DanceSpirit's summer production 'not your typical dance recital'

DanceSpirit Studio will present its summer production, "Danceworks," Saturday night at the Carson City Community Center. The show will include 55 numbers by 120 dancers.

"We've kind of come up with a new philosophy," said studio owner Sandi Scheer. "Our goal here at DanceSpirit is to turn dreams into dance, and that's basically what we're doing with this show."

The evening will include several dance forms, including pointe, tap, acrobatic, ballet and jazz.

"We've got some incredible dancers," said DanceSpirit ballet instructor Robin Price. "(Danceworks) doesn't look like your typical dance recital. It's a professional production."

The DanceSpirit Stars Competition teams, which won overall-high scores at both the Spotlight Dance Cup in March and the Dance USA competition in May, will demonstrate their award-winning moves.

Carson City's Linsey Wegener, who won the regional Miss Teen Dance USA title in May, will dance a jazz-acrobat number called "Birimbau."

"It's from the Cirque de Soleil," said Scheer. "That's what her goal is, to be a Cirque de Soleil performer."

Saturday's performance will feature dancers aged 3 through 84.

Gladys Veitch of the Golden Girls dance group will do a jazz number called "Razzle Dazzle."

About 35 3 to 5 year olds will do a tap piece called "Bony Little Knees."

The finale will be a piece - perfect for Father's Day - called "Safe and Warm, a Father's Love." It will feature 10 dancers and 10 fathers, stepfathers and grandfathers.

"They have won high scores with that number throughout the year," Scheer said.

There's more than just dancing going on at DanceSpirit - a recently finished remodel has made its big studio even bigger. It is also expanding into the former "foam room" of the Mill End Fabrics building to create another big studio and into other rooms to create a costume shop and storage space.

A grand opening celebration for "Studio Too" is scheduled for August. That will include a workshop on Aug. 2, 3 and 4 featuring choreographers Dahrio (Wonder) Hutton from Oakland and Craig Hempstead and Gregory Filler from Las Vegas. Their workshop, covering jazz, tap, hip-hop and musical theater, will be open to beginners as well as advanced dancers.

DanceSpirit Studio will present "Danceworks" at 5 p.m. on Saturday at the Carson Community Center. The doors open at 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 per seat, or $35 for a family of four. Admission is free to under age 3. Tickets are at the studio, at 951 N. Stewart St., or at the door. For details, call the studio at 884-1066.

Contact Karl Horeis at khoreis@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219..