FAITH AND DANCE COME TOGETHER AT DANCE QUEST INTERNATIONAL

By Kelly Wise Valdes

gled Banner” resounded. I’m guessing you did that too, my friend — am I right?

My third grade teacher was a Cuban immigrant turned citizen who loved America passionately. She was jubilantly grateful for every single freedom and every wonderful opportunity ofered by her beloved adopted country. She gushed American pride more than anyone I knew. She taught us the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish so that each morning after we stood with our hands over our hearts and recited the Pledge in English, her soft, accented “En español” would cue us to recite it again in her native tongue. I remember seeing tears glistening in her eyes as 30 kiddos valiantly tried to wrap their stif little tongues around the rolled rrr’s and u’s that sounded like oooh’s Allegiance was important then, and it’s important now.

Perhaps this Independence Day we could pledge to instill a little more loyalty and respect for our flag and our country in ourselves, our children and our grandchildren. I’m game. Are you?

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free, (Galatians 5:1 NIV).

Dance Quest International, located in Brandon, brings its vision to be an internally minded performing-arts ministry that breeds new vision and new faith. With more than 300 students enrolled in the studio last season, the ministry is looking forward to things to come.

Dance Quest was originally born in 1995 through the teaching of dance in schools in the Central Florida region, however, the original Brandon studio opened in 2011, and was moved into a larger space in 2014.

The Brandon Dance Quest location includes three spacious studio rooms including one 900 square foot studio, one 850 square foot studio, and one 500 square foot studio.

This summer Dance Quest is ofering many dance options for all ages and skill levels. There are currently more than 100 students enrolled in the summer program.

The Art From The Heart Dance Camp is being ofered for ages 9-12 beginning Monday July 17- Thursday July 20, from 2-4 p.m. Students will be learning dance and enjoy the art of worship and having a heart of worship.

The second summer dance class is Identity- 4 Day Worship Experience being held Monday July 10- Thursday July 13 from 2-4 p.m. for ages 13 and up. This class allows students to explore and find identity in Christ through the art of worship.

According to marketing assistant Syd- ney Wingate, faith plays a major role in the studio. “We strive to point all of our attention to Jesus in the dance studio, said Wingate. “We incorporate this by praying with and over our students in every class, many of our teachers include times of worship in class on occasion, and we demonstrate the love that Christ has for us by loving our students and reminding them how greatly Jesus loved them also.”

Dance Quest also ofers school programs for preschool and elementary school aged dancers in more than 10 schools in the Brandon and Jacksonville areas.

According to Wingate, Dance Quest stands out from the crowd. “We keep our focus on Christ and our atmosphere, teachers, dancers, and choreography all reflect that focus,” said Wingate. “Our Quest is to create a family that encompasses unity and community. Our dancers will be encouraged to grow spiritually from the inside out, while still equipping their God-given artistic performance, and technical abilities.”

Registration for the 2023-2024 season will take place soon and can be found on the Dance Quest website at www.dancequestintl.com. Dance Quest is located at 853 Lithia Pinecrest Rd. in Brandon. For more information call 813-842-1687.

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