Ryan Lely/SonomaValley Sun
Sophie d’Angelique (left) and Melissa Barnett (right) hold up a rainbow silk while Wyatt Cerles and Audrey Conder run through.
A couple of local preschoolers took their first baby ballet steps on Monday, Sept. 15, at the Dazzle Dance Studio in Fetters Hot Springs. It was the first day of business for the studio-cum-community center, which has been in development for nearly a year. The main studio is lined with mirrors on two sides and decorated with bright paint and colorful scarves and other accessories that founder/instructor Melissa Barnett incorporates into some of the routines, especially those oriented towards toddlers.
Dazzle Dance Studio’s ambitious calendar features weekly classes in preschool ballet, yoga, family fitness and belly and ballroom dancing, along with less frequent instruction in salsa, tap and jazz movement, plus “Rock the Casbah” described as “aerobic-Arabic” fun on the last Friday evening of each month. Three weekday mornings are set aside for children or even babies to enjoy Open Play, which on various days may involve tumbling or balancing activities.
The classes are a mix of activities for children, teenagers, adults and families and more variety is on the way, including traditional Indian dance and singing circles. The studio already offers ongoing classes in theater production, including instruction in stage craft, costuming, music and dramatic arts. On top of all that is a six-week Circus Arts Program.
Barnett’s vision extends far beyond the dance floor, however. She intends for the location to serve as a community resource that provides “mother mentoring” – referrals, advocacy and assistance to families in crisis.
“When you’re going through a crisis, you need help,” she said. “Everything becomes more complicated when you’re in stress.”
To that end, about six months ago she helped create, via the Kigali Center, a nonprofit called Mother to Mother to serve the needs of mothers and children that are not currently being met elsewhere in the Sonoma Valley community. As executive director, Barnett said Mother to Mother has already made “baby steps” by reaching out to other local nonprofits to see what their needs are and how her group can be of assistance. (As an example, she mentioned working with the YWCA, a local resource for families coping with domestic violence.) Proceeds from the studio classes help support Mother to Mother.
Barnett is seeking volunteers, especially those with social service or legal backgrounds to help take calls and set up appointments with Legal Aid or other organizations.
Dazzle Dance Studio is open Monday-Friday at 17855 Hwy. 12; 707.938.7107; www.dazzledance.org.
