By Desiree Williams
Village Dance Studio has moved five times in the past 39 years, but Annette Pettigrew has been the owner and director through it all. That’s about to change.
Pettigrew and her daughter, Traci Broman, will soon be switching roles at the studio. Broman will be the new owner and director while Pettigrew will solely teach classes.
“I’m excited. I think it’ll be good. Mom will get to enjoy what she does best, which is teach. I think I’ll bring a little more organization and some of the new elements,” said Broman, a Fishers resident.
Pettigrew, a Carmel resident, knew she wanted to be a dancer at 4 years old. A few years later she realized she wanted to teach and own a studio.
“I always wanted to teach dance, but about 8 or 9, I could visualize what (the studio) would be,” Pettigrew said. “When I have a vision, it ends up happening. I just did everything I could to make that dream, that vision, happen.”
With help from her husband, Ron, they built a studio from scratch. The first location was an old movie theatre in Zionsville, which they renovated and opened within two weeks. They moved three more times in The Village before landing at the current site, 5964 S. 700 E., in 1997.
Broman was a dance student there until she attended Indiana University to study arts management. After graduating in 2011, she returned to the studio to teach while also running her own event planning company.
Pettigrew said she is happy to swap roles and hand off responsibilities.
“The students and families should have the best person,” Pettigrew said. “I think (Broman) is better at running the studio.”
This year’s recital, “When the Stars Align,” will celebrate the nearly 40 years of Pettigrew owning the studio. Broman choreographed a surprise number for her mother to end the show.
The recital is at 6 p.m. May 20 and 2 p.m. May 21 at the Zionsville Performing Arts Center. The show is free and open to the public.
The duo worked together on the show and will continue to partner through the summer before Broman officially takes over directorship in the fall.
For more, visit villagedancestudio.com.
