Just For Kix dance studio opening in New Albin; Instructor Brittany Wallace offering classes for young people from toddlers through high school age

A meet-and-greet for youth interested in learning about dance classes is set for Saturday, August 26, from noon to 2 p.m., at the New Albin Public Library

by Julie Berg-Raymond

Young people from toddlers through high school-age are going to have a new opportunity to take dance classes in the New Albin area when Brittany Wallace - an experienced dance instructor in addition to being a nurse and a librarian - opens a Just For Kix dance studio in New Albin this fall.

A meet-and-greet for those interested in signing up for dance classes is scheduled at the New Albin Public Library for Saturday, August 26 from noon to 2 p.m. Wallace will be offering kick and jazz combination classes this year and plans to grow the program to offer more styles of dance as its numbers grow. Classes begin September 7, and will be held Thursdays in the New Albin Community Center.

“My first memory of dance is of not being able to sit still in the bleachers while watching the Frazee Fly Girls (the Frazee, MN high school dance team) dance to Bon Jovi’s ‘Wanted, Dead or Alive,’” Wallace recalls. From that moment on, she says, she knew that she wanted to do what those dancers were doing.

Wallace is probably not alone in having a memory like this. For the older generation, the song might have been something more along the lines of Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz”; but in any case, the impulse to want to move one’s body in a rhythmic way seems to be a common one. Wallace took that impulse to the next level, though, when - in fifth grade (“a late age,” she notes) - she started taking dance lessons in a Just For Kix program.

“I competitively danced in kick, jazz and lyrical throughout my school years and taught dance to three- to six-year-olds while in high school to help pay for my (dance) classes,” Wallace says. “After high school, I was the assistant coach for the Fergus Falls (MN) high school dance team and danced for the talent component while competing in the Miss Minnesota Organization.”

After moving to this area, Wallace says, she focused on her nursing career and her family. (She and her husband, Derek, have three children: Vivian, William and Jameson.) “Last year I felt it was time to pick up my dance shoes again and give back to my community by providing dance opportunities with a proven and effective dance program,” she says. Just For Kix was the right fit.

Started in 1981 in Brainerd, MN, Just For Kix has grown to 200-plus programs nationwide. “As leaders in dance instruction, we engage over 21,000 dancers at more than 200 locations nationwide,” the company notes on its website at www.justforkix.com. “Our classes provide youth across the country a learning environment focused on teamwork, proven dance technique and confidence building … (C)ostume designers, marketing specialists, graphic designers, accountants, event coordinators, warehouse workers, youth program coordinators and catalog managers work together to generate innovative ideas that constantly allow Just For Kix to change the face of dance team across the nation.”

The support network offered by Just For Kix is one of the things that sold Wallace on working with them. “With the organization’s home office taking care of the logistics of the business, I get to focus on providing an effective, fun, and positive class experience for children of all ages and abilities,” Wallace says. “Providing children with the foundations of dance in a safe environment to explore self-expression is paramount to not only teaching children to be great dancers and teammates, but gives them the building blocks to be healthy and well-rounded individuals who can go out into the world and say, ‘Here I am’.”

Anyone interested in more information about the program - including announcements about team performances and class sessions, is invited to check out its Facebook page at Just For Kix New Albin; email newalbin_ia@justforkix.com; call or text 218-234-8507; or visit the new program’s website at https://www.justforkix.com/danceclasses/new-albin-ia/.