Thanks to the incredible strengths and talents of Emilie Tobias and Valery Ganiev, The Ballroom Dance Center is known and recognized across the Southeast and beyond for its Broadway-style theatrical productions featuring both professional and student cast members. Few dance studios in the country offer creative, themed showcases that incorporate music, dance, film, storytelling, history, and theatre.
Drawing on her lifelong love of history and humanities, Emilie writes the shows for The Ballroom Dance Center. She has a unique background and skill set and uses that to present ballroom shows that transcend a routine ballroom dance recital. Capturing the imagination of the youngest to the oldest member of the audience, they are taken on an adventure which sometimes leads them to far-away places through dance.
In “Warped,” our guests “boarded” a spaceship when they took their seats. Once our spaceship reached warp speed, an evil villain named Zocor took over the spaceship by appearing on the studio’s big screen to talk to the captain of the ship.
During 2020, we filmed our show “Cats and Dogs.” One week before the show was scheduled to be performed, we went on COVID lockdown, and as they say, the rest is history. We produced “Cats and Dogs, The Movie!”
“Under the Big Top” featured a mousey accountant who unwittingly became an employee of the mob and then fled with their books after he witnessed a murder. Written in Dr. Seuss rhyme, this mousey accountant hid in the circus where he discovered we are uniquely and wonderfully made and what makes us different makes us special.
In the studio’s pirate show, “The Seven Deadly Pirates,” seven unsavory characters, who each had a different weakness, were featured. From lustful to gluttonous characteristics, each of them was in search of Redbeard’s treasure on Voodoo Island. What they found out in the end is that your treasure is where your heart is that references the scripture Matthew 6:21. You can only fill a hungry heart with the treasure of LOVE.
Over the years we have had Cinderella’s castle, a creation worthy of the Magic Kingdom, a massive 1940s radio big enough to hold people, a cruise ship, the New York City skyline, and a gigantic 1960s television as the backdrop for our annual shows. However, we do not want to forget the stunning live oak tree created for our Johnny Mercer show and a giant cactus made from insulation foam for “The Good, The Bad and The Uncoordinated,” a western-themed production.
In our most recent show, “Royals,” the studio was transformed into the site of a royal ball with kings and queens from history, pop music, rock and roll, gospel, and rhythm and blues. It was quite the production with a guest appearance by the King of Rock ‘n Roll himself, Elvis.
As you may guess, we have already started work on our next show, “Around the World in 80 Songs or Less,” scheduled for April 26, 27, and 28, 2024. Be sure to save the dates! We would love to have you join us on this adventure through dance.
