Celebrating A Special Relationship With Edmond Town Hall

Generations of Newtown residents have danced on the stage at Edmond Town Hall Theatre because of the Lathrop School of Dance, now in its 53rd year. That special relationship has led Ginny Lathrop to help the Newtown Lions Club tercentennial project by purchasing seven seats in the town hall theater.

Every June the school presents the Stardust Review, five shows over the course of three days, for family and friends. Last June more than 300 students, ages 3 through adult, performed. A portion of the proceeds from the shows have traditionally been given to the Danbury Hospital Pediatric Unit and also to the Newtown Scholarship Association.

This year, however, Ginny Lathrop decided to contribute to another worthy cause. Because the Lathrop School of Dance has made such extensive use of the town hall for rehearsals and performances through the years, Ms Lathrop has become very fond of the building.

The idea for the Lathrop School of Dance actually came from a former town hall manager, Art Smith.

Long before Ginny Lathrop and her husband, the late Mack Lathrop, began their dance school, they were Lathrop and Lee, a professional dance act. Especially recognized for the Lathrop Strut, they performed at the Cocoanut Grove, the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, the Palmer House in Chicago, and in theaters, clubs, and hotels across the country as well as in South America.

During the 1940s, they entertained veterans on Boston Common, on a ship in Boston Harbor, and at veterans’ hospitals.

They worked with Ed Sullivan on the vaudeville circuit, long before he had his well-known television show. “We opened all his shows,” Ms Lathrop said.

 Lathrop and Lee appeared on Kate Smith’s afternoon television show twice and performed for President Harry Truman at a Jefferson-Jackson dinner. They often appeared as a supporting act with such stars as Joan Crawford, Betty Davis, Red Skelton, and Dick Powell.

Lathrop and Lee received rave reviews, with critics calling them “one of the niftiest dance teams,” and “one of the smartest dance teams of its kind.”

Ms Lathrop recalled, however, that it was not easy to go from being a dancer to becoming a teacher of dance. She had to go to dance teachers’ school in Boston to learn how to teach.

Diane Wardenburg, who started as Ginny Lathrop’s pupil when she was 4 years old, is now is her able assistant and friend. According to Ms Wardenberg, “The school is more like a family. Ginny and Mack made it a family.”

Knowing in what disrepair some of the seats are in, Ginny Lathrop wanted to do something for the comfort of her audience. So when the Lions Club took on the tercentennial project of replacing all 411 seats on the main floor, she quickly decided to purchase seven seats.

The cost of each seat is $300, which includes floor replacement under the seat, the new seat, and the individual plaque on each seat memorializing individuals, families, companies, or organizations. In addition, those who buy seven or more seats will be honored on a plaque in the town hall.

“While many people or groups like the Lathrop School of Dance have bought a seat or seats, others have chosen not to buy a seat but have contributed money,” said Lion Gordon Williams, tercentennial project coordinator.

 “All amounts large or small are welcome,” he said. “There are now only 77 seats left, and we hope to complete the project soon. Remember, buying a seat in honor of someone would be a wonderful gift.”

Checks should be made out to the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers. They should be sent to the Newtown Lions Club, attention: Gordon Williams, PO Box 218, Newtown CT 06470.