When Kalee Voegtle moved to Craig in 2010, she brought with her years of dance experience, a passion for education and a belief that the performing arts could offer something special to every child. Today, as the founder and director of Studio V, Voegtle is shaping more than just dancers as she strives to help build confidence, creativity and community.

“I love working with kids, and I get to work with them all day at school and then again at the studio,” Voegtle said. “Both are a little bit different, but the combination is great.”

Voegtle opened Studio V in 2018 after teaching dance locally for several years. Since then, the business has grown along with Craig. It now offers classes for aspiring dancers from the age of two all the way to adult. Those classes include ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, lyrical and acro, which is an emerging gymnastics-based style focused on flexibility and movement.

The studio’s year-end production, which is an adaptation of “Peter Pan,” will take stage at Moffat County High School on Saturday. As with all Studio V shows, it will be the product of months of choreography, costume design, storytelling and teamwork, all of which is built around a collaborative process that begins with Voegtle’s own creativity and vision.

“I take public domain stories and create dance productions to work for our studio,” she said. “I try to find stories people know, because when we’re not using singing or dialogue, it helps the audience follow the story.”

This year’s show features pointe dancers as fairies and classes assigned to characters based on the auditioned leads. The cast, which includes dancers from preschool to adult, represents the full spectrum of Studio V’s student base.

“I have dancers who have been with me since I opened, and this will be their seventh recital,” Voegtle said. “They’re extremely supportive and willing to help with anything I need.”

Community support has been especially meaningful during challenging times. Voegtle credits dance, and the network of families that surround the studio, for helping her navigate personal health struggles over the course of the last two years.

“Dance has always been my safe place, my place to just let go and be creative,” Voegtle said. “Regardless of how tired and worn out I was from my health treatments, dance was one of the pieces that got me through.”

As a full-time principal in the Hayden School District, Voegtle blends her work in education with her work at the studio, fusing teaching strategies and classroom management with her artistic vision for her students and the community. She writes curriculum, plans age-appropriate movement and oversees a growing team of instructors and assistants, many of whom were once students of her dance classes.

“I think the creativity I get to have at the studio is what really sets it apart from my day job,” she said. “Choreographing, editing music and video, and building stories all come together in a way I really love.”

Voegtle now employs three instructors and has remodeled the upstairs space to create two studios, which allows for flexibility in class sizes and age groups. The studio’s expansion is an extension of its growing popularity as well as the growth of Craig’s performing arts opportunities.

“There are definitely more students as a whole as well as more students who are taking multiple classes,” she said. “The average student takes at least two. There’s a lot of interest, and we’re growing with it.”

Studio V also enjoys the support of local partnerships and parent volunteers to make productions possible. Family, dancers and the community all turn out to help build props, assist backstage and fundraise for scholarships that allow dancers with financial barriers to participate.

“I have several dancers who are on scholarship thanks to members of the community who have reached out and offered to help,” Voegtle said. “They really value the program and just want to make sure kids can dance.”

The studio rents space at Moffat County High School for its performances, and Voegtle said the support from the school district’s tech crew and facilities has been instrumental in the shows’ success.

As Craig continues to evolve Voegtle believes the performing arts can serve as both a creative outlet and a unifying force.

“There are kids I work with who would love to do more things like musical theater and acting,” she said. “I think there’s opportunity there and our community is really supportive of it.”

That support goes both ways. Through movement, mentorship and moments on stage, Voegtle and her team are building something for the community as well as the individuals who enjoy the same benefits from dance and movement.

“At this point every year, when the production really starts to come together, I see all the students’ hard work on stage and it means so much to so many people,” Voegtle said. “That’s why I do it.”

For more information on Studio V, please visit DanceStudioV.com