On a sweltering July day, Lisa Dew stood in the centre of her brother’s make-shift BMX half-pipe under the beating sun in her parent’s back yard.
At the request of her mom, the young 18-year-old dancer was teaching a family friend’s daughter to tap.
It was no Broadway theatre, but the half-pipe returned a decent sounding “ting” as the girls created melodic beats with their feet.
That was 1985.
Fast forward 30 years, hundreds of awards and thousands of students later, Dew still looks back on that moment with fondness.
“That was it, I got the bug,” she said.
“I wanted to teach.”
From one student in her parent’s backyard, she moved into their basement that September with 10 students.
By her second session in January, she had grown to 50 students and had to rent out the basement of a church.
The following September she doubled to 110 students.
It’s only gone up since there.
Dew rented out space at Douglas Recreation Centre, then opened a one-room studio on 208 Street just off Fraser Highway.
She was there for two years before moving to a studio off Landmark Way behind Fabricland, where she taught for 16 years.
But most people today will recognize the iconic pink Lisa’s School of Dance sign at her current location on Industrial Avenue and 201 A Street, where she has been for the past 11 years.
“I’m very fortunate to have a career where I’m very passionate about what I do,” Dew said.
“It doesn’t matter what’s going on in my life personally or if I’m tired or in a bad mood, when I come here and when I’m teaching it just goes away. Even after all this time.”
Dew has taught all genres of dance from ballet and jazz to Latin and ballroom, but her forte is tap and musical theatre.
Known for her traditional style, Dew’s routines have the essence of movie star dancers Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly from the golden age of Hollywood.
“It is an art form,” she said. “I’m always true to my style, I have taken years to perfect it.
“I’m very proud of what I’ve done and of how well my students do.”
Performing in championship rounds year after year at local dance competitions, the number of awards the studio has earned in 30 years is astounding.
But the trophies are not everything.
“It’s not about if they win,” Dew said.
“It’s about if they have done their best and done themselves proud, and therefore they have done us proud.”
The studio has a family atmosphere, and many of Dew’s earliest students are now bringing their own kids in for lessons.
Dew herself has taught her own two daughters Tiana, 22, and Loni, 25, to dance and both now work at her studio as instructors.
Beyond the benefits of physical exercise, dancing also teaches many other invaluable skills, Dew said.
“The sense of dedication and dedication to teamwork is huge in a dance studio,” she said.
“It really gives the students the opportunity to manage their time. They have to be good that they’re keeping up with schoolwork.
“You might want to take six, eight, 10 classes a week, but if you’re not keeping up with your schoolwork, then obviously things are going to change. And most times they can make it all work.”
Dew’s talent has been recognized by local dance aficionados for years, but now her choreography skills are getting international attention.
She was chosen to teach the Team Canada tap group for the International Dance Organization’s World Tap Dance Championships in Germany this December.
On top of running her own studio and planning for her very first granddaughter (who is due the same day she leaves for Germany), Dew is spending every weekend with the junior and senior teams preparing them for the world stage.
“It is absolutely unbelievable, it’s a dream come true,” Dew said.
“It’s like having your top five students in your large group, multiplied by five. So everyone in the group is giving it 110 per cent.
“I’ve just been so thrilled.”
For more on Lisa’s School of Dance or the World Tap Dance Championships in Germany, visit www.danceatlisas.com or www.teamcanadadance.com.
JOIN THE CELEBRATION
Learn more about Lisa’s School of Dance at their 30th anniversary season opening celebration on Sept. 12.
There will be dance demonstration, free classes, face painting, hotdogs and more.
The event is on from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the studio, 20167 Industrial Ave.
