About Dance Studio West
In 1998, noticing that Corner Brook lacked a dance studio, Amy Andrews left her home in St. John's and opened Dance Studio West. In September of that year, Amy held registration for classes in Jazz, Ballet, Tap, and Ballroom, and enrolled eighty-two students.
Since that initial year, Dance Studio West began to carve out its niche in the artistic community of Corner Brook. As students from Dance Studio West began performing in community musicals, Winter Carnival variety shows, Santa Claus parades, and Transition House Benefits, Amy's work gained a reputation for excellence and the number of students enrolled in Dance in Corner Brook increased dramatically.
Read more about Amy Andrews...
Currently Dance Studio West offers classes for both males and females from the age of 4 and all the way to adult. It currently enrolls approximately two-hundred students, and employs a trained staff of three instructors, and four student assistants to meet the dance needs of Corner Brook. Enrollment for new classes begins in early September. Students can now enjoy Creative Movement, Pre-Ballet, Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Tap, Modern, Hip-Hop, as well as workshops in Ballroom and Latin. Classes conclude each year in mid-May with students performing a year-end recital.
Aside from their year-end recital, Amy Andrews and the staff of Dance Studio West have made dance accessible to Corner Brook through various original theatre productions that use dance to tell a story. In January of 2001, Amy choreographed and directed the students of Dance Studio West in an all dance-stage adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, called Oz. This led to later productions of Cinderella in 2006, Alice in Wonderland in 2007, and Peter Pan in 2008.
Students of Dance Studio West have gone on to some very prestigious schools across Canada, including National Theatre School in Montreal, the School of Dance in Ottawa, Quinte Ballet School of Canada, in Belleville, and have performed professionally with Alberta Ballet in Calgary, Ballet Jurgen in Toronto, and Kittiwake Dance in St. John's.
Most importantly, Dance Studio West is known as providing a safe and healthy learning environment allowing students to socialize and create, while improving their health through exercise. Class sizes are kept low to allow effective instruction and students are encouraged to have fun while developing at their own pace.
Canada