Eden Lengauer began taking dance lessons when she was only ten years old. From the very beginning, she always dreamed of opening her own studio as the touring and travel required by a professional dancer didn't align with her home-body nature. In college Eden majored in small business to prepare herself for a business career, and in 1997 she founded Center Stage Studio, Inc. We met with Eden recently, and listened as she spoke of Center Stage Studio's offerings;
Center Stage Studio, Inc. is a pre-professional dance studio offering instruction in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, modern, and classical dance. Our primary disciplines are ballet, tap, and jazz, although we fine tune our classes to what our students want. Some of our students have shown an interest in pointe, a form of ballet performed in hard toe shoes, so we're presently expanding our ballet program to offer pre-pointe classes.
We strive to focus on the needs of individual students while offering lower student/instructor ratios than typical dance studios. We combine fun with a structured environment to help our students build their terminology while fully enjoying themselves. We utilize a variety of techniques to keep them interested, such as teaching them to apply make-up for the stage, or learning a hip-hop routine for a warm-up instead of doing barre stretches.
We hold classes for students aged 2½ through adult. Our 2½ year olds start in a "Mom and Me" class where mom, dad, grandma, or grandpa are present in the classroom to help their child get started. By the end of the season, although, the students are ready to participate in class all by themselves. We offer birthday parties which include a forty-five minute dance session followed by pizza, pop, and birthday cake afterward. The children have a lot of fun, and the parents enjoy not having to clean up after the celebration.
Our instructors have very diverse backgrounds. Myself and Lori Simplican both studied with Dee Hillier and focused on jazz. Melaina Louise, our ballet instructor, studied with the Cleveland Ballet, and Irene Kovar has a background in ballet in addition to competing in ballroom dancing competitions. New additions to our staff include Michelle Walczak who recently performed in the local production of Cats, and Haley Monroe who studied at Center Stage Studio and is currently attending Kent State University.
We try to offer everything for the serious and the non-serious student alike, including dance competitions. Those who want to expand their dance education and performance experience can audition for a dance company where they receive outside exposure and feedback from professional dance judges from all over the country.
Center Stage Studio, Inc. offers personalized instruction in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, modern, and classical dance. Call Center Stage Studio, Inc. today, and don't forget to tell them The Advocate sent you!
