A Riverboat Town Overflowing with Dancing Talent Just about everyone has a little dancing spirit in them. You can’t deny that when you hear a really great song, it’s hard to control the urge to bust a move. Fortunately, some of us are better at it than others and most are better than me. My lack of coordination makes me look like a fish out of water. We are fortunate to be able to see the incredible talent of our local dancers at the dance performances during Yankton’s annual Riverboat Days celebration. I talked with Darota Dannenbring, owner and instructor at Academy of Dance and Timera & Rob Massey, owners and instructors at The Green Room, about their backgrounds and their experiences planning the Riverboat Days dance shows. Academy of Dance Spring Performance 2016 Darota Dannenbring was born and raised in Poland and trained at the Warsaw School of Ballet in Warsaw, Poland. After dancing and traveling professionally for about three years, she relocated and came to the United States in 1989, later opening her own dance studio, the Academy of Dance. She met and married David Dannenbring, a teacher at the Yankton High School and the couple have 7 children, the youngest age 10. Dance competition in Kansas City 2016 Dannenbring remembers the Riverboat Days dance performances starting many years ago with the Dakota Dance Association which was supported by a group of parents. As her own Academy of Dance studio grew, she was able to hold Academy of Dance performances and still support Dakota Dance performances. The Riverboat Days performance is the grand finale for the Academy’s students to finish their summer program that begins the first week of June. It gives all of her students, ages three through 19, the opportunity to perform for the public. With over 300 students in the Academy, it’s no small feat to pull off. There are two performances for the public, the first performance alternating on Friday or Saturday night is longer and has about 31 dancers showing their talent. The second performance on Sunday includes dancers from both Academy of Dance and The Green Room. With every dance routine different, I asked her how she comes up with new ideas. “Music inspires me,” she said, explaining how she finds the music first, then the story unfolds and the costumes fall into place. She described how, while Eat Healthy. Live Healthy. Hy-Vee Dietition Kenny Tomek offers these services: • Individual Medical Nutrition Therapy with physician referral • Personal shopping experience via free store tours • Group nutrition classes in our store and the community • Assistance with food allergy and intolerance issues • Kids in the Kitchen Classes • Corporate wellness programming • Biometric health screenings • Nutrition education for optimal athletic performance 2100 Broadway, Yankton 20vHERVOICEvJULY/AUGUST 2016 Call 665-3412 to schedule an appointment with Kenny Tomek, or email ktomek@hy-vee.com