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A Boundary County Gem: The Dance Studio |
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September 12, 2014 |
Remote. Rural. Rugged. Rustic. That's how most
of Idaho would describe Boundary County.
Forested mountains. Whining chain saws and
rumbling logging trucks. Humming, rackety timber
mills.
Farms, big tractors, cultivating, harvesting,
working the earth.
Big outdoors, hunters in camo, hiking, camping,
fishing.
And just 3% of the population of metropolitan
Ada County, home to Idaho's capitol.
So, would most of Idaho be surprised to learn
that rough, tough, and rugged
Boundary County is home to a dance studio, whose
graduates from its graceful instruction in
creative dance, jazz dance, modern, and ballet
are now scattered across the USA?
Barbara Russell's Dance Studio is an oasis of
genteel in the midst of our remote, rural,
rugged Boundary County.
Her own dance career began at a Philadelphia
ballet school at age five. After graduating from
a Philadelphia-area high school (as a high
school art major), she attended college at the
University of Utah, where she majored in ballet
and participated in Utah's renowned Repertory
Dance Theatre. After college, she continued her
dance training for several more years in
Pennsylvania and in New York City. Ms. Russell
arrived in Boundary County in 1977, initially
living in the Moyie Springs area.
So how does a person with that sort of
background find their way to Boundary County,
Idaho? Let's just say it was a combination of
getting "back to the land," wanting to live a
more rural lifestyle, seeking an area better
suited for alternative clean energy ("it was big
back in the 70's!" she laughs), drifting
west--and north, and ultimately ending up,
somehow, in Boundary County.
If you think starting a successful dance studio
in Bonners Ferry might be a difficult challenge,
think first about trying to start a successful
dance studio at Curley Creek. That's where Ms.
Russell made an early attempt on the winding
road toward today's bustling studio. The results
at Curley Creek: "No one came," she states
bluntly, with no further sugar coating of the
situation. And those classes were offered free
of charge.
As we all know, if things don't work out at
Curley Creek, the next obvious place to go is to
the Three Mile Grange, which she did, offering
dance classes for a small fee. There her first
students came, and there the first foundations
of today's Dance Studio were laid. Her early
memories of the Three Mile Grange location
include keeping the fire stoked to heat the
building, and keeping the dead flies swept up.
Although she didn't actually say it, it is
unlikely these responsibilities were part of her
earlier training on Broadway in New York City.
From the Grange hall, her studio graduated to
holding classes in the cafeteria of Valley View
elementary school, and in the gymnasium of
Bonners Ferry High School. Her Grange students
followed her to these new locations. "That was
an amazing group of women, some still living
here. My baby daughter would come with me while
I taught."
In the early 1980's, after she had moved to
Bonners Ferry's north side, she remodeled a
section of her home into a studio, which
included barres and mirrors. Since then, "it's
been a real studio," she says, and has gone
through many renovations and transformations
over the years.
(story continues below photo)
How can a dance studio succeed in a small, rural
area, like Boundary County? "It is not much
different than the success of other businesses,"
says Ms. Russell. It takes "passion and love for
what you are doing," and good training. "As
anything else, it takes more than just wanting to
do something. You need to know how to do it.
Teaching dance is also different than just being
a good dancer. Some of the best dancers are not
good teachers."
Another important factor, says Ms. Russell, is
loving the students. "Unlike selling a product,
teaching has a direct effect on a child. I take
my job and responsibility seriously. I
continually try to find ways to teach more
creatively while not compromising what I know to
be important. Having expectations of being on
time, being prepared, respectful, and teamwork
is not always popular, but it is as essential
for dance as in all aspects of life."
"I develop a personal relationship with my
students and their families. Some are like my
second children, having had them from very small
toddlers until senior graduation."
She also believes perseverance is another
element of success in her studio. "As in any
business, there are ups and downs. It can be
discouraging. For at least 15 years, my mother
kept asking me when I was going to get a 'real
job!"
She notes further that optimism, vision, and
self-confidence are important. "Now in my 37th
year teaching dance in Boundary County, I still
do not take the success of my business for
granted. Having a small population [in our area]
presents a greater challenge, and keeping
optimistic is important. I have a 'can do'
attitude, and don't let challenges discourage
me."
Today, classes total about 100 students per
year. She estimates that, over the years,
thousands of Boundary County students have gone
through training at the Dance Studio.
At the Dance Studio, classes are offered for
young children from around age 2 through
adulthood. Many members of the high school Dance
Team over the years have been enrolled in the
Dance Studio. Many of Ms. Russell's students
have gone on to additional dance training in
college, some have gone on to become dance
teachers themselves, and some have performed in
a formal dance company or at the professional
level.
At least one former student, Julie Anderson, who
has taught for around fifteen years in dance
academies, public schools, and in university
settings, has just opened her own studio in the
Denver area, the Lakewood Dance Academy.
"I can't say enough about the instruction I
received at The Dance Studio," said this former
student Julie Anderson, when contacted by
NewsBF. "I have danced and taught in major
cities across the country, and I have met few
teachers with the depth of knowledge and level
of excellence that Barb Russell brings to her
classes."
Many former students have stayed in touch, and
stop by the studio occasionally to visit. Some
have taken additional classes from Ms. Russell
while home on break from college. "Two former
students taught summer workshops at my studio,
and I was very excited to take classes from my
past students!"
A highlight of the year in Boundary County is
the annual Recital staged by Ms. Russell's Dance
Studio. These productions are not easy. "In the
very beginning, I had small shows on the Valley
View gym stage. My first big recital was in
1985. The shows at the Fry Auditorium [in the
old, old high school] presented an enormous
amount of work just making the stage a usable
space. There is still quite a bit of work, time,
and money setting up the lights at the current
high school's new auditorium."
"I don't think I could ever figure the amount of
work that goes into the shows. I
have a love (like)/hate relationship with the
recitals. My life would be so much easier
without them!"
"There is so much planning--if there will be a
theme, choosing music, costuming, choreography,
putting dances in an order that will flow and
give time for costume changes, lighting, props,
practicing. It is a challenge to make the same
beginner's steps look different and more
interesting each year, and a challenge to come
up with great choreography for everyone else,
too."
If it's that hard, will the recitals continue to
be a Boundary County fixture?
"I've already started thinking of next spring's
show," said Ms. Russell.
"So, while the recitals are extremely difficult,
the positive aspects are to give my students the
opportunity to perform dance, which is a
performing art, and to feel comfortable on the
stage."
What does the future hold for Barbara Russell
and the Dance Studio in Bonners Ferry?
"I think I have the best job I could imagine. I
am so fortunate to teach so many ages and skill
levels. I love my little corner of the world
where I am surrounded by these wonderful
children."
"My job keeps my mind and body working. I love
to have a job where I get so many hugs,
beautiful pictures drawn, watch young children
grow into beautiful young women. People keep
asking me if I am going to retire. I don't know
what that means. I'd like more time, especially
with my grandchildren, but how do you retire
from your passion?"
Added Ms. Anderson, the former student now in
Colorado with her own studio: "To train and
dance with someone who loves and lives the art
form is a rare and beautiful gift, a gift so
many students from Bonners Ferry have been
blessed with since Barbara opened The Dance
Studio." |
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