The Shadow
COVINGTON, Va. (VR) – “Forty years of happiness.”
These were the words Patsy Snead used to describe her joy for 40 years of reaching out to so many children and seeing them flourish from little girls and boys who started dancing at 3 years old and stayed with dance until high school graduation.
Patsy’s Dance Studio has three seniors this year. Some of her students even stay beyond high school. This is a tribute to the studio and all they gain from being a part of it all. Patsy’s Dance Studio is one of the longest-running businesses in Covington.
The third generation of dancers is a “reward” for Snead to see them grown and then bring their children back to Patsy’s to dance. One such example is Cindy Crowder. She said that her daughter, Lauren Crowder, built a lot of confidence and self-esteem through her years at the studio. All the gifts she gained from Patsy’s helped her become a member of the dance team when she went to college. This fall Lauren Crowder’s daughter will be enrolling in dance. Says a lot about Snead and her staff.
“Music in Motion Dance Studio was established in 1983 in the old Brown’s Music Shop on the upper end of Main Street and moved to Hotel Collins in 1988, when Mr. Smith sold his building, until 1994, before going to Rottie’s Gym on Main Street for two years. Luckily, we found our home in 1996 as Patsy’s Dance Studio on Monroe Street for 20 years. Since January 2017, Patsy’s Dance Studio has been in the former Shoe Box and Sports Center on Main Street,” Snead said.
Patsy’s Dance Studio made some history between 1988 and 1994 at Hotel Collins in the end room formerly known as the ARK. Snead recalls memories of Maudi Mitchell’s Restaurant and all the fun they had at that location. This is a fitting part of her story as Hotel Collins is currently under demolition, providing a little nostalgia for Snead and company.
Behind every small business is a family. Patsy’s is no exception, starting with Snead’s husband, Ralph, who used to design and draw all the recital backdrops. Two of Snead’s favorites were Roger Rabbit and Micky Mouse. These large characters added a lot of fun to the backdrops.
Other members of this illustrious family include her grandson, Trevor McLaughlin, who has been dancing at Patsy’s for 10 years. McLaughlin co-teaches the competition dance team, GPS 819 company dance, on Sundays along with Giayana Smith. In addition to graduating from James Madison University in 2020, McLaughlin is now enrolled in physical therapy school at Wytheville Community College
Among her many jobs, Snead’s daughter, Connie McLaughlin, has been her “go-to” person since high school. Connie McLaughlin was a dance student during her teenage years and became the office manager when they moved to the Monroe Street location.
“My granddaughter, Kelby Smith, teaches creative movement to 2- to 3-year-olds this year. Kelby danced at Patsy’s for 14 years until graduating from Bath County High School. She is currently employed as an RN at Bath County Hospital. Among her may jobs as EMT instructor at Mountain Gateway Community College, Kelby is a paramedic with the Covington and Clifton Forge rescue squads,” said Snead.
Other members of Patsy’s staff include Chloe Bruce Hostetter who, after 9 years of absence, has returned to the studio as lead teacher. Maddie Taylor, a 15-year-old dance student, and her mother, Amanda Munsey Taylor, teach 4- to 9-year-old dancers. Maddie Taylor works as an LPN at the Brian Center and will be attending Mountain Gateway Community College in the fall in their nursing program. Her mother is a teacher at Jeter-Watson Middle School.
Patsy’s Dance Studio in Covington and Garlynda’s Fancy Feet from Clifton Forge have united their team members. With the merging of Alleghany County and Covington public schools into Alleghany Highlands Public Schools, they said now is the time for them to become one team for the community, to work together, provide entertainment and give back to the community in the form of the art of dance. Snead and Garlynda Haynes are the directors of the competition team and, Trevor McLaughlin and Smith are dance instructors.
The dance studio will offer Prince and Princess Summer Camp dance/gymnastics camp for girls and boys ages 3-9 and Intensive SMILE camp for ages 10-18 between July 10-14.
Please, call the studio at 540-962-4151 for more information or reach out to them on Facebook.
Fall registration will be held at the studio in August, and 2023-2024 dance and gymnastics classes will start in September after Labor Day.
Haynes and Snead’s annual recital will be held June 3 at 6 p.m. at Covington High School, the last event at CHS before it becomes Covington Middle School. All of Snead’s annual recitals were held at CHS except one at Alleghany High School, one outside at West Winds Venue during COVID-19 and the last two at the Historic Masonic Theater in Clifton Forge.
Snead would like to thank the many teachers who have taught for her over the many years and, more recently, Chloe Bruce Hostetter, Amanda and Maddie Taylor and Kelby Smith.
“I have been very blessed for 40 years with the support of my family and friends which are too many to mention. Some of my fondest memories are when I was teaching aerobics when I first opened Music in Motion Dance Studio. I was able to continue the exercise classes that the Meadors had started when they owned the studio. They were from Roanoke, Virginia, and brought something new to Covington. Howard Meador trained me, and I was able to teach for 14 years. It was dance aerobics everyone could do, women or men. It was fun times, and I had several teachers helping me in order to have many classes a week in Covington, Clifton Forge, Millboro and White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia,” Snead said.
“But dance has been my mainstay for Patsy’s Dance Studio since 1996. Thank you to everyone for always supporting the studio, so I could always provide a place for children and adults to come and learn to dance. The studio has been part of my life for almost half of my life, and I hope to be able to provide a place for the art of dance for years to come.”
