Back by popular demand — our GDS Online Dessert Auction! Bid on wonderful desserts homemade by our GDS students, teachers and friends.
The money we raise will help us continue our mission of being a welcoming community of dance. In particular, it will help us get through the holiday season when attendance tends to be down, and when we are closed two weeks at Christmas and New Year. Glenwood Dance Studio is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization.
Bidding will start at 8:00 a.m. CST on Tuesday, November 1, and will end at 8:30 p.m. CST on Sunday, November 6. We will have items available for local pickup or delivery, as well as items that can be mailed — perfect for our out-of-town friends and family! We will be emailing and posting the auction link when we have our final list of desserts.
Interested in donating a dessert? Please email us at info@glenwooddancestudio.com — the more desserts, the sweeter our fundraiser will be!
The Summer Dance Festival is an annual performance put on by the studio that showcases the work of our students and teachers.
This year’s Summer Dance Festival will be July 23 and 24 at Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway. Tickets for the Summer Dance Festival are $15 in advance or $20 the day of the performance (if available). Tickets can be purchased at this link:
You can also purchase tickets in person at the studio with cash, check, or credit card.
Please note that there are no paper tickets — there will be a list at the door of everyone who has a pre-paid ticket. There is also no assigned seating — seating is general admission. All audience members are required to wear a mask and show proof of vaccination.
Prior to the Festival, some classes will be closed to students who are not performing. These classes are noted in MindBody as “closed class.” They are also noted on the class schedule page.
The video below of our 2021 Fall Dance Festival was filmed at our November 13 and 14 performances at Edge Theater in Chicago. Thank you so much to all of our dancers, teachers and supporters. And special thanks to Michael Nguyen who created this lovely video!
Click here to view a pdf version of the program. The show order is also listed below. If you would like to make a donation to support the work of Glenwood Dance Studio you can do so with PayPal or Zell to info@glenwooddancetsudio.com or with Venmo at @Erin-DeWitt-GDS or on your computer by clicking here. Glenwood Dance Studio is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization.
GDS 2021 Fall Dance Festival Show Order
ACT I
“The Vines Will Grow” Beginning Contemporary Class Choreography by Kim Baker
“Ode to Chopin” Lisa Frye, Student Solo Choreography by Natalie Elizabeth
MC BREAK
“Waltz Two Three” Intermediate Ballet Class Choreography by Brennen Renteria
“Howl” Intermediate Contemporary Jazz Class Choreography by Josh Fletcher
“Happy” Tap Basics Class Choreography by Judy Burke
MC BREAK
“La Mort du Cygne” Natalie Elizabeth, Guest Artist Choreography by Natalie Elizabeth
“Sunflowers” In memoriam Brenna Pierson-Tucker, 1983–2020 Choreography by Ginger Jensen
ACT II
“It’s a Maskerade!” Ballet Performance Workshop Choreography by Brennen Renteria
“Arms” Michael Nguyen, Student Solo Choreography by Michael Nguyen
MC BREAK
“Lilac Fairy Variation” from The Sleeping Beauty Rebecca Schiller, Student Solo Adapted from choreography by Marius Petipa
“Seize the Day” Musical Theatre Performance Workshop Choreography by Ali Keirn
“Lentement, Doucement” Robin Pokorski, Student Solo Choreography by Natalie Elizabeth
“Confiturembourg” Ballet Basics Class Choreography by Adina Stuhlman
MC BREAK
“Land of Lola” Musical Theatre Class Choreography by Brennen Renteria
“Drum of Bangladesh” Mohammed “Shaan” Islam, Student Solo
“RITMO of the Night” Latin Ballroom Performance Workshop Choreography by Katie DeSalvo
“I Feel Good” Intermediate Tap Class Choreography by Ella Baseman
ACT III
“Model Moment” Fosse Jazz Performance Workshop Choreography by Brennen Renteria
“Bring It to the Floor” Intermediate Modern Class Choreography by Kim Baker
“Under Paris Skies” Beginning Tap Class
Choreography by Judy Burke
“Stories I Tell Myself” K. Gloria Mwez, Guest Artist Choreography by K. Gloria Mwez
“Poison” Sassy Heels Class Choreography by Josh Fletcher
“If You Want Me” Katie DESALVO and Eugene KUZMIN, Guest Artists
MC BREAK
“Good Old Days” Contemporary Performance Workshop Choreography by Amy Williams
Starting Tuesday, June 1, most of our classes will be returning to the studio, but we will also continue to have a few online classes. Below is the schedule for June. In July, we plan to add in-person Social Dance classes and a Sunday Performance Workshop. Masks will be required for in-person classes. We also encourage students to be fully vaccinated before they return to the studio.
Monday 6:15-7:15 p.m. Beginning Contemporary with Kim Baker 7:30-9:00 p.m. Intermediate Modern with Kim Baker
Tuesday 6:15-7:15 p.m. Online Open Level Ballet Barre with Natalie Nespoli Moreira 6:15-7:45 p.m. Intermediate Contemporary Jazz Technique with Josh Fletcher 8:00-9:00 p.m. Sassy Heels with Josh Fletcher
Wednesday 6:15-7:45 p.m. Intermediate Ballet with Brennen Renteria 8:00-9:00 p.m. Musical Theater with Brennen Renteria
Thursday 6:15-7:45 p.m. Advanced Beginner Ballet with Natalie Nespoli Moreira 7:00-8:00 Online Open Level Jazz with Josh Fletcher (June 10, July 8 and August 12 only) 8:00-9:00 p.m. Intermediate Tap with Jeremy Burke
Saturday 9:30-10:45 p.m. Ballet Basics with Adina Stuhlman (starts June 12) 11:00-12:00 p.m. BeMoved with Brenda Fournier (starts June 12) Time TBD OnlineBallet Stretch & Strengthen with Natalie Nespoli Moreira 12:15-1:30 p.m. Beginning Ballet with Natalie Nespoli Moreira 3:15-4:15 p.m. Beginning Tap with Judy Burke 4:30-5:30 p.m. Tap Basics with Judy Burke 6:00-7:00 p.m. OnlineBeginning Social Dance with Katie DeSalvo
Sunday Noon-1:30 p.m. Intermediate Contemporary with Brennen Renteria 1:45-3:15 p.m. Intermediate Ballet with Aaron Renteria 3:30-4:30 p.m. Beginning Pointe with Aaron Renteria
In-studio classes will be limited to 10 students per class, so make sure to sign up in advance with the MindBody app or at https://tinyurl.com/gdsclasses
Class Fees Starting June 1
When the pandemic started and we switched to online classes, we did not feel we could charge as much for classes that were often shorter than their in-studio counterparts. We also wanted to be inclusive of people who might be struggling financially due to job losses or other financial impacts from the pandemic. Thank you to everyone for your support over this year, and especially to those of you who paid the supporter rate!
Starting on June 1, with our return to primarily in-person classes, we will be returning to our previous class fees, with two changes:
Our Student/Pro rate will now be Student/Pro/Limited Income. We know that people have different abilities to afford classes, so if you need this lower rate please use it.
We will continue to offer the lower rate for our Monthly Unlimited passes. For some of us, the studio is a “home away from home” and we want that to continue to be affordable.
These new fees will go into effect for all class passes purchased June 1 and after. Any existing class passes, or passes that you buy between now and June 1, can be still be used after June 1.
Single Class – Regular Rate $15
Single Class – Student/Pro/Limited Income $10
5-Class Card – Regular Rate $65
5-Class Card – Student/Pro/Limited Income $50
10-Class Card – Regular Rate $125
10-Class Card – Student/Pro/Limited Income $100
1 Month Unlimited – Regular $150
1 Month Unlimited – Student/Pro/Limited Income $100
New Students Only: First Class Free with Online Sign-Up
Join us for a live online “BYOB” Holiday Sassy Heels special event Saturday, December 12, 7:30 -9:00 p.m. on Zoom. In this class you will learn a fun, sassy dance — heels optional — with a holiday theme. Santa hats, reindeer antlers, and holiday sweaters encouraged! Teacher Josh Fletcher will be providing a recipe for a holiday-themed cocktail that you can make at home to drink during the class if you wish.
Tickets are $15. Class passes and unlimited passes can’t be used for this special event. Click here to sign up. or sign up with the MindBody app:
When it is time for class go to the Live Online Classpage for the Zoom link. The Zoom meeting will start 10 minutes before class for pre-class socializing.
Don’t miss this fun event sure to put some sassy cheer into your holiday!
Our online social dance classes are getting elegant for December! We will be doing four different styles that will bring some class to your Saturday night:
December 5 – Waltz
December 12 – Bolero
December 19 – Argentine Tango
December 26 – Fox Trot
So instead of “Netflix and chill” why not make your Saturday nights special with our online social dance classes? The classes can be done with or without a partner. We do a different style each week and they are a lot of fun!
Classes meet Saturdays 6:00-7:00 p.m. CST on Zoom. No previous experience necessary! Sign up with the MindBody app or click here. New students get their first class free! And if you ever have problems signing up for any class, just email us at info@glenwooddancestudio.com and we will sign you up.
Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who participated in our 2020 fundraiser! We had 20 people donate 32 desserts that were bid on by 51 different individuals. We had 56 students and teachers perform, representing 17 different classes. We had 73 people make donations (including the dessert auction) and raised a grand total of $3,977! This is as much as we would typically make at our in-person fundraiser, which is amazing!
It is very moving to be part of such an amazing community of dancers, students and supporters. Thank you to everyone for making this online event such a success!
We have created a playlist on YouTube of the individual performance videos (except for Intermediate Contemporary due to copyright issues). You can view them here:
You can view the Intermediate Contemporary piece on Vimeo here:
Please add your thoughts and memories of Brenna in the comment section below.
On Thursday, November 5, 2020, beloved Glenwood Dance Studio teacher Brenna Pierson-Tucker passed away. She died peacefully at home with her dog Sophie at her side. She is survived by her husband, Chris Tucker, who is also a dancer and co-founder with Brenna of Esoteric Dance Company, her parents and siblings. We are all saddened by this loss.
Brenna devoted her life to the art of dance and shared her love of dance with all her students, the dance community, and anybody lucky enough to watch her perform. She brought laughter and her joyful energy to our studio and made us all feel like dancers and artists.
She first became part of our GDS family when she rented rehearsal space from us shortly after our founding in 2013, and she started teaching with us in January 2014. During her nearly seven years as a GDS teacher, she taught modern dance, all levels of ballet, as well as classical and modern partnering. She also choreographed several performance workshops for us that were presented at our annual Spring Dance Festival. During the pandemic, she started attending classes, becoming a regular in Social Dance and Sassy Heels.
This short video includes clips of Brenna in her role as GDS teacher:
You can read more about Brenna and her artistic history in this interview from 2018. You can learn more about her company, Esoteric Dance Project, here. We have also created a playlist of some of Brenna’s classes as well as works that she choreographed during her time with us.
In February 2021 we premiered a dance that was created by four of our students and choreographer Ginger Jensen to remember and celebrate the life of GDS teacher Brenna Pierson-Tucker, The dance starts with the dancers arriving one by one, like they would arrive for class, then the music starts and the move as though wanting to connect, but then being pulled back. Throughout the dance the choreography incorporates movements that Brenna used in her classes, and as each dancer does her solo section the others watched the way we often watch each other in classes, and the way Brenna would watch us to give notes and corrections. The video ends with photos of Brenna. You can watch the piece here:
Please use the comments below to share your memories and thoughts about Brenna.
