Coastal Dance Academy moves to Five Points

Members of the senior traveling dance team at Coastal Dance Academy were little more than toddlers when the studio opened its doors in 1996, but just like those girls, the little dance academy has grown up.

Most of these girls were younger than 5 years old when they first began dancing, Coastal Dance Academy Director Terri Morris said, and with classes ranging from tap to ballet to jazz and even tumbling, the girls have stayed in step ever since.

“These girls have been here since they were little, and they are all grown up now,” Morris said. “We’re very close; it’s like a family.”

And this year, the family got a new home.

Moving to Lewes from the old studio in Harbeson, a 2,200-square-foot space with only one large dance area, the dance academy is now housed closer to the coast in the Village at Five Points. This new location is 3,000 square feet with two classrooms, she said, allowing Morris to offer classes simultaneously with her daughter, Brittany, who is also an instructor.

“We’re a lot closer to civilization here,” Morris said. “We can expand because we are doing two classes at the same time now.”

A convenient location is especially nice for senior competitive team members who said they have mostly started driving themselves to practice, which is most nights of the week as the team prepares for the Tremaine Regional Dance Competition in January.

“Usually they all place at the regionals, and we all go to Orlando, Florida, for nationals,” Morris said of the junior, teen and senior competitive teams.

Taylor Capoczoli, a member of the senior dance team, said that unlike many of her teammates, she danced elsewhere for nearly 10 years before coming to Coastal Dance Academy for a summer camp. After noticing the rapid improvement in her dancing, Capoczoli stayed on with the academy and is now preparing for regional competition with her team.

“I decided to come here after that camp because I got so much better. We can have fun here and work hard at the same time,” she said.

Offering more than 25 classes weekly, plus a tumbling class, Morris said she is enjoying the expansion of her dance business and loves to watch the girls grow and progress over the years.

“I have to crack the whip sometimes; in this day and age they still need some discipline,” she said. “But I always tell my girls ‘do something you like, because you are going to be doing it for the rest of your life.’”

Dance student Rebecca Lusk said she spends almost every night at the studio, working on her technique and preparing for dance team competitions. As a Lewes resident, Lusk said, the new location is close by and makes it easier to pursue her passion for dance while balancing the other aspects of her life, like high school.

“It’s really great to have a place so close to home where you can express yourself,” she said. “I’m here almost every night, so it is really nice that it is so close now.”

Coastal Dance Academy offers dance classes Monday through Thursday starting at 3:45 p.m. For more information, call 302-644-2274.