TCS Dance club

“Let them praise his name with dancing” Psalm 149:3

By Samantha DePriest

As Trinity Christian School grows, so does the expansion of our Arts program. Giving students access to various creative outlets is a top priority and the addition of programs each year demonstrate this very initiative. About a year ago, TCS high school student Autumn Chitwood approached TCS Performing Arts Director, Mr. Hurt, about starting a Dance Club at school. Autumn had taken dance lessons from Mrs. Kelsea Krisle at her dance studio years ago and asked Mr. Hurt if she could help connect the two of them.

Autumn shares, “My main goal was to bring dance to TCS in some form. I felt that it would be a great addition to our Performing Arts department and a great creative outlet for many students. I wanted to start something that was for all ages and all skill levels. I also wanted it to be available at the school for ease of transportation and for those who didn’t want to be at a studio but still wanted to dance. The process to get the program to where it is today was not easy and was filled with many closed doors, but also some incredible opened ones. At the beginning, this was just a thought nagging in the back of my mind, but through lots of prayer and reaching out, it became a reality. It is off to a truly amazing start and I am so excited to see where this program goes in the years to come!”

Dance instructor, Mrs. Kelsea Krisle, started dancing when she was just 9 years old after her Nana encouraged her to give something new a try. Kelsea was a cheerleader in college at Warner University and then opened up her own dance studio. She balanced being a wife, a Mom, and a small business owner. In December of 2019 when their second child was born and after much prayer, she decided to close her studio to focus on raising their son and daughter. She believes it was a timely blessing as just a few months later the Covid outbreak of 2020 happened. In the Fall of 2022, Kelsea and her husband began to pray for what was next for their family Meanwhile Autumn was speaking with Mr. Hurt about possibly starting a dance program at TCS.

Joey and Holly Chitwood, Autumn’s parents, shared, “As parents, we do our best to guide our children "in they way they should go", and it is very exciting to see that play out in their lives.  Autumn has a dancer's heart, and we have always guided her to dance like only God was watching. To see her gifts flow out into TCS and lead to helping bring dance to TCS is a very proud moment for us.  To open the opportunity up to so many students to experience dance in such a positive and God oriented program is truly an amazing gift.  We are so thankful for a school that prioritizes the arts and such wonderful leaders in the Performing Arts department.”

The TCS Dance Club officially launched in December 2022 and enrolled 112 students for the first semester in Spring of 2023. It was then when Kelsea shares she realized how God was going to take her love of teaching dance to reach Trinity students of all ages and abilities. In the summer of 2023, the TCS Dance Club hosted five summer dance camps for students in preschool through high school. This school year the TCS Dance Club offers dance four days a week with all lessons held at school either before or after school hours.

TCS Dance Class Offerings

Preschool & Elementary

* Dance offerings: Ballet, Tap, Hip Hop

* Location & Time: Students take dance before school at our GO Church location

Middle School & High School

* Dance offerings: Ballet, Contemporary, Hip Hop

* Location & Time: First through twelfth grade students take dance at the main campus immediately following after school dismissal.

This past December our Dance Club students were blessed with opportunities to participate in not one but two local Christmas parades. Light Up Senioa and the Newnan Christmas parade hosted our students and gave them the chance to showcase their talent for residents in our local communities to enjoy.

The beautiful Charles Wadsworth Auditorium in downtown Newnan hosted their first dance recital on December 12th and served as the perfect way to get in the Christmas spirit. They also collected new, unwrapped toys to help support the Toys for Tots mission, “to bring the joy of Christmas and. message of hope to those less fortunate” (Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, 2023). Mr. Hurt shares, “Kelsea Krisle is doing a fantastic job with these students, and we would love to celebrate her and the dance club.”

The best way to find out more about the TCS Dance Club is by filling out the Spring Semester Interest Form or by emailing Kelsea directly at kelsea.krisle@tcslions.org.  The Spring semester of TCS Dance Club will be starting back up in January with the recital being held on April 28th. Details and registration for summer dance camps will be in the “Inside the Pride” weekly newsletter in April and May.