When Nick Waynelovich and his two daughters sat around his kitchen table 20 years ago, they decided to each put $600 in an account to start a small business.
They saw a gap in Franklin County for arts education and decided they wanted to do something about it. They figured they would need about 30 students that first year to break even. They ended up with about 100 and Ja’Duke Center for the Performing Arts was off to a running start.
“I felt like there wasn’t enough arts and we needed to have more,” said Waynelovich, a retired music teacher from the Mohawk school district.
What started that day in 1997 is now a flourishing performing arts business with many branches: an arts-based preschool, a production company for all ages, a theater company for youth and a prop and backdrop rental business. Now, the studio averages about 300 students a year.
The company will celebrate its 20th anniversary Saturday with an anniversary show.
At the center of what’s become an expansive and successful business is the idea that family comes first and every customer should be treated like they’re a part of the family.
Waynelovich and one of his daughters, Kim Williams, now own and oversee the day-to-day operations of the business, with about 20 staff members.
When you step inside the Ja’Duke building, the preschool is the first thing you see — students from infant to pre-kindergarten ages. Travel to the back office, and new backdrops are being created for future shows.
Upstairs, costumes on costumes hang and boxes of props are organized by show. In another room, large pieces of sets are being built and spray painted. Some will be used by Ja’Duke, some are being rented out by other theater companies across the country.
Williams and Waynelovich usually work from about 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. most days. For both, it’s a combination of roles that include the working on current musicals as well as with students in classes and the preschool.
After preschool is over, performance students come in and the rooms are transitioned from preschool to instructional rooms.
The hours between 3 and 5 p.m. are usually chaos at Ja’Duke, with families coming and going and sometimes eating dinner in the hallways, while corralling kids into classes.
Ja’Duke aims to be family friendly, with many families having multiple students at the studio and some parents getting involved in musicals, as well.
The philosophy that Ja’Duke adheres to is that it’s never too early for students to learn that hard work can be rewarding and fun. Williams and Waynelovich hold the students and the musicals to high standards, but they both believe half of the fun is incorporating different age and skill levels into every show.
“We’ve somehow been able to provide this place where kids who have been dancing for 10 years are dancing alongside kids who have been dancing for a year — and it works,” Williams said.
They take the work seriously, but believe it’s just as important for the students to be enjoying themselves. Judy Kulp, a vocal instructor who has been with the company since the start, said the musicals often feel like summer camp, even for adults, and it’s a unique kind of experience where students are still learning new things.
“It’s not an exclusive club by any means, if you’re willing to come and have fun and do the work,” she said.
Kulp said that one of the reasons she’s stayed is because the business is so family friendly. She said her sons were involved in the first shows, and it helps that entire families can be involved.
Kulp said she’s been thrilled to be at the school all these years and believes it’s still moving in the positive direction.
“They’re doing something very right, and I’m so glad,” she said.
Waynelovich said there aren’t really terrible weeks leading up to big shows. He said he doesn’t keep students late if the rehearsals isn’t going great because that’s more often a reflection on what the instructor is doing, not the students.
Williams grew up as a competitive dancer, competing at high-level events throughout the country and world. As an instructor, she wants the students to have a healthy environment to learn and grow, and the school as a whole prefers a performance-based curriculum, not competition based.
“When we first started, we knew we could do shows,” Williams said. “We knew we were capable of doing shows and that we could do good shows, and so we said, ‘Well, why don’t we take these kids and put them into a show?’ and give them the real idea of what being in a show is like?”
When Williams and Waynelovich think about the future of the company — and the legacy of their business — they are excited for the next 20 years of business.
One of their goals is to eventually open their own theater, just for Ja’Duke’s use. Currently, shows are typically held at Greenfield High School or another local theater. Williams said it would be beneficial for scheduling, but also allow them to expand their teachings to include lighting and other behind-the-scenes work.
Waynelovich said it’s been amazing to watch the business grow — they never expected it to be as successful as it’s been.
“Looking out 10 years, I believe we can do anything, it’s just what we want to do,” he said.
This weekend, the company will celebrate 20 years of singing, acting and dancing in Franklin County with an anniversary recital at Greenfield High School this Saturday. It’s free and open to the public.
The show will include musical numbers with a variety of ages groups from different musicals over the years. The numbers include songs from “Hairspray,” “Madagascar Jr,” “Rent,” “Annie” and some original works.
The show includes current students, adults and alumni of the school. Tickets are free, but can be reserved online at: jaduke.com
Reach Miranda Davis at 413-772-0261 ext. 280 or mdavis@recorder.com.