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Photo courtesy of Dance with Lauren.
Lauren Marsh with some of her dancers at the 10-year recital for Dance with Lauren.
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Mountain Brook resident Lauren Marsh started Dance With Lauren in a little corner of Mountain Brook Elementary with 58 dancers-in-training.
Now, 10 years later, the dance studio boasts more than 300 students.
At this year’s annual recital, that decade of dance was cause for celebration.
Marsh, who grew up in the community and was captain of the Dorian dance team at Mountain Brook High School, said the May 10 recital at the MBHS Fine Arts Center was the culmination of many things.
Along with being the 10-year celebration for the dance company, it was also the end of an era for several of her dancers. Of the 300 who participated, some had been with the studio since it first opened in 2006. Marsh said she watched them mature in front of her eyes, from little 4-year-old girls to young women. The recital, which featured girls ages 4 through 18, reminded her of the cyclical nature of her job.
It’s that aspect that she said she enjoys the most. “I’ve watched them grow up,” Marsh said. “Watched them grow as children and dancers every year.”
That dynamic is not always the case in dance studios, she said. A first-grader might take a dance class in one place and then move on to another in a different year. That’s not the norm at Dance with Lauren. Marsh said it’s her connection with the community that has helped her students — and their parents — come back for more each year.
“I’m really proud to teach dance here,” Marsh said. “It’s an incredible community, priceless really.”
In her own career as a dancer, Marsh studied and continues to study in places that include the Edge Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles and STEPS and Broadway Dance Center in New York. She also has performed with the Alabama Ballet. Some of her more notable performances include the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Orange Bowl halftime show.
Dance classes are offered for girls 4 and older. Dancers may pick from a wide variety of classes, including jazz, hip-hop, dance team prep, tap and ballet. Each year, they have the opportunity to participate in the Mountain Brook Christmas Parade as well as the spring recital.
Fall registration for Dance with Lauren is held in July. Summer camp information, which will be June 27-30 is available at dancewithlauren.com.
