Giselle Wilson is the owner of the Giselle’s ShowTyme Dance Studio on 405 Dominion Road. Before the studio was converted into a dance studio, the building once served as a church. But long before she opened the studio on the southwest end of Assiniboia near the high school, she’d been a teacher since her teens. “I’ve been running the dance studio since I was 14,” Wilson said as she outlined a lengthy and dedicated career in dance.
Wilson has an enthusiasm for dance, because this is her physical and artistic statement. Dancing is Wilson’s creative release. “Dancing was something in my bones. Dance was my safe place – the one place where I could express myself without being judged. The teaching part just kind of happened,” she illustrated.
Dance had always been a positive and encouraging feature in Wilson’s life. “Dance has given me confidence that has helped me in many different aspects.”
Wilson earned several professional accolades throughout her career in dance. She is a Royal Academy of Dance Certified Ballet teacher who holds an Advance 1 Level. Wilson is also a certified teacher for jazz and tap and possesses an Intermediate 3 in this classification. She’s earned an Advanced Level for Elementary Ballet and Advanced Jazz and Tap. Wilson has her Level One certification in Alxia Sutton Flexibility. Her Intermediate Certification to be an Acrobatique Certified Junior Teacher is currently in progress. Wilson has a membership in the CDTA – the Canadian Dance Teacher’s Association. She’s qualified to teach all levels of tap and jazz to the advanced level. Wilson instructs ballet from the RAD Syllabi. She teaches jazz and tap from the ADAPT Syllabi. Classes in Acrobatique and Hip Hop are also available at the studio.
She started dancing when she was three-years-old. In 1992, Wilson took dance lessons from the Drewitz sisters in Assiniboia. Her expertise in dance rapidly progressed, but rather than turn professional, she had centred her career on teaching. Wilson began her teaching career in several communities throughout south central Saskatchewan, including Assiniboia, Coronach, Mossbank and Bengough. But as her teaching obligations in Assiniboia expanded, she decided to give up on her commitments in the outlying areas and concentrate on teaching dance in town.
At Giselle’s ShowTyme Dance Studio, there are three dance programs including recreational, fulltime and part-time courses. The recreational program allows students to become part of the dance studio without performing in competitions or finishing examinations. Wilson’s 24-week recreational program is designed to be affordable for families who want to enrol their children into an extracurricular activity. This program also enables children to know what the dance program is like before joining the studio’s part-time and fulltime courses.
Wilson recently went to New York from November 8-12 with seven dancers, their mums, herself and her mother, Ann Benoit. Jenna Ashby (a certified dance instructor who started dancing with Wilson when she was seven) also joined on the voyage to the Big Apple with her mother. New York is considered to be a world hub for professional dancers. The teachers and dance students took some classes at the Broadway Dance Center with a Rockette. They also attended the Rockette’s Christmas show. Moreover, the entourage from Assiniboia toured Radio City Hall – a legendary entertainment venue in Manhattan.
