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By Tricia Carzoli NEWS@THEWOODSTOCKINDEPENDENT.COM

Woodstock Dance Academy is under new ownership after former owner and director Linda Pohlman transferred ownership to English Brielle Swanson, long-time dance instructor at the studio, in late December.

Pohlman, an accomplished dancer who trained in California and further studied under Judith Svalander, Pamela Bedford, and Lou Conte at Hubbard Street Dance Company, owned the ballet studio that emphasized classic ballet training for eight years before passing the reins to Swanson in what was described as a gift transaction.

Swanson had taught for Pohlman for three years and has developed a strong rapport with the dancers.

“I am so thankful that English came at the right time,” Pohlman said. “We have similar vision, similar training, and similar values.”

Swanson takes the helm of Woodstock Dance Academy, 227 E. Calhoun St., during a challenging time, but brings with her the promise of a hopeful future.

“I’m excited,” she said. “I’m very excited. I knew that this was some- English Brielle thing that I Swanson wanted, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon.”

Swanson is a classically trained ballerina who similarly studied under Judith Svalander and performed and trained with the Judith Svalander Dance Theater, the Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Austin, and Hubbard Street

INDEPENDENT PHOTOS BY TRICIA CARZOLI

Dance Company. More recently, while recovering from an injury, Swanson began dancing and teaching at Nino DiGiulio’s Chicago ballroom dance studio, May I Have This Dance. It was there that she fell in love with a new form of dance.

“When I couldn’t dance [ballet] due to an injury,” Swanson explained, “Ballroom dance was such a light in the darkness for me. I can’t wait to share it with others.”

Swanson hopes to introduce ballroom dance to the studio as she appreciates all dance styles for their uniqueness.

“Dance is such a beautiful form of expression,” she said. “It is creative and artistic and instills discipline.”

She also emphasized dance as a performing art, and she is eager to have her students return to performance soon.

“It is important to be able to share our hard work and recognize the successes they work so hard for,” she said.

Woodstock Dance Academy was founded by Pohlman in 2013 as a classical ballet school for area dancers looking for dance training in the Russian style. The building has also been home to the Woodstock Ballet Studio, founded by German and Russian ballet instructor Lydia Randolph. It moved from the Square to the Calhoun location in 1984 and resided there until 2000, when Kim (Auvenshine) McLaughlin took over the studio, keeping the name and using the studio space until 2013, just before Pohlman began Woodstock Dance Academy.

The building that now houses the studio – along with Stewart’s Cleaners, The Clothing Closet, and B Shear – was at once time a Montgomery Ward Auto Service Center before taking on multiple businesses at various times.

Despite the change of ownership, Woodstock Dance Academy will remain focused on classical ballet, including fundamental ballet technique, pointe, character, jazz, and contemporary style dance under the direction of Swanson, with an anticipated addition of ballroom dance.

Adhering to Tier 3 Mitigations, all classes at Woodstock Dance Academy are being conducted over Zoom and will continue until it is safe to resume in-person classes.

“It isn’t ideal,” Swanson admitted, “But the students continue to impress me. They are online most of the day for school, and they still come to class and remain focused. It is inspirational for me.”

Swanson also has begun to offer private lessons for advanced students.

Lydia Johanson, 12, a beginning pointe student, said that taking a private lesson helped. It is more focused and she receives more attention, she said.

One-on-one training is helpful, Swanson explained, even when the students are able to have in-person classes because it allows her to study the progression of technique for each dancer.

“It is so beneficial to have that ability to make corrections,” Swanson said, “to really look at the movements and precision.”

Regular classes and class schedule will continue for the near future.

“I want the students to feel comfortable with the transition,” Swanson said. “We aren’t changing the focus.”

Pohlman said she would remain involved with the studio in whatever capacity was needed.

“Linda has done such a great job here,” Swanson said. “I am excited to continue in her tradition.”

In addition, Swanson hopes to bring more adults into her studio as well, hoping that, when COVID-19 restrictions ease, people will crave interaction. She hopes social dancing will thrive at the studio and a ballroom program will flourish in addition to classic ballet training.

“I sometimes think that this was a scary time to take this on,” she said, “but then I think it is exactly the right time. There is so much promise. There is so much to build on. If our students are thriving now, I cannot wait to see what they will do when we are back in person.