Our goal is to offer each student a solid foundation in dance while inspiring self-confidence, self-discipline and a positive self-image. Dance improves physical coordination, balance and grace. Dance challenges the mind, so dancers become better prepared for academics and other mental activities. Plus, it’s fun!
Not all students pursue a career in dance; however, the discipline, self-awareness, and appreciation instilled in students are qualities they will carry with them their entire lives. So, whether preparing for a professional career or studying solely for the physical and aesthetic benefits dance offers, each student will receive a solid foundation and joyous experience.
Miss Wendy loves sharing her passion with others. You’ll often hear her say, “Stress falls off my shoulders the moment I walk into the dance studio.”
Classes are held in a home-based ballet studio, located just off County Barn Road in Naples, FL. Class size is limited, allowing more attention to be paid to each student. We strive to create a welcoming and supportive environment where students of all ages and abilities make lifelong friendships and feel a sense of belonging.
Because we are home-based, tuition and fees remain reasonable and affordable.
We offer a lovely and tranquil waiting area for parents, where they are welcome to relax in front of a fireplace, with a cup of tea and a homemade cookie.
Miss Wendy received her pre-professional dance education from Anna Adrianova and Lorand Andahazy of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and was a company member of Andahazy Ballet Borealis, where she performed many of the great ballets. When not performing, Wendy spent summers and weekends traveling across the country and abroad to study intensively with the greats of the dance world, such as Dame Margot Fonteyn, Ruth Page, Twyla Tharp, Joseph Savino, Gus Giordano and many others.
While in Portugal at the International Academy of Dance, Wendy performed several more ballets at Lisbon’s National Theatre of Sao Carlos. Later, during an interim in Mexico, she was privileged to understudy with Ballet Folklorico de Guadalajara, where she greatly expanded her knowledge of dance styles.
Wendy held dancing and acting roles with the Minnesota Theater Company, Children’s Theater Company and Minnesota Opera. She choreographed musicals and staged theater productions for several colleges in Minnesota (and later in Florida), including Macalester College, which she attended. While dancing, singing, and acting with Macalester’s famed Drama Choros, Wendy, along with the Choros, were asked to travel to England to perform as the named entertainment for the British Isles Theater Festival. Wendy returned home, only to join the cast of Disney on Parade and dance on tour (where Tinkerbelle became her best friend) and later, Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey (where she learned to ride an elephant).
In 1980, Wendy returned to Florida and started Performing Arts Centers in four locations throughout Central Florida that offered all forms of dance, acrobatics, drama and musical theater. She discovered that teaching dance was her true passion. Even today, you’ll hear her say,
“Stress falls off my shoulders the moment I walk into the dance studio.”
Today, Miss Wendy offers small, semi-private classes to children, teens and adults of all levels in her home-based studio, utilizing the finer points of each method she has studied: Vaganova, Cecchetti and Royal Academy of Dance (RAD). She holds certifications from Cecchetti, Dance Masters of America and is a member of RAD.
Miss Wendy’s goal is to offer each student a solid foundation in dance while inspiring self-confidence, self-discipline and a positive self-image. Dance improves physical coordination, balance and grace. Dance challenges the mind, so dancers become better prepared for academics and other mental activities. Plus, it’s fun!
Pre-Ballet, ages 4 to 6, is designed to stimulate a child’s imagination while developing coordination and learning basic dance, creative movement, song and pantomime in an entertaining environment. Beginning Ballet begins at age 7. Ballet positions, steps and combinations are taught with emphasis on body alignment and technique. Creativity gains structure through simple dance movements.
Dance helps a child gain self-awareness, self-expression, self-confidence and self-discipline. It improves physical coordination, balance and grace. Dance challenges the mind and a child becomes better prepared for academics and other mental activities. Plus, it’s fun!
As a dancer's ability increases, class becomes more challenging. Proper technique is stressed. Pointe is offered by invitation only to students 10 years or older who exhibit adequate strength, technique and take multiple classes per week. Adults of all ages and levels are welcome in our Adult Ballet Classes, whether to experience the joys of ballet or simply for exercise.
East Side Dance offers private classes at a special rate to the neurodiverse community. We understand that each neurodiverse child is unique and their needs and preferences vary. Therefore, we work closely with each child and their family to understand what works best for them. That way, they have every opportunity to achieve success.
Enrollment is ongoing throughout most of the season and during the summer. We simply ask you make an appointment prior to the first class, to fill out the required registration forms and familiarize yourself with the studio. This way, the dancer feels confident and secure the first day of class.