Leroux School of Dance
Building Strong Confident Leaders one Step at a Time
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Address: 70 Buckwalter Rd. Suite 203, Royersford, PA 19468  |  office@lerouxdance.com

Leroux School of Dance
Building Strong Confident Leaders one Step at a Time
ENROLL NOW
CALL US TODAY: 
Summer Camps Begin in July

HISTORY

HISTORY

In 1945, the dance tradition began; in a small room above a sandwich shop at 1st and Fayette Streets by Phyllis LeRoux (pronounced ‘la-roo') Gershbach. At that time, her mother accompanied her on the piano and each lesson cost $1.50. Miss Phyllis was an excellent tap dancer, and was wanted by the Rockettes at the tender age of 14, but her mother wouldn't let her go! Instead, at the age of 25 she opened her own dance studio. Their first recital was held in 1945 at the Forest Theater in Conshohocken. They had 24 students who put on a two-hour show. Due to the birth of Miss Phyllis' third child, Bonnie there was no recital in 1946. However, there has been a recital every year since 1947. In 1956 they started recording the recitals - what a task with live accompaniment! Then, in 1957 the school began to use records…then tapes. All recital costumes were made by hand until 1960 when LeRoux began to use ready-made costumes.

Miss Phyllis brought in several ballet tutors from various companies and her daughter Bonnie trained with Pat Taschner from 1955 until 1960. In 1958, Miss Bonnie began teaching at LeRoux, and the Mother-Daughter team worked together until the early 1980's. During that time, Miss Bonnie opened a branch at All Saints Episcopal Church, which is where she met and began to teach, Kelly and Karin Logan (directors of LeRoux in Conshohocken 1996-2009).

In the early 80's the school moved from Apple Street to the Plymouth Square Shopping Center, where it is still located today. In 1985, Bonnie Gershbach Gordon sold the school to Denise Hagan Walsh who continued to teach and train the students of LeRoux, among them a young Susie Anhorn.

As the owner and director from 1984 to 1996, Miss Denise dedicated much of her time to developing and implementing a teacher training program and dance curriculum with an emphasis on social and developmental guidelines to encompass whole body development for the students. The opportunity to enroll in a single ballet/tap class at age 2 ½ is unique to LeRoux. At age 6, a student may enroll in a single class that provides instruction in ballet, tap AND jazz. This offering of multiple techniques in a single class is a huge benefit for families with multiple children or multiple activities and continues to this day. For those who don't want all the techniques, the option to exclude is also available. Miss Denise also founded the Pizazz Dance Company and her personal success was evident by the growth of enrollment that moved the studio from a one classroom, two teacher school to the multiple studio, multi-classroom and multi-teacher program it is today.
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