Kimball Dance Club for children is off to a hopping start

What are a group of mothers in Kimball to do when they struggle to find a fun and inexpensive activity for their children? They dance.

Local moms Katie Culek, Tiffani Dea, Jill Ferguson, Erika Loy and Carrie Tabor comprise a board and with that board the club began to take shape with dance classes for children.

“To start off it was just a bunch of us moms wanting to bring something to Kimball, so we created a board,” Culek said. “Our goal coming into this as parents, starting a board, was to find something for the kids that was cheap and enjoyable.”

The Kimball Dance Club began its first session in March of this year with two paid, but not professional dance instructors, who practically volunteered their time, according to Culek.

“They have dance experience, and they have done it throughout their lives,” Culek said. “Carrie Tabor though has professional dance experience, but they are not certified.”

The not-for-profit group expected 10 or maybe 15 interested children. However, nearly 40 expressed interest and it blew them away.

The interest was so great that several session were planned with different age groups, and the board even began a dance fitness class twice a week for the mothers.

“For our first session we were scared,” Culek said. “We wanted to get it going but we didn’t want it to be huge and then be overwhelmed.”

Sessions lasted six weeks and were scheduled on Saturdays. The club worked with the soccer board to ensure that children would not have difficulty making it to both activities.

“We had 3 to 4 year-olds ballet and jazz, 5 to 7 year-olds ballet and jazz, and then second through sixth grade dance foundations,” Culek said. “We also incorporated dance fitness, which is adult dance fitness, into our dance club. We have interest in the junior high age kids too.”

All youth sessions and camps will be held in the Kimball 4-H building at the fairgrounds while adult dance fitness is held at the Kimball Health Services north campus in what used to be the West Elementary gymnasium.

This summer the club will hold mini-camps instead of a full six-week session.

“We will have a ‘Little Princess’ school for the little ones June 1 and June 3 for ages 3 and 4 from 9-11 (a.m.), and then June 2 and 4 for ages 5 and 6 from 9-11 (a.m.),” Culek said. “With that they will do a craft, snack, princess dancing, tea parties and then on that Friday, June 5, we will have a family dance night.”

The club also plans a hip-hop camp to be held on July 15-17 for ages 6 to 9 from 9-11:30 a.m. and again for ages 10 to 12 from 1-3:30 p.m.

Additionally, a technique class is planned in the summer for youths aged 13 to 18. It will be held July 6-10 from 6-7:30 p.m.

“It’s not really cheer, but it is the poms,” Culek said.

Culek added that if interest and attendance continue to rise a teacher may be hired for future classes, which could be extended up to 10 weeks in the spring and fall with camps planned for the summer weeks.

“We have had contact with a couple of teachers from Scottsbluff and one from Sidney,” Culek said. “We set our goal to be a $25 session fee and we don’t want to go over that. If we go to 10-week sessions we might have to bump it up to $30, but we don’t want it to be too expensive.”