image description
Eleven students from Dancecapade in Adams pose with a Mickey Mouse cutout in Disney World. The girls danced down Main Street, U.S.A., at Disney World in December.
image description
image description
image description

Dancecapade Members Return From Disney World

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story

The girls got to go behind the scenes at the Florida theme park.
ADAMS, Mass. — Nearly a dozen local girls had the chance to perform in front of thousands at Disney World last year.
 
Dancecapade owner Jaclyn Grabicki brought 11 of her dancers to the Florida theme park in mid-December to perform alongside 45 other studios. 
 
"When I opened my studio that was something that I kind of prided myself on. I wanted to give the girls opportunities to get out of this area to see other venues," she said. "Watching them dance at Disney and watching them perform was the greatest thing for me to see because it is something that you don't think you are ever going to be able to do for them." 
 
Grabicki said the trip was not a competition but rather an opportunity for her girls to perform on a world stage at Disney Springs and a parade through the Magic Kingdom. 
 
Dancer Hayden Therrien, who is about to turn 16, said it was quite the experience performing in front of thousands of people from all over the world.
 
"We had the confidence and we believed in ourselves," she said. "It was hard at first but when we got together and moved around, we got it ... we are a smaller studio compared to some of the others that were there and we stuck out."
 
Fellow dancer Rylin Larabee, who is about to turn 11, agreed that it was a bit of a shock.
 
"I was so nervous," she said. "I thought, 'oh no.'"
 
Grabicki said this was a first for a lot of the girls who are used to competing and performing in front of smaller groups.
 
Rylin's mom, Caitlin, agreed. 
 
"I thought it was an amazing opportunity for her to go and dance in front of such a crowd," she said. "She is only 10 years old and it was just amazing for her to be dancing in front of thousands of people. It took a lot of courage."
 
Mom Kathryn LeBlanc said she was proud of her daughter Macaela LeBlanc as well as the rest of the girls for their professionalism. She thought the experience has changed her daughter.  
 
"I have noticed since Disney she has come out of her shell," she said. "She is going to be auditioning for the opening number for our recital, which is not something she would have done prior."
 
She added that this great performance did not just happen and lauded Grabicki's efforts prior to the trip to make sure the girls were prepared.
 
"Jackie worked hard with the girls for hours every week," she said. "She would come in on Saturday or Monday nights. Whenever she could to make sure they were ready."
 
The 11 students were in Florida from Dec. 12 to 16 and got to enjoy the sights  when they weren't dancing.
 
"I went on a lot of roller coasters," Rylin said. 
 
She added that they also were ferried across Disney Springs, which was only reserved for the performers.
 
Grabicki said they were given the backstage passes during the trip.
 
"We got to see behind the scenes things that normal people who go to Disney do not get to see," she said. "We kind of got treated like a cast member and were able to go places that were not available to the public ... some places the parents weren't even allowed to go."
 
Therrien said this was her favorite part. 
 
"We got to see a lot of stuff that we haven't seen before and we got to work with different choreographers," she said. "We got to see like the floats for the parade before they were out in public."
 
Macaela's favorite part of the trip was all encompassing and she "liked everything" as did dancer Kelsey Brown, who was most excited about the parade.
 
Grabicki thanked the community for supporting the dance studio's fundraising effort for the trip. She noted it is no easy task raising funds to send 11 girls down to Disney World.
 
"We are from a small community and these parents did a lot of fundraising and the community was a very big help," she said. "They helped get the kids there and being from a small town sometimes you don't get offered that kind of stuff."
 
Instructor and parent Nicole Brown added it was amazing to see the banners in the parade that said "Adams, Massachusetts."
 
"Seeing the banner and seeing the kids coming down, I was just overwhelmed I started crying," she said. "I never thought in my wildest dreams that my daughter would be marching down Main Street in Disney."
 
Grabicki said it was a moment she will hold on to forever.
 
"You almost want to freeze it so you can keep it ... it went by so quickly," she said. "We spent all of this time rehearsing and went by in a blink of an eye." 
 
Grabicki said it is important for young athletes to travel and perform in new places. She hopes to bring the trip back in a couple a years so her younger dancers will also have the opportunity to go.
 
The students who traveled to Disney World are: Kelsey Brown, Ainsley Dean, Kaeli Dean, Vanessa Harrington, Courtney Kanelos, Genevieve Lagess, Rylin Larabee, Macaela LeBlanc, Lillian Meehan, Rebecca Poulton, and Hayden Therrien.

Tags: dance,   disney,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Hoosac Valley High School is Moving and Shaking

There have been some major shifts within the Hoosac Valley Regional School District recently, all of which have focused on enhancing the student experience to make it a place where ALL students can find their path.
 
In 2023, Hoosac Valley High School was designated an Innovation Pathway School by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and has since restructured the Program of Studies, utilized creative scheduling, and expanded internship opportunities. Part of this transformation includes participating in a "Portrait of a Graduate" cohort alongside four other Berkshire County schools to determine a collective vision for student success, in partnership with the BARR Foundation.
 
The Innovation Pathways at HVHS are designed to give students coursework and experience in a specific high-demand industry, such as technology, engineering, healthcare, or life sciences. Currently, Biomedical Science & Healthcare and Environmental Studies have received official state IP designation. In addition to the IP designated pathways, HVHS offers programs in Engineering & Technology, Business & Entrepreneurship, Arts & Entertainment, Education, and Sports Medicine. The result is that students have an opportunity for a transformative experience – enabling them to build essential skills, gain awareness of future career opportunities, and make informed choices about post-secondary education in promising fields.
 
Principal Colleen Byrd notes, "What makes our program special is that entry into the Pathway of your choice allows a student to access Advanced Placement and dual enrollment college courses, as well as internships in the community to set them up for success after high school."
 
The Portrait of a Graduate initiative consists of a team of Hoosac educators and students who exemplify the essential skills, practices, and beliefs that define learning experiences across the district. They work to outline the competencies, values, skills, and knowledge that define our vision for student success – keeping in mind that not every student's pathway will look the same. The District's goal is to ensure that all students graduate as responsible people, prepared individuals, lifelong learners, global citizens, critical thinkers, and thoughtful communicators.
 
Another recent change district-wide in grades K-12 is the "Crew" culture. Teachers and students now have time each day to create positive connections and build authentic relationships with one another. Through Responsive Classroom at the elementary school and Crew at the middle and high schools, students and staff gather for 30 minutes each day to engage in meaningful experiences rooted in mutual and shared interests. 
The Crew block is a prioritized structure that allows staff to support all students socially, emotionally, and academically – anchoring them and promoting the Portrait of a Graduate competencies. Crew takes many forms at the high school, such as gardening, bird watching, yoga, and sports talk with visits to college games.
 
View Full Story

More Adams Stories