40 years, 40 roses to honor Debbie Tiffany

Today, a heartwarming follow-up on a story I posted several days ago about the Deborah MacKay School of Dance.

In that blog, I highlighted the studio and its owner, Debbie Tiffany, on the occasion of the school’s 40th anniversary. At the time I visited, the dancers were preparing for their upcoming Encore ’24! recital, a huge two-day event which featured many of the school’s favorite performances from the last four decades.

The recital was held on Saturday and Sunday June 1 and 2, and from all reports, it was a tremendous success, as Deborah MacKay Dance events always are. But this year’s recital was extra special in one surprising, very touching way.

After most of the dances were done and the applause died down, Debbie Tiffany’s daughter Caroline stepped up to the podium. At this point in the program, Debbie would normally be backstage preparing for the finale. But Caroline made sure her mother was on stage, front and center, for a surprise announcement.

She began by telling Debbie that her teaching staff, parents, current students and former students had collaborated to create a scrapbook for her, filled with messages, memories and pictures from the last 40 years.

“Many of these messages include sentiments of what Debbie has given all of us during our time at the studio,” Caroline continued. “These sentiments extend far beyond the knowledge of dance. We have gained lifelong friendships and life skills such as perseverance, leadership and discipline.”

That moment in itself would have been special enough. But then, one by one, 40 Deborah MacKay School of Dance alumni walked across the stage, each handing Debbie a long-stepped red rose and giving her a big hug.

Jennifer Lega, a former student and now a dance parent, organized the alumni portion of the event, with help from Caroline and her husband Ken, and members of her 2003 graduating class, with whom she is still close.

Jennifer wrote,

I started gathering the contacts by creating a private Facebook group and inviting all the alumni I could recollect and then asking everyone to do the same. The group quickly grew and it was so much fun connecting again.

After getting feedback from everyone, we ultimately decided on the rose presentation, surprising her with as many alumni that could make it to the show, and the scrapbook, so that anyone that couldn’t make it could still pass on their congratulations to her. The memories and sentiments that were shared included many of the same themes of thanking her for the lifelong friendships, a second home, leadership and time-management skills, perseverance and just how special a place the studio was to them.

With so many people involved, it was hard to keep it all a secret.

“Debbie puts on a very professional show and is a part of every detail,” Jennifer wrote. “So passing any type of surprise by her is pretty much impossible. I can’t tell you how many alumni asked me Sunday, ‘do you think she knows?'”

But they managed that monumental achievement, and Debbie was indeed surprised and very much talen aback.

“I’m so grateful for the touching, thoughtful, personal tribute,” Debbie wrote. 

“I’m grateful to the alumni who  took time out of their weekend to attend, especially to the one who flew in from Colorado. How wonderful it was to see so many of them, some I haven’t seen in a long time.” 

“I have nothing but gratitude for the alumni parent who organized it. And I’m very proud of my alumni daughter who read a speech with poise and elegance.”

It was a simple, yet perfect way to thank Debbie, and show her that her students — past and present — love her as much as she clearly loves them.

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(posted 6/7/2024)