Dancing dreams

So often, rural areas like ours lose their young people to the bright lights of the cities, but in a remarkable reversal of that trend, 20-year-old Veronica Bliss, who moved from the Napanee area to Northbrook a few years ago, is bringing the bright lights and glamour of the city to the rural north.

Next month, Veronica will be opening the “Just Dance It” studio in Cloyne. She is a certified dance teacher and will be teaching classes in Jazz, Ballet and Hip Hop at the Barrie hall. She will also teach adult fitness.

Veronica danced for several years with the “That’s Dancin’” studio in Napanee, and received her BATD certification while she was at the Liane Ireland Academy of Dance in Belleville. BATD is the British Association of Teachers of Dancing, an organization that is based in the UK, and which sends examiners to studios in Canada and the US.

Veronica works at the Northbrook Foodland, but her dream has always been to open a dance studio. When people found out that that she could dance, they expressed so much interest in having her teach classes locally, that she says, “I couldn’t not do it”.

Veronica’s roots are in the Kapuskasing area, and although she lived for many years in the cities, she says “I don’t really like being in the city; I’m a country girl at heart”. In addition to dance she likes fishing and hunting and all those country things.

Veronica says she “wanted to bring something cultural from the city - to give children here an opportunity they wouldn’t have otherwise.” She is starting out with classes for children over 12, but she hopes to eventually teach younger children as well as other forms of dance.

Registration for “Just Dance It” will be at the Barrie hall on Tuesday December 9, from 5 to 8pm. The registration fee is $5 and classes are $12/hour. For more information call Veronica at 613-336-9443.