40 years later, still stepping to her own beat

Sandra Baker and Caitlin Kelly kick loose. At her dance school in Buzzards Bay, Baker, 65, has taught winners of competitions and inspired students to open their own studios. (Kelly Onanian)

WAREHAM - When Sandra Baker was 5, she ran away from home just because she wanted to dance.

"I started taking dance lessons when I was 3 and I remember my mother pulling me out because the teacher was too stern," said Baker, of Wareham. "I wanted dance lessons so badly that I left the house looking for a place and my family found me wandering."

Soon after that, her mother signed her up at a school near their Waterbury, Conn., home. "As long as I can remember I've always been a serious dancer," she said. Tap is her favorite.

Today, Baker, 65, celebrates 40 years owning the Baker School of Dance in Buzzards Bay and inspiring students, past and present, with her energy, creative choreography, kicks, and splits.

The dance diva and grandmother of 16 said that when she was younger she dreamed of becoming a Radio City Rockette, but that it all changed when she met her husband, Kenneth Baker.

"With that twinkle in his blue eyes he won me over and had other ideas," Baker said.

"When I got out of school I got married, had four children, but found myself really missing dance.

"My husband, a fisherman, moved our family from Connecticut to here and he wanted me to keep my foot in the dance door so he helped me open my first studio. It was small, on the corner of Main Street. We had about 40 students. Then he bought me this building and the rest is history, so they say."

Each week 120 students come through the door at the Baker School of Dance on Wallace Street, many of whom have won international and national competitions.

"Compared to most dance schools in the country, we are a little school. . . . It always amazes me the kids do so well," Baker said.

"The most gratifying thing is when a student tells me that because of dance they are more outgoing or that it's the only reason they have the courage to speak in college or get on a stage."

Baker is also proud when her students open their own dance studios.

Michelle Femino took dance lessons from Baker for 19 years and in 1991 opened Kaleidoscope of Dance in Wareham.

"Sandra gave me my foundation in dance because she shared her love of dance with me," Femino said.

"People don't realize a woman having a dance business for 40 years is almost unheard of and it's a huge success in itself, especially when other studios have opened around her. Running a dance studio is a hard thing to do and at 65 I give her credit. She's not just sitting back as a director; she's still teaching," Femino said.

Baker uses all her own choreography and said she stays "fresh" by taking and teaching aerobics classes several times a week and working with students.

She co-directs her studio with her daughter, Lisa Simmons. Over the years daughters Lori Briggi and Kim Foot have taught tumbling, line dancing, and gymnastics. (She also has a son, Kenneth Jr.)

Baker teaches a few of her grandchildren and admits it is hard to be impartial.

"It's great to see them love dance, but they've grown up with me dancing so much that I don't even think they give it a second thought," she said.

Her granddaughter Cecilia Briggi shrugged when asked what it was like to see her grandmother do a line kick or split.

"It's fun, probably a bit different for me than some of the other girls, but she's just my grandma," Briggi said with a grin.

National tap dancing champion Caitlin Kelly, 18, said it's hard to describe how much the Baker School means to her.

"It's like a family, thanks to Mrs. B. She's inspiring and even though I'll be going to college in Dartmouth, I'll keep coming back here to dance," Kelly said.

Tara Bazarewski has been sending her daughter, Samantha, to the Baker School for five years.

"Sandra is a great influence on the kids, helping them maintain their grades, and her graduating seniors always go off to college," Bazarewski said.