10:13 am Watts Dance Studio offers alumni-led workshops
Winter vacation means a time of relaxation, but the students at Watts Dance Studio were hard at work. Watts Dance Studio welcomed two alumni who taught master classes to the junior high and high school showcase dancers. Alan Arnett opened the sessions with a contemporary jazz class, followed by Lindsay Browning teaching modern. Both studied and performed with Watts Dance Studio and have pursued professional dance careers.
Photo Contributed - Alan Arnett, pictured, recently taught a contemporary jazz class for Watts Dance Studio. He studied and performed with Watts Dance Studio and has since pursued a professional dance career.
Arnett began dancing in junior high, and he soon became a common sight at the WDS Elizabethton location. He continued his dance training at Radford University, receiving a BA in dance and received a MFA from Southwestern Methodist University. He danced professionally with Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, one of the first and most prestigious jazz dance companies in the U.S. He has taught successfully at multiple universities and is currently on the faculty at Shenandoah University in Virginia. “I enjoy getting to come back to teach classes at Watts,” Arnett said. “They are like a family, and their dancers are well-trained and a joy to have in class.”
Photo Contributed - The WDS Showcase Dancers performed once again at the recent Arby’s Classic at Viking Hall in Bristol.
Browning began dancing at age three at Watts Dance Studio in Bristol. She became a member of the Showcase dancers and performed regionally until she graduated high school. She attended Radford University and graduated with a BFA in contemporary dance. She has since moved to Philadelphia and has performed with companies and artists such as Scrap Performance Group, Group Motion Dance Company, Ausdrucktanz Dance Theater, and Olive Prince Dance. She has also performed on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” She most recently toured Italy choreographing and dancing. She is currently working on a dance/theater project called “Lincoln Luck.” She is the choreographer and director of the project that will launch performances in February.
The master classes weren’t the only activities keeping the Watts students busy. Watts Dance Studio has two locations, one in Elizabethton and one in Bristol. The WDS Showcase Dancers were a returning favorite at the Arby’s classic at Viking Hall in Bristol for multiple performances and the group began work on the extensive spring schedule preparing for upcoming Showcase shows and performances. The Showcase dancers are an auditioned group performing at area festivals, events and in venues such as Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Florida and multiple cruise line shows.
The students have resumed spring classes and are busily preparing for the spring recital. For over 59 years Watts Dance Studios has been one of the region’s most comprehensive dance facilities providing classes in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Tap, Hip-Hop and Tumbling. The studio is under the direction of Ann Haynes Watts, Chrisann Watts Tull, Carolee Watts Hacker and Jaime Lipford. They are joined by an expert and college-trained adult teaching staff.
For more information on classes or booking the Showcase Dancers, call 543-3361.
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