“One of the teachers there saw how disciplined and focused I was and she thought Nutmeg would be perfect for me. I remember auditioning for Ms. Dante (Nutmeg founder Sharon Dante), who said Ms. Szabo would love me.”
Sprance was soon enrolled at the Conservatory and studying with Susan Szabo, children’s ballet mistress and director of the Torrington School of Ballet (TSOB), the children’s school of the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts.
“Cassie, what a very special young woman!” Szabo said. “I remember sitting with her dad, he did most of the driving, and he was struggling with his work schedule to drive her here and pick her up at the appropriate time. I’ll never forget the day he said to me, ‘You know what? I’m just buying a house here!’ And he did. And his daughter continued studying and performing until she graduated from Nutmeg in 2010.”
It wasn’t just dance that interested Spance, however. Three years ago she began helping Szabo train TSOB students who were performing in “The Nutcracker.”
“I started helping Ms. Szabo when I didn’t have rehearsals for the ‘Nutcracker.'” (Sprance danced the part of the Sugarplum Fairy in 2009 and 2010) “That’s when I realized how much I liked helping her. And I had more time to work with the kids in ‘Nutcracker’ because I wasn’t dancing in it.” Now Sprance is focusing on a teaching career rather than performing with a ballet company.
“I find teaching makes me happier and is more rewarding than dancing. I still have a passion for dance and the arts but I just love teaching so much,” she said.
“Not only is Cassie a lovely person, she is a very gifted dancer and a born teacher!” Szabo said. “She was always very interested in the theory of classical ballet. The children respect and adore her. She knows what she’s talking about and they know it. She’s going to be a phenomenal teacher.”
Sprance was recently chosen by the Nutmeg staff to become a post high school pedagogical trainee.
“We have only allowed a few gifted students who wanted to teach to do this program and have decided that she is more than worth the effort,” Dante said. “The last time I had a young women this interested in teaching we ended up developing Susan Szabo (1978 Nutmeg graduate) into an expert in the field of pedagogy.”
Now Szabo, along with Dante and the Nutmeg staff, will work closely with Sprance, Dante said. “Having Cassie as an assistant to the staff will be a win win for the students, staff and management at The Nutmeg. She will become involved in all aspects of the school over the next year as we further develop our local children’s programs.”
There is no better time than now for Sprance to begin her pedagogical training. Registration for TSOB spring classes began on Monday, providing a new crop of dancers for her to work with.
“Ballet in general teaches you so much that you use later in life.” Sprance said. “I realize all the things I do, my discipline, my focus, my ambition, all come from the discipline I learned from Ms. Szabo and Nutmeg. Ballet is such a good thing to have, it’s a great talent and it doesn’t matter if you don’t do it professionally as a career. It gives you so much that you can use later in life to be successful at whatever it is you do.”
And what does Sprance want to do as a future career?
“I would love to teach at Nutmeg. It’s definitely my goal.”
Registration for TSOB classes for pre-ballet and ballet appreciation for children ages 4 through 13 continues through Feb. 7. You may register your child in person from 1-4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays or register by calling the Torrington School of Ballet at the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, 58 Main Street, Torrington, CT 860-482-4413 ext. 301 or 860-482-7375.