Dance Reflections marks 20 years in Albion, building strong bonds in a small town

Photo by Natalie Baron: Heather Hapeman, owner of Dance Reflections by Miss Heather, poses with some of her dance families in front of her studio in downtown Albion.

By Natalie Baron, Orleans Hub intern

ALBION – This September, Heather Hapeman celebrates 20 years of Dance Reflections by Miss Heather, of which she is the owner and sole instructor. Dance Reflections is located at 52 North Main Street in Albion.

Photo by Erin Townsend: Pictured, from left: Theresa O’Hearn (Heather’s mother), Miss Heather Hapeman, Megan Morton (Heather’s friend) and Coraline Hapeman (Heather’s daughter). They, along with Heather’s father Tom and her husband Jared help out with the office duties for Dance Reflections. Coraline also helps out with the baby classes.

Dance Reflections’ success is a testament to strong bonds in a small town. Regarding how the studio has reached so many people in a location like Albion, Heather explained that she believes it is due to “the relationships I’ve had for so long with friends I’ve gone to school here with, graduated from Albion. I was born and raised here, so I’ve known a lot of people for many years. I’ve had a lot of friends and family in this town, and then there’s word of mouth. One thing led to another, and now I have over 125 dance families and 140 dancers.”

Provided photos: Heather Hapeman with daughter Coraline after this year’s recital.

Also contributing to the studio’s longevity is the ability to adapt to a shifting dance world while continuing to run the studio with consistency. “The world is has changed so much,” Heather stated, “so I make sure that I stay up-to-date with the world changing and dance styles changing. I make sure I go to dance conventions and that kind of stuff, ’cause styles of dance change a lot. Really nothing much else has changed. I’m a creature of habit! Parents appreciate that, too, because there’s so much going on in everybody’s lives, that to have something stay constant, it’s just easier for the parents, as well.”

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Heather looked for ways to keep her dancers involved. She launched “Project Dance Reflections from Home,” where 141 dancers were featured in a video tribute. She decorated the front of the studio with hearts for the kids. In 2021, dance photos were taken outside, and the recital was held at the 4-H Fairgrounds.

At the end of this year’s recital, the seniors, including Al Hand (front left), take their final bow. Heather said the hardest part of her job is saying goodbye to graduating seniors, who have, often, danced with her from a young age.

Last year, Heather taught 132 dancers, which is around the studio’s average. “I would say last year was probably one of our biggest years. We had over 750 people attend our dance recital, and that’s been the biggest crowd we’ve had. Usually, we teeter around 600 for our recital.”

Photos by Natalie Baron: Heather Hapeman with students from dance families.

Heather runs her business with a genuine passion for dance and care toward every dancer. She has been dancing since she was 3 years old, learning from Spotlight Studio’s owner, Rhonda Steffen. Heather has gone on to be a dance instructor for 26 years. She teaches all dances at Dance Reflections and limits class sizes in order to provide personal attention to her students. Some of her former students now bring their own children to dance at her studio. Her dance families are incredibly important to her and keep her loving what she does.

Pictured, from left: Matt, Crystal, Al, and Rianne Hand.

Al and Rianne Hand have been dancing at Miss Heather’s since elementary school. Rianne started when she was 3 years old and Al at 7. Their sister, Sam, used to do hip hop before she graduated, beginning at 9 years of age.

Dance mom Crystal Hand said her family chose Miss Heather’s because friends of the family were dancing there. “They were friends all through elementary school, so we were like, let’s dance with our friends! When we came here, we were like, we’re not leaving. We’re very happy here.”

Al, who graduated this year, did soft shoe ballet, point ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop and lyrical. In high school, Al partook in a dance team and as a senior, danced in the senior dance and performed a solo. Rianne does jazz, hip hop, soft shoe ballet, point, lyrical and tap. Now that she is in high school, Rianne hopes to join a dance team. The Hand family also did family dance for a couple of years.

Al and Rianne shared their favorite memories of dancing at Miss Heather’s. Al gushed, “I remember, two years ago, it was a hip hop class. It had four people in it, and we mixed so well! I loved that we made little catchphrases about our dance moves, and we worked with Miss Heather to add some stuff, like ‘moonwalking’ and ‘getting jiggy with it.’ It was such a good dance, and I loved it!” Rianne expressed, “I think it was this year that we were doing a tap dance, and we got to do so much more stuff. It was very exciting! We were all in a circle next to each other, and we just had a really great time.”

Dance mom Rebecca Francis with daughter Evelynn.

“We’ve known Heather a long time,” said Rebecca Francis, mom of Evelynn. “My husband worked with her father. We’ve had a long family-friend connection, there. This past year was Evelynn’s first year dancing, and she just loves Heather. She’s wonderful with her.” This year, Evelynn did ballet, tap and hip hop. Evelynn’s favorite memory is the big stage and recital.

Dance mom Joliene Pritchard stands beside daughters Daniella (left) and Gabriella.

“We heard very good things about her from around town,” Joliene Pritchard, dance mom to Danielle and Gabriella, stated about Heather. “We were new to the area, so we heard about her through people in the community.” Daniella currently does hip hop and ballet, and she used to do tap. Gabriella has done hip hop and ballet, and she is starting tap this year. Daniella’s favorite memory is her first dance recital. Gabriella’s is learning from, and spending time with, Miss Heather.

Dance mom Mindy Warne smiles with Leah, her daughter.

Mindy Warne brought her daughter, Leah, to Dance Reflections when Leah was three years old. “From there, she fell in love with Miss Heather,” Mindy said. “Even though I’d never danced with another studio my whole life, there was no changing. She just absolutely loved Miss Heather. She’s been going here for eight years now.” Leah does hip hop, ballet, tap, jazz and lyrical. Leah’s favorite memory is “Making my best friends from here, because this is the place I met all my friends!”

Pictured are dance mom Lisa Russell and her daughter, Brynlee.

Like Mindy Warne, Lisa Russell also used to dance at Miss Heather’s. Now Lisa’s daughter, Brynlee, goes there. “Before I started dancing with her, I just thought she was so talented, just as a dancer, herself,” Lisa recalled, “and then when I started coming, it was so peaceful in here and so relaxing. I was in sports, too, but coming to dance felt like a nice break to get away and stretch and be active. Then we moved to Florida, and, coming back, Brynlee was really interested in dance. Of course I was gonna come back to Miss Heather, just ’cause I knew she would be so good with the little ones.”

Lisa continued, “And she honestly is just so organized. It’s so easy for the moms. You’re not ever unsure of what you should be doing or where you should be going. It’s fun.”

Brynlee does ballet and hip hop, and next year, she is going to do tap. Brynlee’s favorite memory is loving dancing and having freedom up onstage. From a mom but former dancer’s perspective, Lisa relayed her favorite memory, that being “the dance team when I was a senior, and she gave us the creative freedom to make our own dance, which was really, really fun, and she would guide us along and give us that space for creativity.”

Dance Reflections focuses its efforts on giving back, not on monetary gain. Over the years, the studio has supported many community causes, including Hospice of Orleans, PAWS Animal Shelter, Community Action, Albion School District PTA and Drama Departments, Lyndonville School District Drama Department and CURE for Childhood Cancer, as well as donations to basket raffles, fundraisers and community events.

In 2023, Dance Reflections was named “Organization of the Year” by the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council for artistic excellence and community involvement. Heather was nominated by a dance family and was selected out of 18 nominees from Genesee and Orleans County.

Open House for Dance Reflections by Miss Heather will take place Wednesday, August 6 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Visitors will get to see the studio and meet Miss Heather.