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Bill Jones, local United Way CEO: 10 things you might not know about me

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Two bullies with bad haircuts

<p>TUNKHANNOCK &#8212; After her first-ever dance class last week, 3-year-old Ayla Comstock happily told her mom how she and a dozen other little girls &#8220;danced like butterflies and played with a ball.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;She is really into pretending to be a ballerina at home,&#8221; Amber Comstock, of Dallas, said the next day as she waited for her daughter to finish her second class. &#8220;I thought we should come here and see what it&#8217;s like.&#8221;</p><p>It remains to be seen whether Ayla or any of the other 2 and 3-year-olds who attended a two-day &#8220;Dance, Dance, Dance&#8221; program at the Dietrich Theater last week will someday become the next &#8220;Great Pavlova&#8221; or Derek Hough.</p><p>But on Monday and Tuesday, they seemed to have fun as they &#8220;hopped like a bunny&#8221; and &#8220;marched in baby circles&#8221; and &#8220;walked on tippy toes,&#8221; as directed by Judy Weist and Sarah Grigalunas from Stage Door Dance Studio of Tunkhannock.</p><p>Weist also frequently led the little dancers in a round of applause, urging them to clap for themselves because they had obeyed her instructions.</p><p>&#8220;We have them follow sequences, follow instructions and take turns,&#8221; Weist said after the class. &#8220;We stress being kind to each other.&#8221;</p><p>Stage Door Dance Studio has offered free, two-day introductions to creative movement at the Dietrich Theater every summer for the past few years, and the class for 2 and 3-year olds attracts more participants than the classes for older children, Dietrich executive director Erica Rogler said.</p><p>&#8220;This is &#8216;back and forth&#8217; music,&#8221; Weist told the tykes, swaying from side to side as a recording of &#8220;Old MacDonald Had A Farm&#8221; began to play.</p><p>&#8220;This is slow music,&#8221; she said as &#8220;Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star&#8221; set the tone for the youngsters to dance lightly with toy wands in hand.</p><p>The children could keep the wands, Weist said, reminding them: &#8220;When you play at home, you&#8217;re not going to run with the wand, and you&#8217;re not going to poke anyone.&#8221;</p><p>The star-topped wands were a popular part of the program, according to 3-year-old Verity Zieger, of Factoryville, who held hers out to a bystander who asked what she had liked best about the class.</p><p>The soul-satisfying rattle of maracas was another crowd-pleaser, soothing one or two little dancers who found the class a cause for tears.</p><p>And, for some participants, the chance to dress like a ballerina, from hair in a bun to slippers on their feet, made the experience all the more memorable.</p><p>&#8220;She was looking through her toy box this morning,&#8221; Sarah Falcone, of Dallas, said of 3-year-old Lena. &#8220;She said, &#8216;I have to have my ballet shoes.&#8217;&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Judy Weist, dance co-director of Stage Door Dance Studio, leads 2 and 3-year-old children in the rattling of some maracas during a &#8216;Dance, Dance, Dance&#8217; program at the Dietrich Theater in Tunkhannock. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Tunkhannock-Dance-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Judy Weist, dance co-director of Stage Door Dance Studio, leads 2 and 3-year-old children in the rattling of some maracas during a &#8216;Dance, Dance, Dance&#8217; program at the Dietrich Theater in Tunkhannock. </caption0><photoCredit0>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Tunkhannock-Dance-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ayla Comstock, 3, &#8216;hops like a bunny&#8217; from circle to circle. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Tunkhannock-Dance-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Ayla Comstock, 3, &#8216;hops like a bunny&#8217; from circle to circle. </caption1><photoCredit1>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Tunkhannock-Dance-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">It&#8217;s 3-year-old Lena Falcone&#8217;s turn to dance in the center of the circle. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Tunkhannock-Dance-3.jpg</photo2><caption2>It&#8217;s 3-year-old Lena Falcone&#8217;s turn to dance in the center of the circle. </caption2><photoCredit2>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Tunkhannock-Dance-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Verity Zieger, 3, takes her turn at walking on her &#8216;tippy toes.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Tunkhannock-Dance-4.jpg</photo3><caption3>Verity Zieger, 3, takes her turn at walking on her &#8216;tippy toes.&#8217; </caption3><photoCredit3>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Tunkhannock-Dance-5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sixteen-year-old volunteer Lauren Hughes, left, hands Ivy Clark, 3, her dance certificate that shows she completed the &#8216;Dance, Dance, Dance&#8217; program. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Tunkhannock-Dance-5.jpg</photo4><caption4>Sixteen-year-old volunteer Lauren Hughes, left, hands Ivy Clark, 3, her dance certificate that shows she completed the &#8216;Dance, Dance, Dance&#8217; program. </caption4><photoCredit4>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Dietrich Theater hosts two-day &#8216;Dance, Dance, Dance&#8217; program for little ones</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Like bunnies and butterflies