Jen Turey, owner of Dance Etc, sold her business last year and decided to take a leap of faith for her education. Recently accepted to Columbia University, she is now pursuing her PhD in Dance Education in hopes of bringing a dance program to WCSU, something the Musical Theatre department does not have at the Danbury university.

“I truly believe that dance education creates a certain level of understanding of different cultures, an understanding of history, especially American history,” Turey explained. “I found that when we talk about dance, and all these different forms of dance, and where they come from all these different parts of the world, that it just engages students more and they’re actively involved in the conversation.”

She hopes to bring dance education to public schools throughout Connecticut and New York that allows students to explore different cultures. The exposure to different cultures also offers students the opportunity to connect deeper with their own culture and share a piece of their family’s heritage with their classmates.

“If I’m talking about, say, salsa, and [we have some] Latin students, they just feel included,” said Turey. “They feel heard and seen and important, and then other kids go, ‘Yes. That’s a really cool form of dance.’”

Turey has been teaching dance classes at Western Connecticut State University in the Health Sciences department, and recently assisted in choreographing The Donkey Show for the Theatre department. She stated that she’s a little surprised that WCSU doesn’t already have a dance program considering how successful the Musical Theatre and Theatre Performance majors are.

Turey said, “I think my voice would be louder with a PhD. [It will] help me understand how to build a program at a university since it doesn’t exist yet … [and will] fulfill those skills … and provide me with a nice template on how to approach a university without one.”

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.