Laurel Spears Sheryl Zimmerman
Director of Programs Owner
www.huffnpuffgym.com
613 Stonewall Square Jacksonville, AR 72076
9 8 5 - 1 8 1 8
Parents - this is our 2008 Registration Handbook - it tells you about us and our instructors - some of it is new - some of it repeated. Please take time to be familiar with the handbook, even though lengthy. I will add pictures of the instructors, etc. in several weeks (when time permits). I want to thank you all again for checking out our website - almost 63,000 hits makes me very proud of you all. If you have any comments that you would like to make or requests of articles, please leave word for me at the gym. Thank you again - Sheryl
Rules and Registration for 2008 - 2009
and "Who is Who and What is What"
August, 2008 www.huffnpuffgym.com
To: Parents of Huff ‘n Puff Students
We wish to welcome you to Huff ‘n Puff Dance, Gymnastics and Cheerleading Center, Inc. We are so happy that you have chosen for us to be a part of your child’s formative years.
We have been teaching children and adults in Jacksonville for over twenty-eight years. The business was started way back when I taught aerobics and then began dance classes in a rented location in Gregory Place Shopping Center. We soon outgrew our four different locations in Gregory Place, and in 1984, I bought this lot and built the first building of 10,000 square feet, which included the original gymnastics facility.
In September of 1996, my daughter Laurel returned to Arkansas from school in Dallas and once again began teaching dance and gymnastics at Huff ‘n Puff. The second year she taught recreational gymnastics classes, and by the end of that year, she had students ready to begin working at a competitive level. Mr. Bobby also joined our recreational staff in the fall of 1996. In 1998, Coach Laurel re-established the Jacksonville Gymnastics Team and our new eleven-member team of Level Four gymnasts competed for the first time. Since then, our staff has grown and our team has grown. We now have gymnasts competing at Levels Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven Eight and Nine. All of our levels have been quite successful. Our Level Six Team won the 2008 State Championship Banner, our third State Championship Banner, with Level Five winning in 2007 and Level Six in 2006. We have lost track of how many trophies and banners the team has won over the years, and how many individual honors the gymnasts have won. But please read under Gymnastics for our 2007-2008 honors. We at Huff ‘n Puff are so proud of our competitive team, all levels. The gymnasts and coaches are all working very hard together and we will again compete as one of the largest teams in the state with nearly 75 gymnasts on team, Levels Three – Nine.
We held our Twenty-eighth Annual Dance Recital at Robinson Auditorium in Little Rock for our fifth year. Each year we have had bigger and better recitals with even more dancers and gymnasts performing to a packed auditorium. By recital time, many of our dancers feel very comfortable at Robinson, as we have danced at several dance competitions there for several years.
This was the fifth year for our growing dance company--Jacksonville Dance Company--to compete. The dance company has continued to grow and had a very successful competitive season this last year, winning top or high firsts, firsts and special awards, and several times being in the top 10 acts for their age groups. The Company performed 11 dances, including jazz, tap, lyrical, hiphop and pom. This July, the Company competed in the Nexstar National Dance Competition in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It was probably the toughest National Competition that the JDC has attended and all of our dance groups performed better than ever and it was a wonderful experience for all.
We have just completed our company dance auditions and we expect our dance company to be even larger and better this year.
We are about to complete our sixth successful year of full-time summer daycamp. We are licensed by the state to be able to hold our daycamp. The children, who were broken down into age groups, attended gymnastics, dance and cheer classes. Also, many of them took advantage of the swimming lessons that we took them to at the Stonewall Pool. They completed many arts and crafts projects, had outside play and experienced wonderful camaraderie. They enjoyed their weekly trips to the library and special reading times and they especially enjoyed their weekly Friday trips to Stonewall Pool with pizza afterwards. Our “Fun Night at the Gym” remains an all-time favorite “happening” at the gym. And our Birthday Parties are so popular that they must be booked long in advance.
We continue to grow - we are listing over 179 hours of classes per week. We welcome you to visit our 19,000-square-foot gymnasium, which includes the large gym area with the three large pits for the trampoline, tumble track and foam training pit. We have four vaulting systems, four bar units (in addition to two training bars), 13 balance beams, and an extended spring floor. We also have the great access hallway for going to our back areas that include the enlarged dance room, the preschool gym, and our great cheer gym. We also have two dance rooms upstairs, one larger and one smaller, which have both been utilized to the greatest extent. We thoroughly enjoy being able to watch our students through all the viewing windows and also being able to cheer our gymnastics team on to victory from our own “peanut gallery” in the balcony.
Our website – www.huffnpuffgym.com has continued to grow with almost 63,000 hits since we started it several years ago. I thank each of you for your interest – it makes my late night-time hours seem really worthwhile. I appreciate your support.
If you are a newcomer, we welcome you. If you are returning, we thank you. And we also thank each and every one of you for your continued support. We take such immense pride in our students, our staff and our facility, and we sincerely hope that you will feel at home with us and have pride in us, too.
And I want to say again, if you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to call us at 985-1818.
Sincerely,
Sheryl Zimmerman Laurel Zimmerman Spears
Owner Manager of Business
Director of Programs
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY AND RETAIN FOR REFERENCE
OUR GOAL: We want your child to enjoy the pleasure of learning the art of dance or the skills of gymnastics while also experiencing the joy of achievement.
INSTRUCTORS: Huff ‘n Puff has very talented and responsible instructors. We are very proud of the programs that we offer and we feel that with our positive attitudes and your child’s talents, your child will be inspired to learn.
PAYMENT: Class payment is due the first lesson of each month and is considered delinquent after the second class of the month. A late fee of $10 WILL BE ADDED AUTOMATICALLY to all accounts not paid by the 10th day of the month. (Please be sure to discuss with Laurel if more time or different pay schedule is needed or if installment payments need to be made, etc.) PAYMENT by any manner—check-cash or debit card—is acceptable at the desk, or in the office, so a receipt may be issued. Please note on your check the child’s name, the month for which payment is being made, and what classes your child is taking. For our accounting purposes, receipts are written for each payment and copies are furnished for you for cash or by request for any payment. We also accept Visa, Mastercard and Discover credit and debit cards.
A student beginning a class any time other than the first monthly lesson will pay for the number of lessons remaining in that month. We do not charge extra for months when there are five lessons, nor do we deduct when we have only three lessons due to holidays, inclement weather, etc. If we owe two lessons due to a combination of the above, we will schedule make-up lessons.
REFUNDS/MAKE-UPS: No refunds will be given. Students dropping out for any reason will forfeit the remainder of that month’s payment. Also, registration fees are non-refundable. Students are expected to attend each offered lesson. However, we realize there are times when a lesson must be missed. If your child must miss his/her regular class, please check with Ms. Laurel as to whether a make-up class may be taken.
WE HAVE NO CONTRACTS; HOWEVER, YOUR CHILD IS CONSIDERED ENROLLED AND PAYMENT IS DUE FOR EACH MONTH UNTIL ONE WEEK’S WRITTEN NOTIFICATION IS MADE TO THE BUSINESS THAT YOUR CHILD IS DROPPING. NOTIFICATION MAY BE MADE BY COMPLETING A DROP CARD (AVAILABLE IN OFFICE) OR BY CONTACTING THE OFFICE. YOU WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY CHARGED UNTIL NOTIFICATION IS MADE.
CANCELLATIONS DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER AND HOLIDAYS: If Pulaski County Schools are cancelled because of weather or road conditions, then our dance and gymnastics classes will be cancelled. If we have more than two bad-weather cancellations, we will offer makeup classes on a Saturday. Regarding holidays, we close for six holidays: Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving, Labor Day, Fourth of July and Memorial Day. When in doubt about classes, please check our website, www.huffnpuffgym.com or call.
ATTIRE – DANCE: Students must be on time for class and students will wear proper dance attire - leotards and tights or leotards and shorts for older girls, or jazz pants and shirt, and proper dance shoes. No loose clothing and absolutely NO JEANS. (Black pants or warm-up pants for boys). Hair, long enough, must be pulled back from the face or worn in a ponytail. Your instructor will be able to tell you what type of shoes are required for your classes or you may call the front desk and they will find out for you. Tap shoes should be worn in the dance rooms only, and not in the halls.
ATTIRE – GYMNASTICS: Girls will wear leotards or unibikes. Boys will wear shorts or spandex. No jean shorts, please. Hair should be pulled back out of face and long hair must be tied up. No rings, necklaces, dangling earrings or watches, etc. will be worn. Students must be on time for class warmups.
RULES AND POLICIES
1. Parents are not allowed in the gym or the dance rooms without invitation from an instructor or coach. Please use the outer hall to take your children to their area of instruction.
2. No running or horseplay will be allowed!!!!
3. PLEASE BE PROMPT IN PICKING UP YOUR CHILD. All students are asked to remain inside the front area, while waiting for class to begin or to be picked up by the parents. CHILDREN MAY NOT WAIT IN THE BIG GYM OR OUTSIDE THE BUILDING. Huff ‘n Puff cannot be responsible for students who wait outside the studio. If your child’s class is the last class of the evening and the instructor has to wait for you to pick up your child, you will be charged the fee to pay for the instructor’s time.
4. Misbehavior will not be tolerated. If your child is disruptive to the class, he or she will be sat down until ready to participate in the proper manner. The instructors will handle disciplinary problems and will discuss the problem with the parent, if necessary.
5. NO FOOD, DRINKS OR GUM will be allowed in the Huff ‘n Puff gym or dance studios. SNACKS AND DRINKS SHOULD BE CONSUMED IN THE AREA BY THE DRINK MACHINE.
6. Parents may observe classes through the many viewing windows. PARENTS AND SIBLINGS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE CLASS ROOMS OR GYM DURING CLASS TIMES. PARENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO “COACH” FROM THE OPEN BALCONY.
7. IMPORTANT: CHILDREN ARE NOT ALLOWED ON ANY EQUIPMENT WITHOUT A QUALIFIED INSTRUCTOR. Team members, Levels Five and above, may work out on equipment with specific instructions from instructor.
IMPORTANT: When you take the instructor’s class time for anything over one minute, you are taking learning time from the other students as well as your child. Please feel free to call the studio to make an appointment with the instructors to discuss matters that might take more time.
In early December, we will participate in the Jacksonville and Sherwood parades. Our dance recital and gymnastics special skill’s meet will be scheduled for late May or early June.
We look forward to a continued successful year at Huff ‘n Puff – and if we can be of assistance at any time during the year, please do not hesitate to ask. If you have any questions, or if any problems arise regarding our classes, please feel free to discuss them with Laurel.
Thank you for choosing Huff ‘n Puff as your dance, gymnastics, and cheerleading studio.
Sheryl L. Zimmerman
Owner
985-1818
HUFF ‘N PUFF DANCE INSTRUCTORS
Instructors for Huff ‘n Puff dance classes are highly qualified and experienced. Please see later paragraphs.
DIRECTOR OF DANCE MS. LAUREL SPEARS
INSTRUCTOR MS. KIMBERLY HOLLADAY
INSTRUCTOR MS. LOIS BRYAN
INSTRUCTOR MS. EMILY MOLER NEAL
INSTRUCTOR MS. SARA RETTSTATT
INSTRUCTOR MS. APRIL ATKINS KISER
INSTRUCTOR MS. LINDSEY SWEET
Huff ‘n Puff offers classes in dance, gymnastics, and cheerleading. Depending on age and skill level achieved, your child may choose to participate in either the recreational or the competitive programs offered within each program. Be sure to consult class schedule for times offered.
DANCE
We are very proud of our dance department that has continued to grow under the tutelage of our instructors. Our dancers and gymnasts proudly represented Huff ‘n Puff with their performances for Wing Ding in Oct. Then, the Huff ‘n Puff dancers, young and older, participated in the Jacksonville and Sherwood Christmas parades. Awards were not given this past year in Jacksonville for the parade performances. The Sherwood parade has become quite a bit larger in the past several years and Huff ‘n Puff was pleased to win both first-place performance awards.
We also look forward to the talents offered to our dancers by our instructors: As Director of Dance, Ms. Laurel has always encouraged her dancers and teachers to be even better; Ms. Kim has been with us for seventeen years and is so talented and helpful; Ms. Lois has been with us for twelve years and works so very successfully in both areas of instruction—competitive dance and team gymnastics. Ms. Lindsey who has also been with us for twelve years and, who last year, taught both dance and team gymnastics for us will be teaching even more dance classes this year. Ms. Sara Rettstatt, with her many talents, will be in her second year teaching for us, having joined our staff last summer. Ms. April Atkins-Kiser rejoined us last year to teach dance at the base. We are also being joined this year by a well-known area dancer, Ms. Emily Moler Neal. We are indeed fortunate to have this level of experience from these instructors and we are looking forward to a wonderful year in the dance department.
Dance classes are held for girls and boys, ages three to teens and adults. Tap ‘n Tumbling is a combination dance and gymnastics class for 3-4-5 year olds. One-hour combination classes of ballet, jazz and tap are offered for five to six-year and seven to nine year-olds. Separate classes or a combination of the different genre are offered for different age groups. A combination class of jazz and tap for adults is also offered, as well as a popular hiphop class for adults.
Class breakdowns are listed:
TAP ‘N TUMBLING, Ages Three, Four and Five
COMBINATION: BALLET-TAP-JAZZ, Ages Five and Six; Ages Seven to Nine
BALLET-LYRICAL, Ages Five to Nine; and Ten and Up
JAZZ – BALLET, Ages Ten and Up
JAZZ-HIPHOP, Ages Five to Six; and Seven to Nine
TAP – HIPHOP, Ages Ten and Up
CHEER POM, Ages Five to Six; Seven to Nine; and Ten and Up – classes include cheer technique.
ADULT CLASSES - Jazz –Tap; and Hiphop
JACKSONVILLE COMPANY DANCE – JDC
Ages range this year from six to sixteen and adult
Genre includes Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Hiphop and Pom
Different levels – small and large groups
The dancers are grouped by level rather than by specific age. The ages of each performing group or level are averaged for competitions. Technique classes are also required as a part of the dance program.
Selection to company is made by audition once a year – usually in late July or early August, in each of the dance genre listed above. Company dancers will participate in several competitions yearly. For additional information on company dance, please contact Ms. Laurel.
GYMNASTICS
GYMNASTICS COACHES AND INSTRUCTORS
DIRECTOR OF GYMNASTICS AND HEAD TEAM COACH LAUREL SPEARS
ASSISTANT HEAD COACH ERIN WUNDERL TEAM COACHES LOIS BRYAN, CHRISTY ELLIS, and LINDSEY SWEET
HEAD RECREATIONAL COACH BOBBY CHURCHES
PRESCHOOL INSTRUCTORS: CHRISTY ELLIS, DENA GORDEN,
KIM HOLLADAY, KRISTI JOHNSON, EMILY NEAL, SARA RETTSTATT,
ERIN WUNDERL and JACKIE YORK
We have offered more classes and levels in every age bracket for preschool and school-age classes in an effort to keep the ratio of students to instructor as it should be. Hopefully the times will meet your needs.
MOMMY AND ME FUN TIME AT THE GYM FRIDAY (A.M.)
PRESCHOOL GYMNASTICS
Preschool Classes are offered mornings, and early and late afternoons for ages two to five. The Mommy and Me classes are offered mornings for ages eighteen months to two years old.
RECREATIONAL GYMNASTICS – AGES FIVE – ADULTS
Pre-Level One, Level One and Level Two
JUNIOR POWER TUMBLING SENIOR POWER TUMBLING ADULT POWER TUMBLING
LRAFB RECREATIONAL GYM
GIRLS COMPETITIVE TEAM – LEVELS THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX,
SEVEN, EIGHT and NINE
Preschool gymnastics classes are also held for girls and boys, ages two to five years of age and are held in the Preschool Gym with some trampoline and pit use. Beginner and ongoing recreational gymnastics classes are held for girls and boys, ages five (school-age) to teens and adults. School-age students may want to take two hours or more a week in order to progress at a faster rate. Advanced classes and private lessons are also available. Junior and Senior power tumbling classes are offered for both girls and boys, for beginners, and ongoing students. Boys older than preschool age may wish to take junior power tumbling as opposed to recreational classes. Classes for boys and girls are also offered in advanced power tumbling.
Competitive team classes are offered for Levels Three to Nine.
JACKSONVILLE USAG JUNIOR OLYMPIC
GYMNASTICS COMPETITIVE TEAM
HEAD COACH LAUREL SPEARS
ASSISTANT HEAD COACH - ERIN WUNDERL
LOIS BRYAN, CHRISTY ELLIS, and
LINDSEY SWEET
Level Three Level Four Level Five Level Six Level Seven Level Eight Level Nine
We at Huff ‘n Puff are very excited about the progress our gymnastics team continues to make. Our girls’ team has been actively competing for nine seasons and our team continues to grow in number and accomplishments.
Our USAG Junior Olympic Competitive Team, known as Jacksonville Gymnastics, participated in nine competitions, including the Shreveport Meet and the Tyler, Texas meet and ended the 2007-2008 season at the Arkansas State Competitions. This will be our tenth year to compete and our team has continued to grow and thrive each season.
We began competing Level Three gymnasts three years ago and these young gymnasts have been doing so well. Team awards are not always given for Level Three teams but our Level Three gymnasts mostly swept the meets in which they had been entered last year.
In the 2007 – 2008 competitive season, the team won 21 First-Place Team Awards; seven Second-Place Team Awards; five Third-Place Team Awards; two Fourth and two Fifth-Place Team Awards, (including the Tyler, Texas meet.) Several of the meets that our Level Three team attended did not give team awards but we know that our Level Three Team had the highest scores (except for our own meet, where they won second place) and would have won, had team awards been presented. The team members earned 174 top (first or second place) individual all-around honors for the season. In addition to our Level Six Team winning the State Championship, we also had nine Individual All-Around State Champions and 33 Event State Champions. Additionally, all five of our competing Level Eight gymnasts were chosen to attend the Regional Three Championship Meet in Texas, as well as Kayla qualified to attend the Level Nine-Ten Regional Championship meet in Wichita, Kansas.
We at Huff ‘n Puff are so proud of our competitive team, all levels. Credit for our growing championship team goes to our highly qualified, safety certified and Olympic judge-accredited coaches. The team again worked extra hours this summer and made strides comparable to last summer. They worked nine to twenty hours a week under the tutelage of Coaches Laurel, Erin, Christy, Lois, Lindsey and Bonnie. The parents attribute the team’s success to the positive discipline and attitudes exhibited by our coaches. And it was that positive attitude shown by our coaches that has brought other competing gymnasts to join our team.
Much credit is also attributed to Mr. Bobby who inspires the young gymnasts in the pre-level one, level one and especially Level two classes to work even harder to achieve the skills to make it to the Level Three Team.
With the help of our team parents and Huff ‘n Puff personnel, Jacksonville Gymnastics hosted our Eighth Annual Sweetheart Invitational Meet in February, which we held at the Cabot High School on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The meet was again a very large meet with over 530 gymnasts competing over three days. We very much appreciate the sponsors who were so beneficial to our hosting the wonderful meet that has come to be expected of us. It has been a very busy and fun-filled season for us this past competitive season. We certainly appreciate the team parents who have helped us and we especially appreciate the assistance of the Jacksonville Gymnastics Parents Association. These parents are part of a non-profit parents organization that was formed to raise funds to help defray costs for the competing gymnasts, and they are always first to aid us in our efforts.
Our recreational program, power tumbling, and preteam classes continue to grow stronger under the tutelage of Mr. Bobby and our staff. Our May 2008 Skills Revue, which was divided into three parts by age and ability, was our best ever. We had more preschoolers participate than we ever have ever had, and it was such fun for all of us, as well as for the parents and grandparents. Mr. Bobby had twenty Level Two gymnasts promoted to competitive levels; sixteen were moved up to Level Three, AND FOUR OF HIS GYMNASTS WERE MOVED DIRECTLY TO LEVEL FOUR.
With your child’s skills and hard work and with the continued encouragement from our very talented staff members, we continue to anticipate even greater strides this year in all our programs (from preschool through recreational and on through competitive gym.)
CHEERLEADING - POM
Huff ‘n Puff offers age-appropriate cheerleading-pom classes that help prepare your child for cheerleading and/or dance teams. Classes offered are for ages five and six; seven to nine; and ten and up. Students are taught the basic techniques in cheerleading. The skills taught are: cheers, motions, jumps and basic stunting. Dance similar to cheer dance is taught as the students learn to be proficient with pom. It is also strongly recommended that your child either be enrolled in a dance class or in junior power tumbling as an additional aide to learning to be a cheerleader.
Advanced cheerleading classes will be offered as needed.
INSTRUCTOR: Emily Neal
LITTLE ROCK AFB YOUTH CENTER CLASSES
Huff ‘n Puff Fitness, Dance and Gymnastics Center, Inc. is contracted to teach dance and gymnastics at Little Rock Air Force Base. Registration for gymnastics is made at and through the LRAFB Youth Center. Registration for dance is made at the TCAC where the classes are held. Monthly class fees are paid at the location and checks should be made to Huff ‘n Puff. However, you may also pay at the Huff ‘n Puff location if that is convenient for you. For Information, call Laurel or Jackie at 985-1818.
LRAFB YOUTH CENTER INSTRUCTORS
DIRECTOR OF DANCE AND GYMNASTICS Laurel Spears
DANCE BALLET - TAP (JAZZ) HIPHOP Sara Rettstatt
DANCE – HELD AT THOMAS COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES CENTER, LRAFB
Ballet-Tap AGES 3-4-5 TUE 4:45 – 5:30 Ms. Sara
Ballet-Tap-Jazz AGES 5-6-7 TUE 5:30 – 6:30 Ms. Sara
Hiphop-Jazz AGES 8 and Up TUE 6:30 – 7:30 Ms. Sara
GYMNASTICS LRAFB YOUTH CENTER Jackie York
AGES 3 – 5 THU 5:45 – 6:30 Ms. Jackie
AGES 5.5 - 12 THU 6:30 – 7:30 Ms. Jackie
HUFF ‘N PUFF INSTRUCTORS
DANCE
Ms. Laurel Zimmerman Spears, our head gymnastics coach and director of dance, has been associated with Huff ‘n Puff from its beginning in 1980. She began taking dance and gymnastics at age three and became a serious student of dance and gymnastics at age ten with the opening of Huff ‘n Puff. Ms. Laurel began assisting Huff ‘n Puff dance instructors at a very young age and as a young teenager, she began teaching ballet and tap to young students and jazz and tap to adults. Her background in dance comes from many years of study with well-known Arkansas instructors, through studio classes, college courses and private lessons. She also began teaching gymnastics at Huff ‘n Puff at age 14.
Several years ago, Ms. Laurel and her family returned to Arkansas so she could once again be a part of the business. She is a member of the professional USA Gymnastics Federation and is our head gymnastics and competitive team coach and director of both dance and gymnastics. Ms. Laurel is safety certified by USAG and is a USAG Skill Evaluator; she has also been a USAG Junior Olympic Judge. She has completed her Kinder Accreditation, a preschool gymnastics certification. She teaches advanced gymnastics and prepares the more advanced students for competitions. Nine years ago, she began the Jacksonville Gymnastics Competitive Team with eleven Level Four members. This summer our competitive team, Levels Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight and Nine, numbers around 75 competitors.
Laurel also oversees the dance programs but will not be teaching this year except in emergencies due to her heavy administrative and coaching schedule. We all have so much confidence in our instructors; they are fantastic and they know what is expected (having grown up in the business) and they accomplish it. Laurel formed the Jacksonville Dance Company six years ago and it continues to grow and succeed.
While managing Huff ‘n Puff, Laurel earned her second associate degree in 2003. Her first associate degree from the Art Institute of Dallas was in interior design and her second was in Business Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, in which she graduated magna cum laude. She is the mother of fourteen-year-old Tori and soon-to-be ten-year old Madi. Both girls are active in team gymnastics and dance company.
Kimberly Holladay - has had fifteen years of gymnastics, seventeen years of dance, and thirteen years cheerleading experience at Huff ‘n Puff, including seven years of private dance instruction with Ms. Laurel. Ms. Kim was one of the original five dancers to dance competitively for HnP. She is quite talented and has instructed for us for over twelve years. Kimberly was a junior high and high school cheerleader for six years and was on the squad that was judged fifth (97-98) and sixth (98-99) and first (00-01) in the nation. After graduating from high school, she was chosen to be a staff member with the Universal Cheerleading Association to teach cheerleading camps in six states. She was also a UALR cheerleaders (01-02). With the growth of both our dance and gymnastics programs, she has assumed even more of the dance program responsibilities and teaching assignments. Ms. Kim has taught tap, jazz, hiphop, cheer and pom to all ages, including company dance groups that have done very well in competition. She will be teaching recreational dance this year. Ms. Kim has a degree from ASU with a degree in early childhood education. She taught third grade at Jacksonville Elementary two years ago and will be teaching kindergarten for her second year at Sherwood Elementary. Kim will also be working on her Master’s Degree.
Ms. Lois Bryan, who has been with us for twelve years, joined our staff four years ago. Ms. Lois has worked with all three departments – dance, gymnastics and cheerleading. She has been coaching team gymnastics, and is again teaching lyrical, jazz and hiphop this fall to company dancers. Lois took dance for thirteen years, with eight of those years being at Huff ‘n Puff. Her four years of gymnastics were taken at Huff ‘n Puff and she was on Ms. Laurel’s first competitive team, as well as the original competitive Dance Company. She had been a cheerleader since the 8th grade, was co-captain in the ninth grade, was named top all-american cheerleader in tenth grade and also cheered in the eleventh and twelfth grades. Lois was chosen after her senior year to be a member of the Universal Cheerleaders Association Staff for 2004 and traveled to five or six nearby states to help instruct cheerleading camps for high school and junior high squads. Ms. Lois attended Pulaski Tech for three years on scholarship, and is now in the Registered Nursing Program at Baptist Health School of Nursing and Allied Health, with plans to graduate in December 2009. She also works at the hospital as a Patient Care Tech ll. She will continue to teach dance, and coach gymnastics, working with Level Five, Six and Seven Gymnasts.
Ms. Lindsey Sweet has been a member of the Huff ‘n Puff Family for twelve years. She took dance from Ms. Laurel for ten of those twelve years and was one of the original Gymnasts on the Competitive team, as well as one of the original dancers to dance competitively in the Jacksonville Dance Company. She also took from Chris Williams, Senior Dance Instructor at Huff ‘n Puff, for four years. She danced for several years in the Company Senior jazz, tap, hiphop and lyrical groups. She has been known for being a beautiful lyrical dancer and became a member of the company lyrical group that Ms. Laurel formed several years ago. As one of the original Team gymnasts, Ms. Lindsey competed for five years, Level Four through Level Seven. She was a junior high cheerleader for two years and cheered at Jacksonville High School for three years. Ms. Lindsay has worked daycamp for three years and she taught recreational gymnastics classes for two years. She began assisting with team four summers ago and will coach team levels again this fall. She also began teaching lyrical to team members and others last year. She will be sharing her many talents with dancers this year in both recreational and competitive classes. Ms. Lindsey is enrolled at Pulaski Technical College for her second year.
Ms. Sara Rettstatt, who joined our staff a year ago, has an extensive background in dance and cheerleading. She has taken dance for sixteen years, with the last twelve being from Ms. Karen’s School of Dance in North Little Rock. She was a North Pulaski High School Cheerleader for four years. She also taught ballet and tap to three to six-year-old students at Ms. Karen’s. Her dance specialties are tap, jazz, lyrical, hiphop and clogging. She was a competitive gymnast for several years and she also competed in pageants for a number of years. Ms. Sara will be teaching both recreational and competitive dancers this fall, as well as preschool gymnastics classes at Huff ‘n Puff and recreational dance at the base. Ms. Sara is the proud, proud mother of baby boy--Brandon Michael-- who was born April 27th, 2008 just before recital. Ms. Sara is currently enrolled at Pulaski Technical College. After receiving her associate degree there, she plans to enroll in medical school to achieve a degree in radiology. We are happy that she chose to join our staff last year to share her talents with us here at Huff ‘n Puff.
Ms. April (Atkins) Kiser returned to join our staff at Huff ‘n Puff last year to again teach dance for us at Huff ‘n Puff, having worked here different years from 1996 to 2003. She has taught intermediate/advanced levels of ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical and modern dance. Ms. April began dancing at the young age of eight, taking dance courses in Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway and Jacksonville. During her high school years, Ms. April attended dance classes six days a week. April danced with the Arkansas Dance Company for several years and her style of dance and manner of teaching was deeply influenced by such well-known dance instructors as Antonio Mesa, Pamela Dowd, Jennifer Maddox (who incidentally also taught for Huff ‘n Puff for several years) from the Arkansas Arts Center, and the late Sally Riggs of Studio One. Ms. April had featured roles in such productions as “The Nutcracker,” “Red Shoes,” “Cinderella,” “Oklahoma,” “Wizard of Oz,” “Grease,” “Fame,” and “42nd Street.” She won state, regional and national dance competitions, solo and group divisions. She also won numerous pageant titles and talent awards on the local, state and national levels. Ms. April has also been in several nationally published magazines such as “Pageantry,” “Dance,” and “Modeling” as well as local Arkansas publications. Ms. April has been employed fulltime with the Jacksonville Police Department since 1999. She is known also for her many Fundraisers for Special Olympics. You might see her on Today’s THV or Good Morning, Arkansas promoting events such as “Boots-n-Badges Together, “”Polar Bear Plunge,” ”Tip-a-Cop,” ”Law Enforcement Golf Tournament,” and “Wing Ding 5K Benefit Run for SOA,” just to name a few. Ms. April is the proud wife of Rick Kiser (also in law enforcement) and is mother of Trea and Tori Kiser. Ms. April taught base dance classes last year and will be teaching technique for company classes and recreational dance classes this year.
Ms. Emily Moler Neal - We are very pleased to announce that Ms. Emily Moler Neal has joined our Dance Staff this fall and will be teaching several different classes, both recreational and competitive. Ms. Emily began her dance instruction at the young age of two. She has danced for at least 18 years, entertaining, and competing, and dancing for the fun and love of dance. Emily is a graduate of Jacksonville High School and was cheerleader for three years. She was co-captain of the squad in her junior year and was captain in her senior year. She was an All-Star Cheerleader at NCA camps for four years in a row and won the Top Gun Dancer Award for three years. She has also been very active in the pageant world and won several titles. She was Miss Teen Jacksonville and won overall talent in Miss Cityfest two years in a row. She was also Miss Teen Pulaski County and competed in Miss Teen Arkansas for two years. After high school, Emily went on to ASU in Jonesboro and danced on the A-Team. She also won over-all talent in the Miss Greek Pledge competition. She will receive her bachelor’s degree in Marketing this year from UALR. She and her husband are the proud parents of a one-year-old son. Ms. Emily is very well known for her talents in not only Jacksonville but around central Arkansas as well. Her specialties in dance are tap, jazz and hiphop. She will be teaching recreational classes in tap ‘n tumbling; as well as tap, hiphop and cheerleading classes to ages seven to teens. She will also teach classes in tap, Pom and Junior Power Tumbling for the Jacksonville Dance Company dancers. We are looking forward to much continued success with the addition of Ms. Emily to our staff.
GYMNASTICS
Gymnastics is a Family Business – the sport involves not only the coaches and the gymnasts, but also each coach and her/his family, and the gymnast and her family. Our coaches are all a part of the Huff ‘n Puff Family and Jacksonville Gymnastics Team Family.
Coach Laurel Spears, Head Team Coach – see above under Dance.
Coach Erin Wunderl, our Assistant Head Team Coach, has been with us for six and a half years. Her specialty in the gym is working with the team girls on the beam and higher-level team girls on different events. Many of our team and preschool successes can be attributed to her coaching and work ethics. Several years past, Erin taught preschoolers from the youngest Mommy-and-Me students to the advanced preschoolers and was Director of our Preschool Gymnastics Program. She was a gymnastics student for thirteen years and competed at Level Eight. She was the State All-Around Champion, Level Seven for two years in a row. Erin graduated magna cum laude from Arkansas Tech University in 1999, with a degree in Elementary Education and is a certified kindergarten teacher. She has coached team for thirteen years, Levels three to nine, and has also taught preschool gymnastics for ages two to five-year-olds for the past eleven years. She taught advanced preschool classes for children ready to be challenged. As our Team has grown, Erin, as assistant head coach, has taken on more of the duties. She and husband Asher are parents to three-year-old Ty.
Coach – Mr. Bobby Churches, our lead recreational instructor, has over eighteen years experience teaching gymnastics in Arkansas. Mr. Bobby has been a great asset at Huff ‘n Puff for over almost twelve eleven and instructs students of all levels and ages including local daycare youngsters to advanced older students, adults, preteam, junior and senior power tumbling. For the last several years, Mr. Bobby has been the primary instructor for many Level Two gymnasts who were moved up to Level Three and this year Mr. Bobby coached twenty Level Twos who were moved up to compete, four who went directly to Level Four. Mr. Bobby has demonstrated exceptional skills teaching gymnastics to children with special needs. For years, Mr. Bobby also taught our Little Rock AFB Youth Center gymnastics classes. Besides being lead recreational instructor, Mr. Bobby has assumed responsibility for the very popular “Fun Night at the Gym” held semi-monthly and those extra fun birthday parties for all ages. Mr. Bobby has also been a great asset at our all summer-long day camps. Mr. Bobby has proven to be a wonderful coach and friend to many, many students and is admired and respected by parents and students alike. Mr. Bobby was asked to visit most of the Cabot elementary schools for the past two years to teach gymnastics for several days at each school. In doing so, Mr. Bobby has become friends with many of the teachers and students in the Cabot School District. Mr. Bobby will continue to teach all levels of gymnastics and will continue to encourage his students in their enjoyment of the sport.
Ms. Lois Bryan – see dance resume above.
Ms. Christy Ellis joined the staff at Huff ‘n Puff in the summer of 2004 working at the ever-popular daycamp, teaching four-five-year olds. She and her family had come to Huff ‘n Puff earlier in March to join the Jacksonville Gymnastics Team. Ms. Christy has now been teaching gymnastics at HnP for four years. She started in the Preschool Gym, teaching preschool children, and in the fall of 05 she progressed to working with the Level Three and Four team members, as well as teaching several recreational classes. Ms. Christy is now coaching Level Three, Four and Five competitive gymnasts. Three years ago, she attended the USAG Junior Olympic Gymnastics Symposium in Lexington, Kentucky, with Ms. Laurel. She also escorted the team girls to the Bela Karolyi Camp just outside of Houston for three summers. Ms. Christy is a graduate of Sylvan Hills High in Sherwood. She has been enthusiastically involved in sports her whole life. She started playing softball at the age of four and continued until she was 25. She took two years of gymnastics and played Basketball and Volleyball for her school and she can still climb the rope as quickly as the gymnasts. Ms. Christy worked at Nuvell Financial Services, in Little Rock, for ten years where she held the position of Manager over Vehicle Remarketing, Insurance Claims, Title and Clerical Staff. Her position was very intensive and involved a lot of traveling. In October of 2000, she decided to retire and work full time at home. It was also in 2000 that five-year old daughter Courtney (now eleven) began recreational gymnastics. She quickly progressed to team within two years. Courtney won the Level Five and Level Six State Championship for her age two years in a row, was State Co-Champion, Level Seven and won the Individual All-Around State Championship, for her age, Level Eight. Daughter Mackenzie started gymnastics at age three and began competing in 2004-2005, at age six, as a first-year Level Four gymnast. Mackenzie, now nine, competed last year as a Level Six gymnast and was a member of the Jax Gym Level Six State Championship Team. She was also Individual All-Around Co-Champion, Level Six for her age bracket. Ms. Christy also has an older son Trey. Ms. Christy is such an asset to the gym and she and husband John are great supporters of the team and gym.
Ms. Lindsey Sweet – see dance resume above.
PRESCHOOL INSTRUCTORS
Ms. Jackie York has been a preschool gymnastics instructor, mornings and evenings, for four and a half years. She has also worked the front desk for five and a half years. She and her husband Joey have been around gymnastics at Huff ‘n Puff longer though. Sixteen-year-old daughter Stephanie competed gymnastics for eight years before changing to school cheerleader. Thirteen-year-old son Michael competed on the Boy’s team for three years. Both Stephanie and Michael are also active in our dance company. Ms. Jackie graduated from Westside High School, Jonesboro, where she was a majorette. She also attended ASU/Jonesboro. Ms. Jackie has worked with the Huff ‘n Puff Daycamp for several years and is the Assistant Day Camp Director. Ms. Jackie substitute taught in Cabot Schools for four years. She and Ms. Kristi have taught the Mini Mite classes for the past two years at several daycares in Cabot and Little Rock where they will continue to teach this year. She will continue to teach gymnastics classes at the Little Rock AFB Youth Center, in addition to teaching preschool classes at Huff ‘n Puff. She will also continue working on the office staff. Ms. Jackie and Joey, Stephanie and Michael are a great part of our Huff ‘n Puff Family.
Ms. Kristi Johnson and her family came to Huff ‘n Puff and Jacksonville Gymnastics in March 2004. For four summers, Ms. Kristi has been Director of our wonderful Summer Daycamp, which is licensed by the State of Arkansas. (Our daycamp is a wonderful summer fun place for full-time children or drop-in-for-the-day campers. (The campers get to do gymnastics daily, and cheerleading and dance several times a week. They work at arts and crafts daily, have outdoor play daily, and get to go swimming and have pizza weekly. Many of the campers were also able to take the swimming lessons that we had arranged for at Stonewall Pool.) Ms. Kristi graduated from Malvern High School and then graduated from Henderson State University as a Business Major with Fashion Merchandise Specialization, and a minor of Cons Education. She has been a special education aide at NLR Indian Hills Elementary School; a Pre-K, age four, teacher at Victory Baptist School; a Victory Baptist School Aide for age five kindergarten for two more years and was also a substitute teacher Pulaski County Schools and has worked this last spring as a substitute teacher in the Cabot School District. She was also the Mother’s Day Out Director at Central Baptist Church in North Little Rock. She trains regularly for these positions and recently attended Wee Workshop in Little Rock for additional training for daycamp facilities. Ms. Kristi and her family came to Huff ‘n Puff to be a part of Jacksonville Gymnastics Competitive Team. Kristi is mother of fourteen-year-old Taylor Rai who is in her ninth year competing and is a Level Nine gymnast. She is also mother of twelve-year-old twins, Terra and Tessa. Terra competed as a Level Five gymnast three years ago and was Level Five State Champion for her age division; all three girls are members of the Jacksonville Dance Company. Ms. Kristi has also worked the Front Desk for three years and will continue to teach preschool gymnastics. Ms. Kristi is such a great asset to the business and essentially will work wherever needed. She is also in charge of the Jacksonville Gymnastics Pro Shop. Ms. Kristi and Ms. Jackie also go to area daycares to teach Mini-Mite gymnastics classes.
Ms. Dena Gorden has been working with children most of her adult life. She graduated from Arkansas Tech University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education. She later graduated from East Central University, Ada, Oklahoma with a Master’s Degree in Library Media. She taught fourteen years in Oklahoma, and during ten of those years, she taught kindergarten children. More recently, while living in Mena, Arkansas, she taught Kids College in a summer program at the Rich Mountain Community College. She also was a lifeguard and taught beginning swimming lessons. She also coached the eight-and-under swim team. Ms. Dena is currently the Elementary Library Media Specialist at Pinewood Elementary. She and husband Kent are parents to eleven-year-old Katy, who is on the Jacksonville Gymnastics Level Five Competitive Team; Ally, age 15; Kyle, age 19; and Tosha, 23; and granddaughter Kailie, almost four. Ms. Dena worked the Huff ‘n Puff Day Camp two summers ago. Ms. Dena started teaching preschool gymnastics for us last year. She will continue to teach her preschool classes as well as an advanced preschool class. She will also teach a beginner’s recreational gymnastics class for us this fall. Dena has a wonderful way with children and is a wonderful addition to our gymnastics program.
OFFICE STAFF
Sheryl Zimmerman Owner, 29 years and Webmaster
Laurel Spears Manager of Business and Director of All Programs
Christy Ellis, Andi Holeman, Kristi Johnson,
Shelly Soderlund and Jackie York
CALENDAR OF EVENTS – 2008 - 2009
AUG 18 FALL REGISTRATION
AUG 22 OPEN HOUSE – 4:30 – 8:00 P.M.
SEP 1 CLOSED FOR LABOR DAY
SEP 2 FALL CLASSES BEGIN FOR ’08 – ‘09
OCT 4 WING DING FESTIVAL PERFORMANCE
NOV 27 - 30 CLOSED FOR THANKSGIVING
DEC 6 JACKSONVILLE CHRISTMAS PARADE
DEC 7 SHERWOOD CHRISTMAS PARADE
DEC 22 – JAN 4 CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR
MAR 6, 7, 8 JACKSONVILLE GYMNASTICS MEET (Tentative)
JUN 2 AND 4 GYMNASTICS SKILLS MEET (final dates to be announced)
SUMMER GYMNASTICS SESSION - DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED
JUN 8 SUMMER DAYCAMP BEGINS
JUN 13 DANCE RECITAL – ROBINSON AUDITORIUM, LR
JUL JDC NATIONAL COMPETITION, BRANSON, MISSOURI
PRICES – 2008 - 2009
DANCE, GYMNASTICS AND CHEERLEADING
DANCE: TAP ‘N TUMBLING, Ages Three, Four and Five
COMBINATION: BALLET-TAP-JAZZ, Ages 5 and Six; Ages 7 to 9
BALLET-LYRICAL, Ages 5 to 9; and 10 and Up
JAZZ – BALLET, Ages 10 and Up
JAZZ-HIPHOP, Ages 5 to 6; 7 to 9
TAP – HIPHOP, Ages 10 and Up
CHEER POM, Ages 5 – 6; 7 – 9; and 10 and Up – classes include cheer technique.
ADULT – Jazz-Tap; Hiphop
JACKSONVILLE COMPANY DANCE – JDC
Ages 6 – 16 – TAP, JAZZ, LYRICAL, HIPHOP and POM
GYMNASTICS: MOMMY AND ME, TUMBLING TOTS: MORNING, EARLY - AFTERNOON EVENING PRESCHOOL GYMNASTICS, AGES 2 – 5; RECREATIONAL: AGES SCHOOL-AGE TO TEENS– ONE OR TWO HOURS/WEEK; JR. AND SR PWR TUMBLING, BEG – ADVANCED - CHEERLEADING
COMPETITIVE – LEVELS 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 - 9;
REGISTRATION FEES - $30 PER CHILD
ONE HOUR – DANCE/ GYMNASTICS/or CHEER $ 52 month
ADDITIONAL HOURS – DANCE/GYM/ CHEER $ 32 ea/month
SECOND AND/OR THIRD CHILD $ 42 month
ADDITIONAL HOURS – DANCE/GYM/CHEER $ 32 ea/month
TEAM PRICES VARY DEPENDING ON LEVEL
(Team placements are made by Coach Laurel)
LEVEL THREE FOUR HOURS $110 month*
LEVEL FOUR SIX HOURS $125 month*
LEVEL FIVE NINE HOURS $140 month*
LEVEL SIX & SEVEN TWELVE HOURS $155 month*
LEVEL EIGHT & NINE SIXTEEN HOURS $175 month*
*Includes one hour dance
$10 LATE FEE APPLIES IF FEES ARE NOT PAID BY 10TH OF MONTH