On September 10th, 1976, I opened Joanne Langione Dance Center at the Rebecca Pomeroy House in Newton. That spring, a small troupe of bright-eyed, toe-pointing young girls tottered onto a nearly colorless stage at Aquinas Jr. College for our very first dance recital. My life since then has been little less than a dream come true. Fortunate to have encountered such a receptive community all those years ago, it is now and has been for more than 40 years your generous and unflagging support in good times and in bad that has given me a place I call home – that has given me JLDC. I am particularly grateful to those pioneering students, teachers, and parents who labored through the “early years” to establish a tradition of excellence. Your legacy endures in every pirouette, in every dancer’s first tutu, in every tear on the face of a departing senior. All that we achieve today at JLDC is indebted to your example and dedicated to your memory.
Today, JLDC’s next generation leadership embraces an enduring tradition of excellence preserving the legacy of this family run school. With the same love and leadership that has sustained and nurtured it for so many years, mother turns thoughtfully to daughter to succeed her while adhering to its founding mission that every student learn in an atmosphere of love and support, to create life-long lovers of dance whether a student dances professionally or for the simple joy of it.
– Joanne Langione