Dancers from Georgia’s Dance Elements did just that in recital
The music moved them so they could – just dance!
Dance students from Georgia Walker’s Mountain Lake dance studio – Georgia’s Dance Elements (GDE) – performed in their first annual recital this past Saturday afternon, June 3, at the BARC (Business, Arts and Recreation Center) in Windom.
Five different classes, along with a trio of solo dancers, were onstage for the recital numbers.
The classes and soloists included:
+ Free Movement 1 – Penelope Bartel, Liberty Cenzano, Hali Janzen, Hattie Klassen, Aliyah Mullen, Kaylin Nickel and Afina Ortiz.
+ Free Movement 2 – Claire Adrian, Camille Blom, Evalyn Luna, Emma Naxay, Isabel Nelson, Brenna Oldenburg, Hannah Savage, Mikaya Schroeder and Annie Watson.
+ Pre-Tap – Isabel Nelson, Brenna Oldenburg, Adleigh Olson and Annie Watson.
+ Level One Tap – Bryn Bell, Harlie Krueger, Taryn Marcy, Ashlyn Pfeiffer and Heidi Pfeiffer.
+ Level One Combination – Danika Gohr, Kelby Janzen, Reed Johnson, Brynlee Morey, Kallyn Morey, Nevaeh Ott, Phithsada Phoumivong, Aleena Vetsouvanh and Lily Youngwirth.
+ Level Three Combination – Hailey Groebner and Madison Hartle.
+ Soloists – Alina Inthamthirath, Kaylani Inthamthirath and Evalyn Luna.
The dancers “showed off” many different types of dance styles during the course of the recital, including ballet, jazz and tap.
There will be three more chances to catch the dancers in presentation this summer, as they will be appearing at a trio of area festivals:
- At Windom’s Riverfest on Saturday, June 10. They will be onstage in the square at 1 p.m., and will also participate in the parade later that day.
- At Mountain Lake’s Pow Wow on Tuesday, June 20. They will dance on the Mountain Lake City Band Stand Stage at 5 p.m.
- At Butterfield’s Summer Sizzler on Saturday, July 1. This performance will be on the Voss Park Stage in Voss Park at 1 p.m.
Below is a photo gallery from the recital. All photos are courtesy of Emily Adrian:
About GDE, Georgia Walker
Georgia’s Dance Elements (GDE) has been dancing in Mountain Lake since last fall, with classes held in the Mountain Lake Community Center. GDE strives to provide an enthusiastic, positive environment for young dancers (ages three and up) to learn and excel in the styles of jazz, tap, clog and hip hop.
Georgia Walker, the owner and instructor of GDE, has a total of 20 years of dance experience. She started dancing at age five when her mom enrolled her in a tap class. She was in love immediately. Georgia began taking jazz and clog classes after completing a couple years of tap. Throughout grade school she competed in numerous competitions in the styles of tap, jazz, and clog, and won many group and solo awards. She competed with her solos in tap and clog in the Bill Riley Talent Search across Iowa, winning numerous times and qualifying for the finals at the Iowa State Fair. In grade school, Georgia’s favorite style was clog because of the up-beat, fun steps and combinations.
Once Georgia began high school, she continued to take tap, jazz, and clog classes at her local studio, but also tried out for the high school dance team. High school dance team is where Georgia started to learn the styles of pom high kick, and hip-hop. Georgia’s dance team was very competitive and were three-time state champions in various styles while she was on the team. As captain of the dance team her junior and senior years, she realized she had a passion for teaching dance. Throughout high school, Georgia’s favorite styles were both clog (still) and jazz.
After graduating high school, Georgia attended Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, where she studied Business Administration with an Accounting Emphasis and earned a minor in Dance. She also competed on the dance team at Morningside and was on the Athletic Honor Roll. Georgia’s college dance team won Grand Champion for their hip hop routine at the Valentines Day Classic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and were National Champions at the UPA National Competition in 2013. Her team won numerous awards in the styles of jazz/lyrical and pom at the Iowa State Drill Team Association Competition and various other competitions. She took tap, jazz, dance history and social dance to earn her minor in Dance. Throughout college Georgia taught tap and jazz classes at a local dance studio (Socorra’s Performing Arts Studio of Sioux City)
After Georgia graduated college, she started working as a Specialty Shop Manager at Scheels. She still taught jazz classes at Socorra’s Performing Arts Studio in the evenings though. Georgia loved her job at Scheels, transferring to Rochester, Minnesota to help open a new store and then transferring to Mankato, Minnesota. Georgia and her husband moved to Mountain Lake in fall 2015.
Georgia can reached at: georgiasdanceelements@gmail.com.
