Change and opportunity float on the horizon for Footworks Dance Academy.
The studio has set up shop at a new location on Main Street, in the space formerly occupied by Picture This Alberta.
A new location means a fresh start for the studio, which took possession April 25.
Footworks will continue to do as it always has: help facilitate the education of dance for children and adults. But the new space has opened up doors to opportunities the studio didn’t have before.
Before anything else, owner and artistic director of Footworks Irene Widdup is creating a clean slate so the transformation process can be started from scratch.
The entire building will be gutted, she said, including the roof. The facility will have all new electrical and plumbing, and a new layout.
The front area of the building will be turned into a waiting area. There will also be another section for change rooms, where lockers for the dancers are going to be installed.
Widdup said she is looking forward to the construction of a costume room, which will be home to the piles upon piles of dancing attire that has accumulated over the last 20 years.
One thing that won’t be changing are the floors.
“What we really like about it, is it’s got natural hardwood in it already,” she said. “The floor has already got the spring board underneath.”
With plans to create three large studios, the extra space will allow for more programming. Previously, Widdup said the studio often found many of their nights were booked solid, so they weren’t able to offer certain classes due to lack of space.
That’s all about to change.
Footworks will still offer their regular dance classes, like jazz, tap and ballet, but other areas of dance are also on the studio’s future agenda.
“We’re going to look at offering country line dancing, ballroom dancing, Ukrainian dance,” said Widdup. “We’re excited to provide that for our community. It’ll be a brand new beginning.”
Widdup also plans to house Drama for Children, allowing youth to have their musical theatre group under the Footworks roof.
The studios are going to be larger than what Footworks had at their last location, This will be a nice change for the larger dance groups, particularly around the time of performances.
“We tend to have to go to the gym sometimes just before festival, just to get the exact size of the stage,” said Widdup. “I’m hoping to get the studio big enough so we don’t have to do that.”
Larger studio space also means Barrhead could have the opportunity to hose Royal Academy of Dance exams. Normally dancers have to head to the city to take their exams, but if Footworks has enough dancers and a big space, that could change too.
As long as a studio has the a room size that is qualified for exam purposes, an examiner will come.
“So we’re trying to build it for that so the examiner can come to us rather than us traveling to her, and provide those better opportunities for the kids to take those exams,” said Widdup. “They’re really important.”
Extended hours is now another possibility for the studio.
Widdup said athough Footworks had a wonderful relationship with FCSS, dance classes often began while FCSS employees were still working. Now, she said, they’re not under each other’s feet.
“This allows us to use it more throughout the day and weekend, whenever we want to,” said Widdup. “We can schedule our programs a little more freely that way, and not worry about affecting people who are trying to do daytime jobs.”
Having a presence on Main Street will give the studio an opportunity to be more active and involved with the community, said Widdup. This will come into play starting as early as Barrhead’s annual Street Festival coming up next month.
“It’s great, because now we can host our shows right in front of the building, use it for a change facility, run in and out,” she said. “We’re really excited about that.”
This year Footworks will be bringing a skipping club to the festival for a demonstration.
“I’m hoping to have them come next year and start a whole new activity for kids,” said Widdup.
As a whole the project is a big one, and Footworks Dance Academy needs to be up and running by the end of August in order to run the studio’s annual dance camp Aug. 25-28.
But with a roofer already scheduled to come for quotes, Widdup is excited for the new beginning more than anything.
“The space allows us to open up to whole new ideas for kids in the community, and adults. There’s so much we can offer Barrhead,” she said. “It’s a big, brand new adventure for us.”
