Oz"!  Our 7-9-year-old Broadway Bound dancers were amazing in the Munchkinland scene, and all of our big kids were fabulous. Seven seniors took their final bow at the end of Saturday's performance: Allison Beck, McKenna Dunn, Bailey Hardison, Kate Hartinger, Megan Homan, Izzy Thompson, & Emily Smalt. Congratulations to all on three wonderful performances!

24 of our advanced dancers had a fabulous day with Jourdan Epstein on Sunday, August 13.  Our students participated in a 2-hour master class, followed by an outdoor video and photo shoot, along with a Q&A poolside! The dancers are always so grateful for the insights and expertise Jourdan shares.

Congratulations to all of our dancers who worked so hard throughout our 2023 Summer Intensive!  Special thanks to guest teachers Ashley Canterna-Hardy, Caitlin Cantrell, and Victoria Endicott who joined us for several classes!  And a huge shout-out to our week-long faculty, Densil Adams, Sam Buchanan, and Ryan Sheehan. The dancers grew so much from your time with them, and the classroom energy was amazing!

Our 11th annual Magical Musical Adventure camp took the stage at MHS on Friday evening, 7/21/23, and raised $1,142 for Dancers Against Cancer! Congratulations to all dancers on wonderful performances, and thank you audience members, for your generous contributions!

Congratulations to all of our dancers who participated in the Dance Masters of America National Convention!  Brynn Munger was awarded a scholarship from her Open Jazz Audition, Miss Dee earned her 25 Year Membership Award and was elected a National Area Director, and the group lyrical, "I Lived" earned a place in the Grand National Championship! Everyone performed beautifully throughout the week!

Congratulations to the 55 dancers who took their Acrobatic Arts Exams, June 8-10!  Everyone worked hard throughout the entire season, and committed additional hour during our Acro Intensive leading up to exams. All the dancers should be very proud of their work.

Congratulations to the thirteen dancers who took the stage in Somerset, NJ, the first weekend of June to premiere their nationals dances!  Everyone did a fabulous job, and the dancers and choreographers received some lovely recognitions, and then ten of our advanced dancers went directly to Columbia, MD, to participate in the 8th annual No One Can Survive Alone concert to benefit the Bald Ballerina. The performers were all amazing!

Congratulations to Isabella Thompson, this season's recipient of the Claire Knight Scholarship! The scholarship is given annually in memory of a beautiful soul who left this world in 2015, leaving behind her a legacy of love. Recipients are loving and supportive young women and men, and they carry on Claire’s legacy.

We added several dancers to our Miss Jennie Scholarship at our recital "Let Us Entertain You". First, we recognized our staff families for their constant efforts: McKenna Dunn, Meredith Dunn, Madelyn Kiska, Alexa Maly, and Brynn Munger. And then we recognized the additional current recipients...Lila Vandenbosche and grads Chloe & Kim Gilbert, Keller Knight, Hannah Middlekauff, and Maddie Weir. And finally, we announced this year's newest recipients, Allison Beck, Bailey Hardison, and Kate Hartinger.  This scholarship is given annually in memory of Miss Dee’s mom, who was the real reason we opened our doors in the first place. Recipients commit themselves to the behind-the-scenes activities that help our dancers succeed.

Our dancers performed beautifully in FIVE recitals at Middletown High School, Wednesday-Friday, May 22-24! Congratulations to all performers, and best wishes to our graduating seniors, Natalia Cardona, Johnathan Dodson, Chloe Gilbert, Keller Knight, Emma Kufta, Lauren Lipinski, Hannah Middlekauff, Ella Troxell, Jordan Wanuck, Sarah West, Maddie Weir, and Kaia Wynne.

Congratulations to all of our Acro Students on a successful evening of demonstrations for their families and friends!  The staff is so proud of these dancers' efforts throughout the season.

Miss Ally successfully completed the teacher's Grade VI Intermediate Professional Exam during the Late May 2023 ECC exam session.  She earned a "Pass Commended", which is an exceptional mark on this challenging exam!  Miss Ally prepared for the exam with Miss Dee and Miss Jennifer Meyer (who is Miss Dee's Cecchetti coach and visits our studio often to teach our advanced Cecchetti students). Congratulations, Miss Ally! 

Congratulations to all of our studio dancers who took Cecchetti exams in the Late May 2023 session.  Miss Annie and Miss Ally presented dancers in Grades I, IV and V, and everyone passed their exam!

Miss Sarah Schreiber graduated from Hood College on Saturday, May 20, with a degree in Early Childhood Education. We are so proud of Miss Sarah, and we're so excited to share that she'll be teaching nearby and will be able to remain on staff for our upcoming season!

Our dancers enjoyed showing the DBSD Spirit during our last week of the 2022-2023 season!  Pictured here, some of our seniors show their spirit with their attire AND with some purple face paint!  We enjoyed a great week of throwback and current studio attire, including some vintage recital shirts and warm-up jackets!

The dancers in the Middletown High School Dance Line concluded their season on Saturday evening, May 13, at the "Evening of Jazz at the Knight Club". Dancers accompanied the Jazz Band in "Children of Sanchez", "Knock on Wood", and "Summertime". And one of our studio families won the studio basket in the silent auction!

Our dancers had a terrific time at "A Surprise for Mom" Mini-Camp on Saturday, May 13, and made a beautiful craft to take home to their moms! Thank you to Miss Ally for running our mini-camp program all season. It was a terrific way to conclude this season's offerings!

Congratulations to Alicia Alvarez and the rest of the cast of "Mean Girls, Jr" on successful performances! Miss Abby choreographed this show for Brunswick Middle School with the help of Miss Allison Beck, Miss MCKenna Dunn and Miss Kate Hartinger. The students did a fabulous job , and Alicia was terrific as Janis!

Our DBSD Interfaith Dancers will be visiting three local congregations this spring, and their first stop was Zion Lutheran Church on Main Street in Middletown. The dancers participated in both the contemporary and traditional services, and were warmly received by the congregation of Zion.

Eleven of our studio dancers did a fabulous job in the Middletown Middle School Production of "Matilda, Jr"! The participants had four performances to large audiences, and everyone was terrific! 

Our DB Comp Team attended "Beyond the Stars'" Dance Competition in Lancaster, PA, in late April, and all of the dancers had amazing performances! Of special note, our EIGHT Comp Team seniors had a fabulous final weekend together and with their friends.  Additionally, our studio was chosen for the ADCC Award of Excellence based on the BTS staff observing our dancers exhibiting professionalism and sportsmanship throughout the event. The staff is incredibly proud of the entire team.

These nine dancers had a lovely time singing and dancing for the guests at Daybreak Adult Daycare on Good Friday! The dancers performed a variety of musical theatre and jazz routines for the guests, and we look forward to our next visit!

Seventeen on our MHS dancers participated in the MHS Spring Musical, "Catch Me If You Can", on March 31, April 1, and April 2.  Miss Abby and Miss Dee were part of the production team as choreographers. More than 1,000 guests attended and all three performances received standing ovations.  Congratulations to our participating dancers and the entire cast!  And THANK YOU to all who were able to attend!

Ten of our dancers enjoyed a weekend of classes at NYCDA Atlantic City in March, 2023.  Congratulations to Amber DeVriendt, Grace Elwood, Madelyn Kiska, Emma Kufta, Charlotte Linehan, Brynn Munger, Caroline Smithhisler, Jordan Wanuck, and Maddie Weir on their hard work throughout the event. Additional congratulations to Sophie McKenzie & Maddie Weir, Outstanding Dance Finalists, Charlotte Linehan, Outstanding Dancer Runner-up, and Jordan Wanuck, Outstanding Dancer Runner-up and Tap Scholarship Winner!

Our 3-10-year-olds had a great time at our Spring Fling mini-camp on March 25th!  Looking forward to our next mini-camp, "A Surprise for Mom" in May.

Congratulations to our Dee Buchanan Competition Team on a successful Performing Arts Competition event with Mid-Atlantic Dance Masters!  Our dancers performed beautifully throughout the two-day event, earning a variety of recognitions from the judges. And the seniors' parents were all dressed for the occasion, showing their pride in their DBCT senior!

McKenna Dunn, Maddie Weir, Kate Hartinger and Hannah Middlekauff all completed their formal Acrobatic Arts Assistant certification in March of 2023.  All four teachers have been working through all of the student and pre-professional grades of the Acrobatic Arts exams and have now completed an extensive demonstrative and online study guide and evaluation process in order to earn the certification.  

Congratulations to Neha Nair, who was named Distinguished Young Woman of Middletown 2023! Neha will now compete at the state level! 

Congratulations to Isabella Thompson on passing her Cecchetti Grade VI exam; Eliana Bergman, Meredith Dunn, and Brynn Munger on passing their Grade V exam; and Madison Jonke, Olivia Parmenter, Mia Polansky, and Nya Rifenberg on passing their Grade III exams in February 2023!

Congratulations to our Dee Buchanan Competition Team dancers on a fabulous first outing!  The team danced at Break-Out Dance Competition in Fredericksburg, VA, in late February and were tremendously successful in their performances.  The regional season will continue with the next event in mid-March in Front Royal, VA.

Miss Sarah was accepted into and attended the “Broadway Evolved Winter Intensive”, where she studied with Christy Altomare, Jessica Vosk, Betsy Wolfe and other renowned Broadway professionals. We're so proud of her!

More then 40 dancers gathered at our studio on the Saturday before Valentine's Day to celebrate the holiday together!  The dancers enjoyed classes, craft, games and choreography with our staff, and we can't wait for our next mini-camp in March!

Our Adult Musical Theatre class performed their first-ever cabaret on Sunday, February 12, 2023!  The performance was held at "Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre" to a sold-out audience, and the performers all did a fabulous job.  The cabaret was directed by Dee Buchanan and Lisa Dodson, assisted by Keller Knight & Allison Beck. 

Miss Dee has joined Miss Abby in completing the final phase of Alixa Flexibility Certification!  The Module 5 course includes the most advanced elements of the Alixa Flexibility regimen.  Miss Dee is excited to incorporate this material into our dancers’ curriculum.

Brynn Munger attended the NYCDA Pittsburgh event, and she earned multiple recognitions throughout the weekend. In addition to being selected several times to demo onstage during convention classes, she was a Ballet Scholarship Recipient, a Peridance Summer Intensive Scholarship Recipient and Runner-up to Outstanding Dancer!

Miss Abby has completed the final phase of Alixa Flexibility Certification!  The Module 5 course includes the most advanced elements of the Alixa Flexibility regimen.  Miss Abby is excited to incorporate this material into our dancers’ stretch regimens.

Drew Burgess and Tauri Munger worked with our dancers throughout the weekend in late January, beginning with Acro classes with Mr. Drew, including solo critiques for our Comp Team soloists, and culminating in five hours of classes with both teachers.  The dancers enjoyed a challenging weekend of growth and fun!

Studio families, friends and community members attended the “Cats” national tour at the National Theatre in DC, where Sam Buchanan played the dual roles of Plato and Macavity.  The show ran for eight performances, and Mr. Sam was grateful to have friendly faces at all eight!

Congratulations to Liberty Houldsworth and Colton Eckenrode who earned the titles of Mid-Atlantic Dance Masters’ Petite Miss and Junior Mr. Dance!  Liberty and Colton will not prepare for the national Dance Masters of America Title Competition in Atlanta in July.

Our NYC Bus Trip was a terrific success!  The trip took place on 12/26, and featured the Rockettes' Radio City Christmas Spectacular. We were fortunate to be able to see one of our favorite guest teacher, Jourdan Epstein, perform as a Rockette!  

Congratulations to Lila VandenBosche and Madelyn Kiska, who were both awarded the Jennie Lee Wiles Service Scholarship at our 2022 “Nutcracker” event!  Both dancers have done exceptional work assisting with backstage tasks in numerous studio productions.

Congratulations to our DBSD dancers on four successful Nutcracker performances!  Over 2,000 audience members enjoyed this seasonal performance during the course of the weekend, including a nearly sold-out final performance!  Dancers ages 3-18 took the stage together to tell the story of this holiday classic

Our Advanced dancers and Nutcracker leads performed an abbreviated “Everybody’s Nutcracker” during the course of our Nutcracker weekend!  The performance was designed for audience members with sensory-sensitivities and included a meet-and-greet after the show!

Thanks to our Nutcracker features for helping to host a Snow Soiree again this year!  Younger dancers had the opportunity to learn part of the party dance, duel with the Mouse King, and make holiday crafts, and they took home Nutcracker-based sweets and treats at the end of the event!

22 performers took the stage three times at MHS over Thanksgiving Weekend to perform "The Addams Family" for terrific audiences of friends and family!  Abby Buchanan directed, Lisa Dodson vocal directed and Dee Buchanan produced.  

Miss Dee participated in her Alixa Flexibility M4 training in mid-November, and had the opportunity to visit with Alixa and share our well-wishes for her safety.  Several of our dancers served as demos for the training and Alixa was so happy to see everyone via Zoom!  She's planning to return to her home village in the Ukraine soon, and asked us to keep her in our prayers.

Ten of our studio dancer attended the MADM Williamsburg Dance Convention in November, and all the dancers did a fabulous job! Additionally, Jordan Wanuck was awarded the Senior Modern Scholarship, Brynn Munger was awarded the Junior Over-All 1st Place Scholarship, Grace Elwood was awarded the Junior Over-All 3rd place Scholarship, Leah Gordon was awarded the Junior Tap Scholarship, Addison Hopson was awarded the Junior Jazz Scholarship, and Charlotte Linehan was awarded the Mini Over-All 3rd Place Scholarship!

The Middletown High School Marching Knights won second place in the state at the State 2A Championship this November, and the Dance Line won the award for Best 2A Color Guard in the state!  Congratulations to all!

John Dodson, Maurlea Long and Olivia Thompson did a fabulous job as part of the MHS Drama Department's Fall Production!  The performers acted in the One Act Play festival during Halloween weekend.  Congratulations, dancers!

While many of our younger dancers participated in the costume contest and marched in the parade, some of our older dancers participated while promoting Addams Family and the Nutcracker Ballet, while other marched with the MHS Marching Knights!

Our dancers 3-10 celebrated fall together on October 29th!  Their mini-camp included dance class, games, trick-or-treating, and a fall craft!

Congratulations to Brynn Munger and Jordan Wanuck on receiving scholarships at the Atlantic City Beyond the Stars Dance Convention!  Jordan received a free solo entry and Brynn received a convention scholarship. 

Miss Lisa (our vocal coach) recently performed as Alice in the OVT production of "Addams Family", and a group of our musical theatre students attended the performance.  Miss Lisa was fabulous, but now that her performances are over, she still doesn't hav to say good-bye to "Addams"--she's our vocal director for our DBTE production coming up in November!

Our Competition Team dancers (led by our seniors) did a terrific job in their Heritage Festival parade performance, and then children from our community stopped by our booth throughout the day for Princess and Pirate make-overs. We've participated in the Heritage Festival for 30 years, and it's always a lovely day in our valley!

Miss Abby and Miss Dee traveled to North Carolina for an Acrobatic Arts training weekend where Miss Abby tested for her AA Module 2 certification and passed with Distinction!  Miss Dee attended as a review, and McKenna Dunn and Kate Hartinger worked as demos throughout the weekend. 

Sam Buchanan, 2017 studio grad, 2021 graduate of Pace University’s commercial dance program and studio faculty member, is on the National Tour of Cats in the roles of Macavity and Plato!  The tour will be at the National Theatre in Washington DC for two weeks in January 2023!

Congratulations to our studio dancers who participated in the Mid-Atlantic Dance Masters fall workshop in Alexandria, VA.  The dancers forked hard all weekend and had the opportunity to train with fabulous faculty from Maryland and Virginia.

Rehearsal for Nutcracker 2022 are under way!  Our Claras, Eliana Bergman and Grace Elwood, and our Nutcracker Prince, Colton Eckenrode, were some of the first to get started.  All the dancers are excited to begin rehearsals for this holiday classic.

We have opened for Season 31!  We are thrilled to have so many new and returning dancers joining us to train and laugh and dance together.  We look forward to a variety of special activities and celebrations throughout the year for all ages.

Our Young Staff members were thrilled to take our dance families through the facility for tours on Saturday, 9/10, in preparation for our 2022 re-opening.  In 1992, we opened with one studio and a lobby, but these days we need maps to help everyone find their way around!  The staff is so excited to begin Season 31 with our dancers.

Our 10+ dancers enjoyed three days of Ballet and Tap classes, taught by Miss Ally, Miss Annie, Miss Dee, Miss Jaimie, Miss Katie, and Miss Tauri.  These were our final intensives leading up to our season 31 re-opening, and we had a terrific week.

Our 22-23 Competition Team started off the season with four evenings of rehearsals of their new group dances.  A 4-hour power outage didn't slow them down!  They now have fourteen group dances well under way.  The dancers will compete together at 3 regional events and an optional title event in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Congratulations to the cast of "Mary Poppins"!  This production was DBTE's tenth musical, and it's best-attended yet!  The students and production team were thrilled to be back at MHS this summer for three performances.  Attention will now turn to "The Addams Family" performances in November.

Five of our Advanced dancers attended the first ever "Soul Convention" produced by Rhee Gold.  Jordan Wanuck, Sophie McKenzie, Meredith Dunn, Alexa Maly and McKenna Dunn had a wonderful time at the event, and Jordan & Sophie were both awarded scholarships to Pace University's Commercial Dance Fall Intensive in October.  The dancers' moms were able to participate in adult classes, and Miss Abby & Miss Dee participated in teacher's classes as well!  Rhee provided fabulous opportunities for all in attendance.

Dance Life Teacher Conference is a 3-day continuing education program for dance studio owners, teachers, office administrators and choreographers.  There are 5 classes options throughout the day, all day every day!  Our staff came home bursting at the seams with inspiration for our 22-23 season!

More than 80 DBSD dancers took the stage together for our 10th annual Magical Musical Adventure Concert on the Knight Stage at MHS!  This year's proceeds were collect to benefit "Soles of Love", and the dancers loved supporting such an important charity.  Families donated cash or new shoes, and enjoyed a wonderful end-of-week concert!

Our Competition Team had an amazing week in Nashville, Tennessee, attending the DMA National Convention & Intensives, and sightseeing in Nashville!  It was a fabulous way for the team to wrap their season together.

We had an amazing faculty for our Summer Intensive and Mini-Intensive 2022! Our scholarship winners were Emerson Brown from the mini-intensive and Eliana Bergman & Tehya Smith for the older kids' intensive.

Congratulations to all of our participating dancers, and especially our eight graduating seniors, on four lovely productions! It was wonderful to perform at Middletown High School on our home stage.  Our dancers showed so much growth and professionalism onstage--we're so proud of everyone!

McKenna Dunn, Kate Hartinger, Keller Knight, Hannah Middlekauff & Jordan Wanuck performed in Maggie Kudirka's "No One Can Survive Alone" concert, and loved sharing the stage with studio alum, Kenzie DuMars, who performed a beautiful self-choreographed solo!

Congratulations to our dancers who participated in Acrobatic Arts exams in June!  Everyone passed, and McKenna Dunn, Kate Hartinger, Hannah Middlekauff, Brynn Munger and Maddie Weir all successfully completed Pre-Professional Exams!

Congratulations to Miss Ally on completing her Elementary Professional Teacher's Exam, as well as all of our dancers who were presented in grades Primary 1 through the Intermediate Professional work!

Our dancers were thrilled to perform at Frederick Children's Festival at Baker Park on April 28th!  We also hosted a booth with a Tutu Toss and Prize Wheel, and we loved seeing some of our dancers and other children from the community there.  We're grateful to all the staff and dancers who participated!

Many our Comp Team dancers participated in an additional competition, and were awarded our THIRD Studio of Excellence Award of the season!  We're so proud of these remarkable dancers!

A group of our dancers who attended New York City Dance Alliance in Atlantic City took classes from fabulous faculty throughout the weekend, and were recognized with a variety of scholarship opportunities...and found time for an outdoor photo shoot as well!

Our studio was well-represented in the MHS Spring Musical, "Legally Blonde"! And at the Saturday evening performance, a group of our middle and high schoolers attended together, along with some of our staff. It was a fabulous weekend of shows!

Several of our MMS middle schoolers performed in "Moana, Jr", and they had a large support group of studio friends in the audience. It was such a talented cast, and our dancers did a wonderful job!

Our Competition Team attended its final regional event of the season the weekend of March 19-20, and the dancers performed beautifully!  Mid-Atlantic Dance Masters has been home for our comp team dancers for many years, and it was wonderful to see them back on the MADM stage (for the first time since 2019!) for their final bow!

Congratulations again to our competition dancers for their receipt of this weekend’s ADCC Studio of Excellence Award at Groove Lancaster!  So proud of our dancers for their professionalism and teamwork!

Congratulations to our competition dancers for their receipt of this weekend’s ADCC Studio of Excellence Award at Breakout Fredericksburg!  The entire staff of the competition, including directors, judges and backstage crew, are polled for their choice of the studio that exhibits professionalism through working together and striving for excellence both on and off stage.

Dancers of all ages enjoyed our "Be My Valentine" Mini-Camp on the Saturday before Valentines' Day!  Dancers took class, learned some choreography, played games and made a craft.  There are two more seasonal camps coming up this spring as well!

Congratulations to Brynn Munger, recipient of the MADM Van Cummings Scholarship to the Dance Masters of America National Convention this summer in Nashville!

Congratulations to our two reigning titleholders, Jordan Wanuck and Autumn Bramhall, on fulfilling their roles beautifully at the January MADM title event!  Congratulations also to our 11 contestants who had fabulous performances and received a variety of scholarship recognitions! And THANK YOU to our studio family for being so supportive of these hard-working dancers!

Congratulations to Miss Dee on the completion of her Acrobatic Arts Module 3 Certification!

​

Our studio has been utilizing the Acrobatic Arts curriculum for five years, and our Acro dancers have thrived in their training through this work. We look forward to hosting our annual AA exams in a few months!

It was thrilling to have our entire Nutcracker Cast back on our home stage together, December 10-12! We enjoyed four fabulous performances, and the dancers all did a wonderful job!  Our newest roles/costumes this year included our Bird Duet, our Baker feature with the Tea Ensemble, and new costuming for Chocolate.  It was a lovely weekend and we're grateful for four enthusiastic audiences!

Our dancers performed their first ever "Everybody's Nutcracker" on Saturday morning, December 11th!  The performance was sensory friendly, and designed for parents to bring children to the performance who they would perhaps worry would have sensitivity issues or would be uncomfortable sitting still for an extended period of time. Our dancers loved performing for our guests and enjoyed visiting for pictures and autographs afterward, and our own RhythmWorks dances were part of the production!

Our Nutcracker features welcomed younger dancers to the studio on Sunday, 12/5, to learn a little bit of Clara's dance, make crafts, collect some sweets, and sword fight with the Nutcracker Prince and Mouse King! Our dancers shared some sweet tidbits about why people should come see the Nutcracker and what role they'd like to play when they're older. The studio Facebook page has 100's of photos from the event, and our  YouTube channel has the most recent Behind the Sweets with a few clips from the interviews!

The Middletown Valley Interfaith Dancers performed together for the first time this season at Middletown's Christmas in the Valley!  The concert took place at Zion Lutheran Church, and the dancers, ranging in age from 6 to 18, performed to "A Christmas Hallelujah". The dancers look forward to visiting local churches during the spring of 2022 to participate in worship with as congregations as they can.

MHS Drama presented the "Holiday Spectacular" on December 3, 4, and 5, and our dancers were invited guests! Our Advanced dancers performed "Waltz of the Snowflakes" and the cast of "White Christmas" performed a medley from the show. Additionally, our dancers performed as part of the MHS Dance Team, the MHS Choir and in several drama skits that were part of the show.  And we helped Miss Susan by providing "10 lords-a-leaping" for her rendition of 12 Days!

Congratulations to the Cast and Production Team of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas"!  This group of DBTE performers set the entire show in just a few weeks, finding rehearsal time late evenings and Sundays to bring this holiday classic to the stage for three shows Thanksgiving weekend.  The cast did a remarkable job both on and off the stage! Further congratulations to Abby Buchanan, director and choreographer; Lisa Dodson, vocal director; and Dee Buchanan, producer and assistant choreographer.  It was a lovely beginning to our holiday season!

Some of our dancers attended the Mid-Atlantic Dance Masters Workshop in Williamsburg, and they had a terrific time!  Classes were wonderful, our junior members had a chance to perform, and some of our dancers participated in scholarship classes!  Congratulations to Mini Over-All 1st Runner-up, Charlotte Linehan, Mini Over-All Winner, Leah Gordon, Junior Modern Winner, Brynn Munger, Junior Over-All Winner, Madelyn Kiska, Senior Modern Winner, Hannah Middlekauff & Senior Over-All 1st Runner-Up, Jordan Wanuck!  Congratulations to Sophie McKenzie on winning the custom costume raffle!!!

The Middletown High School Marching Knights Band, which includes 14 DBSD dancers, invited Middletown Middle School 7th and 8th graders to perform with them on Friday evening, 10/8. All the middle schoolers did a terrific job helping the high schoolers entertain the crowd!

Our Int/Adv and Advanced Ballet classes auditioned on 10/1, and all participating dancers were cast in feature roles! All studio dancers who participate in ballet classes will participate in the performances, including our tiny dancers ages 3+! This will be the final Nutcracker for our six seniors, and we look forward to seeing them onstage!

Our DBSD Competition Team dancers had a wonderful time dancing down Main Street at the Heritage Festival Parade! And then our staff enjoyed spending the day visiting with studio and community families at our DBSD booth. This was the first time the festival was held on Main Street since 2017 due to construction and then Covid restrictions, and it felt wonderful to be back!

Miss Abby has been teaching Alixa work for several years, has provided Alixa with a number of demos on a regular basis, and assists with Alixa Flexibility Marketing. We're so excited that she is a part of Alixa's team!

Miss Sarah has completed Dance Masters of America certifications in Tap, Ballet and Jazz, and will now become a member of Mid-Atlantic Dance Masters, Chapter 17!  

We loved having our studio faculty and special guests help our dancers wrap our summer session with a Ballet and Tap Intensives!  Special thanks to Jourdan Epstein, Maggie Kudirka, Ashley Canterna-Hardy, Justin Lewis, and our faculty members...Miss Ally, Miss Sarah and Miss Annie...for an amazing week of classes!

Our DBTE performers had three fabulous runs of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" at the Weinberg Center on August 20 and 21!  The cast enjoyed meet-and-greet time under the marquis after each performance, and audiences were all very enthusiastic.  It was a wonderful weekend of live theatre!

This year's DBSD Summer Intensive featured an amazing guest faculty, including Adrienne Canterna, Caitlen Cantrell and Shylo Martinez, and the dancers were so lucky to have Densil Adams on faculty for the entire week!  The faculty was rounded out by our studio faculty Abby Buchanan, Sam Buchanan, Ally Keller, Tauri Munger and Ryan Sheehan. The dancers did remarkable work!  Congratulations to Kate Hartinger and Megan Homan, our two intensive scholarship recipients.

Our Magical Musical Adventure campers had so much fun performing their end-of-week concert at the Weinberg Center this year!  The performance also raised $1,100 for Sophie and Madigan's Playground.  The campers and camp faculty are grateful to the audience for their attendance and support!

Congratulations to Brynn Munger for placing Top 25 in the NYCDA Junior Outstanding Dancer national competition in Orlando, FL!

Congratulations to all of our DMA National Convention dancers and their choreographer, Miss Abby, on their Platinum Award and invitation to the Grand National Championships with their piece, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”!

Congratulations to McKenna Dunn for placing 2nd Over-All in Acro at the national Dance Masters of America Open Scholarship Auditions in Dallas, TX!

Congratulations to recent graduate, Autumn Bramhall, the Mid-Atlantic Dance Masters Miss Dance, on placing Top Ten in the national Dance Masters of America competition in Dallas, TX!

Congratulations to rising junior, Jordan Wanuck, the Mid-Atlantic Dance Masters Teen Miss Dance, on placing Top Ten in the national Dance Masters of America competition in Dallas, TX!   Further congratulations for receiving a Regional Scholarship Award at the NYCDA National Convention in Orlando, FL!

Congratulations to rising junior, Hannah Middlekauff, on receiving the Dance Masters of America Ballet Intensive Scholarship in Dallas, TX!  Further congratulations for placing 3rd Over-All in Jazz at the national DMA Open Scholarship Auditions in Dallas!  And finally, congratulations for receiving a Regional Scholarship Award at the NYCDA National Convention in Orlando, FL!

The audience size was limited and Covid protocols were in place, but live theatre was BACK on the MHS Stage the weekend of June 18-20!  Congratulations to the entire cast, and especially to Allison Beck, McKenna Dunn, Keller Knight, Maurlea Long, Emmaline Tolley, Jordan Wanuck and Kaia Wynne!

Thank you to Drew Burgess and Sam Buchanan for kicking off our summer session with a weekend-long intensive!  The dancers enjoyed classes in Acro, Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, Lyrical, Tap, and Leaps & Turns.  It was a great way to start the summer!

Congratulations to all of our dancers who participated in Acrobatic Arts exams!  The dancers tested in Levels 1 through Pre-Professional 1 and had lovely marking papers!  Miss Abby and the rest of the staff are all very proud of the effort these dancers made in preparation for their exams.

Congratulations to our 2021-2022 Claire Knight Scholarship recipient, Merrit Grove.  It is important to us to keep the spirit of the beautiful Claire alive among our studio family, and we know Merrit will be a lovely ambassador of Claire's memory.

Keller Knight & Link Houldsworth (both 20-21 recipients of the Miss Jennie Scholarship), have again been awarded this scholarship for our upcoming season, and additional 2021-2022 recipients include Hannah Middlekauff, Chloe Gilbert and Kim Gilbert.  Thank you to all of these dancers for your hard work behind-the-scenes in helping our studio run smoothly!

Congratulations dancers, on six days of amazing performances! Our spring recitals began on Saturday, 5/22, with Acro Demos for Acro 4-8 at our studio, followed by mini-recitals at Way Off Broadway on Sunday, 5/23, for our Tiny Dancers, Hippity Hop dancers, Pre-Acro and Acro 1-4 dancers. Then our 6+ dancers were onstage at the Weinberg Center Monday-Thursday, 5/24-5/27! It was wonderful to be back onstage! 

29 of our Competition Team dancers attending the New York City Dance Alliance regional convention in Baltimore, May 14-16.  Our dancers looked wonderful in all their workshop classes and onstage. Several dancers received high score awards, class recognitions and scholarships for future events, and all of our dancers worked hard all weekend!

Miss Alixa (of Alixa Flexibility) is still quarantined in the Ukraine, but she's still finding ways to reach our students!  Dancers enjoyed workshop classes via Zoom on Saturday, May 1, and we have two more opportunities scheduled.

Our regional Miss Dance and Teen Miss Dance, Autumn Bramhall and Jordan Wanuck, held a workshop fundraiser on Saturday, May 1, to help raise funds for dance teachers in the Mid-Atlantic area who are struggling to keep their doors open. The workshops were well-attended, and all the dancers' families were very generous!  It was a lovely morning of dancing for a great cause!

Our studio competition team participated in "Groove Competition" in Columbia, MD, on Sunday, April 11, 2021.  The team includes 64 dancers performing a total of 150 solos, duets, trios and groups!  The dancers readily accepted the additional challenge of performing in masks all day, and all present enjoyed a fabulous day of dancing!

EPS Photography is taking our dancers' recital pictures for the second year, having started with us last summer mid-pandemic!  We love their friendly and professional demeanor and the wide range of purchase options offered to our parents. And we love that parents can be in the room with their dancers to enjoy the process!

The East Coast Committee of the Cecchetti Council of America offered two days of virtual training on March 20 & 21. Miss Ally, Miss Jaim & Miss Annie & Miss Dee enjoyed the teacher training seminars, and 12 Cecchetti students took student classes at the studio and 2 more at home.  The ballet classes also featured live accompanists, which is a wonderful treat for dancers! 

Alixa Sutton, Flexibility Expert, has been using several of our advanced dancers as demonstrators for her teachers' certification programs throughout the pandemic. She teaches from her home in the Ukraine and Miss Abby and the dancers provide visual aids for the teachers-in-training. This weekend, Miss Alixa provided an international training for all certified (M2 and above) teachers, and our dancers served as demonstrators for the event.

Verdon/Fosse Legacy Teacher, Alyssa Epstein, taught our Advanced dancers in a master class on Sunday, 3/14, and 100% of the tuition fees were collected for Maggie Kudirka, the Bald Ballerina. The dancers had an amazing 90-minute class and then enjoyed a 30-minute Q&A with Alyssa. It was a fabulous experience!

We hosted a St. Patty's Day Party on Saturday, 3/13, and our dancers had a great time!  Thank you to all families and staff for participating!

Congratulations to Erin Kady, who has been selected to represent northern Frederick County at the Distinguished Young Woman state event!  Erin performed a contemporary solo to "Came Here for Love", choreographed by Sam Buchanan, and she was awarded the Fitness and Interview Awards!

16 of our dancers participated in MADM's regional title event, and every single one of them was stunning!  We are so proud of everyone, and excited to share that several of our dancers won class and interview awards, and that our studio is honored to be the home of all four 2021 1st Runner-Ups as well as Teen Miss Dance and Miss Dance of MADM 2021, Jordan Wanuck and Autumn Bramhall!  Jordan and Autumn will compete in the National event in Dallas this summer!

Our 3-10-year-olds enjoyed two mini-camps in February.  On Saturday, 2/6, the dancers participated in “Best Friends” Mini-Camp, and on Saturday, 2/13, they enjoyed “Be My Valentine” Mini-Camp!  

Our Acro dancers also enjoyed two Saturdays of drop-in Tumble Team classes on 2/6 and 2/13.  We’re so proud of the progress our acro dancers are making!

In January, three of our dancers were honored to be selected to represent Mid-Atlantic Dance Masters of America at the DMA National Convention in July.  That event was postponed until mid-January, and our titleholders were able to compete virtually.  They participated in interviews and audition classes, and they submitted a video of their solo. Our Miss Dance, Brigid Pugh and our Mister Dance, Jacob Holcomb, both did an absolutely amazing job.  Our Junior Miss Dance, Abigail Moser, was also lovely!  And she was honored to be named among the Top Ten high scores in the event!  The dancers were fabulously supportive of one another, and although we were unable to hold a large “watch party”, we were able to bring in a few friends for each of them, and our families at home were so supportive via the livestream!  Thanks to everyone who supported the dancers through notes, well wishes and watching the events.  They felt your love!

Congratulations to all of our 2020 Nutcracker Ballet participants!  The dancers (both ensemble and features) had little to no rehearsal time prior to our filming days, and they did a wonderful job!  The final product includes three sets, the outside of a local Victorian home, the spacious living room area of an alum’s home, and a decorated Studio D.  Families were able to attend a Drive-In Movie experience on December 18th or 19th, had the opportunity to pay for Video On-Demand during that same time-frame, and now all have a permanent link to the recording.  Special thanks to all of our Ballet teachers, to Sam Buchanan for the movie-version of our choreography, and Abby Buchanan for filming and editing.  And a shout-out to the dancers who worked second camera, and to the moms who provided Nutcrackers and Ornaments for our event as usual!

Due to our current restrictions, holding our annual “Nutcracker Tea” wasn’t a viable option, but by dividing our Features, treats and activities into different rooms, we were able to move young dancers safely through our space to enjoy many of our Nutcracker Tea traditions, and start a few new ones!  We loved seeing our young dancers interacting with our older ones just like any other year!

Congratulations to all of our Cecchetti dancers who prepared for December exams!  We had a small session this time, but it included a big moment: Miss Ally presented her first set of examinees as their solo sponsor!  Congratulations to all participants.

Although our Nutcracker looks a little different this year, our dancers are still featured in several episodes of “Behind the Sweets”!  Season 5, Episode 1 is our “Senior Sweets” edition. Find it on our YouTube channel!

We held our annual Fall Festival for young dancers on Saturday, October 31, and because Covid is limiting Trick-or-Treating opportunities, we staged a physically distanced trick-or-treat route through our studio!  We had a wonderful time learning choreography, making a craft, playing games and trick-or-treating.

We had a few additional restrictions on costumes for this year’s Costume Week in order to maintain all of our necessary sanitization policies, but the dancers did not disappoint!  Dancers of all ages dressed up for class throughout the week, and everyone looked fabulous!

Congratulations to all of our Cecchetti dancers who prepared for September exams!  We hadn’t been back to in-person training for every long, and it certainly took a great deal of effort on the part of each dancer, but everyone did a fabulous job!

Without being able to hold an effective in-person Open House this year, our “Beep and Greet” turned out to be a lovely substitution!  Thank you to all families who were able to attend.  And now, we’re back for a new season!  As we begin Season 29, while the temperature checks, modified traffic floor, shortened classes and taped floors look and feel a bit different, much of what we do remains the same.  We’re thrilled to have our teachers and dancers sharing a classroom together again!

Congratulations to the cast of DBTE’s “Newsies”!  The dancers performed three times during the last weekend of August, to an outdoor audience sprawled across the hillside of Middletown’s Wiles Branch Park.  The studio remains grateful to the Town of Middletown for their support and generosity in providing a venue for these performances.  The cast included one DBTE senior taking her final bow, Mallory Beck, who portrayed the role of Katherine.  Keller Knight was cast in the role of Jack Kelly, and the entire cast of newsboys and adult characters was rounded out by 15 of our studio dancers, some of whom played three roles because this show typically requires more than 40 actors!  Congratulations to the dancers, and their directors, Abby Buchanan (director), Lisa Dodson (vocals) and Sam Buchanan (choreography).  Thanks also to all the parents who helped with scenery and sound!