Kim Thomas, the director of Prince William Dance Academy, applied her knowledge of science and fitness to her career as a dance instructor, believing dance is a sport in which both recreational and serious dancers need to train and develop their bodies through proper technique and practice.
“Dance involves very specific muscle training for each discipline, and for girls who dance several hours a week, and take different disciplines or genres, it is the equivalent of athletic cross training," Thomas said.
Thomas has a wealth of information on dance and wellness, since she has dedicated her life to her two passions, dance and fitness.
“I was fortunate that my mother was a dance teacher and had a studio, so I grew up in a studio world. As a dance student, I attended master classes and dance conventions, and had opportunities to perform at many local events,” Thomas said.
As a college student, Thomas sought to find her own path in the world, thus majoring in health and fitness, just as the wellness movement was taking hold.
“My life has been spent straddling both worlds. (I have) a really strong science background, which helps me understand and interpret body movement in both a biomechanical and artistic way,” Thomas said.
However, even in college, Thomas found that dance remained a large part of her life, and she continued to teach and perform. After college, she spent several years working in health and fitness industry, and she returned to dance full time when she opened the Prince William Dance Academy in 2002 in Nokesville.
In 2006, PWDA moved to their current location, a unique historic spot in downtown Nokesville just a short drive from Bristow. Her dance studio employs four dance instructors and offers classes in ballet, tap, jazz, modern dance, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical and creative movement for young children.
However, she also sees dance as an art form that evolved out of ballet and other classical forms.
“Dance is a very dynamic world, but you still need to be grounded in the basics. Ballet has always been defined as a fundamental discipline because it requires the student to master movement vocabulary and technique, qualities that translate to all dance disciplines”
This is why she requires her serious dancers to take ballet class weekly.
“I come from a classical background of training in ballet, tap and jazz, but today, dance continues to evolve into unique disciplines. Street/break dancing moved into the studio and became hip-hop, and within hip -hop specific styles have emerged such as krumping, popping, locking and vogue. In tap, you have musical theatre tap, Broadway tap, and rhythm tap styles, all with their unique history of emergence. Likewise, lyrical and contemporary have origins in ballet.”
Most of all, she is flexible with her students, and for new students, accessing their interest may require exploring different classes.
“Hopefully, they are here because they are having fun doing it,” she said.
She is happy to work with the child who enjoys dance as a weekly extra curricular activity. She believes dance helps young children develop essential life skills such as confidence, learning to follow directions, and getting along with others, as well as introducing them to a creative, cultural art form.
For serious students, who are very passionate about dancing, and who enjoy performing, she suggests inquiring about PWDA’s competition dance team.
PWDA welcomes students from ages three years through to adult and from beginners to advanced. Most dance classes at Prince William Dance Academy are small with an average of 15 students or less, allowing students to receive more individual attention.
Prince William Dance Academy is accepting new students until January of 2013. Visit their website www.princewilliamdance.com or call 703-594-3223 for more information.
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