Fifty years in, dance in Davidson finally has a home to call its own.

The Davidson Optimist Dance Club (DODC) moved into their two new dance studios located in the basement of the Davidson Library on Washington Avenue this past October after spending the previous six months first investigating the structure and then renovating the former Davidson School Division office space.

Vonné Johnson, president of DODC, said the 83 dance students who train at the club in the disciplines of ballet, point, jazz, hip hop, tap and lyrical can thank the generous support of the many volunteers who helped transform the offices into the two studios as well as the donations that came in from members of the community to help pay for the needed repairs.

“This is the first time since Davidson (first) had dance in the 1960s that we have our own space,” said Johnson. “We’ve always relied on using the school or using churches, so it’s nice to have our own space where we don’t have to pack everything up (after classes finish).”

Johnson said the volunteers and paid professionals took out a few walls, insulated the ceiling to keep music from reaching the upstairs library and put in two different types of flooring among other things to get the space workable for its dancers after Davidson town council first let the club go ahead with renovations of the basement last March. She said they have also installed mirrors to enlarge the space and cleaned and painted the basement rooms to “give it some colour and some life” in an effort to inspire the dancers.

The DODC offers 30 different classes to its dance students, who range in age from four to 17, on three nights a week from the beginning of September to its final recital on April 14. The club also participates in various competitions during the spring months against other dance clubs.

To read more please see the Feb. 18 print edition of The Davidson Leader.