As they enter their 12th Year, Dance Theater of New England has moved into a new space, in Scotland Park, Bridgewater. The spacious location offers professional studios, a parents waiting room, a homework room and changing space.
It all reflects Deborah Bianca’s vision, style and grace. “You don’t have to be a prima – ballerina to be treated like one…or educated like one.” Deborah Bianca, a life-long resident of Bridgewater, works hard to make sure each dancer’s experience is a quality one, and shared with us her philosophy: “It’s about elegance… defining and re-defining your abilities. Boys and girls should be raised with civility and respect. We are teaching them those practices.” She continued: “It’s OK to have high expectations, as long as they are for everyone. People deserve to be treated like they are special. We respect the child’s humanity and their capacity to achieve.” “At DTNE we have a supportive dance family, and positive re-enforcement from both the parents and the students.”
All of this comes from Deborah’s upbringing in Bridgewater. She started dance when she was 6 years old. Shellie Principe (her landlady) lived downstairs from her, was a dance teacher in Boston and taught locally at the YMCA. Shellie’s husband played for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and gave music lessons out of their home. Deborah would fall asleep each night to classical music permeating up through the floorboards. The Principe’s threw elegant garden parties. The rest of their neighborhood was rough in comparison, but the Principe household projected beauty and light. When she was 4 years old, Deborah so wanted to be a ballerina, and pestered her mother for lessons, until finally she was enrolled with Shellie at the YMCA. From there, Deb was encouraged to study at Boston Conservatory of Dance for Children.
Deb’s philosophies stem out of that formative experience. “Most children are not going to be dancers; they will be attorneys, dads & moms, nurses, and bio-engineers, but some are going to be dancers, or in arts administration or arts funding. If they are not directly involved in the arts, they will attend a performance. They will be able to understand why it’s good and how that performance came about and they will feel they are part of that community.
Classically trained children become one with the art community world- wide.” Deb’s goal is that “training with DTNE will help a young student make sense of the world, connect with humanity, the basic truths to our existence.”
