Donna Frech holds 33rd annual recital this weekend
NORWICH – If you haven’t been to a dance recital in a while, you don’t know what you’re missing. That’s what Donna Frech, owner of the oldest continuously owned dance studio in Chenango County, The Donna Frech School of Dance, wants people to know. This weekend Frech will hold her 33rd annual dance recital. The older students will perform two shows at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Norwich High School. The younger students will perform two matinee performances at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
This year’s evening show, titled “Destinations,” will feature music from around the world. “It’s not just a dance recital. We have a theme that we incorporate. It’s more like a show, a performance,” Frech said, explaining that the action is non-stop, as the program progresses from one number to the next. “There are no dead spots,” she said.
The matinee performance has a similar theme. The program for the younger students, entitled “Are We There Yet?” will also feature a familiar range of songs from around the world. “One thing that really sets this studio apart is that here the younger kids are just as important as the older group,” Frech said. She explained that although the older students do go to competitions and often do very well there, her studio welcomes both those who are serious about dance and those who enjoy it as a hobby. “Our philosophy is everybody is important,” Frech said.
Frech has students ranging in age from the pre-dance class – for children ages 3 to 5 years old – to the adult class, all of whom will be performing at this weekend’s shows. She also has a full range of dancers at different skill levels and abilities. This year, the dance recital will feature performances from all of the school’s classes, including tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, acrobatics, hip-hop, musical theater, ballet and the pre-dance and adult classes. “The recital runs the full gamut, but hopefully it will be a pleasurable viewing for the whole audience,” she said.
Approximately 250 students will take the stage between the two performances, but that is just a small portion of the thousands of students Frech said she has seen come through the doors over the years. Four of the six teachers who now make up the Donna Frech School of Dance were once students there themselves. The six teachers and Frech create all the choreography for the show. “It’s always a challenge to top the last year’s show, but somehow it continues to evolve and it just comes,” Frech said.
The production group will open the evening performance, before breaking into smaller groups for continued performances throughout the night. “We have several really good numbers, some of which have won awards at competitions,” Frech said, however, she didn’t want to single out any one performance or group. “Everyone is doing their best, and you do your best to create the show, and that’s what matters,” she said.
This year the group will see their largest number of graduating seniors in history. Ten seniors will graduate this year and leave the program. Frech said she will be sad to see them go, but she is proud that so many of them plan to pursue dance in some fashion.
After 33 years as a dance instructor, Frech said dance has changed a lot. More types of dance are accessible to students today than there were years ago, and the creation of shows like “Dancing with the Stars” and “So, You Think You Can Dance,” combined with more opportunities to compete have given students a desire to do more and to be more. “It’s elevated the level of dancers that we’re seeing. Dance has changed tremendously.” To keep up with those changes, Frech said she is constantly learning new things, taking new classes and encouraging her students to do the same. “I’m a firm believer in education. You never stop learning,” she said.
Tickets for the shows are available at any of Donna Frech’s studios, located in New Berlin, Norwich and Sidney. They are also available at Service Pharmacy in New Berlin and Sherburne, Bartle’s Pharmacy in Oxford, Video Entertainment in Sidney, First Edition Bookstore and at the door the night of the performance. For more information or for business hours, contact the Donna Frech School of Dance at 334-4382.
This year’s evening show, titled “Destinations,” will feature music from around the world. “It’s not just a dance recital. We have a theme that we incorporate. It’s more like a show, a performance,” Frech said, explaining that the action is non-stop, as the program progresses from one number to the next. “There are no dead spots,” she said.
The matinee performance has a similar theme. The program for the younger students, entitled “Are We There Yet?” will also feature a familiar range of songs from around the world. “One thing that really sets this studio apart is that here the younger kids are just as important as the older group,” Frech said. She explained that although the older students do go to competitions and often do very well there, her studio welcomes both those who are serious about dance and those who enjoy it as a hobby. “Our philosophy is everybody is important,” Frech said.
Frech has students ranging in age from the pre-dance class – for children ages 3 to 5 years old – to the adult class, all of whom will be performing at this weekend’s shows. She also has a full range of dancers at different skill levels and abilities. This year, the dance recital will feature performances from all of the school’s classes, including tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, acrobatics, hip-hop, musical theater, ballet and the pre-dance and adult classes. “The recital runs the full gamut, but hopefully it will be a pleasurable viewing for the whole audience,” she said.
Approximately 250 students will take the stage between the two performances, but that is just a small portion of the thousands of students Frech said she has seen come through the doors over the years. Four of the six teachers who now make up the Donna Frech School of Dance were once students there themselves. The six teachers and Frech create all the choreography for the show. “It’s always a challenge to top the last year’s show, but somehow it continues to evolve and it just comes,” Frech said.
The production group will open the evening performance, before breaking into smaller groups for continued performances throughout the night. “We have several really good numbers, some of which have won awards at competitions,” Frech said, however, she didn’t want to single out any one performance or group. “Everyone is doing their best, and you do your best to create the show, and that’s what matters,” she said.
This year the group will see their largest number of graduating seniors in history. Ten seniors will graduate this year and leave the program. Frech said she will be sad to see them go, but she is proud that so many of them plan to pursue dance in some fashion.
After 33 years as a dance instructor, Frech said dance has changed a lot. More types of dance are accessible to students today than there were years ago, and the creation of shows like “Dancing with the Stars” and “So, You Think You Can Dance,” combined with more opportunities to compete have given students a desire to do more and to be more. “It’s elevated the level of dancers that we’re seeing. Dance has changed tremendously.” To keep up with those changes, Frech said she is constantly learning new things, taking new classes and encouraging her students to do the same. “I’m a firm believer in education. You never stop learning,” she said.
Tickets for the shows are available at any of Donna Frech’s studios, located in New Berlin, Norwich and Sidney. They are also available at Service Pharmacy in New Berlin and Sherburne, Bartle’s Pharmacy in Oxford, Video Entertainment in Sidney, First Edition Bookstore and at the door the night of the performance. For more information or for business hours, contact the Donna Frech School of Dance at 334-4382.
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