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The views expressed in this article belong to the reporter, and do not reflect the views held by Rockbridge County High School, the Prowler Staff, and its members.

Halestone Gets A Fresh New Start

By: Mallory Keeley

When Nancy Saylor announced Halestone’s closure at the end of last June, many dancers thought their Halestone careers were over. The question became whether to continue dancing elsewhere, or to wait and see what became of Halestone.

“I got into this mindset that it was over and I needed to move on,” said RCHS junior Kathryn Brodie.

Halestone has been an anchor of the Rockbridge dance community for many years, known for its quirky and authentic dances. “Sight specific dancing,” as The Halestone Dance Studio calls it, always manages to attract a large crowd, making the decision to close Halestone a difficult one for both Saylor and the dancers.

Brodie and junior Charlotte Abry, both long time dancers at Halestone, recalled some of their best memories at Halestone, and what they loved most about dancing there.

“We ended up doing some of the craziest, weirdest dances possible,” said Brodie. “But it made me get over embarrassing myself and stage fright, and I had a good time with my friends.”

Abry describes Halestone as being a place where she and other dancers could really find themselves.

“When Nancy was the director she really liked to focus a lot on people as individuals, and see that everybody was doing well, and was exploring themselves as a dancer. I think that’s made us all a lot closer,” said Abry.

Halestone’s longtime director, Nancy Saylor, had been looking for someone to replace her, after planning to retire last year. However, when her intended replacement fell through, and the lease had not been renewed, it seemed a logical time to close down. Neighbors complaining about the noise coming from the dancers contributed to the decision.

halestone

“It was getting to the point where we weren’t allowed to have clogging there anymore, so people would just be dancing in their socks instead of clogging shoes,” said Abry.

Just as the news to close Halestone came as a surprise to everyone, so did the more recent news that Halestone would not be closing after all. Not only is Halestone not closing, it’s starting fresh, renovating its new facility on 722B South Main Street.

Abry plans on returning to the new Halestone and continuing to take jazz and modern, along with clogging for the first time, under the instruction of Brodie and junior Analise LaRivierre from RCHS.

“Analise and I are really excited to be teaching a beginner clogging class and also an upper level/open clogging class open to older kids who have just started or more advanced kids who have been doing it a while,” said Brodie. “That will be a great way for us to dance and teach.”

After Halestone is fully built and improved upon, it will not only give students  new opportunities to teach their own dance classes, but a better facility to fully express themselves and dance as loudly as they please.

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Halestone Gets A Fresh New Start