Dance studio head is in step with the season

Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" is a two-act ballet but a multi-step juggling act for Terri Sinani.

The 44-year-old Oak Creek woman, who owns and operates the Next Step Dance Studio in Franklin, is producing and directing the holiday favorite at the Greenfield Performing Arts Center, 4800 S. 60th St.

After one dress rehearsal, her cast of 150 will perform at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $12.50 or $10.50 for seniors.

"It's a lot of work," she said. "It's such a big production to do. My parents make all the costumes."

Professional ballet tutus are rented from a Chicago studio, she said.

Family and student cast

Other members of her family are involved, too. Daughter Andreanna, 15, is one of the ballet's toy cats and part of the snow ensemble.

"Andreanna's in quite a few dances," Sinani said.

Son Jasin, 8, "does the backstage with me."

Middle son Jakup, 12, has a conflicting sports event, or he would be part of the production as well.

But it's more than a family affair, said Sinani, who has been working 'round the clock so the show can go on.

Of the 350 Next Step students - her studio is at 3501 W. Ryan Road - 150 will have a role in "Nutcracker" this year.

"The majority of the kids are from the Franklin area," she said.

Of those 150, 85 are from Sinani's Dance Co., a competitive arm of her studio that engages in rigorous training. That elite group, which she said trains a least six hours a week, started working on "Nutcracker" in June.

A lot of effort

Sinani said she has produced "Nutcracker" before - five years ago at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center. However, this time around she has to take care of all the lighting and backstage work herself or hire help. That's because the Greenfield venue has no theater director.

"I rented a backdrop, I hired a professional backstage person, I hired a professional lighting person."

Sinani, though, is no stranger to hard work.

She majored in dance and received a bachelor's in fine arts from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Since then, she has been a professional dancer and dance instructor locally and elsewhere in the country. And she serves on the board of the Dance Masters of Wisconsin and Chicago National Association of Dance Masters.

She decided to open her own studio after she and her high school sweetheart, Kujt, married and settled down in Oak Creek.

"Once I got married and had children, I thought I was ready to open my own studio," she said.

Franklin had no studio, so that was the locale selected. After two years at 76th Street and Rawson Avenue, Next Step outgrew that spot and moved to the industrial park. Nine years later, they were ready to build anew.

"We've been in business for 15 years in Franklin," she said.