Cavod Schedules Dance Concerts

Connie Dienner, founder of Cavod, a performing arts school located in New Holland, likes to point out that one of the organization's missions is to value the God-given gifts in each person and then to work to develop those gifts under Cavod's goal to "Create With Purpose."

Those concepts will be on display when Cavod holds its annual spring dance concert at Lancaster Mennonite School's Calvin and Janet High Fine Arts Center, 2176 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster, on Thursday, June 16, and Friday, June 17, at 7 p.m. each evening.

"It's a representation of all we do," said Dienner, noting that the presentation spans two nights in order to accommodate the 350 students, age 3 through adult, who will take part. "The concert is a celebration of what they have accomplished throughout the year."

Dienner noted that performances in the genres of tap, ballet, modern, jazz, worship dance, hip-hop, and creative movement will be featured under professional lighting with bright and colorful costumes. The show will exhibit the talents of both students and teachers. "People say this is completely different from any other dance concert they have seen because it's done very creatively," said Dienner. "Our teachers are amazing choreographers, so we may do tap with a musical theater theme or ballet with a Broadway theme." Dienner said that the efforts to make the recital more interesting have garnered positive feedback from attendees.

The 2022 dance concert will also feature a short film on the history of Cavod. MakeFilms of Lancaster produced the video, which begins with Cavod's roots in a barn in the Pequea Valley area of the Welsh Mountains. Cavod later moved to a location on West Main Street in New Holland, then to its present spot in the New Holland Shopping Center location. The Cavod branch at Supply, 280 S. Oak St., Manheim, opened in 2021.

Students in the Friends in Motion class - a weekly dance class for teens and adults with intellectual disabilities - will take part in the dance concert. "There aren't many opportunities for (those students) to perform this way and be celebrated," said Dienner. "Our teachers are geniuses at choreographing to the ability of these students, and it's so beautiful. I look forward to that every year."

Tickets, which are required to attend the dance concert, may be purchased at https://cavod.org or by calling 717-354-3355.

Cavod's schedule for new classes, which will begin in August, may be found at the aforementioned website.