At Vantage Pointe dance studio, Managing Director Gina Schiraldi and Artistic Director J.J. Butler have 20 years’ combined experience teaching both girls and boys to dance. Former students currently dance professionally on Broadway and Los Angeles stages. Today, many of the studio’s younger students attend local arts magnet schools the Dreyfoos School of the Arts and the Bak Middle School of the Arts. The big news is Vantage Pointe’s new studio, now open at the northwest corner of Lake Worth Road and State Road 7 in the Marketplace at Wycliffe. Schiraldi explained that while the studio offers many styles of dance, “our ballet is for serious training. If you want to become successful, ballet is the basis for all other forms of dance.”
Vantage Pointe focuses on the Vagonava style of classical ballet, placing students according to age and previous training. Rehearsal outfits and hairstyles become more structured as commitment increases. “Ballet is just the grounding,” Schiraldi explained. “We also offer an extensive amount of hip-hop, which the kids love. We have jazz and lyrical, contemporary and tap. Musical theater focuses on how to act onstage and become almost an actor as well as a dancer. Many students move from room to room so they take several classes on one visit.” Stressing the importance of stage presence as well as dance skills, a Vantage Pointe recital is a show in two acts. The traditional half features one dance following another. The other half is a stage show with a storyline. “We usually do Disney-based recitals,” Schiraldi
said. “One year we did The Wizard of Oz combined with The Wiz. The kids really loved it.” Vantage Pointe’s competition dancers, the studio’s most serious students, travel throughout Florida to compete against the best from other studios. Individualized dances are choreographed for them by instructors with professional experience. “I run a community program,” Schiraldi said. “I live in Wellington; my children live in Wellington, and my students will be the neighbors and classmates of my children. I love those kids, and I love watching them grow.” Vantage Pointe is located in the Marketplace at Wycliffe at 4075 State Road 7. For more information, call (561) 965-9898 or visit www.vpdancestudios.com.
(Right) Vantage Pointe ballet students Danika Butler (standing), Vanessa Schiraldi (on knee) and Tamsyn Butler (sitting). (Above inset) Schiraldi stands ready to perform. WELLINGTONTHE THEMAGAZINE MAGAZINE• •AUGUST AUGUST2009 2009 WELLINGTON
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