Announcement!
A letter from APA Instructor, Kristen Bennett:
May 12, 2016
To my beloved students and their families:
I wanted to fill you in on all the new and exciting things that are happening for me! For those of you that don’t know, for the past two years I have been recruiting for the theatre and dance department at Alma College. I have also been teaching at Alma College and APA since fall 2008. While I love what I do, having multiple jobs is not easy. Recently, I have been asked to take on more responsibility, more travel and more hours to fulfill my recruitment position.
With that, I have decided that this will be my last recital with APA. It was an incredibly hard decision, and one that I did not take lightly. I love my students, and have enjoyed all of the time I’ve spent at the studio. It has truly been my home since I began dancing at APA while I was in high school. I was lucky to have Kathy as my teacher, and blessed to be welcomed back to the studio as a teacher for so many years.
I have also started a small non-profit dance company here in mid-Michigan with a colleague of mine. It is not a factor in my leaving, but something that I am incredibly excited about, and hope for all of your support as I move forward in this new venture. I look forward to staying in the community, and collaborating with Kathy on some different projects in the future.
You have all had such an impact on my life, and I’m so thankful for all the smiles, hugs, and kind words over the years.
Thank you all for making my life brighter!
Love,
Kristen Bennett
I wanted to fill you in on all the new and exciting things that are happening for me! For those of you that don’t know, for the past two years I have been recruiting for the theatre and dance department at Alma College. I have also been teaching at Alma College and APA since fall 2008. While I love what I do, having multiple jobs is not easy. Recently, I have been asked to take on more responsibility, more travel and more hours to fulfill my recruitment position.
With that, I have decided that this will be my last recital with APA. It was an incredibly hard decision, and one that I did not take lightly. I love my students, and have enjoyed all of the time I’ve spent at the studio. It has truly been my home since I began dancing at APA while I was in high school. I was lucky to have Kathy as my teacher, and blessed to be welcomed back to the studio as a teacher for so many years.
I have also started a small non-profit dance company here in mid-Michigan with a colleague of mine. It is not a factor in my leaving, but something that I am incredibly excited about, and hope for all of your support as I move forward in this new venture. I look forward to staying in the community, and collaborating with Kathy on some different projects in the future.
You have all had such an impact on my life, and I’m so thankful for all the smiles, hugs, and kind words over the years.
Thank you all for making my life brighter!
Love,
Kristen Bennett
While APA is sorry to lose Kristen as a regular instructor, we are so excited for her and this next step in her career! Personally, of course I have mixed feelings to see her leave us; I value her abilities as a teacher, choreographer, her help and support to me over the eight years she has been on our faculty, and her commitment to each of my/her students. She has been a wonderful, consistent, supportive staff member and friend. But I also understand – probably more than most – how difficult it is to juggle too many balls! I have been blessed to have Kristen’s involvement at APA since taking her job at Alma College, and it has become too much for her to keep all those balls air-borne! She has dreams and goals, and we are excited that she is keeping APA in her sights to offer us continued collaboration opportunities! Please join me as I congratulate her and wish her well in her new pursuits!
I am also blessed to have such an awesome teaching staff!
Carlee Zigray will be teaching more next year; Jordan McCarthy will be back, as will Sue Stack and Kate Troxell. Tom Glover and Emily Doebler will be teaching more tap. New instructor Sadie Gelb will be joining us; many of the students had the opportunity to get to know Sadie this past year as she observed and assisted as an Alma College freshman. She will be a delightful addition to our faculty!
All of these instructors are excited to return and continue working with all of our students! My continued goal is to have qualified, experienced, caring, adult instructors to work with your children and to work together in a supportive and healthy environment! We are also seeing APA alum Melanie Yost off to a new job! A spring graduate of Alma College, she begins as Account Coordinator for ad agency Campbell Ewald in Detroit the end of this month! Congratulations to Melanie as she begins her new journey, too!
By definition, a career in the arts means cooperation, collaboration, creativity, and constant change! I am thrilled to offer and support dance and art jobs for professionals in our community!
Here’s to another great APA year, and we are looking forward to a wonderful recital: Movie Magic 2016!
Sincerely,
Kathleen (Kathy) Francis
I am also blessed to have such an awesome teaching staff!
Carlee Zigray will be teaching more next year; Jordan McCarthy will be back, as will Sue Stack and Kate Troxell. Tom Glover and Emily Doebler will be teaching more tap. New instructor Sadie Gelb will be joining us; many of the students had the opportunity to get to know Sadie this past year as she observed and assisted as an Alma College freshman. She will be a delightful addition to our faculty!
All of these instructors are excited to return and continue working with all of our students! My continued goal is to have qualified, experienced, caring, adult instructors to work with your children and to work together in a supportive and healthy environment! We are also seeing APA alum Melanie Yost off to a new job! A spring graduate of Alma College, she begins as Account Coordinator for ad agency Campbell Ewald in Detroit the end of this month! Congratulations to Melanie as she begins her new journey, too!
By definition, a career in the arts means cooperation, collaboration, creativity, and constant change! I am thrilled to offer and support dance and art jobs for professionals in our community!
Here’s to another great APA year, and we are looking forward to a wonderful recital: Movie Magic 2016!
Sincerely,
Kathleen (Kathy) Francis