Democrat and Chronicle Article

Article from Democrat and Chronicle 02-14-01
'Dance school lands on its feet'

by: Staff Writer Matthew Daneman

(February 14, 2001) -- The Botsford School of Dance is back for an encore.

The historic ballet school's future seemed uncertain when St. John Fisher College ended ballet classes at the East Avenue school building. But the name, instructor and most of its students have relocated to Penfield's Gymnastics Training Center of Rochester Inc.

"This tradition will continue," said owner Sarah Jane Clifford.

Clifford finished the legal paperwork to re-create the Botsford name -- technically dissolved when St. John Fisher bought the Pittsford school building and property two years ago.

Raven Wilson, Madeline Ebert and Abigail Coughlin, all 3

Raven Wilson, Madeline Ebert and Abigail Coughlin, from left, rehearse at Botsford School of Dance's new home at Gymnastics Training Center in Penfield. It has relocated from East Avenue in Pittsford.

Fisher bought the school with the understanding the dance school would close after two years so the college could use the property for its own purposes.

Botsford director/teacher Margaret Carlson and some of the students headed to the Gymnastics Training Center just after the classes were ended. The Gymnastics Center previously offered ballet classes, but is wrapping those under the new Botsford School umbrella.

The Botsford School dates to 1924. Once located downtown on Gibbs Street, it was the spot where children of well-to-do Rochester families learned ballroom dancing and etiquette. The school's founder, Enid Knapp Botsford-Orcutt, who died in 1984, herself danced as a child with ballet great Anna Pavlova.

In the 1950s, the school moved to 3646 East Ave. Such world-famous dancers as Mikhail Baryshnikov and Jurgen Schneider performed and visited there.

At one time, said Tim Draper, artistic director of the Rochester City Ballet, "If you wanted ballet training, that was the place to go."

Clifford auditioned at the Botsford School dance company more than 30 years ago. Told she'd never be a prima ballerina, she went into gymnastics instead, but continued to take some dance classes at Botsford. "It was the perfect decision," she said.

Botsford's continuation is good news for the local fine arts community, Draper said, because it fills a needed niche in the dance scene.

But troubles at Botsford also serve as a canary in the coal mine for the local arts scene. "I hope people in the community take this as a warning," Draper said. "Schools and arts institutions cannot survive without the support of the public."