At Joni's School of Dance we help dancers build confidence, creativity, and lifelong friendships in a positive and inspiring environment.
We believe dance is about far more than technique. It is about building confidence, creativity, discipline, and lifelong friendships in a supportive and inspiring environment.
Every dancer deserves to feel proud of themselves. Our classes focus on helping students grow in confidence while learning proper technique and developing their unique artistic voice.
We believe dance should be fun! Our studio is built on encouragement, respect, and teamwork so that every dancer feels welcome and supported.
For many families, the studio becomes a second home. Students build friendships, create memories through performances, and develop skills that extend far beyond the dance floor.
For more than 40 years, Joni Calcagni has inspired generations of dancers through her passion for teaching and her love of the art of dance.
What began as a small local dance program grew into a beloved studio that has served families across Central Vermont. Many of Joni’s former students have grown up, returned with their own children, and continued the tradition of dance she helped start decades ago.
Through the years, Joni’s School of Dance has remained committed to providing high-quality instruction while maintaining the warm, family-like atmosphere that has always defined the studio.
Today the studio continues to thrive, helping dancers discover confidence, creativity, and friendships that last a lifetime.
Our classes are designed to help students build strong technique, coordination, musicality, and confidence while having fun and making lasting friendships. We offer classes for dancers of all ages and skill levels in a variety of styles!
Registration for classes opens up in August of each year. Classes begin in September and run through mid-June.
Focuses on foundational technique, body alignment, and grace, progressing from introductory barre work to advanced, artistic movement.
Fuses ballet, jazz, and modern techniques to create fluid, expressive, and emotional performances that interpret the lyrics of a song. These classes focus on storytelling through movement, blending, connecting, and accelerating techniques with a soft, airy quality. Dancers learn to convey emotions like joy, love, or sadness while developing flexibility, strength, and grace.
High-energy, technical training focusing on strength, flexibility, and rhythm, typically blending classical technique with modern, Broadway, or street styles. Classes feature isolations, leaps, turns, and stylized choreography to build performance skills.
High-energy, street-style movement focusing on rhythm, coordination, and individual expression. Ranging from beginner to advanced, classes typically include a warm-up, skill-building in isolation, popping, locking, or breaking, and energetic choreography combinations. It emphasizes personal style, confidence, and musicality.
Focuses on creating rhythmic, percussive sounds with metal-plated shoes, emphasizing musicality, timing, and coordination through techniques like shuffles, flaps, and paddle-and-rolls. Classes are typically structured by ability, ranging from beginner fundamentals to advanced, fast-paced choreography, often incorporating jazz tap, Broadway style, or improvisation.
We are thrilled to offer families TWO performances each year!
In February, we have our Winter Snowcase performance, where dancers give a little preview of what they've been working on.
Our End-of-the-Year Recital is the highlight of the dance season! Dancers showcase everything they've learned throughout the year in a fun and exciting performance for family and friends. This recital is held in early to mid-June.
Both shows are held at the Barre Opera House.
Watch performances from our 2025-2026 Season
Coming Soon!Watch performances from our 2024-2025 Season
February 9, 2025 Winter Snowcase
Owner • Director • Instructor
Joni has been teaching dance for over 40 years and has owned her own studio for 35 years. She has inspired generations of dancers, many of whom now bring their own children back to experience the love of dance she helped create.
Competition Director • Instructor
Jackie has been a competitive gymnast from the tender age of 5- 16 years old. She started teaching gymnastics when she was 12! Additionally, she was a competitive dancer from the ages of 7- 18. She has been teaching and choreographing dance since she was 16. By day, she is an educator at a local school, which is why she finds continuing her education in dance and instruction so important, and seizes every opportunity to do so. She teaches tumbling, jazz, lyrical, and hip hop, as well as being the fearless director of the JSOD competition team!
Our Competition Team is comprised of four smaller teams: The Elite Team, the Senior Team (high school and middle school aged students), the Junior Team (middle and elementary aged students), and the Mini Team (elementary age students).
If you would like more information about these teams or how your child can become a member of the JSOD Competition Team family, please contact Jackie directly!
Ages 6-8 competition dancers.
Ages 9-12 performance team.
Advanced competition dancers.
Elite competition dancers.
"My daughter has been going to Joni's School of Dance for 10 years and counting! She always makes her classes so much fun! We LOVE Joni, she's the best!"
"The recitals are absolutely magical. Best dance studio in Central Vermont, hands down."
"Joni’s School of Dance has been such a wonderful experience for our family. Ms. Joni is patient, encouraging, and truly cares about each dancer. My girls have gained confidence, friendships, and a love for dance. They have learned so much and always leave class smiling!"
"My daughter has learned so much and gained so much confidence over the last year dancing at Joni’s dance studio. Joni is amazing and she creates such a positive environment for the dancers. Harlow looks forward to her dance class every week and loves dancing at the recitals!"
"We’ve watched our child grow not only as a dancer, but also in confidence, coordination, and self-expression—all thanks to Joni’s guidance. We are deeply grateful for the positivity, encouragement, and heart she brings to the recitals which showcase not only the kid’s talent but also their love of dance."
"Our daughter has been dancing at Joni’s School of Dance for two years now and it’s consistently her favorite part of the week! Joni is an amazing teacher—so patient, kind, and creative with the young dancers. We are so grateful for the joy, confidence, and friendships that Joni’s School of Dance has brought into our daughter’s life!"
"My daughters have so much fun dancing at Joni's! They look forward to dance class every week and dance camp every summer!"
"Joni and Jackie have created a wonderful environment where dancers grow in both skill and confidence while forming lifelong friendships. I’m so grateful my daughter has found a studio where she feels supported, valued, and truly cared for. 💕"