Step in time: Keely Jardell's ranked third by Dancer magazine

MIKE TOBIAS

NEDERLAND — Being recognized as one of the state’s top programs is enough to make Keely Jardell proud of her students and staff.

The Nederland-based Keely Jardell School of Dance was recently named the number three ranked company in Dancer Magazine’s 2008 Year In Review issue.

Number three is good, Jardell says, but the competitive spirit that lies within her, and her staff, she says always makes the company strive for more.

“We’re not satisfied with third,” Jardell said with a smile. “Of course we want to be number one but I think that when you see the other teams and cities we were ranked against, Sugar Land and Carrolton, those cities are so much bigger than us. I think just taking that pride and knowing the competitiveness and the size of the cities that we were ranked against made us proud.”

Leigh Ann Reeves, who’s been with Keely Jardell’s since she was two-years-old, says for a small town, the company, and competition team, keep up with the big cities pretty well.

“When we go to conventions, we make sure we know what’s going on so we’re not behind,” Reeves said. “So that really keeps us up there with what they’re doing.”

Reeves said its also not how well they perform, but how well they conduct themselves off-stage and how hard they’re willing to work to better themselves.

“Confident, but not arrogant,” Reeves said. “She’s always said that. I’ve been on the competition team sinze I was 7, or 8, and we’ve kept the same work ethic of ‘you get out of it what you put into it.’”

“And she knows how to get it out of us — so this rankings not just about us, it’s a lot on her part, too.”

Having 20 years of experience with her own studio, Jardell says the studio has enjoyed many major accomplishments along the way. The company’s competition team has been nationally ranked time after time. They’ve been invited to perform at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996 — they’ve also been invited to dance in Spain and New York, twice.

“And both times we went to New York, we came back National Champions,” Jardell said. “We’ve also tried to do Texas Nationals regularly, but economically, these kids are involved in so many things its difficult for them to travel every year.”

Jardell’s competitive dancers range from age 6 to 22, and are active in everything from their school’s drill team, cheerleading, student council, as well as regular dance classes, extra productions and finale.

“We’ve got a student body president on our team,” Jardell says. “I’d say 90 percent of them are honor students. They work just as hard at their studies as they do here for dance. They’ll tutor each other while they’re on break, say, if one of them needs help with math.”

“Most of my staff are all certified teachers, so they get a lot more than dancing here. We’ll help them with their school work. A lot of times they’ll come here with their life problems too — so we’re counselors too.”

Jardell says the work ethic that is instilled in them at the School of Dance carries with them to be leaders in their school and daily lives. She’s very proud, she says, of her dancers commitment to the studio, which she says has a family environment.

“The work ethic that we put into it is proof that hard work really pays off,” Jardell said. “Of course that’s just the kind of person that me, my staff, and everyone here at Keely Jardell’s are.”

“We’re always striving — there’s always some way of being better. We’re always going to push ourselves to be better and not satisfied with where we are. We’re going to just keep pushing to be better and better the kids in who they are.”

mtobias@panews.com

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