"Carefully Shaping the Future"

           The dance instructor, medium height with short dirty blonde hair, turns to face her class of roughly 15 girls all around the age of 6. The girls sit in clusters of friends on the concrete floor crisscross-applesauce, wearing their pink or purple leotards and light colored tights. They all talk semi-quietly among themselves while some struggle to get their hair up in pigtails. Miss Wendy opens up the attendance book and starts to happily check off names of girls she’s already seen come in. She looks up at faces a few times, back down to check the name off. She checks the time, sees there still 5 minutes remain until class starts, puts the attendance book back on the counter, and reaches into the cupboard underneath to find her ballet shoes. After a few more minutes of checking off names in her book, she tells the girls to go line up at the barres that line the walls around the dance floor and to get into position. In less than 30 seconds, the room becomes quiet and everyone appears ready to begin. She puts the record on, and the music begins. Over the past fifteen years as a studio owner, teacher, artist, and choreographer, Miss Wendy has learned more than enough about being a studio owner than one might imagine.

            Wendy Peckins, more commonly known in and around the town of Tunkhannock as Miss Wendy, teaches dance to boys, girls, and women ages 2-62. She holds so much passion for both the art she teaches and the students who learn from her. Growing up, she never thought she would end up being a dance teacher. She looked at the college and chose the major her mother wanted her to, however, after she packed her things she found herself in NYC enrolled in DEA (Dance Educators of America) training school. During breaks she continued to work at Linda Baretti’s studio as an assistant and, soon enough, she was presented with an offer she couldn’t pass up. She took over the dance studio from her teacher fifteen years ago, and since then has been in 3 different studio locations. She moved to the current location in 2005, and has found it to be much more practical in terms of parking than the previous two. Since the move to the current studio, which sits just on the outskirts of town on the corner of a five-business plaza, she beams with fulfillment regarding both the location and the improvements her business has made.

Miss Wendy's newest dance studio -- main dance floor.

            Upon pulling into the parking lot, many parking spaces present themselves which proves idealistic for both parents who drop children off at practice along with teens that drive themselves. The freshly painted blue/grey front door leads directly into the studio; Miss Wendy asks that only she and the assistant teachers use this door. The back door resides on the side of the building, which advances right into the dressing room, separate from the main studio. The dressing room includes benches and hooks to hang coats on, as well as many paintings and posters of dancers and ballet slippers. The main studio stands tall with its walls painted bright greens, blues, and purples, with the statement wall shining white with the words “Reach for the stars because the stars dance,” painted in purple. Her newest studio grows each day as her favorite so far, and she can tell her students love it as well.

            Along with the new location came a new sense of positivity regarding dance and how she wanted to put herself out there as a teacher. With a sparkle in her eye and a wave of excitement in her voice, she reveals the extent of the influence the studio has on the students, parents, and community. “I know now that the parents have a safe place for their children to grow and learn discipline and respect, and at the same time, build their self esteem while having fun and making memories they can take with them forever. If I am lucky enough to have that student through graduation, I am usually brought to tears while reading their goodbye letters.”

The studio, directly linked in giving back to the community, puts on an annual recital in June and also performs a number or two in the community’s annual Library Christmas Show. Along with these two shows, the studio attends an annual dance convention in Lancaster, PA called Excel in Motion, a group of famous dancers from the show So You Think You Can Dance who travel to different states to teach dancers all over how to better themselves. Miss Wendy says that although some studios there seem much more skilled, she believes her students walk away from the weekend-long convention with the best taste of the real world of dance, and the fondest memories.

            Ever since she became a dance instructor, Miss Wendy hasn’t felt the same. Teaching dance molds something special that keeps her directly involved in community projects. It changes the way the public eye sees her, and most naturally, she has become a role model to people of all ages.  Of course, being so well known in a rather small town definitely has its disadvantages, but more than anything, the perks outweigh all of those little flukes.

            The difference between being a dancer and being a dance studio owner grows exponentially. As a dancer, for the most part, one is constantly being taught and using that new knowledge to create a piece. As an instructor and studio owner, a whole new plate is presented. “Dance is always changing and evolving,” Miss Wendy remarks. The constant flow of change makes it difficult to teach one set form of dance. As the artist and choreographer, you have to learn to “go with the flow” of the ever-changing art form. Miss Wendy usually sticks to teaching ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, and lyrical. Most small town studios do not have a hip-hop class, simply because most of hip-hop focuses in cities. If the studio owner wanted to bring hip-hop into his or her studio, it would first have to be introduced to the instructor before the students could learn it, or else an expert would have to be hired to present the new material to the classes. Although the rapid pace that dance changes with seems exhausting and sometimes intimidating, it also ensures that the job never gets boring. Miss Wendy expresses, “You could definitely make a full time job of just keeping up with the latest trends in dance.”

            Having a full time job of owning a studio comes with many perks as well as downfalls. Miss Wendy has created bonds with her students that stand stronger than gold and she has her job to thank for that. She gets letters from students every year, both graduating students and underclassmen, full of love, thanks, and passion. Her job allows her to touch the hearts of children and adults while teaching them an art form that can teach one so much about their inner self. One of her fondest memories of teaching was, instead of receiving a letter from a student, she received one from a parent one recital. The contents of the letter made her truly realize both that there are some lessons that children simply cannot learn from their parents alone and the extent that they trust her with the lives that matter most to them. On the other end of the spectrum, owning a studio and teaching dance is not all rainbows and butterflies all the time. Her job requires her to be away from her home and family Monday through Thursday 3pm-9pm and Saturdays 8am-12pm. The hours may not seem too compact at first until you realize that her husband works normal 9-5 hours 5 days a week. “My husband and I live 9 months out of the year passing each other in the wind,” Miss Wendy explains, choking up. She loves what she does without a doubt, but sometimes the distance in her family that her career creates overwhelms her.

            Some of the most important lessons Miss Wendy hopes her students take away from their time in her studio include patience, politeness, and cooperation. Self-discipline begins showing itself in students as young as 5 and increasingly grows inside the student forever. She insists on self-esteem inside the four walls of her studio. When she hears the words “I can’t,” she immediately backfires with, “You can.” She knows students view the dance studio as their safety net, a place they can completely let go of anything bringing them down. Students learn to express themselves without the use of words. If nothing else sinks in, she hopes each and every student walks out of class each day with a feeling of family deep inside their hearts.

            The Wendy Peckins School of Dance creates an amazing place to spend a childhood, not only just for the purpose of learning the art, but also to shape the way one views oneself, others, and life overall.

            The record finally came to an end; the instructor gracefully waltzed over to the player, removed the needle from the vinyl, and cordially asked the students to line up on center floor. After putting on some music to warm up to, Miss Wendy stood in front of the class facing the mirror and began to lead warm ups, a smile of satisfaction spread across her face.