Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Instructor Peggy Page leads her tap class through warm-up steps at the Saratoga School of Dance where she has taught for three years.
From tap to hip hop danced at local studio
By Rebecca Ray
Every Wednesday night, San Jose resident Mandy Hawes takes a break from her work as a lawyer and unwinds in Peggy Page's tap dancing class. Page teaches tap at the Saratoga School of Dance, 18778 Cox Ave., located in a back corner of the Quito Village Center next to Marvegos Fine Art School.
Page, who has taught tap for decades, works for Terry Phillips, who has owned the studio since 1993. Some 400 students take classes at the studio, from regimented ballet classes to international folk dancing classes from 9 a.m. to evening, all year round. Seven instructors comprise the staff.
Hawes said that in tap, "You can do the steps to any music you like. You can entertain yourself."
She added that she also enjoys tap because it differs from her other activities, which include running and Greek dancing.
For Wini Leeds, a legal worker in San Jose, Page's tap class is the highlight of her week. "It's all about rhythm and good music," Leeds said.
The students range in age from 18 months to more than 80 years. "As long as they can move and breathe, we'll work with them," Page said.
Multiple generations within families take lessons at the studio. Susie Wise, who takes an adult tap class from Page and lives in San Jose on the border of Saratoga, has a 3-year-old granddaughter, Cheyenne Wise, who also takes tap. Page's 4-year-old great granddaughter, Jade Gibson, takes a class from Phillips called "combination," where students learn both tap and ballet. Instructors who have had students for 20 years are now also teaching their children, Phillips said.
Some parents and children--and grandparents and grandchildren--take the same classes. The studio offers a class for parents and their 2-to-4-year-olds called "Music, Movement, Mom and Me"--although dads are welcome, too, Phillips said. Susie and Cheyenne Wise have danced in each other's classes. The instructors like it when parents and grandparents watch their children and grandchildren and participate in their classes because then the parents and grandparents know what's going on and the children and grandchildren don't feel intimidated, Page said.
The adult students aren't the only ones who have stuck around. The staff, with the exception of 19-year-old Sarah Stewart, who has taught hip hop since November, has worked together for about 10 years. But Stewart is no stranger to the studio. She has taken lessons there before and currently takes ballet from Phillips and tap from Page.
The instructors share the same philosophy in that they believe in small classes--class sizes range from six to 12 students--and that students developing a love for dance is more important than competition. None of the students compete, but each year, during the third week of June, the studio puts on a recital at West Valley College. Students also participate in workshops during the summer, where they learn about subjects such as dance history, costuming, stage makeup and movement, and perform at convalescent homes. This year, the studio gave dance lessons as part of an all-day camp that included music, art and drama lessons. Sometimes, students are treated to classes taught by guest artists such as professional ballet dancer Michael Murphy. Phillips, who teaches tiny tots, pre-school, ballet and combination for more than 40 hours each week, has taught students who have become professional dancers.
Phillips has taught dance in Saratoga since 1975. When she first came to Saratoga, she taught at the Saratoga Music and Fine Arts Center, which was across the street from where her studio is now. After working as an independent contractor, Phillips opened her own school in 1989 in Boulder Creek, the town where she lives.
The studio is in the process of adding swing, clogging and salsa classes.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
