Dance Camp with Nikki

Former Malta M-ette Jessica Aparicio (Lopez) presented Malta with a two-day Dance Camp event that featured choreography from professional dancer and teacher Nikki St. John.

The two-day event held two classes per age group on the evening of Friday, August 10, and on the morning of Saturday, August 11, which concluded with a Dance recital, where students shared what they learned with their family, friends, and others at the Malta High School Auditorium.

"I love doing this (type of event) because typically the dancers are very hungry for new people," St John said. "They are hungry to be taught. This has been marvelously rewarding."

The classes were divided by age and or experience. One group was the beginning and intermediate group, ranging from age five to age nine. The advance class consisted of dancers nine and up.

"I taught here (while attending Malta High School) at Spotlight Dance Studio (held at Malta's City Hall) and then I went to DSU (Dickinson State University) and would come home every summer and teach during the summer," Aparicio said. "Once I graduated from DSU, I got my dance minor and then I just stayed up there."

When teaching in Malta as a college student, Aparicio had 25 students.

"Now that I have a full time job, it is not easy to get up here for the summer," Aparicio said. "We finally found some space. So Nikki St John came with me to do this dance camp."

One thing that St John and Aparicio were hoping to teach in a short amount of time was technique.

"If you want to be a dancer, technique is very important," Aparicio said. "You kind of have to start young but if you are a quick learner, it's easy to pick up on."

Those techniques ranged from various dancing styles including ballet, lyrical, contemporary, hip-hop and jazz.

"That's really what Nikki is coming here to do," Aparicio said. "She is coming to teach technique. She is from Minnesota and has an extensive background. She goes all around the US and does dance camps."

St John, a Minneapolis native, has an extensive resume, so Aparicio knew that the students and local dance teachers would benefit from her experience and perspective.

"Jessica worked for me in Dickinson at my studio, she helped to train (our dancers) with conditioning and technique, so she asked if I would return the favor and come here," St John said.

St John opened the Dfy (Defy Your Dance) Studio in Dickinson in 2006 but no longer resides there.

"I live part time in Bismarck and live part time in Minnesota," St John said.

Being an only child, who lost her mother, St John takes care of her father in Minnesota who has dementia. She also teaches dance clinics and camps around the country.