Page 4 • Wednesday , August 31 , 2022 • The Hammonton Gazette
Janine Gentilini is the new owner of Dance Magic
DANCE , from Page 1
“ On a Monday morning I woke up and there was job posting for Mullica Twp . And that was five minutes from the studio . I felt like it was Miss Dawn sending me a message . I applied for it and I got the job . Everything just fell into place ,” Gentilini said .
Dance Magic and the students are special to Gentilini .
“ It is my happy place . I love the girls . I don ’ t have children of my own . I insert my whole self into my students ,” Gentilini said .
This fall , Dance Magic will be in Gentilini ’ s hands and she said the feel and look of the school will be the same as when Baldwin led the young dancers .
“ All of the same staff . I love the teachers that were there . When I was a student with Dawn , I danced with Michele Peterson . She went onto to be a professional dancer . Denise Smith has been teaching there for close to 20 years . The other teachers , Gianna Cirillo and Maddy Ruiz Franz , I have taught them since they were 5 . They are professional , caring ; they have each other ’ s backs ,” Gentilini said .
Gentilini and her husband talked about buying the studio and then with Baldwin ’ s husband Dwight .
“ It came up in conversation with my husband and me . [ My husband ] said , ‘ would you be interested in us buying the studio ?’ I can ’ t be there every day . So Michele will be the assistant director . And I proposed purchasing the studio to Dwight if he was going to be thinking about selling it . If he wanted to partner , we would partner with him ,” Gentilini said .
“ One is that Dawn ’ s legacy remain alive . The best people to take care of that business were the teachers that were there already .
Janine expressed an interest in that . She had been with Dawn for so many years as have all the teachers there . They are all so professional . They are all so good . The second is that they care about the kids so much which is Dawn ’ s legacy . She had all the patience in the world . That ’ s what makes Dance Magic the best ,” Dwight Baldwin said .
Gentilini is the new studio owner but the Baldwin legacy will continue at Dance Magic .
“ Dwight is still going to do the lighting and [ their son ] Max will be doing the sound . The Baldwin family will be involved as long as they want to be ,” Gentilini said .
“ I will always be there for Janine . I will be working on the recitals . My family is still part of that family and it will never change ,” Dwight Baldwin said .
She added that Dawn Baldwin ’ s legacy of community involvement is going to continue .
“ I want them to know Dance Magic is still going to be part of the community . We are still going to be rocking the red . I want them to look forward to the next chapter ,” Gentilini said .
The Christmas Show , Tree Lighting , performing at the cancer foundation dinner , other local events , competitions and dance conventions will all continue , she said . Dancing Dads will remain a fixture of the end of year recital in June .
Dawn Baldwin remains at the top of Gentilini ’ s thoughts .
“ I feel like I am just putting my heart and soul into the studio . I just want her to be proud . I want to keep it moving forward for her , the students and the community ,” Gentilini said .
Dance Magic and Baldwin have been like a second family to Gentilini for decades .
“ She would always tell me , ‘ I love you Miss Janine ’ and she was always so happy when the girls were dancing and we were all there . She loved all of her staff . We loved her back . It was such a wonderful family ,” she said .
Gentilini grew up dancing and returned to Dance Magic at the end of her college career . She
came back when she saw an ad in the newspaper for the dance teacher . Gentilini said recognized the phone number in the ad and said ‘ this is Dance Magic .’ She said she quickly called Dawn Baldwin .
“ She taught me how to be a teacher . After one year being there , I went back to school for my teaching certificate ,” Gentilini said .
Registration was held in-person earlier this month and is available online .
Among the classes offered will be Tap , Jazz , Ballet , Modern and Hip-Hop at different levels based on ability and experience .
For more information , call ( 609 ) 561-1414 or visit dancemagic . com .
Celebrating Higgins ’ retirement
THG / Kristin Guglietti . To purchase photos in The Gazette , call ( 609 ) 704-1940 .
Hammonton High School Spanish and Italian teacher Maria Higgins ( center ) celebrates her retirement with friends at the Rock Bottom Whiskey Bar located inside Rocco ’ s Town House . Higgins began teaching at the school district in 2001 .