Durango Dance, a 12-year mainstay for youth instruction in ballet in Durango, is preparing to offer classes at the Mancos Community Center.
Classes begin Oct. 1 and will run every Friday until Dec. 17 before picking back up next year.
Children between the ages of 4 and 10 are welcome to enroll.
Vivien Doucette, a Durango native who moved to Mancos, will teach the ballet classes at the new location.
She’s excited to launch the studio and “give those children the opportunity for something to do in a community space.”
The new ballet space will shorten the commute for many who traveled from out of town to drop off their kids for classes.
“We have people coming from the entire Four Corners region,” she said.
Many families made the drive from Mancos and Cortez to attend the dance classes in Durango, and others couldn’t make earlier classes that started at 3:30 p.m., she said.
Right now, the studio plans three class types: Discover classes for four-year-olds, Discover classes for 5- and 6-year-olds, and Explore classes, which are geared to dancers ages 7 to 10, she said.
If there’s enough interest, the studio will introduce a class for dancers ages 11 to 14. Doucette said she thinks it’s likely to happen.
Depending on the level of instruction, classes will commence at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. or at 12:30 p.m., with younger students starting first.
A one-time fee per semester will include tuition, uniforms and other necessary materials. Tights and shoes will be available in a variety of colors to match student skin tones.
“We’re trying to make it so it’s easier on parents,” Doucette said.
The semester-long classes are listed at $225 on the studio’s website.
Miriam Morgan, director of Durango Dance, and Amanda McKovich, youth program director, were inspired to bring their “love of dance and small towns” to the “thriving art community in Mancos,” according to a press release.
The Mancos school district’s four-day school week was another motivator, it said.
To get more information and enroll in classes, visit www.durangodance.com.
