The Chippettes stay in touch with their roots by teaching young dancers

• Tweet
• 

Smiling faces filled a room at Off-Broadway Performing Arts Studio as the Central Michigan University Chippettes and their youthful dance students filtered in.

A few parents hovered in the lobby, eager to see the graceful moves their children would learn.

Sixteen focused 6- to 11-year-old girls moved their feet in unison and walked sassy under the dance team’s instruction at the studio, 118 S. Washington St.

Teaching these classes allows the Chippettes to work closer as a team, Melissa Scheid said.

“It allows us to work together in a way we wouldn’t normally be able to during practice,” the Grand Rapids junior said.

Scheid and Mount Pleasant sophomore Morgan Baumann are leaders on the team and together choreographed 90 percent of Saturday’s routines.

For most of the class, the girls and Chippettes split up into two groups learning a jazz routine in one room and hip-hop in the other. Toward the end of the first class, they were reunited to show the other group, as well as their parents.

“It’s a nice way to say ‘thank you,’ and I work here so it’s a good way to give back to the community,” Baumann said.

This is one of many community service activities the group takes place in, Scheid said.

They worked to be personable and encourage their students Saturday morning, paying attention to each child.

Milford junior Emma Coffman, like many of the girls on the team, honed her skills when they were younger in classes like this, she said.

“It’s fun to see how the dance community environment has changed since we were this age,” she said. “It helps to learn from different teachers.”