Blue Studio Dance marks third year with spring concert at HVRHS

LAKEVILLE – Blue Studio Dance marked its third year in business Saturday, May 16, with a spring concert at Housatonic Valley Regional High School featuring 115 dancers from towns across the region. Families and friends filled the auditorium to celebrate the culmination of a year of classes for dancers ages three and older.

“We’re really happy,” said co-founder Darcy Boynton after the concert. “Each year we learn so much and we’re always revising and changing how we do things to make it better.”

The concert featured a range of ages and dance styles, from fairytale ballet for the youngest dancers to tap, jazz, musical theater, ballet, contemporary and hip hop. The program also included student choreography and solos by high school seniors.

Boynton and co-founder Amber Cameron started Blue Studio Dance in 2023 to fill what they saw as a gap in dance opportunities in the community.

“So many good things in the world come from mothers wanting something for their children, looking around, not seeing it, and saying, ‘Well, I guess I have to do it myself,’” said Boynton, a mother of two.

“We wanted to build a place where kids could grow in all kinds of ways,” Boynton said, adding that the goal is to ensure Blue Studio remains welcoming to dancers of all commitment and skill levels.

Young dancers perform Sergei Prokofiev’s “Peter and theWolf,” narrated by David Bowie. Aly Morrissey

Boynton grew up dancing on the same property in the Gray Studio before the Blue Studio was built. Though she always knew she wanted to work with children and own her own business, she said it’s still surreal to see the community that has formed in just a short time.

“It blows my mind to look around and see the yard full of kids, parents and siblings playing in the grass while classes turn over, and all the busyness and excitement,” Boynton said.

“We wanted to create something that was community-based and creativity-driven,” she added.

Boynton’s eldest daughter, Remy, who participated in five Blue Studio classes this spring, said she feels natural on stage. Asked what it’s like to have a mother who runs a dance studio, Remy’s answer was effusive.

“It’s kind of like being famous,” she said, “Everybody at school is always asking, ‘What’s happening at the dance studio?’”

While the curtain has closed on the regular season, Blue Studio is turning to summer programming, including a three-week summer intensive for dancers ages nine and older, and a five-week visual arts camp with ROYGBIV founder and arts educator Ali DeProdocini.

For more information and to register, visit bluestudiodance.com.

Intermediate jazz dancers perform to “Don’t Take the Money” by the band Bleachers. Aly Morrissey