How three generations of Thomas Dance Studio women have enriched their community through dance 

   

If you ask the Thomas Dance Studio’s owners what they believe is their greatest success, you won’t hear stories about the professional dancers they’ve trained or the awards they’ve won in competitions. What they are most proud of are the lives they’ve touched and enriched through dance education.

 

Since its inception the 80-year-old Lake Worth, FL, studio has been dedicated not only to teaching the basics of dance and proper technique but to instilling an appreciation of what current co-director Teri Thomas Szember describes as “music, expression, and human relationships” in their students. Through their dancers the Thomases work to instill that appreciation in their community, especially in those who might not otherwise have access to quality dance performances.

 

The Tradition Begins

The studio was founded in 1926 by a young Grace (Arbogast) Thomas. Born in Elkhart, IN, in 1907, Grace was diagnosed with rheumatism at a young age and encouraged to take up dance for health reasons. She began studying ballet and acrobatics and later danced with the Pavley-Oukrainsky Ballet.

 

While attending Notre Dame University, Grace was approached by the legendary football coach Knute Rockne, who asked her to teach dance classes for his famous “Four Horsemen” backfield players to improve their coordination and flexibility. This experience would later inspire her to encourage the boys at the high school near her studio, particularly those on the wrestling team, to join her dance classes.

 

In 1925 Grace moved to Florida, where she met grocery store manager Frederick J. Thomas. Several years later they were married, and Grace opened the doors to the Grace A. Thomas Studio of Dance, bringing the arts to the small but growing community of Lake Worth. In 1928 the couple welcomed their only child, Fred.

 

Grace took her role as a teacher and mentor seriously. She believed in the importance of continuing education and the “process of learning,” as she called it. She studied with master teachers in New York City and joined Dance Masters of America, serving as an instructor and a national officer and helping to develop teacher-training programs. Grace passed on her belief in a broad-based dance education to her students, taking them to New York, Miami, and other cities to train with top teachers.

 

Grace drew her greatest satisfaction from mentoring her students and being involved in her community. Her proudest moments, say her granddaughters, were watching her students grow up and become successful in whatever they chose to pursue, particularly those who chose careers in the performing arts. In 1955 Grace’s name was included in the Capezio “Gallery of Most Famous Dancers,” a list published in the periodical Dance News, and in 1983, the longtime teacher received a 50-year membership award from Dance Masters of America (DMA). The recognition Grace was most proud of was an invitation from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt for the school to perform in a national USO tour during World War II.

 

In 1975, after teaching for nearly 50 years, Grace passed the torch to the next generation, her daughter-in law, Virginia (Sullivan) Thomas. Grace continued to teach until her death 10 years later.

 

The Tradition Continues

Virginia Sullivan had been a student of Grace’s and began teaching for her at age 15. She attended the same schools as Grace’s son, Fred, and the two took class at the Thomas studio together. They married in 1948 and had three children: Teri, Todd, and Tami. In 1952 Fred, a licensed contractor, built the Thomas Dance Studio building. “Fred was always supportive of . . . my involvement in the studio,” Virginia says. “He was willing to play Santa Claus for our holiday parties and even answered to ‘Mr. Virginia!’ ” He helped build props and sets, worked backstage, and taught cotillion classes with his wife for many years.

 

“Grace inspired all of us,” Virginia says. “I was proud to continue the tradition of the family business.” In doing so, she embraced a commitment to continuing education. Under Grace’s tutelage, Virginia had attended numerous state and national dance conventions and studied at the School of American Ballet and with master teachers such as Zachary Solov, Jack Stanly, and John Plaza. As the school’s director she continued to further her education and also began attending teacher-training seminars. “I am always striving to learn and keep studying. You can never learn enough, and [I] feel you must continue to learn and grow,” she says. She joined several dance organizations, including The Palm Beach Ballet Society (a local ballet organization in the 1970s and ’80s), Florida Dance Masters (FDM), and DMA. She has been a member of FDM and DMA for more than 50 years and has served on their boards of directors.

 

Through FDM Virginia and Fred set up a scholarship in Grace’s name; each year, the Grace Thomas Memorial Award is presented to a deserving acrobatics student at the organization’s scholarship auditions. When Fred passed away in 1997, the family set up a second scholarship through FDM, the Fred S. Thomas 3rd Runner-Up Overall Scholarship.

 

Virginia’s commitment to Grace’s tradition extended into community service. She performed in many outreach endeavors over the years, including a performance for injured veterans, and wanted to keep reaching out to the community through dance. One way she did this was by teaching a class to underprivileged children in the Lake Worth area through a Community Foundation grant. “I have been very excited to help provide our local community [with] an opportunity to experience dance and theater,” she says.

 

Virginia’s contributions reach beyond the dance realm. She has served as president of the Lake Worth High School Alumni Foundation and is also a member and past president of the local chapter of the Philanthropic Educational Organization, an international women’s organization that raises college scholarship money for deserving female students.

 

At 79 years young (she’ll be 80 in May, 2007), Virginia shows no signs of slowing down. She takes exercise classes several mornings a week from a former student. “I sometimes substitute for her!” she says. And although she handed over the studio’s operations to daughters Tami and Teri in 1986, she continues to teach and choreograph there and remains active in the school’s outreach projects. “As long as my feet and body will go, I will try to continue to teach,” she says.

 

Maintaining Tradition in a Nontraditional World

Filling the pointe shoes of Grace and Virginia Thomas is a tough job, but Teri (Thomas) Szember and Tami (Thomas) Valentine are doing just that. The sisters pride themselves on continuing to uphold the standards of quality dance education established by their grandmother and mother and encouraging dancers to continue their dance education even in this fast-paced and ever-changing world. “Yes, there is a strong legacy to uphold,” says Teri, “but it’s that very thing that drives and inspires us to do our best. Who we are and what we teach is a collective of everything we’ve looked up to over the years. I don’t think of it as a pressure, but an honor.”

 

Neither Teri nor Tami had planned to take over the studio, although they had grown up dancing there. After high school they headed off in their own directions. Teri took her teacher’s exam and considered a career as a professional dancer but then married and began working as a secretary for a large business firm. Then, in 1974, one of her grandmother’s longtime teachers had to leave mid-season and Teri filled in. “And the rest is history,” she says.

 

Tami continued to dance while attending the University of Florida, where she earned a degree in journalism. After graduating she took a job in the marketing department of a local bank and taught part-time at the studio. Virginia asked Tami to teach full-time while Teri was on maternity leave with her second child. “This started a shift in careers,” says Tami. In 1986 the sisters became co-directors of the school and changed its name to Thomas Dance Studio.

 

The sisters’ focus for the school was to make it performance based and noncompetitive, which led to the formation of a nonprofit dance company, ENCORE!, in 1990. The company consists of 25 to 35 dancers, ages 10 and up, who must have completed 4-plus years of dance training in order to audition. They do all styles of dance and have performed at Walt Disney World, Florida Dance Masters’ annual Royal Dance Festival, and Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club.

 

Through ENCORE! the Thomases have expanded the studio’s presence in the community by participating in events such as “March Magic & Dance,” a collaborative performance by the school and the International Brotherhood of Magicians for more than 250 at-risk schoolchildren. The performance is sponsored by Support Dance, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides funding and educational scholarships; the event also receives funding from local civic groups such as the Rotary Club and the Kiwanis, as well as local businesses and the City of Lake Worth.

 

In 2006 ENCORE! performed at the Crest Theatre in Delray Beach, FL, as part of Old School Square’s education outreach program for children. The company has also performed for such charitable organizations as the Make-a- Wish Foundation and the Starlight Children’s Foundation and, with three other FDM-member studios, has participated in a collaborative performance for Gilda’s Club, a support group for people living with cancer. At the school’s anniversary celebration last June, the City of Lake Worth presented the studio with a proclamation acknowledging its 80 years of community service.

 

Not only the community benefits from the company’s performances, however; the Thomases believe that “the biggest value gained from ENCORE! is the sense of team- work and mentorship that develops within our students through performances, rehearsals, and projects. The younger students learn from observing the older ones’ behaviors and applications; the older students push themselves to be better to inspire the younger ones. It’s a win–win!”

 

Although the sisters continue to teach young dancers the importance of teamwork and mentorship and pushing themselves to be their best, they worry about the influence of modern society. “Sometimes I feel like Thomas Dance Studio, and schools like us, are becoming ‘lone reeds,’ ” says Teri, “in that we strongly believe that . . . dance and the arts put needed balance into people’s lives. This sadly is overlooked by many today, even government leaders, in favor of quick-paced results where a high value is placed primarily on awards and material goods. Our grandmother taught us to value the process of learning and the feeling of accomplishment in doing your best. . . . I think being a part of a dance school that rewards these values is a needed thing . . .even though sometimes it does feel like we are not the trend.”

 

Tami agrees. “As a ballet-based school, it is sometimes difficult to buck the trend of a fast-paced, computer-oriented world; a classical dance education is not something to be learned in three easy lessons on the Internet! We are determined to continue to provide this type of quality dance education in our community.”

 

Hopefully, their determination will be carried on by a  new generation. The Thomases say they would be delighted if one or more of their nieces or Teri’s daughters decided to go into the family business. “However, this decision would be entirely up to them . . . with no pressure or arm-twisting,” Teri says, “because I think that every young person should have a chance to reach for their own goals.”

 

Whatever the future may bring, one thing is certain: The Thomas Dance Studio legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of those who have been touched and inspired by three generations of dedicated women.     

---

 

Photo captions (top to bottom):

 

One of Grace Thomas’ famed adagio teams performs along the intra-coastal waterway at Barton Park n the 1940s.

 

Grace Thomas, who founded the studio in 1926.

 

Virginia S. Thomas poses in a 1940s studio photo with dance partner Andrew Doherty.  

 

The outside of the Thomas Dance Studio, built in 1952 by Fred Thomas

 

In 1983, four generations of “dancing” Thomases pose in a rare photo at the studio.  

 

The Thomas Dance Studio's non-profit dance company, ENCORE!, performs at the studio's 80th anniversary recital in June, 2006.

 

Teri Thomas Szember, age 4, in an early recital, where she performed with cousin Ryan Culbert as a “Basket of Baby’s Breath.”

 

A young Tami Thomas Valentine poses with dance partner Scott Mueller.

 

Send Page To a Friend