This year, Milford Times will highlight every business in Milford throughout the year to give visitors and residents details on the history, services and unique outlook every business owner in Milford has. We begin our series with TADA Performance Company. If you would like your business highlighted, contact us by clicking here.
TADA Performance Company, previously known as Diamond Sance Company, was established in 1999 and is the longest running dance company in town. Named for its founder, Tatiana Akinfieva-Smith, TADA’s staff consists of several descendants of Akinfieva.
“We opened our doors for the first time in 2012 as Diamond Dance Studio at the request of parents in the community,” Aimee Voshell String, Director of the dance school and Assistant Director of TADA Performance Company. “In 2013, the school was renamed the Tatiana Akinfieva Dance Academy (TADA) and in the first two years of the studio’s existence, TADA doubled its student enrollment and moved into a larger location on Front Street. Since that time, TADA has continued to grow. We were thrilled to purchase our current home in 2018 where we have continued to grow in our state-of-the-art facility.”
String, who learned under Akinfieva-Smith as did staff members Jordan Adkins and Jessica Rodriguez. Misty Yencer, Director of TADA Performance Company, is the granddaughter of Akinfieva-Smith and Tori Gregory is the great-granddaughter of the company founder.
“TADA students and staff have won numerous awards and scholarships and been accepted into many notable summer training programs over the past several years,” String said. “In 201, we were proud to have one of our ensembles place third at Youth America Grand Prix Regionals and be invited to compete at the Finals in New York City. Since then, we have been awarded prestigious awards at NYCDA, 24-Seven Dance, the Delaware Dance Festival, as well as JUMP and Groove. TADA is now widely recognized as one of the area’s top studios and notable has had dancers featured on the Harry Connick Jr. Show.”
The mission of TADA is simple, yet powerful, according to String.
“Our mission is to bring exceptional, high-quality dance education to the Milford area in a warm, family centered environment,” String said. “We are committed to cultivating not only skilled dancers, but confident, compassionate individuals. Whether your child dances with us for a single season or many years, we hope their time at TADA instills lifelong love for the art of dance and a sense of pride int their accomplishments that will stay with them far beyond the studio walls. As a non-profit, and our studio supporting the TADA Performance Company, the structure enables us to keep our mission at the forefront of everything we do.”
TADA offers lessons in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, pointe, classical variations and acro. String stated that their “TADAncers” range in age from 2 to 18, including both males and females.
“I began dancing at the age of seven and honestly never stopped,” String said. “When I look back on my life, I can see the monumental impact dance had on my life. My teachers taught me to dance, but beyond that, they taught me discipline, how to cope with disappointment, the value of hard work, dedication and commitment. I wanted to share my love of dance with young dancers, including my own kids. Many of our young students will not go on to professional dance careers, but I hope they look back at their time at TADA and see the lessons learned and the relationships developed. I hope they can all see how dance has helped them develop into better humans.”
String felt that the COVID epidemic was one of the biggest challenges the company faced.
“Pretty much overnight, it was no longer safe for us to be in the studio with our dancers, which is their safe place,” String said. “We had to be really creative in continuing to engage our dancers in movement but also in personal relationships. We tried a lot of things. We taught virtual classes, crated safe virtual spaces where we could meet up with our dancers just to talk, created virtual challenges to keep the kids physically moving. The motto was “just keep swimming!” It was hard and it tested our limits but it made us stronger as a family.”
Another challenge is a declining interest in the arts among the public. String knows how hard the dancers work and they are always eager to perform for audiences, spending hundreds of hours in rehearsal before they take the stage for a performance.
“Football stands are generally full, but you rarely see a full theater,” String said. “We’ve worked hard to make the art of classical ballet accessible and enjoyable for the public. If you haven’t been to a ballet in a while (or ever!), I invite you to come check us out. These young kids will blow you away.”
When she first started teaching, String would have said her greatest accomplishments were the awards and scholarships won by the students or the way the dancers are taking on the professional dance world.
“I am still super proud of those things, but I think our greatest achievement to date is the family that we have created along the way,” String said. “Like any family, we have our ups and downs, but at the end of the day, we truly are a family group. Our alumni come back to visit us year after year, and our dancers are best friends. We help each other through he good times and the bad. We genuinely love and support each other. Those are the greatest achievements.”
One thing that String would have done differently when the company first began was to pay a lot less attention to the naysayers. According to String, all of that was just noise, but she does feel the negative comments might have motivated them just a little more to succeed.
“For anyone who wants to get into this business, the most important thing is to genuinely love your dancers,” String said. “With that foundation, everything else will fall into place. This business is not about money or personal attention; it’s about children and pushing them to meet their best potential.”
Every year, TADA performs two full length ballets for local audiences. In December, they perform the Nutcracker and, this spring, they will perform Beauty and the Beast at Milford High School
“Our company gives students the opportunity to participate locally in a professional performance setting,” String said.
TADA’s state-of-the-art facility is located at 121 North Washington Street in Milford in the former Argo Linoleum building. Classes run Monday through Thursday from 5 to 9 PM. Anyone interested can stop by the studio during business hours.
“We would love to give you a tour and introduce you to some of our students and staff!” String said.
Learn more about the classes offered by visiting TADA online.
