Young Dancers Always in the Spotlight at New Martinsville School

Catherine Heldt-Ebel hopes her dance students will shine in the spotlight.

Not only is Spotlight Dance Academy the name of the new dance school she has opened at the TEST Sports Club in Martinsville, she wants her students to gain the skills and confidence that will help them perform in the spotlight on stage.

Heldt-Ebel, who grew up in Martinsville and graduated from Bridgewater-Raritan High School in 2000, started dancing when she was 3 or 4. That early love of dance has led her to her classes at the school for children at the same tender age.

”I like sharing my love of dance with children,” the mother of four said. “That’s all I wanted to do.”

She has started a “Mommy and Me” class for children ages 8 months to 3 years which features guided playtime and dancing, playing and interacting with other children and adults. Then the children can advance to the pre-dance classes for ages 3 to 5 that starts with interactive stretching and then continues to the fundamentals of ballet and tap.

If you start early, Heldt-Ebel said, dancing will become “second nature” as you grow older and eventually into adulthood. And the key to that, she added, is to give the students a “positive experience” in a “friendly environment,” which is what she is aiming to do at Spotlight.

As a child Heldt-Ebel studied with the New Jersey School of Ballet and the Serova School of Dance. Then as a teenager she graduated to the Broadway Dance Center in New York City where she progressed through her young adult years and successfully completed the rigorous Intern Program. During the Intern Program, she studied with several well-known dance masters and recently completed the center’s Teacher Workshop.

Though Spotlight Dance Academy is the first school of her own, Heldt-Ebel is a veteran dance teacher, having taught at schools throughout Central New Jersey and at all ages (from preschool through adult) and levels (from recreational to competitive).

”I always wanted to open my own school,” she said.

An important part of Heldt-Ebel's philosophy is a commitment to helping the community through dance. She has served as the regional director of National Dance Week and was the Somerset County brigade captain for the Autism Awareness Flash Mob.
 
Her commitment to her students and the inspiration and motivation that she gives to them has paid off in their success, whether it’s taking more advanced classes or performing at various sports events, including Somerset Patriots and Nets games.

Heldt-Ebel is running a summer mini-session now, but in September the school will have a full schedule of classes, including “Mommy and Me”  and pre-dance and a full range of classes in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop and lyrical grouped by age.

In addition, Heldt-Ebel will be running a one-week dance camp from Aug. 26 to 30. The dancers will be grouped by age and ability in the half-day sessions.

In the short time the school has been open, the reception has been “very well,” Heldt-Ebel said. “There has been a lot of interest,” she said.

So far only girls are enrolled in the school, but Heldt-Ebel said she is looking forward to have boys enroll, especially in the hip-hop classes. And, she said, The “Mommy and Me” class can also be “Daddy and Me.”

A unique feature of the Spotlight Dance Academy is that it is located in TEST Sports Club at 1931 Washington Valley Road. TEST (Total Energy System Training) has been open in Martinsville since 1999, owner Kevin Dunn said.

The philosophy of TEST, Dunn said, is to “strive for excellence” no matter your ability or level of fitness. One of the graduates of the TEST program is Joe Flacco, quarterback of the SuperBowl champion Baltimore Ravens

”Nothing in life worth anything comes easy,” he said.  

Heldt-Ebel, who thanked the TEST staff for all their support, hopes that belief in success rubs off on her students.

For more information about the dance school, visit http://www.spotlightattest.com.