The Dance Center (TDC), a venerable dance institution that has been serving the Brandon community for over 30 years, is now under the ownership of Brentwood and Hannah Townend. The Dance Center, previously owned by Alice and Roger Bock, is the home of the nonprofit company Brandon Ballet.
Brentwood and Hannah are both graduates of the University of South Florida’s Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in Dance program.
Hannah said, “We met while attending the B.F.A. dance program at the University of South Florida.” She added, “Through our dating, engagement and beginning of marriage, we always held the dream of having a dance company named Mahogany Blue Dance together ‘one day.’ That dream was realized in a way we never expected. The name of TDC is not changing, but our dreams of building up the next generation of dancers who know excellence of both character and artistry is beautifully unfolding before us.”
Hannah explained, “We like to say that we do not run a dance studio; we run a leadership and character development program that happens to use dance as the delivery method. We recognize that only a small percentage of our students will become professional artists, but all of them are becoming professional people. We want to provide every student with the tools to grow into the best they can be, both artistically and personally. As owners, we will strive to provide students with the most comprehensive dance training to prepare them for a wide range of vocational and artistic endeavors.”
The Townends have established a leadership program. Each month, teachers emphasize a specific leadership skill within their lessons, bringing attention to how dance builds responsible, compassionate and humble dancers. At the end of each month, students are nominated for their expression of these character traits and rewarded for their diligence in and outside the dance studio.
In addition, they have started an adult dance program.
Hannah said, “Our adult program includes a beginner and an intermediate ballet class in addition to an adult contemporary/modern class. It is such a treat getting to see adults who have always dreamed of dancing realize their passion with such confidence.”
Hannah added, “Alice Bock did a phenomenal job at building the reputation of The Dance Center, making sure the community knows this is where you get real and true classical dance training. We seek to uphold that tradition and will always be the hub for classical training in Brandon.”
For more information, please visit https://brandondance.com/.
