Fond memories of dance a decade later

DALTON — Do you remember what you were hoping for as the new millennium dawned, or planning for as the new century began — without a Y2K disaster? Can you recall any of the songs playing on the radio in the year 2000?

If you were a high school senior in the Class of 2000, and a dancer with the Dalton Ballet Theatre (now Dalton Dance Company), chances are that contemplating your future and plotting a course to your goals was a major part of your life, all the while music surrounded you. For Becky Bisson Gober, Jo Beth Long Thompson, and Mary Lynn Laughter Jones, three Class of 2000 graduates who will be recognized as part of Dalton Arts Project’s upcoming “Do You Remember?” dance concert, the weekend of March 26-28 promises to be a time of fun, reflection and fond memories.

Becky Bisson Gober

After graduating from Dalton High School in 2000, Gober earned a bachelor of arts degree in journalism and a juris doctorate degree from the University of Georgia. After law school, she married Blake Gober and returned to Dalton where she is an attorney at Sponcler and Tharpe, LLC.

“Dance has impacted my life in so many ways it is hard to count them all,” said Gober. “As any dancer or parent of a dancer knows, dance is a huge time commitment. Dance taught me time management skills and how to balance priorities in my life. Dance has also given me poise and self-confidence. After dancing in front of hundreds, everything else is a piece of cake!”

Jo Beth Long Thompson

Jo Beth Long Thompson was a member of Dalton Ballet Theatre from 1994-2000. After graduating from Dalton High School, she attended the University of Alabama and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in human environmental sciences with a major in interior design.

While at the university she continued her dance studies with Cornelius Carter, the 2001 Carnegie professor of the year, and Rita Snyder in the University of Alabama Dance Department. She and her husband, Chad Thompson, live in Dalton where she is assistant director of Dalton Dance Company. Thompson recently performed the premiere ballerina role of Sugar Plum Fairy under the coaching of Anne Burton Avery.

“I hope to pass on to many young dancers the life skills that I have learned in the dance studio,” Thompson said. “Preparedness, personal responsibility, confidence, time management, and the ability to think on your feet are expected of our dancers both in the studio and in life.”

Mary Lynn Laughter Jones

After her final performance with the then Dalton Ballet Theatre, now Dalton Dance Company, Mary Lynn Laughter Jones graduated from Girls Preparatory School and moved to Atlanta. While in Atlanta, she attended Emory University and Georgia State University. She married Miller T. Jones of Atlanta in 2004. A year later, she earned a bachelor of arts degree in history from Georgia State, graduating magna cum laude. While in Atlanta, Jones managed and opened several restaurants. In 2007, the couple and their daughter, Kate, moved to Dalton to be closer to family. For the past two years, she has been active with Dalton Arts Project and teaches some preschool dance classes through the Dance Theatre of Dalton.

“My experience as a dancer has taught me the importance of staying in shape and the value of honoring one’s commitments,” Jones said. “I thoroughly enjoy watching the preschool dancers develop through the program as they learn and grow. I hope they will stick with it (dance). It has been a positive influence in my life, one that has come full circle.”

Gober, Thompson and Jones will be in attendance as the members of Dalton Dance Company perform in Dalton Arts Project’s “Do You Remember?” spring concert — a look back at the music they grew up with as well as the music enjoyed by previous generations of teenagers (now parents and grandparents).

This high-energy dance production opens Friday, March 26, at 7:30 p.m. with additional performances at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 27, and 2 p.m. performance on Sunday, March 28. The location for all performances is the Dalton High Theatre at 1500 Manly St. in Dalton.

Tickets will be available in advance at the Dance Theatre of Dalton or at the door. Tickets prices are $5 for students and $10 for adults. As in past years, the proceeds from opening night ticket sales will be donated to a worthy cause. This year, the dancers have chosen the Haiti Relief Fund of the American Red Cross as their dancing-for-a-cause recipient.

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Gober, Thompson and Jones to be recognized

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