In New Orleans East on Bundy Road, there’s a white building that has truly stood the test of time.
The Kelly School of Dance has been teaching ballet, tap, jazz, and more to children across the Crescent City for more than 75 years, and the Petite family has been exposing children to experiences and opportunities that otherwise may have never been presented to them.
From the opening of each performance to the close, Kelly’s has been a sacred space for dancers.
Hundreds of dance recital books, photos, and sashes partially tell the story of a long dance legacy.
“There’s a few times when I did think about legacy,” said Adrienne Petit Thomas, owner of the Kelly School of Dance.
“One of them was after Katrina. You know the question, ‘do we open, do we not open,’ and at that point we were past 50 years, and it’s like OK, you don’t throw 50 years away,” she continued.
That legacy has continued on for 75 years from mother to daughter to granddaughter.
“I literally came home from hospital to the dancing school,” said Thomas’ daughter.
Thomas’ mother, Lorraine Kelly Petite, was born poor in New Orleans in 1928, but she had exemplary talents.
“My mother was really good in ballet, and for a young Black woman to be able to dance ballet was extraordinary, so they opened the studio in the garage at their house on Saint Phillips Street,” Thomas said.
Starting with just 10 dancers on July 1, 1950, the Kelly School of Dance continues to be a family business.
“My mom, of course, was the teacher. When it came recital time, my grandmother and my dad, cause my dad was very handy,” she said.
“They would sell the costumes, make ship scenery, curtains, props. It was really a family, a family entity,” she said.
“Miss Kelly” worked as an Orleans Parish first grade teacher for 27 years during the day and a dance instructor in the evening, exposing young, Black children to more than just dance combinations.
“We were one of the earliest Black schools to start attending national conventions and most often we were the only Black kids there,” she said.
From the sound of tap to the techniques of ballet, Kelly’s School of Dance carries a legacy not just for Adrienne Thomas and her family, but for families all across the city of New Orleans.
The long list of “Kelly Girls,” as they are affectionately known, includes New Orleans radio host Kemba White Dupree and her family.
She, her late mother Elaine, and her daughter Imari all graduated through Kelly’s dance program.
“I was on staff when I found out I was pregnant with her, so I was teaching, so she’s literally been dancing since conception,” Dupree said.
“I’m glad that it has continued on, and now it’s not going to stop ever, but I’m also glad that I’m able to make my mark,” said Dupree’s daughter, Imari Dupree, a 2024 Kelly’s graduate.
According to Thomas, graduates of Kelly’s have gone on to do great things in New Orleans and beyond.
“Dancers, teachers, lawyers, judges, pharmacist politicians, you name it,” she said.
Like moves across the floor, Miss Kelly’s original program is marching on into the next 75 years.
“She opened the door for generations of young boys and girls, because both genders have come through the studio, but to let us know just because you can’t go through one door doesn’t mean you can’t go at all,” said Kemba Dupree.
Through its years of operation and growth, students have learned 8-counts and lessons that go far beyond the dance studio.
“Part of what she was trying to do with dance was to expose kids to more than just going to school every day, we pride ourselves here even to today on teaching more than just dancing,” Thomas said.
“Dance is the vehicle, but the lessons are life,” she said.
READ MORE:Kelly School of Dance training Black dancers for more than 75 years
