Our Story
A Festival of Dance believes that children learn best through a playful, creative environment. We make learning, dance, and theatre fun and exciting through the use of stories, costumes, dancing props, and instruments. It is our goal to preserve childhood as long as possible by fostering children’s imagination and creativity!
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We are a non-competitive, non-recital focused studio, that introduces children to the love of dance, and plants the seed for a lifelong love and appreciation of the arts.
Miss Alene
Studio Creative Director, Alene Branin Hochstetter, trained in Classical Ballet with Ballet Tacoma and also performed locally in musical theatre revues. She went on to perform professionally in many productions including shows in Tokyo, Japan, Sesame Street Live, Disneyland, MGM, Siegfried and Roy in Las Vegas, and many more. Miss Alene has always had a passion for travel and dance which led her to discover the joy of folkdances around the world, leading to her creation of Passport to Dance.
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Miss Alene has taught for many years in Montessori schools, outdoor education/summer camps, and is also a certified Kindermusik instructor. Having a background in theatre, dance, and early childhood education, Miss Alene was inspired to develop imaginative ways to teach children in classical ballet and the creative arts.
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She is the mother of two children and homeschooled them both. Her daughter enjoys hiking and gardening and is in college pursuing a Science degree for Veterinary School. Her son, who received his early training from Miss Alene in ballet and theatre, went on to act professionally and has been featured on Disney, Nickelodeon, Amazon, and is currently on Netflix in The Who Was? Show!
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Miss Alene teaches in numerous schools, museums, libraries, homeschool groups, summer camps, and Girl Scouts. She is currently teaching at Harbor Montessori, Gig Harbor, as the Music & Movement and Folkdance Enrichment Teacher.
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Her hobbies include camping, hiking, and exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest!
Alene Hochstetter is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Certified Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
https://www.abt.org/training/teacher-training/national-training-curriculum/abt-certified-teachers/
