Triple Threat School of

SCHOOL OF DANCE, MUSIC, & ACTING

Where the Arts Take Center Stage

BY MARTIE EMORY PHOTOS BY PHOTO ARTISTRY BY MELINDA

As a shining example of performance success in her own right, owner Holly Grubb Smith operates Triple Threat School of Dance, Music, & Acting with style and savvy, embracing all the wisdom she has gathered personally while touring and teaching for over 31 years.

The High Point native owns both the studio’s convenient locations—the Winston-Salem location for the past 22 years, and the High Point studio for the past 12 years. Factor in the dedicated, gifted teaching staff of 13 who travel back and forth between the two studios, and the Triple Threat experience is a perfect choice if you have an eye on becoming a professional performer, or if you simply want to have fun and enjoy the arts!

If you’re curious about the name, Holly is happy to elaborate.

SCHOOL OF DANCE, MUSIC, & ACTING

“In my years of auditioning, including for the Radio City Rockettes, where I performed for six years, I saw firsthand that true performers are proficient in all three areas,” says Holly. The trio of well-rounded programs at Triple Threat—that’s music, dance, and acting—allows students to develop skills working within a group setting, and inspires creativity in kids of all ages. Of course, each element on the Triple Threat “menu” sparks its own unique self-confidence in students, as well as enhanced self-esteem, but Triple Threat students can choose to focus on just one discipline at a time if that’s more in their comfort zone.

Besides her college degree in dance education (with certification for K-12), her years of professional dancing leave Holly well-equipped to guide anyone learning the ropes of auditioning and taking their learning to the next level—making dance, music or acting a rewarding career. Triple Threat also has its own competition team, giving young dancers opportunities to perform on stage throughout the year. In addition to their more traditional June recitals, the school also presents a Benefit Performance in February, where ticket proceeds go to assist a children’s charity or a family in need.

“Not only does the Benefit Performance give our students the chance to perform on stage, it also teaches them to give back to the community,” says Holly.

Besides the fun and excitement of singing, dancing, and forming new friendships, exposing children—and even adults –to dance, music and acting, helps boost the brain, build motor skills, and most of all, create all-important confidence.

“Being part of a dance, music, and acting studio teaches important social and life skills like discipline, teamwork, how to relate to others, and strong leadership skills,” Holly explains. “These lessons also help with focus, and stimulate the brain in association with memory, emotional development, and academic achievement.”

Clearly not solely for kids—if the idea of strengthening your own focus and memory is appealing, maybe it’s time to take up a new hobby as an adult! The dance and music “menu” at Triple Threat seems to cover it all: ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, hip-hop, pointe, and tumble on the dance side, or there are vocal lessons, electric and acoustic guitar, bass, ukulele, flute, viola, violin, drums, trombone, tuba, saxophone, and clarinet—all under one roof. For budding actors, Jr. Musical Theatre is for ages five through 10 and includes dance, voice and acting. Drama II for middle and high school students, who will also learn stage direction and experience the opportunity to direct other students in class scenes.

And there’s an extra special ingredient in every single one of those classes!

“We focus on education and technique, but we also focus on love,” shares Holly. “For example, one of our younger students may have had a particularly difficult day at school, but coming here afterwards gives them a positive outlet, with something fun and happy to anticipate!”

Triple Threat provides an all-inclusive environment, a strong staff of teachers with impressive backgrounds, and an overall air of comfort and consistency for ages at which many children need it most. The studio also offers an arts-based preschool program, for ages two through five, that includes an academic curriculum that’s also sprinkled—of course—with visual arts, music, movement, and dramatic arts.

Visit Triple Threat School of Dance, Music, & Acting at 4759 Commercial Plaza Street, Winston-Salem, to see for yourself how the creativity flows and how those masterful rhythms can benefit your own family! Reach them at 336-794-3942, and online at 3threatdance.com for details on registering, class schedules, and complete parent information. Triple Threat in High Point is located at 4008 Mendenhall Oaks Pkwy, Suite 113, in High Point, 336-884-3942. Both studios run on the school calendar year from August through June—with summer camps also available in dance, music, and acting—and they also do birthday parties!

Surprising Facts about Teaching and Learning at FCDS

BY PRISCILLA ST. JOHN

At Forsyth Country Day School, teachers teach and students learn…but that’s only part of the story. Read on for some interesting facts about teaching and learning and why it’s so important to the student experience!

FCDS has a Teaching and Learning team.

Associate Head of School for Teaching and Learning Dr. Michelle Klosterman and Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning Dr. Yolanda McClure work closely with administrators, department heads, and teachers to serve the needs of students every day. How? Drs. Klosterman and McClure evaluate what both students and teachers need and work to meet those needs—from evaluating the curriculum and the schedule to assessing what academic technology is needed and what professional development will help our teachers most.

It’s student-centered.

Think of teaching and learning as a series of concentric circles with a student in the middle, Dr. Klosterman suggested. “We have a student in the center, then you have the teachers supporting them, then around the teacher is the division director to make sure there’s cohesiveness from teacher to teacher,” she said. Meanwhile, the teaching and learning team is connecting the dots to ensure that facilities, technology, athletics, and other departments are doing what needs to be done to support everyone. “My job is to be aware of what’s happening with the student experience; what’s directly happening in the classroom. I’m watching and I’m interacting with them and listening to what they’re doing. I’m listening to parents to understand the student experience, so that I can figure out how to relay that to other departments on campus and decide how to make sure those other departments are focused on the student experience.”

We believe in better teaching through science (neuroscience, that is).

Our teaching and learning experts help teachers find the most effective research-based ways to reach different learners. Boys, for example, learn differently than girls, Dr. McClure said. “There’s a lot of brain research on the differences between boys and girls as students. Boys need to have relationships with their teachers in order to learn, so building that relationship is vital to their achievement.”

Another example involves increased repetition for striving students—kids who Dr. McClure describes as still striving towards excellence. “We are consistently reminding teachers that striving students need more repetition, more practice. If you’re teaching vocabulary, a typical student has to hear a new word 20-30 times before they know it,” Dr. McClure said. “Striving students need to hear it 70-80 times. It’s not that they’re incapable. They simply need more repetition.”

Classrooms are teachers, too.

“The learning environment is definitely another teacher,” Dr. Klosterman said. “There’s a lot of neuroscience research on the impact of the instructional environment on learning, including what is and isn’t on the wall. There can be too much there. Clutter can be distracting, not instructional. If the materials in the classroom don’t rotate and aren’t specific to what you’re learning at that time, they’re considered a distraction.”

Dr. McClure works one-on-one with FCDS teachers to help them better serve our students. “I support teachers from preschool through twelfth grade,” she said. “If they’re interested in, or curious about, a particular instructional practice, I help them research the practice. We co-plan lessons, and then I help them with feedback as they teach the lessons.” Recent things she worked on include adding more writing to an Upper School science class and finding an effective strategy for group work in Middle School. Having teachers at FCDS who truly embrace life-long learning and strive for excellence in all they do makes her job a lot easier.

They’re here to cheer teachers and students on.

“I like to think of the teaching and learning team as the cheerleaders of the school,” Dr. McClure said. “I do classroom walk-throughs weekly. In the classrooms, we like to cheer them on. When I go in, I’m observing and I leave notes like, ‘You rocked your lesson—very succinct!’ or ‘You’re doing an awesome job.’ In both offering constructive feedback, and in regular support of our awesome teachers, we’re truly here just to support the experience of the students by supporting the teachers.”

Want to learn more about what we’re doing at FCDS and see teaching and learning in action? Schedule your tour today! Visit FCDS.org/ admission or call 336-946-1633.

Forsyth Country Day School

FCDS

Curious Learners Authentic Connections Academic Excellence

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