A Little Bit About Us…
Reach for the Stars Academy of Dance is now entering its 19th season! Under the direction of Mary Marrone, this dance academy offers instruction for ages 2 1/2 through adult. We are currently located at 11 Lassy CT in Terryville, CT. We have 12 instructors and many assistants so we are able to offer a variety of classes, styles and a smaller teacher to student ratio. We offer combination classes in ballet, tap and jazz. Specialty half hour classes like hip hop, acro, boys hip hop, breakdance. We offer private lessons, ballet companies, performance team, parade troupe, competition team, fitness classes and much more.
Performance Team–Every dance season we pick a new performance team. This team has danced at Disney World, Universal Studios, Madison Square Garden opening up for the NY Knicks, Both Men and Women’s Uconn Basketball teams, Big East Final Halftime show, Rockcats Baseball Post game show, St. Jude’s Telethon, various fairs throughout the CT.
Parade Team–We hold auditions every season for our Jr. and Sr. Parade Team. We participate in many parades throughout the state of CT, The Big E Mardi Gras parade and Macy’s Holiday Parade! We have been awarded, Most Entertaining, Most Enthusiastic, 1st Place Dance Troupe, Parade Marshall’s Awards, Hometown Hero Award and Best Youth Marching Troupe.
Ballet Companies–We have 8 classical companies under the direction of Ms. Donna Bonasera. These companies run differently than our traditional classes where there is a dress code, an attendance policy, a theory portion of the class, an end of the year evaluation with both written and skill demonstration. Scholarships are awarded every year in these companies to the top of the class and all companies perform in the end of the year award ceremony. Every competition dancer must take a minimum of 1 hour in a classical company but are not limited to the hour. The companies are also open to all dancers are RFTS and will be placed according to level. It is wonderful program and encourage all dancers to become a company dancer!!!
Pre-School Program-this program is offered for little dancers between the ages of 2 1/2 -5 yrs old. We just ask that your little dancer is potty trained. Our program focuses not only on dance but on music and movement. Learning to love dance through spacial awareness, singing, using props, tumbling on mats, stretching. Pre-school I and II focus more on movement and music, creative development and tap and ballet and learning 1 routine for our recital, where as Pre-school III starts moving more towards ballet and tap technique in preparation for learning 2 routines for our end of the year production and moving forward out of a pre-school class.
Workshops/fine arts classes–We offer 4-6 week workshops and fine arts classes.
Giving Back–at RFTS it has always been a priority to give back within our community and to those in need. We are proud of the work we have done and look forward to continuing to help. We held a drive and filled an entire box truck for Hurricane Katrina, held food drives for the local food pantry during the holidays, a constant supporter of St. Jude’s Children Hospital and CT Children’s Medical Center, perform holiday shows for the residents of local convalescent homes, perform for the veterans and active duty members for both Veteran’s day and Memorial Day, collected and filled a trailer for Hurricane Sandy. During our past dance season we ran a massive care package drive for our troops and donated all items to Parents of Soldiers Together CT. It’s a wonderful thing!!