Linda Rees, the owner of Dance Magic, fell in love with Noblesville and Hamilton County so deeply that she is moving her renowned performing arts center to 10400 Pleasant St. on July 1. The studio’s new home will be in the Midland Building and will offer kids of all skill levels a world-class opportunity to learn more about the arts.
Dance Magic is located in the Midland Building at 10400 Pleasant St., Noblesville. (Photo provided)
“I moved up into the Noblesville area four years ago and I fell in love with the area,” Rees told The Reporter. “I recognized that what we do might be something that the people of Hamilton County and surrounding areas would enjoy. We offer quite a bit of training and performance opportunities for kids in the arts.”
Rees has been teaching a variety of dance styles for over 50 years.
“Last year I celebrated my 50th year,” Rees said. “We incorporated in 1981, but I started teaching 50 years ago. We have all styles available: Ballet of course, we do tap, musical theater, all forms of jazz including contemporary and lyrical and we do hip hop.”
The majority of the student body for Dance Magic is kids, but they do offer an extensive adult program. One project Rees would like to bring to Hamilton County is a senior citizen’s program.
Dance Magic is a competition studio and has been quite successful in the competition world.
“The thing I am most proud of is the number of dancers who have gone into the business and done quite well,” Rees said. “We have had a Rockette, we have had a couple on Broadway, I have a male dancer right now who is out in L.A. doing fabulous work. Two of our dancers are with Dance Kaleidoscope.”
Claire Austin (left) and Gabrielle Mullins. (Photo provided)
Rees described her mission as keeping the arts alive.
“We are a serious training program but we have a lot of fun too,” Rees said. “We have performed at the Sydney and London Olympic Games. We have toured New York a couple times. We have toured Europe a couple times. We provide so many opportunities. For the kids who have a passion for the arts, we give them a good vehicle to develop their skills.”
Dance Magic is accepting new registrations now and will accept students as young a two and a half years old.
“We want the world to be dancing,” Rees said. “We also have a big program for people who just want to come and have fun with dancing and musical theater. Everyone loves to sing and dance. When the movie Frozen came out, every little girl could sing that song.”
Once they are settled into the Noblesville area, you can expect to see several local performances each year featuring her students.
“We always do a winter ballet which I write for my dancers,” Rees told The Reporter. “We do original ballets and we do a gala each year that gives our dancers the opportunity to perform different ballet variations. For example, we did Act 2 of Giselle. We do a very sweet version of Nutcracker at Christmas time and we always do a lot of recitals and local performing.”
Taylor Linser, Abigail Rolfson and Mallory Hagerty. (Photo provided)
Dance Magic also has a program called Broadway Bound that includes anything and everything to do with Broadway musicals. Students will learn about musical theater and the choreographers and composers who are making Broadway happen.
Dance Magic will open classes in Hamilton County on July 1 and registration is now open. Stop by 10400 Pleasant St., Noblesville, call (317) 430-2420 or visit online at DMPAC.net.
Keep reading The Reporter for information on the Dance Magic grand opening event coming soon.