Our Mission
The mission of the Dance Factory is the same today as when we opened in 1984: to provide quality dance and movement training from experienced, friendly teachers in an inclusive, safe, and nurturing environment.Â
The Dance Factory is a dance studio located in Springfield, Vermont, serving the Chester, Weathersfield, Bellows Falls, Charlestown, Claremont, NH areas and more. We offer a variety of dance classes for both new and experienced dancers. Our child and adult dance classes include ballet, pointe, hip-hop, modern, tap, acrodance, and jazz. Our goal is to provide a safe and inclusive space for dancers to learn and refine their skills. We also offer yoga, which incudes relaxing visualizations, gentle stretching, and restorative breathwork. We celebrate and support our local community through various charitable donations and no-to-low cost performances.
We take pride in our experienced and dedicated faculty who are passionate about dance and committed to helping our students achieve their goals. Come join us and discover the joy of dance and movement!
Our Faculty
Passionate, qualified teachers you can trust to bring you and/or your children safely towards your movement goals. We have decades of dance training and education experience; plus we routinely attend new trainings to keep you moving forward!
Kate DeRosia
Ashley Hensel-Browning
Suzanne Stern
Jessie DeRosia
Dana Blake
Dance Factory owner, Kate Frizzell-DeRosia started her dance training at the age of 7 with Paula Lannon formerly with the New York City Ballet. She spent many summers at Svetlova’s, a summer program directed by Marina Svetlova formerly from The Ballet Russe and the New York City Opera Ballet.
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Ashley works as a dance educator, community artist, and choreographer. She owns Avant and has received multiple grants for her work in public schools and community sites and is a Juried Teaching Artist on the VT Arts Council Teaching Roster. She received her Ed.M. from the Harvard Grad. School of Ed and her B.A. from Hampshire College in Dance Ed and Community Dev. through the Arts.
Jessie began her dance training at the Dance Factory at the age of 2. She has now been dancing for over 30 years and is a certified yoga instructor. She's thrilled to share her love of movement with others. She believes that physical movement should be fun and accessible for everyone!
As a youth in Vermont, Suzanne Stern performed with Black River Dance, Red Ink Dance, and Arthur Hall's NewVerMaine Dance Company. She continued her ballet training at New York University, New Dance Group, and Peridance Capezio Center in New York City while working as a musician and recording artist.
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Dana began her dance training at age five. Four years later she was accepted into The School of The Pennsylvania Ballet. Here she had the privilege to be trained by one of George Balanchine's original ballerinas, Yvonne Patterson. Dana increased her studies by attending summer intensives
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What Sets Us Apart
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Experienced, dedicated instructors. Our teachers are highly experienced and/or certified in the styles they teach, including ballet, pointe, modern, creative movement, jazz, hip hop, tap, yoga, acro, aerial yoga, and music & movement. Every member of our staff has a strong connection to the Dance Factory and is aligned with our mission of pairing quality training with a safe, nurturing, and fun environment! Learn more about our instructors >
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Inclusivity. The dance world can be discouraging to students who don’t fit a certain mold. The Dance Factory celebrates dancers of all ages, physiques, and ability levels, which allows students to build confidence and to grow at their own pace. We look at the individual, not the expectation.
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Consistency. The Dance Factory has been a fixture of Springfield, Vermont and the greater community for nearly 40 years. Many of our students are children or grandchildren of Dance Factory students, or danced with us in their youth and returned as adults. We also have many multi-generational dancing families! See more about our history >
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Commitment to safety. The safety of our students is paramount. To avoid injury, we do not allow students to advance beyond their strength and skill level, particularly in acro and pointe. We understand this may be frustrating to some families but we ask you to trust in our experience and allow us to keep your dancers safe from injury.
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Commitment to our community. The Dance Factory has long supported our community through outreach, accessible performances, and donations. Our annual production of The Nutcracker has raised over $20,000 for local arts programs. We also work with Springfield district schools, Springfield on the Move, the Springfield Community Band, and Avant Vermont Dance, among other organizations, to bring the joy of movement to local audiences.
Get in Touch
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about inclusive yoga and dance in southern Vermont, please fill out the form below or contact us at the information provided. We look forward to hearing from you!
All classes are held at our studio located at 59 Main Street, Springfield, Vermont.
(our mailing address is PO Box 294 Chester, VT 05143!)
