‘A little bit like destiny’
North Vancouver couple put down roots in Hantsport, launch dance studio
Seated on the floor, in front of several pink tutu-clad four- and five-year-olds, Miss Jen’s eyes sparkle as she begins her class. She wiggles her fingers as part of the warmup. The young students follow suit, though one starts rolling along the floor. Another giggles.
Their energy is infectious. Jen Cole smiles and carries on with the lesson.
She is in her element. “I think there are lots of life lessons that can be taught through dance,” said Cole, noting the discipline that dance offers to students.
“It provides a safe space; it provides an opportunity to make mistakes, to grow, to find resiliency,” she added. “And, moving your body to music is really liberating.”
The dance instructor, who grew up in Cambridge, Ont., and her husband, Mike Feeney, moved to Hantsport during the pandemic. They arrived on July 4, 2021. By September, she opened GMB School of Dance.
“There’s something magical about this little place,” said Cole of the community they now call home.
Within six months of opening the dance studio, she
enrolment has more than tripled — there are now 98 students, ranging in age from three years to the mid-50s, with some of the students enrolled in multiple classes.
“With classes maxing at 12 participants, and our current schedule, the school could grow to 180 dancers,” she said.
Cole is floored by the community’s support to date.
“I have felt an overwhelming sense of support, which is almost a little bit nervewracking because when you feel so welcomed and so supported, you don’t want to do anything to put that in jeopardy,” she said.
EAST COAST BOUND
In 2019, the couple began dreaming of starting over somewhere new. One of the families Cole met through teaching dance lessons in North Vancouver mentioned Nova Scotia’s laid-back lifestyle might be a good fit.
Although they didn’t have family on the East Coast, they felt drawn to Nova Scotia.
“We were looking for a new opportunity and a community to really become part of,” said Feeney. “It’s hard in a place like North Vancouver; it’s so big. We wanted a smaller town where we could put down roots and know everybody and really feel like we’re part of something,” he said.
Out West, they were “just two faces in a sea of faces.”
At the time, Cole was co-directing and co-running a school in North Vancouver and Feeney was employed with Canada Post.
“We decided to seriously consider moving in the fall of 2019, and everything was on track; (I was) ready to phase out of the studio and then COVID hit in March and it was all hands on deck,” recalled Cole.
From her living room, she taught online classes for about eight hours a day. Even the recital was virtual, which Cole said, was particularly difficult because she couldn’t say farewell to her students in person.
She then transitioned to helping teach at two other dance schools — Go Ballet Academy and Abbotsford Dance Centre — while her husband continued his job. As COVID-19 spread, he suggested they seriously consider a move to the East Coast.
“When we were first house hunting, just looking at houses in Nova Scotia, one of the ones I fell in love with was in Hantsport,” said Feeney.
“And then, like six months later, I secured my transfer to Hantsport,” he said.
They purchased a home in Hants Border.
“It felt a little bit like destiny, like we’re supposed to come to this little town and put down our roots here,” Feeney said.
Cole agreed. She wasn’t sure what she was going to pursue when she arrived in Hantsport. She contemplated going back to school, but quickly realized her passion lies in helping others tap into their creativity.
“Even through all the ups and downs of the different schools and the pandemic, I was always being called back to the studio,” she said.
Cole reached out to the Hantsport Baptist Church to see if they had any space available for rent. Coincidentally, the church’s new Wellwood Community Hall was opening that August.
She connected with West Hants’ community recreation director and soon word about her new program spread.
“It just seemed it was the right time, the right place. People were looking for dance for their kids and for themselves,” said Cole.
Courtney JollymoreHughes signed up her threeyear-old daughter Theda Hughes after she took a creative movement program through West Hants Recreation. She said her daughter enjoys her lessons with Miss Jen.
“It’s definitely really good for social skills too, especially in the time of COVID. She can interact with other kids,” said Jollymore-Hughes, who recommends the program.
“It can be hard to find local things to enrol your kids in to expand their horizons and experiences,” Jollymore-Hughes said, noting GMB School of Dance helps do just that.
BLOSSOMING ARTS COMMUNITY
Cole offers jazz, ballet and contemporary dance classes for children and adults, as well as a conditioning class that’s open to anyone over the age of eight years.
“We went from two nights a week, eight classes, and now we’re running three nights a week at 15 classes,” she said.
Cole hopes that interest continues as she makes plans to expand her offerings.
“I want people to know that they can dance and that I can help — even if they have two left feet,” she said. “I value the courage it takes just to take a class, just to put yourself into a class that requires instruction and even learning co-ordination. It’s a safe place, but I take that courage seriously and I will give people a challenge to rise to.”
Cole, who has an innate ability to make even the shiest of people blossom on stage, said she feels excited about the future.
GMB Dance currently operates in eight-week intervals throughout the regular season, which is September to June. The spring session will wrap with a year-end recital at King’s-Edgehill School on June 18. The schedule for summer programming will be released in mid-April.
In January, she launched a scholarship fund to help give more people the financial means to pay for tuition. Residents can donate to the fund or purchase items from the studio’s merchandise line, where a portion is then donated to the fund.
Cole said she’s grateful for the Hantsport Baptist Church for the space they have provided but hopes that down the road, she’ll have enough participants to warrant opening a dedicated location for GMB School of Dance.
“I would love to hire another teacher. I would love to start a mentorship program for students who are in high school or post-secondary who are looking for experience working with youth and want to have someone help guide them through lesson planning,” she said. “I’d love to have an administrator. I’d love to build so that this becomes more of a team effort down the road.”
Due to the burgeoning arts community in the Annapolis Valley, Cole said she envisions a dance studio that would be shared by other artists.
Cole, who enjoys choreography, operated a small contemporary dance company called Give Me Brilliance before she shifted to teaching in July 2013. It’s something she may revive.
“We did contemporary performance art. We travelled to Seattle, and we did some local shows in Vancouver, lots of cabaret-style nightclub dance experiences,” she said.
“Now that I’m in Hantsport and I see this magic sparkle, the idea of an adult company that maybe tours is coming back. Giving people an opportunity to be on stage and to be artists and be creative in that way again, I’d love that,” she said.
Both Cole and Feeney say they’re thankful for the welcome they’ve received from Nova Scotians and look forward to giving back to the community.
“I want to be a part of whatever continues to grow and blossom in the arts community here,” said Cole.