Dance of a Lifetime!

Adrianne Arena-Jacobs has been dancing in the spotlight since she was a child. Decades later, she still derives joy from her lifelong passion.

Adrianne Arena-Jacobs may be a familiar name to those who have participated in Moon Area High School theater productions. She has choreographed more than 20 productions for the school’s spring musicals, which are noted for their high-caliber performances.

Her dance journey began when she was just 3 years old. Her mother, hoping to expend some of her youthful energy, enrolled her in a class with local dance instructor Nancy Lee.

“I was hooked right away!” recalls Adrianne. “I loved being in the studio, the sound that the tap shoes made on the floor, and the inspiring music.” Her mother walked her to and from her lessons each week in the small studio basement, where she studied ballet and tap.

Most dancers begin with ballet, which provides a good foundation for all types of dance. Adrianne eventually added jazz and gymnastics to her repertoire.

She excelled from an early age, and later studied with Ronald Matty, who was also her mother’s dance instructor! Adrianne was asked to help younger dancers as a teaching assistant. This was her first experience in teaching, and she was only 14. She loved working with the younger children. She was also invited into the dance company at his studio.

When contemplating her college education, Adrianne wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, but she knew it must involve dance.

She attended Point Park University and majored in dance. While there, she also taught dance at her alma mater, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, which allowed students to choose dance classes to complete their physical education requirement. Adrianne also performed in several shows in college, which gave her the inspiration to move to New York after graduation at 23.

“To say my parents were worried would have been an understatement!” laughs Adrianne. She had no family there, and really didn’t know anybody, so their concerns may have been somewhat valid. Though it sounds like the classic romantic tale of a young girl going to New York, the reality was less than a fairy tale.

“The life of a struggling artist is anything but glamorous when you’re trying to break into the business. I worked as a waitress, taught fitness classes and moved to several apartments while trying to audition and land jobs.”

Adrianne claims she went to hundreds of auditions, and it was a tough time, but her first job would take her places—most of them on other continents!

“I walked into a sea of dancers auditioning for just one spot on the Holland America Cruise Line,” she recalls. Though the odds seemed slim, Adrianne was asked to leave a callback number.

She then headed home to Moon for Thanksgiving. Shortly after arriving, she received a phone call that she had gotten the part and needed to return immediately for rehearsals. She left without even tasting Thanksgiving dinner.

The cruise left for its months-long tour in January, and Adrianne sailed with the crew to South America and Asia, and ended in Hawaii.

“They took very good care of us. We had passenger cabins, and dinner in the dining room. We were able to go ashore and explore at ports. And I met many famous people while onboard who were performing as well.”

Some of the celebrities included Chita Rivera, Robert Duvall, Artie Johnson, the legendary Cab Calloway, and perhaps most exciting of all for a dancer, Ginger Rogers.

The cruise line put on full-blown musicals, and never wanted passengers to see the same show twice, so the performers were constantly learning new material.

Once the tour was over, Adrianne was back in New York, pounding the pavement. She branched out into musical theater and took roles that required singing and acting.

She toured in Europe, performing in “Hair” in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Belgium.

When that tour was over, it was back to New York for more auditions. Adrianne eventually traveled to Aruba where she performed at the Alhambra Theatre. This was one of her most challenging jobs yet, since it required her to learn all the parts of every cast member! She was the swing dancer for the entire cast, to give them days off.

Aruba holds a special place in her heart since it was also where she met her husband, Ronald Jacobs. He was from the Netherlands and was opening a computer company on the island.

After the show’s run, she returned to New York and appeared in “Dames at Sea.” Things moved quickly for the young couple, and they became engaged.

“We didn’t want to start a home and family in the city, and he really liked the Pittsburgh area. Moon was my hometown so we settled here.”

This was also the beginning of Adrianne’s first dance studio, albeit a pop-up studio. She rented space at fire halls and other venues to hold classes, but eventually found a more permanent location, put up some mirrors and hung her sign out for business.

Her parents and her siblings, who are all entrepreneurs, were instrumental in helping her to establish the studio and learn the business side of it.

As the number of students grew, she moved to a warehouse location and hired her first staff member. In total, Adrianne has moved the studio four times and set up her current studio location just last year, which is an ideal setting for her students.

She has been married for 34 years and has three children, who all pitch in and help with her productions. Her daughter Brooke Jacobs has a dance degree and is her assistant at the studio.

Adrianne employs many dance instructors, and has more than 250 students at Arena’s Dance Company. The company will present “The Nutcracker” in December, featuring 60 students age 5 and up.

As she enters her 32nd season with her own studio, Adrianne still loves what she does.

“I love seeing how dance inspires students of all ages! We have so many that start here at the young age of 3, and seeing them develop as dancers—and confident young adults—is just amazing. So many have developed lifelong friendships while training at my studio. I now have students whose parents I taught. They enjoy showing their kids the pictures on the wall of them dancing.” 

Adrianne has some students who are pursuing a career in dance, but notes that anyone can benefit from it. “It’s great for all-over fitness, sharpens the mind, builds confidence and most importantly, it’s just good for the soul.”