Prior to the year 2000, the Bolingbrook Park District dance program, the Park Dancers, numbered no more than 100 participants.
“It was a nice program, but we generally had no more than between 75 and 100 people registered for various dance programs,” said Tom Carstens, deputy director for the Bolingbrook Park District.
Over the last seven years the district’s dance program has grown nearly 10-fold — more than 900 area residents registered for a dance class of some kind last year — and now boasts the nationally acclaimed Jamm Team, a select group of 45 dancers as part of DanceForce.
DanceForce and the Jamm Team — 45 elite dancers who try out in May and perform for about 15 months in a variety of competitions — have earned regional and national awards since its inception in summer of 2000.
“There was no way we had a clue how successful this would become when we hired Stacey,” said Carstens, who was in charge of recreation programs when the district expanded its dance programs.
In summer of 2000 the district hired Stacey Archer-Little to direct its dance programs, and she initiated a program that introduced hip hop steps to students thirsty for the curriculum.
“I had been teaching it in Hawaii, and I really felt Bolingbrook, with its wonderful energy and diversity, was a prime location for this kind of dancing,” said Archer-Little in a recent interview.
That first year DanceForce, which was fueled by an after-school program implemented at local schools called Power Dance, drew 36 dancers. Today enrollment is closer to 180 dancers.
The after school program was installed originally at four area schools, today it is placed at 11.
Even Archer-Little had no idea the program would be so successful.
“Back then I knew the Bolingbrook community had the potential, but not to this level. I never expected it to get this successful this quickly,” Archer-Little said.
DanceForce participants are required to take a dance course load that includes one hour a week of technical training, plus two hours of practice.
The dance company instructs students in a variety of dancing disciplines, from hip hop and ballet to jazz and lyrical — which is ballet with a dash of interpretation thrown in, Archer-Little said.
“It’s not all hip-hop, although that is the most popular. And it isn’t just about dance. Each student also performs community service and takes part in Character Counts programs,” Archer-Little said.
The result, Archer-Little said, is a group of students who not only love dance, but are also willing to volunteer for community projects, are academically solid, feel connected to the rest of the community and appreciate the broader picture.
“Each year our kids provide meals to the needy around the holidays, and in the past have raised funds for victims of tragedies like the Sri Lanka tsunami and Hurricane Katrina,” Archer-Little said.
“We regularly visit the Meadowbrook Manor senior facility and reach out to them and entertain them,” Archer-Little said.
Last year the dance group collected nearly 500 “cooling scarves” that were distributed to service men and women stationed in Iraq.
The group also performs at many Chicago area venues such as Chicago Sky basketball games, the annual Bolingbrook Village Picnic, on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago prior to Chicago’s annual holiday parade, and in the process has gained a reputation for excellence in elite competition.
Last year Bolingbrook resident Joe Fields finished second in the Solo category in the Urban Jamm competition in Chicago, and was selected as the cover model for the 2007 Urban Jamm brochure.
“What’s really amazing is how well they fare against private dance companies in local and national competitions. We get feedback from other park districts all the time about how impressive the DanceForce dancers are, that this isn’t a typical park district dance performance group,” Carstens said.
DanceForce conducts open tryouts, with all those who try out making the DanceForce squad, which then is broken into different skill levels.
This past week Archer-Little and instructors had to say goodbye to several outgoing senior members following a farewell performance at the Promenade Bolingbrook Sunday, Aug. 19.
“It’s a little bittersweet,” Archer-Little said. “Some of those who are now leaving were here from the start, and they have matured and excelled.”
Jaimie Castonguay, 17, a Bolingbrook resident, has been dancing since she was five years old and has been involved with the dance group since its inception in 2001.
“It has really given me some great opportunities not only to dance and express myself over the years, but to reach out and touch others, to help others,” said Castonguay, a member of the Senior Jamm Team. “I’ll be sad when it is all over next year, but it has been a great experience.”
Bolingbrook, IL —
