Local Dance Studio Offers Opportunities for Aspiring Dancers of All Skill Levels
In September of 2011, after living in Houghton for only 8 months, Sarah Badger took over an empty studio on Route 19 and began Houghton Movement and Arts Center with 40 students. The building she currently occupies was previously owned by Sandy Charles who taught dance at her studio named “Pointe by Pointe”.
“We saw that dance needed to continue in Houghton. I started initially just thinking I would offer some private lessons to performers who wanted to keep up with dance. It just sort of occurred to me that this building could be put to really good use and I envisioned a way of bringing not just dance but other forms of recreation and performing arts to students in Houghton,” explained Badger, “This could really be a third space for performing arts that’s outside of the schools.”
Badger began her training at age four with dreams of being a professional dancer. When she was ten she switched to studying purely classical ballet. She trained at the Ballet San Antonio Academy and also attended a magnet High School for dance, the Northeast School of the Arts. She left Texas for New York City to go to Marymount University. She didn’t study dance in college, but danced professionally while training at the Ailey School. “My plan was always to stay in New York City and have a dance career there. When I married my husband he had not been to college yet and when I finished school he was really interested in attending a Christian liberal arts college. So, we ended up in Houghton.”
Badger felt frightened starting such a new enterprise. “I had never set out wanting to own a dance studio. I had always seen myself as a performer – maybe teaching a little down the line,” said Badger. She enjoyed her first teaching job in New York City. When the Badgers moved out to Houghton, Badger jumped on the opportunity to teach, “It was definitely a little bit scary, but I tend to see potential in things and want to make things as good as they can possibly be.”
The studio has done well in the rural setting. It is growing each year and branching out to offer new classes and more performances. Badger said,“People tend to think a dance studio is just for little girls, but we’re so much more than that. We have tons of adult programs. We’ve offered acting and voice classes in the past. We have adult dance classes and dance and fitness and theatre arts – things that can be enjoyed by a lot of different people.”
One of the developments the studio has made in the past year is the creation of Genesee Dance Theater. This is a semi-professional dance company, meaning that a fraction of their dancers are not professionals – students, teenagers, community members – who are working alongside local professional dancers. This past December they put on a well-received performance of the Nutcracker, a performance they plan on continuing annually. Ultimately, the goal of the company is to put on two to three annual performances in Western New York.
The college, though not exclusively connected to the studio, has a good mutual relationship. Kayleen Norcutt ‘16 has taught classes at the studio and dances there regularly and said, “Most students I talk to are surprised when they discover that there is a dance studio in Houghton. I found it about a year before I began college, and was in contact with Badger throughout that year regarding job and dance opportunities. It was certainly a deciding factor in attending Houghton.”
Kara Bartholomew has been teaching classes for the past two semesters. “Dancing has taught me how to meet people at different spots in their lives. Throughout my years of teaching I have encounter many students at all different levels,” said Kara.
The studio is now at a transition point. With her husband Graham graduating from Houghton this semester, he is looking to work in his field which might require them to move. The couple wants to stay local, but aren’t certain where they will end up. Because of this, Badger doesn’t want to commit to owning the studio for another full year. Rachel Phillips, a former instructor for Badger, owns a studio in Fillmore called STEPS. HMAC will merge with STEPS under the ownership of Phillips. Badger says very little is going to change and that she will stay on staff as a ballet teacher and consultant.
Badger sees the studio as a place where students can deeply develop their skills whether they are looking to dance professionally or just to keep up their training and health. She encourages all of her students to follow their dreams, “If a student comes to me and they really want to be a professional dancer, I’m not going to laugh at them and say ‘That’s not possible because you live in Houghton or you live in Allegany County’.”