On May 11th, 12th, and 13th, the Cook County YMCA Dance Program will host their seventh annual recital. The theme of this year’s recital is “Starry Night” and will feature 95 dancers ranging in age from preschool to adult and from beginning levels to years of experience in tap, jazz, ballet, and modern.
In 2011, Lenna Stever-Sobanja founded Lenna’s Dance Program in Grand Marais. In January 2014, Lenna’s Dance Program became the Cook County YMCA Dance Program, and in the Fall of 2014, Christine Curtis and Breana Johnson began running the program.
Lenna Stever-Sobanja began dancing at eight years old, learning under Renee Moe in Grand Marais. She continued taking classes from Moe, guest instructors, Zenon Dance, and other Minnesota studios until she graduated from Cook County High School in 2003. Stever-Sobanja then went on to study dance at the University of Minnesota, Zenon Dance School, and Maple Street Dance. She currently teaches intermediate tap and studies jazz and ballet under Christine Curtis.
Christine Curtis “started dancing at the age of four and has not stopped since.” She has studied ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, lyrical, theatrical, and modern under multiple teachers in Iowa and Minnesota. After moving to Grand Marais, Curtis began to dance with Renee Moe and Sterling Dance. She has taught for Sterling and currently teaches ballet and jazz with the Cook County YMCA Dance Program.
According to Breana Johnson, “Christine teaches the most classes and takes on a lot behind the scenes, so she definitely deserves the most credit.”
Breana Johnson began her dance journey at the age of three. She has studied tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, theatrical, lyrical, and modern and has danced with the Stuart Pimsler Dance Theater, the University of Wisconsin – River Falls Dance Theatre, and Sterling Dance. Johnson has a minor in dance education from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls and teaches jazz, ballet, and beginner tap at the Cook County YMCA Dance Program.
The Cook County YMCA Dance Program offers ballet classes for preschool through adult; jazz and ballet combination classes for second through twelfth grade; and tap classes for sixth grade through adult. Learn more about the program and grab tickets for the recital by visiting https://www.duluthymca.org/programs/sports-and-rec/cook-county/dance-and-cheer.
