For the second year in a row, CollingwoodToday readers have crowned Fleet-Wood Dancentre the winner in the “Dance Studios” category of the Reader Favourites Awards.
“We have a lovely group of parents who bring their kids to Fleetwood. It’s nice to know that they took the time and voted,” says Sharron Fleet, director/owner of Fleet-Wood.
Sharron opened her first dance studio in Courtenay, B.C., in the mid 1980’s. From there she moved to Ontario where she met Jane Wooding, and the two of them opened Fleet-Wood Dancentre together in 1991. At this time, Sharron also continued her training to become a Cecchetti ballet teacher at Canada's National Ballet School, shadowing the teacher training program there— one of the world’s best. Sharron is now 71 years old and has no plans of retiring.
“When you’re in love with dance, you’re in love with dance,” she says.
The dance centre is designed to be warm and inviting, with free tea and coffee and the option for parents to come in and watch their children’s class on a live video feed.
“I wanted it to feel how I’d want it to be for my own children,” says Sharron.
The studio is also a bit of a family affair, with Sharron’s eldest son and her daughter-in-law teaching there. Sharron trained her daughter-in-law starting when she was just five years old. The couple grew up together and went on to both study dance at George Brown. They bring years of training and experience to their teaching roles at Fleet-Wood.
After 31 years of teaching herself, Sharron sees the benefits —mental health and otherwise— in her students.
“As soon as they walk in the door, their shoulders go down and they start to smile. They’re in their happy place,” she says.
Not only are the students getting a physical workout, they’re also getting the chance to be creative, to step away from life’s pressures, and to be social with peers. Sharron notes that the dancers learn many life skills from being a part of Fleet-Wood’s programs.
“If they dance multiple times a week, they also have to get their homework done. They have to learn how to show up on time and organize their time.”
Sharron is still in touch with her very first dance group from 1986, and marvels at the fact that they all have seemed to become achievers. She believes that dance has helped them become successful in their chosen fields, because of how it’s enriched their lives and helped them cope with stress. Some of these students have remained lifelong friends with each other.
Upcoming plans for the centre include three Nutcracker performances, one of which will be the their first-ever local one. Fleet-Wood is the only school of dance in the Georgian Triangle, Meaford, Collingwood, and Stayner that does a full-scale production of the ballet. The performances are scheduled for November 24th at the Simcoe Street Theatre in Collingwood, and two shows at Meaford Hall on December 8th.
As Sharron excitedly awaits a new events space in Collingwood, for now their performance at Simcoe Street will be a scaled-down version to fit the space. Sharron says that this will add a sense of intimacy, with the dancers even surrounding the audience at several times during the ballet. The Collingwood performance will also be shorter than a regular Nutcracker, at about 90 minutes.
Fleet-Wood will also be continuing the tradition of their mini-Nutcracker performances in the windows of downtown Collingwood, which they do every year during the Christmas Market.
With much on the horizon and no retirement plans, Sharron is as happy as ever to be running Fleet-Wood Dancentre, and being recognized once again by CollingwoodToday readers. For her, this award is confirmation that they’re accomplishing what she and Jane set out to do 31 years ago.
“We’re achieving the studio that we wanted to create. A warm and happy place.”
To learn more and buy tickets for Fleet-Wood Dancentre's Nutcracker performances, visit here.
This article was sponsored by Fleet-Wood Dance Centre, a 2024 CollingwoodToday Reader Favourite.