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GIVE THE
GIFT OF
DANCE

Winter/Spring 2025 Registration is NOW OPEN and FILLING FAST!
1111 Central, Wilmette, IL 60091  |  (847)787-7200
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Download our FREE Digital Magazine Today!

SKUNKWORKS MAGAZINE
Fall 2024: The Tailored Dancers Department Edition

The Skunkworks Magazine: The Tailored Dancers Department is a 26-page publication featuring stunning black-and-white photography of our Performance Program dancers and staff. This inaugural edition, inspired by Taylor Swift’s album The Tortured Poets Department, includes dancer quotes, captivating images, detailed information about our studio programs, and unique design elements that reflect our love for Contemporary Dance.

WINTER/SPRING 2025 REGISTRATION
IS NOW OPEN!

Skunkworks Dance Fall 2022 Halloween Dance Short Film

Skunkworks Dance Fall 2022 Halloween Dance Short Film

https://www.skunkworksdance.com/perform Happy Halloween from Skunkworks Dance!!! We are thrilled to premiere our annual Halloween Dance Short Film featuring 8 members of our E.T.A. and Y.A.W. Performance Program companies! This year, our inspiration was "The Addams Family" meets "Beetlejuice". This satirical, funny and quirky dance film is Halloween perfection at its finest. The film was choreographed and directed by Skunkworks' Founder Jana Bennett and filmed and edited by Faculty Daniel Williams. It was shot at the incredible Woman's Club of Wilmette, and it features really spaghetti... yum! Each semester, members of our Performance Program get the opportunity to participate in a professional dance film! Dance for camera has become an integral performance medium within today's dance world. At Skunkworks, our dancers get to learn the ins and outs of dance film creation, and watch how their movement shifts with this unique and current skill set of knowledge. Skunkworks Dance leads the way within innovative dance programming for young artists. Dancers grades 2-12 can become a member of our Performance Program for our Winter / Spring 2023 season by auditioning for the company on Saturday, August 12 - link in bio. Fall 2022 Halloween Short Choreography | Director: Jana Bennett Video | Edit: Daniel Williams Dancers: Skunkworks Dance E.T.A. & Y.A.W. Performance Program Members - Eleanor, Emmeline, Emily, Ingrid, Meg, Meir, Piper, Sammy Special thanks to the Woman's Club of Wilmette for allowing us to use your beautiful space, and Linda Watson for your assistance on set.
I Don't Wanna Talk, I Just Wanna Dance | A Zombified Dance Film by Skunkworks Dance

I Don't Wanna Talk, I Just Wanna Dance | A Zombified Dance Film by Skunkworks Dance

"I Don't Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)" Choreography | Direction | Concept: Jana Bennett Video | Edit: Daniel Williams Music: Glass Animals Dancers: Members of Skunkworks Fall 2021 Performance Program ABOUT In a time where youth activities have struggled to find their groove, local Wilmette dance studio - Skunkworks Dance - puts inventive thinking at the forefront by leading the way in unique activities that inspire hope, confidence and bring JOY to their dancers and community. In their most recent endeavor, Skunkworks will premiere this mini-dance film "I Don't Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)" for Halloween on Monday, October 25. See video attached above. The Zombie-themed 1 minute and 30 seconds film was shot with 12 dancers ages 7-15 and COVID-19 safety in mind! The entire dance is one single shot, so everything had to be directed and choreographed to SCARY perfection. Inspired by "Thriller", Skunkworks' latest dance short gives you the ultimate spookiness and wicked fun all rolled into one EPIC video. This film can be performed live as well! Skunkworks Dance began its first studio season in February 2020. Skunkworks was founded on the concepts of innovation, celebrating individuality and providing the most current pre-professional dance training. As we all know what proceeds in March 2020, Skunkworks willingness to be ultra creative, pivot and work tirelessly to put dancer engagement first allowed them to create youth programming that could thrive even during the most difficult of times! Since opening, Skunkworks Dance has made over 20 professional dance films and celebrated their first live performance "BURNING DOWN the HOUSE" this past Spring.
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Shop Skunkworks!

The moment you've all been waiting for is finally here! We are thrilled to announce the grand opening of the Skunkworks Dance Merchandise Shop! Click to order your Skunkworks apparel and gifts this holiday season!

THE BLOG

OUR STORY

Our Story
RADICALLY INNOVATIVE DANCE

Skunkworks is an immersive learning experience unlike any other where pre-professional dance is approached with innovation and inclusivity. Our dancers enjoy the rigor of the program while feeling supported and praised for their individuality. The Skunkworks Dancer is thoughtful, free from judgement and encouraged to take risks discovering internal confidence and their best self.   

Skunkworks Dance was founded in August of 2018 by Jana Bennett. Prior to Skunkworks as a professional dancer, teacher, choreographer and studio director, Jana noticed there were discrepancies between what was being asked of dancers within the professional dance world and what was offered within dance studios. Particularly, Jana found that the styles, choreography and performance structures in most youth dance training were very different from what she and her friends were experiencing within their professional careers.

 

Additionally, she felt there was a lot of room for industry change in how dance training could be approached to be more engaging and holistic physically, mentally and emotionally for students. 

It was on these ideas that Skunkworks was created. Jana envisioned a studio that would always be exploring, developing and constantly working to bring the day's most current styles, choreography, performance and teaching approaches to the students.

WELCOME TO WILMETTE
FEATURE

Hear the story behind Skunkworks Dance, discover the classes and curriculum offered at Skunkworks, learn the new scientific-backed reason why Skunkworks Dance will not offer any summer intensives this year, and find out why we LOVE our local community. All in this special Welcome to Wilmette: Skunkworks Dance feature!

OUR VALUES

01 / INNOVATIVE
CURRENT
LEADERSHIP

One of our main goals at Skunkworks is to always be on the forefront of dance and education, exploring what is new and how we can bring the most current dance styles, exciting choreographic trends, groundbreaking performance structures and effective teaching approaches to best serve our community of dance artists!

Currently this means that we are offering a variety of popular dance styles while taking an innovative and unprecedented approach to how we train. Additionally, our youth performance opportunities have been groundbreaking and include dance film to site-specific venues, among others. 

02 / POSITIVE
HIGH ENERGY
ENGAGING

A highlight of our studio that makes our programming one-of-a-kind is the proprietary Skunkworks Teaching Method. This unprecedented curriculum is an original teaching approach developed by Founder Jana Bennett that centers around positive reinforcement, clear feedback and student engagement.

 

All staff are extensively trained within this teaching method, where they are taught to engage students physically, visually and verbally to provide the most comprehensive and captivating class experience possible!

03 / COMMUNITY
PRE-PROFESSIONAL
HOME

When imagining Skunkworks, we knew we wanted to build a dance organization where professionalism was prominent within the training, AND we wanted to create an inclusive space that young artists could call home.

 

To us, being a pre-professional dance studio is about redefining industry norms about youth professional training. Our world-class programming allows our students to achieve their dance dreams, and at the same time - feel welcome and included. We invest in our dancers and take pride in their individuality while developing a dance family of art-loving peers. 

Our Values

INSTA FEED

Skunkworks Daily - New posts from inside the studio almost daily!
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GET IN TOUCH

info@skunkworksdance.com

Social: @skunkworksdance

Tel: (847)787-7200

skunkworksdance.com

1111 Central Ave

Wilmette, IL 60091

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