WILLIAMSBURG — After spending 10 years in Norge, En Pointe Dance Academy has officially moved, opening its doors in the Williamsburg Marketcenter and celebrating with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 15.
Rebekah Keese, En Pointe owner and artistic director, remembered building the old studio from the ground up.
“I opened ten years ago in our old location. My dad and I, with our own two bare hands, built the walls that are in that location. We took it from a nasty, open, industrial space to the studio that it is today. We put a lot of love and commitment and hard work into the space, making it what we need,” Keese recalled.
While the move is bittersweet for Keese, the extra space is much needed.
“I’m very excited to find our new home and to be able to have the opportunity for growth and make a fresh new start. I’m excited to see the kids’ faces when they walk in and see the new spaces,” Keese said.
The new studio will give En Pointe dancers an extra 1,000 square feet of rehearsal space. There will be two studios for rehearsals, as well as the addition of a parent waiting area, a private office, room for physical therapy, storage space for costumes, updated bathrooms, new professional dance floors and a front desk.
“We really just want to have the extra space to invite more people in. I miss being able to talk to parents, I miss being able to come out of class and they are there. We try and offer a family setting that, when you become an EP dancer, you become part of our dance family, and that lasts a lifetime,” Keese said.
With more space, Keese has also begun to expand her adult dance division. En Pointe currently offers adult ballet, tap, and hip-hop, and it will be launching a beginner adult Irish dance class later this fall.
“We really lack in our community for adults. There’s a lot of adults that have dance backgrounds, or no dance backgrounds, that wanted to dance who never got the opportunity to growing up. We’re trying to add more and more as we go to give adults in the community a chance to dance,” Keese said.
Keese began building up the adult division shortly before the move to the new space and hopes to continue to give adults more opportunities to participate at the studio.
“I want there to be an opportunity for adults to have a safe place to come, whether you are a beginner or you are just tapping back into something that you love. Our society is so fast-paced right now and that people are so crazy busy with work, lives are stressful, parents and adults carry a lot of weight on their back and I want there to be a space where you can leave that at the door, take an hour or two and come in and just be able to do something for yourself,” Keese said.
Registration for school-year dance programs is currently underway. For more information, visit enpointedanceva.com.
