ANDERSON -- At Anderson Dance Academy's annual recital, hosted at the Performing Arts Center at MCHS, Eden LeGrand and Sandra Ables, studio owners, honored Susan Williams and looked back at 27 years of dancing from the studio's Main Street location.
The recital, in which 61 dances were performed this year, served as a stage to honor Susan Williams and highlight individuals who have danced with Anderson Dance Academy. This year marked the final year dancers learned in the company's original location, 106 W. Main Street in Anderson.
Eden LeGrand, co-owner and instructor at ADA, said she owes a lot to Williams, as Williams helped her through her early dance career.
"The impact was that I was very shy, and I didn't really talk to other kids," LeGrand said. "She was the person who got me to come out of my shell," LeGrand said, reflecting on her lengthy dance career.
LeGrand said that, without Williams starting ADA in 1994 and instructing dancers, she wouldn't have gotten her foot in the door at the studio.
"I'm doing what I'm doing at ADA because of her," LeGrand said.
Sandra Ables, co-owner and instructor at ADA, said Williams nudged her into teaching at the company, something Ables hadn't considered a possibility.
"I was a stay-at-home mom who decided to take an adult ballet class," Ables said. "We became friends and, when she retired, she told me I should do it, I should teach at the studio."
LeGrand and Ables, mother and daughter, said they wanted to carry on with what Williams started, noting that the two will continue to do that in the new studio.
LeGrand said a goal she and her mother share at ADA is communicating that anyone can dance, and that the two, alongside various teachers and student interns, will help others pursue their love of dance, whether that is a pastime or preparation for competition.
LeGrand noted she is heartbroken to leave the studio's Main Street location, although she's looking forward to making new memories. As LeGrand offered Williams flowers on stage before the recital's finale, she offered heartfelt words about the building she called "home."
"It's where I grew up, more than any house I lived in," LeGrand said, sobbing on stage. "We wanted to take the night to close out this chapter."
LeGrand said the original building has 19 stair steps leading into a rehearsal and practice space, something that, at one point, may have seemed like a nuisance.
"But, you know, I'm actually going to miss walking up those steps," LeGrand said.
Anderson Dance Academy will soon be located at 126 Industrial Park Drive in Anderson.
Ables and LeGrand said they're looking forward to making new memories in their new location, taking a different type of step to further instill in their students a love for dance, just like Williams did years before.
"Chess" performed by Kaylee Banta, Mariah Brown, Jayden Capps, Melinda Dysart, Adriana Gonzalez, MaKenzie Horton, Kylie Kimbrough, Dani LaCoe, Haidin Pippin, Jordan Robers, Janelle Torre, Shaylen Willis, and Addisen Winkler. Dancers wore black and white, representing graceful chess pieces.
Caylee Zamora dancing to "Fabulous." Zamora smiled during her solo, showcasing her blue sequins and spunky personality.
Jordan Roberts dancing to "The One That I Want." Roberts received cheers from dancers in the wings during her performance.
Eden LeGrand, Sandra Ables, and Susan Williams on stage. LeGrand and Ables honored Williams, ADA's founder, while Ables scanned the crowd for standing attendees - signifying they'd danced with ADA at some point in their lives.