Dance Troupe Delivers Signature Performances
anna godwin, arts, culture, imperial centre, terence battles,
Years of dedication, talent, faith and persistence have brought Rocky Mount’s Signature dance troupe to a good place. And as they press forward to achieve their goals, the sky’s the limit.
Dancers Terence Battles and Anna Godwin form the core of Signature and are taught by artistic director Cindy Mancini. The dancers have called the Arts Center at the Imperial Centre of Rocky Mount home for several years, thanks to the city’s generosity.
“We’ve been really happy to be here,” Mancini says. “The theater is beautiful, and the studio is lovely. Everyone is just so friendly and supportive.”
The journey to the Imperial Centre has been a long one, but Mancini’s determination paid off. It has been a beneficial arrangement for the Arts Center as well, says Maureen Daly, cultural arts administrator.
The former Arts Center and Children’s Museum buildings were destroyed by floodwaters from Hurricane Floyd in 1999. They were relocated to the site of the historic Imperial Tobacco Factory and Braswell Memorial Library in downtown Rocky Mount and, following renovations, opened in 2006.
Mancini has taught Battles and Godwin, now young adults, since they were children, and says they “are the dancers we’ve really built the company around – we’ve been together that long.” She taught in her own studio, but closed it to focus on developing the talents of the select dancers who wanted to form their own company.
Left without a studio, they borrowed rehearsal space, and Mancini began pursuing a more permanent solution.
“I had been driving all over looking for anyone who might want to join forces with us to try to get this going,” Mancini says. “In Rocky Mount, I saw signs about the Imperial Centre and started knocking on doors.”
“I’m very excited about having Signature on board,” says Daly, “and have been since the day I met Cindy and realized the opportunity that existed could be a win-win situation for us. They have an extraordinary potential.”
Signature’s name pays homage to the group’s commitment to original choreography. The dancers, although classically trained, put their own stamp on the pieces they perform, Mancini says.
Signature, a nonprofit organization, hopes to secure corporate or individual sponsorship to have the means to grow the venture.
“We’ve been working until the dancers were of an age and ability level where I felt I had something to market,” Mancini says. “I really feel we’ve reached that mark. We’ve hung in here so long, we can’t quit now. We have to see how far we can go.”
Story by Anne Gillem
Photo by Ian Curcio
