|
History |
With one daughter recently graduated from high school and two following closely behind, Virginia felt it was time to start her “second career.” She opened the Virginia Davis School of Dance (VDSD) in the fall of 1975. On a tip from the postman, she found adequate space to rent in the back of Steve Gerhardt’s Sporting Goods store on East Washington Avenue. The space allowed many expansions and the studio grew from under 100 students to over 200 in a short amount of time. An attribute to Virginia’s wonderful personality and directorship, her original teaching instructors are still on staff!
The first recital of the Virginia Davis School of Dance was held at Turner Hall in downtown Madison in the spring of 1975.
Virginia’s youngest daughter, Kay, opened and operated branch studios in Waterloo and Stoughton in the 1980’s. Another instructor, Linda Ripon, opened and operated a branch studio in Columbus. Ardis Hempel and her daughter, Mandee, operated the branch studio in Belleville. With the growth of the Madison studio, the branch studios were eventually dissolved, except for Belleville. VDSD has enjoyed bringing the Art of Dance to the Belleville area since 1988, and continues to do so today.
In 1988, Steve Gerhardt decided to sell his building and VDSD moved to the Atwood Avenue neighborhood. Virginia’s middle daughter, Cary Davis Hellenbrand, opened and managed a dancewear specialty shop at the Atwood location.
The near eastside location was wonderful for 10 years, but as the studio continued to grow, more parking and an air-conditioned studio became a priority. In 1998, after an extensive search, they found the perfect site in the Maple Bluff/Sherman Avenue neighborhood. This time, VDSD formed a LLC, bought the building, and spent the summer renovating. That was five years ago. Most recently, a major expansion of the studio was done in the summer of 2004 to accommodate the ever growing dance program.
Virginia’s daughter, Vlyn Davis, who graduated from high school in 1975—the year the VDSD tradition began—is now Virginia’s business manager. Cary Davis Hellenbrand has retired from managing the shop to pursue her career as a doula (her three children all dance at the studio). Kay Davis Hamielec, after seeing her last child graduate from high school, has returned to the studio full-time.
Miss Virginia is still teaching today and now has many second-generation dancers enrolled at VDSD. She serves on several professional dance boards and trains and mentors her many dance students as they pursue their dreams.
|
|
|