SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Students at Bella Dance Academy have lots of space to dance in this fall. The dance school opened two new studios on Old Airport Road with a public celebration on Saturday afternoon.

Dancers Brook Dwyer, left, and Mikaela Cuvelier participate in a class at Bella Dance Academy led by instructor Andrea Nilson. Dwyer has danced with the academy since 2006. She performed in the academy's productions of The Nutcracker in 2008 and 2009. Cuvelier has danced with the academy since 2004, studying jazz, hip hop and, this year, ballet. Cuvelier joined the academy's teacher training program last year and is preparing to teach her own classes in the future. - Daron Letts/NNSL photo

Young dancers ran through a few exercises while parents and prospective students toured the spacious new location. The building offers two dance floors that stretch from 1,000 to 1,200-square-feet.

Bella Dance Academy founder Lina Ball opened her first two studios on Kam Lake Road back in 2004. Those studios, which range from almost 500-square-feet to 600-square-feet, will remain open to accommodate an increased class schedule this year.

"We haven't increased the size of the classes," Ball said. "The new studios will just give our older dancers a larger space to dance in."

The academy now hosts 64 classes a week. The number of classes for dancers aged 18 and over has grown from one in previous years to nine classes this year. About 475 students have enrolled for the fall and winter season. About a quarter of the students are aged 18 or over.

"Our main focus has always been on the children's classes," Ball said.

Classes for youth and children, which run until June, 2011, include ballet, jazz, tap, modern, and hip hop.

New workshop classes for adults include flamenco, ball room, kinder music for children up to age five, and salsa babies, a program for new moms and infants. Adult jazz, tap, and a sampler class touching on a variety of dance styles are also offered.

Several new instructors joined the academy this fall, bringing the total number of teachers to 13.

One of the new instructors is Marianne Maltby, a longtime actor and educator who also teaches music and drama at Weledeh School.

Maltby will lead theatre classes at the academy ti supplement the students' dance skills. It is the first time the academy has offered a theatre curriculum

Maltby will encourage the students to experiment with singing, acting and movement by rehearsing a few songs from popular Broadway musicals this winter, she said. Students will also cover subjects such as technical theatre skills, skit-building, improvisation, and character development.

"It's a new adventure," Maltby said. "The thing about working in the dance environment is that you don't have to work strictly with the script. You can play with the script and interpret it in a new way."

Next spring Maltby will help the students to prepare to showcase their skills during the annual end of season musical scheduled for early summer at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre.

There are about 75 spots remaining in various classes for participants of all ages. The first class begins on Saturday, Sept. 11.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.