Dance Fusion winds up with a Toe Tapping Recital spotlight on Miss Sienna

A hush settled over Glenboro Hall last Tuesday as sequins glittered, satin ribbons fluttered and nerves buzzed in the wings. Then, with a confident smile that belied her 18 years, the confident instructor, Sienna Jarvis, daughter of Devin and Sandi Jarvis of Glenboro, stepped into the spotlight.

“Good evening, everyone, and welcome to Dance Fusion’s annual recital,” she called out, voice bright and steady. In June she’ll trade her tights for a graduation gown, but on this night she celebrated another milestone.

“Like many of our dancers, I started dance at three years old,” she said to the packed hall. “I fell in love immediately, and I’m honoured to be their first instructor.”

Sienna’s introduction to dance began in 2010, when two determined Glenboro moms—one of whom was Sandi Jarvis, the other Theresa Vanwynsberghe—convinced Brandon dancer Kaitlynn Lowen to drive in weekly. Thus the Glenboro Dance Group was born: a preschool tap and jazz class for toddlers (Sienna among them). That humble beginning has grown into Dance Fusion, giving prairie kids a place to twirl and tap closer to home.
After a few seasons of classes, Lowen left for university silencing the taps in Glenboro. Then Andrea McLean of Glenboro stepped up, offering two seasons of Highland dance, giving Sienna her first taste of sword steps. Soon, though, the Jarvis family were logging highway kilometres—gymnastics in Brandon and Neepawa, then dance in Carberry with Taylor Orchard and eventually to Brandon for dance.

By Grade 4, Sienna was practically living at Brandon’s Steppin’ Time Dance Studio, commuting up to four nights a week. Competitive dance broadened her horizons – tap, jazz, lyrical, ballet, pointe, hip hop, stage, modern – dancing mostly group routines plus solos and duets that hauled home medals from the Brandon Festival and spring competitions every year.

“I remember always dancing around the house in my tap shoes after the classes in Glenboro ended, that is probably why my mom decided to take me to Brandon for classes. I was so excited!!” The excitement and appreciation of that memory is evident by the broad smile on her face at the recollection.

Her inspiration has come from the ten other girls in her Steppin’ Time group since the fourth grade. “I’ve had the best teachers I could hope for – and those girls have become sisters to me.” She also admired, from the wings, the intermediate dancers whose skill and artistry she longed to match. “I thought, ‘One day, I will be that good’.”

When you think “athlete” you might picture hockey sticks or track spikes, but the strength and agility demanded of a dancer rival any sport. Between four days of dance, Pilates sessions on the reformer at Tour Fitness, and some running, Sienna’s conditioning schedule would exhaust most varsity rosters.

In the ninth grade, Spruce Lakes Recreation once again offered dance classes; Brittany Wallis instructing with Sienna who was more than excited to assist. When Wallis stepped away the following spring, Sienna – barely old enough to drive herself – took the reins.

Today her roll call reads like a miniature town census: toddlers in glittery tap shoes, six year olds perfecting jazz hands, tweens weaving stories through lyrical movement. Sienna also doubles as choreographer of all the dances in the evening’s recital showcasing all the group has learned over the last couple of months.

“My reward is their excitement – especially at recitals, when they’re so proud to show off what they’ve learned,” she says. “And when they spot me at school or daycare, shout ‘Hi, Miss Sienna!’ – it makes my heart melt.”

Her personal most memorable moments as a student throughout the years have been numerous, she and her team and dance partner in duets have received many awards, but one of the most special to her was when she was chosen by her coaches to be the recipient of the “Most Deserving Scholarship”. “That meant so much to me,” she said genuinely.

She juggles dual roles as a dance instructor – teaching weekly in Brandon as well as Glenboro – layered on top of her own classes, workouts, recitals and weekend competitions. Yet all of it spins beneath a 90 plus average in math and science-heavy courses. “Chemistry just clicks,” she says with a casual shrug, tucking the very textbooks she’ll cram from for upcoming exams into an already overstuffed dance bag.

In just over a month Sienna will be trading in her tights for a graduation gown, but the dance slippers and tap shoes will only be packed always for a short time. As she begins her Agriculture degree at the University of Manitoba this fall, she and Spruce Lakes Rec Director Jenn Martin, are already trying to schedule in a session next spring to keep Glenboro’s classes alive. “My hope is to continue teaching as a side hobby, as I really do love it! I also hope to continue tapping, but not sure where I will go with it.”

At Tuesday’s recital – after the final bow and the obligatory group photo – tiny dancers swarmed their mentor with bouquets of roses, daisies and carnations until only her beaming face was visible. The widest bloom, though, was her grin – reflected in dozens of pint sized smiles and the proud eyes of parents and grandparents who filled the hall.