A Gracious Thank You from Ms. Maggie and the Aurora Dance Arts Staff

Ms. Maggie here, director of Aurora Dance Arts. I am still finding myself on a high from our Spring Dance Recitals entitled "Dance Me A Story" and another beautiful year in our fabulous program. On behalf of myself and the staff of Aurora Dance Arts, we would like to send a gracious thank you to everyone that came out to our culmination performances, which included our Pre Level Recital and our three Beg-Adv Level Recitals. We are so proud that we were able to perform to mostly sold out houses in the fabulous venue of the Parker Arts, Cultural and Events Center (PACE), and we are equally proud of how brightly our dancers shone! Thank you so much for sharing in our joy. With each passing year, I grow ever more grateful and reflective during Recital season. And this year has given me so much to fill my soul and also gives me true pause.

This year's Recital performances were about storytelling, and boy did we go on a journey with this theme! With books/poetry/literature as our inspiration this year, each show was just jam-packed with beauty, creativity, and joy. It was so neat to see each teacher's book inspiration danced to life and each show was full of beautiful music, fantastic costumes, and unique movement. Our program strives to provide dance education and opportunity for anyone/everyone that seeks expression, release and creativity through dance. Our Spring Recitals this year were once again for the record books, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate the culmination of our 52nd Season than the stunning performances presented. From thunderous applause for every piece that twirled across the stage to watching my teachers' hearts being so filled with love and pride for every one of our students, all taking place on a huge stage, with gorgeous lighting supporting our program's phenomenal efforts through the years...it just felt fleetingly perfect, elevated, and where we are supposed to be!

And course, each year, we watch in the wings as the magic unfolds.Our tiniest dancers taking their first tentative yet bold steps onto the stage, having the "bug" of performance and audience applause "bite" them for the very first time. Our beginning and intermediate level dancers twirl and smile with joy and start to come into their own, growing in literal leaps/bounds before our eyes. Our advanced dancers blossom into leaders and command the stage with their stunning prowess and their soul-filling passion. And our gorgeous adult dance classes, that have grown larger in numbers every year, serve as a spectacular inspiration that dance is for everybody, any age, any level! We watch with awe and tear-filled eyes as some of our graduating seniors take their final bows and share their hearts under the stage lights. As each dancer hits that stage, they are themselves, but truly, they are also amplified, reaching for the stars.

I must never forget to send the largest shout-out to the amazing teaching staff. There was so much creativity from these instructors. They never cease to amaze me with their beautiful talent for musicality, movement, artistic excellence, costume choice and truly, pure love for their art form, for the meaning of dance, and for their students. Their pieces this year were so well-planned, so intriguing, and so next level that they took my breath away and made me cry multiple times! I don't know how they do it every year, but they continue to elevate their own passion/creativity and love our dancers more and more all the time. Also, huge kudos and thanks to all of our parents/families that love their children and our program so passionately to not only choose Aurora Dance Arts for your children's training, but to also give of yourselves as backstage helpers. I never get tired of reiterating that it truly "takes a village." A village of the teachers, my administrative staff, incredible tech support, parent volunteers and a huge amount of dedication, patience, passion and joy. It all happens so fast, in a whirlwind of quick changes, bobby pins, tights, shoes, sweat, smiles, tears, flowers, hugs, squels and applause. Sometimes we can barely hold on!

I am also reflecting that something I feel so deeply about recital season is the idea of full circles. We spend the wheel of the year dedicated to learning, training and creating! Each year we circle around to our spring performances celebrating this process. But it’s not just a simple circle. We spiral upwards with growth and artistry, we see different students reach new heights of their training, we celebrate new accomplishments of our veteran dancers and we usher in new generations of dancers. And as this all happens we circle back to why we all do this…we circle back and we all fall in love with the stage again! We remember why for so many of us, it’s our absolute favorite place in the world. The place where we feel so deeply connected and so profoundly free. So, on shall we twirl, living it up in that beautiful place we all love so much!!! I am taking a moment to continue to breathe it all in and remember how each heart shone so brightly even as all these precious moments are swiftly turning into memories. I have learned so much, grown exponentially, and been truly humbled and inspired directing Aurora Dance Arts for twelve soul-filling seasons, and I look forward to continuing my work in this program for many years to come. You all truly give us life each week, and I hope that we are inspiring you and your children as much as we are inspired. Dance is a deeply profound gift. Dance is so much more than learning steps to music. I hope that Aurora Dance Arts motivates us all to not only grow as dancers in power, prowess, technique and expression, but also as human beings to be kind, humble, dedicated, patient, strong, loving, intelligent, free-thinking, and good. And most of all, I hope that Aurora Dance Arts encourages each dancer to embrace our beautiful uniqueness in this world and to know that whatever is going on in life, that the dance studio will always be a safe haven of love, respect, learning, community, and passion.

I’d like to share a quote that makes me feel all the feels and is a good way to sum up this dance and performance life -

“Then come the lights shining on you from above. You are a performer. You forget all you learned, the process of technique, the fear, the pain, you even forget who you are as you become one with the music, the lights, indeed one with the dance." -Shirley MacLaine

Sometimes it feels like I almost don’t have space in my chest to hold all that I feel. And what could be better than that? As we close the curtain on this beautiful season, I feel like there’s some performances that shift something inside of you as an artist, an educator, and a human being. That's where I am right now. Holding onto all of it so tight in my memory. Thank you to everyone who shared the stage and shared their hearts. Each and every one of you have changed my life for the better and this dance life will never stop being deep and profound. I count myself so lucky to share in it with all you special souls. Thank you, so very much, for the memories and all the incredible life and art along the way. We have come so far and we are going to keep reaching for the stars. Thank you for being on this journey with us!

From the bottom of our dancing hearts,

~Ms. Maggie and The Staff of Aurora Dance Arts

(Ms. Alyssa, Ms. Michelle, Ms. Erin, Ms. Leanne, Ms. Rachel, Ms. Catherine, Ms. Becca, Ms. Ruby, Ms. Risa, Ms. Kate, Ms. Sam, Lex, Ms. Minda, Ms. Aiden, and Ms. Bridget)