Danceworks owner Trish Gargani celebrated her one-year anniversary as owner of Danceworks recently.
Danceworks is located at 21 Yennicock Ave., in Manhasset Isle in Port Washington. Before buying the business, Gargani worked at Danceworks as a dance teacher for nine years.
Gargani grew up in Port. “I was a Portette and captain of the Schreiber High School dance team,” said Gargani. “I’ve danced my whole life. I danced through college at Marist. I’m passionate about dance.”
When Gargani bought the studio, her mother framed a picture that Gargani drew at 8 years old that’s hanging in the studio. It says, “When I grow up I want to be a ballerina.” Gargani’s mother still lives in the house she grew up in Manorhaven. Her mother is a teacher in Great Neck. Gargani has two children who attend Weber and Sousa.
The Danceworks studio is located adjacent to Friends Together Preschool, which is convenient for younger children coming to class. Gargani picks up the children right from preschool for their class. According to Gargani, since taking over the studio, enrollment has doubled by using social media to get the word out. Gargani, known as Miss Trish at the studio, teaches, among other classes, the Tutus & Tiaras class for ages 2 to 3 years old. “It’s a princessy beginning to ballet,” said Gargani.
Danceworks holds its recital every year at Schreiber High School. Parent Tara Minson said, “My daughter Lucy has been going to ‘Miss Trish’ and Danceworks since she was 18 months old for her TuTus & Tiaras class. Lucy is a very cautious kid. There are two people who have helped me make my daughter a more confident, loving and strong girl….her pre-K teacher and Miss Trish.”
Minson has lived in Port for more than 30 years and has two children. “I swore that Lucy was not getting on stage in May for her recital. Sure enough, Lucy got on stage and she had so much fun. I was so proud, but more importantly she was so proud of herself. She still talks about that day and Miss Trish is a constant name used in our house by her. Danceworks has become a part of my daughter’s childhood and her memories forever.”
Gargani started competition teams at Danceworks. “The teams help the girls be more confident; they learn to be part of a team and how to take criticism,” said Gargani. “We have just added a third team, so now we have a petite team, ages 7 to 10, a junior team, ages 10 to 13, and a senior team, ages 13 and over. The team competed in three competitions on Long Island this year.” Gargani plans to add more competition in the upcoming year.
“We did the Power of Dance competition this year. In this competition, for every competition the girls won, they got money for a charity. The charity they were dancing for was Dancing Dreams in Bayside. The girls raised $400 for Dancing Dreams.”
Gargani is very involved in the Port Washington community as well. Danceworks participated in Port Holiday Magic, Harborfest and was a silver sponsor at the Port tree lighting this year. “We had a red carpet at Harborfest with props for kids to dress up and pose,” said Gargani.
As a lifetime resident of Port, Gargani is thrilled to own a business here also. “Owning a business in the town I grew up in and raising my children here is so special. Danceworks is a family within a family in Port Washington.”
Classes start the week after Labor Day and continue until the end of May. The staff of teachers includes Gargani and four other teachers. “They all have dance degrees,” said Gargani. “My staff is warm and friendly. My studio is a family-oriented studio and I take pride in that.”
For more information, visit www.danceworksny.com.
