Two young entrepreneurs have started teaching dance classes at Hazelton secondary school to bring in some extra money and get other young Hazeltonians interested in dance.
Twelve-year-old Katelyn Larson and her older sister, Cecilia, 17, who have both been dancing for several years, have opted to provide lessons in their hometown.
Katelyn, while only 12, already has a bit of teaching experience under her belt.
“I started helping with a different dance class,” Katelyn, who helped a former teacher, Sarah Cullen, with classes, said.
Cullen moved and that left a void in Hazelton, as far as dance instruction went and the Larsons stepped in, but it’s not always easy, according to Katelyn.
“It’s challenging because the students are very energetic,”
Katelyn said.
“And sometimes they don’t listen very well.”
Katelyn does most of the teaching in both classes, while Cecilia is there to lend whatever help is needed.
It is rare for someone as young as Katelyn to be instructing anything, but Cecilia has been taking dance lessons for as long as her little sister’s been alive.
“I’ve been at Creative Roots for nine years,” Cecilia said.
“I’ve trained in nearly every category of dance that they offer there.
“People have been asking us to start dance classes in Hazelton for awhile and we’re happy to be able to do it now.”
The classes are meant to teach basic dance, while avoiding a rigid class atmosphere.
“We play lots of games in the younger class because ballet theory probably wouldn’t go over so well,” Cecilia said, but as the dancers advance the instruction becomes more finely tuned.
“As they begin to remember the names of what they’re doing we start introducing more complex steps.”
While the age and relative inexperience of the students presents a challenge for the instructors, it also allows for a lot of creativity that fosters knowledge of dance.
“Instead of Simon Says, we play Ballerina Says,” Cecilia said.
The classes happen in the Hazelton secondary school on Mondays from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. and Wednesdays from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Classes are split between ages three to five and six to 10 and are $10 each.