The North Suburban YMCA’s North Suburban School of Dance Company ended its season receiving many awards and performing at a variety of competitions and performances. including the Six Flags Dance Fest, Glenview Holiday Parade, and its own “Home Show” at the Loyola Academy McGrath Family Performing Arts Center.
According to a news release, the Inspired, Momentum and Competitive Company dancers took part in four competitions during the spring/summer across the Chicago area. Earning high Gold and Platinum awards along with receiving multiple special judges’ awards and placement in the top overalls for several of their categories.
The release said the highlight of the dance season was earning the “Class Act” award at the Revolution Dance Competition. The “Class Act” was presented to the NSSOD studio for displaying good sportsmanship, spirit, and attitude during the competition.
The NSSOD Competitive Company dancers also were able to perform with Thwack Dance this summer at a free community event in Chicago, the release said. Val Lober, the NSYMCA and NSSOD’s Performing Arts Director, dances and serves on the board of Thwack Dance, a Chicago-based professional dance company, and received a Chicago Neighborhood Cultural Spotlight award. This award features people, places, and organizations nominated by Chicagoans for their cultural contribution to their neighborhood’s vitality.
Thwack Dance will be featured this year in the Chicago Cultural Center’s Welcome Center along with seven other 2024 award winners, the release said. Located in Chase Park in Uptown, Thwack aims to serve under-resourced neighborhoods on Chicago’s North and Northwest sides. The organization’s mission is to offer free, professional dance concerts to public parks in the city, as well as low-cost dance lessons for adults.
“I perform and chose to be on the Board of Thwack Dance because their values closely resemble our mission here at the NSYMCA,” Val Lober, NSYMCA Performing Arts Director, said in the release. “I am also honored that the Y’s NSSOD dancers were asked to open and perform for this company and look forward to collaborating with them again in the future.
“Opportunities like these educate our youth that the performing arts should be made available to all, regardless of ability to pay, where someone lives or even age,” Lober said
Lober, has been the Y’s Performing Arts Director for over two years after serving as a program coordinator, according to the release. She found her love for teaching dance while earning her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Western Michigan University. Lober has spent the past 16 + years mentoring youth through her artistry and passion for dance and currently dances for both Thwack Dance and Lucid Banter Project in Chicago.
“I found my dream job here at the Y where I feel like I pay it forward every day, through teaching expression, confidence, leadership, resilience, and lifelong friendships to name a few, ” Lober said in the release. “The Y is such a wonderfully inclusive, welcoming, and safe environment for youth to learn, grow, and find their passion. I am so proud to be part of this organization and contribute to our mission of serving our community.”
According to the release the North Suburban School of Dance (NSSOD) offers a multitude of performing arts classes from preschool to adult including ballet, ballet: pointe, contemporary modern, jazz, tap, Poms, musical theatre, hip hop, adult tap and ballet and much more. For more information about the NSSOD and the NSYMCA visit nsymca.org or email Val Lober, Performing Arts Director at vlober@nsymca.org.
