Warwick Center for the Performing Arts was founded in 2017 when Melissa Padham-Maass moved back to her hometown and reopened her childhood dance studio, The Dancer’s Studio. The Dancer’s Studio, directed by Lucinda Henry, was one of Warwick’s original Classical Ballet and Performing Arts Schools, operating from 1984 - 2010. “The Studio”, most recently located at 63 Wheeler Ave, was home to the non-profit dance company the Warwick Ballet Theatre, which produced over 30 memorable full-length works over the years and launched the careers of a number of artists. It was this legacy of educational excellence and magical, professional-quality productions that Padham-Maass sought to build on with the opening of WCPA seven years later.
Today, as the Lower Hudson Valley’s premier performing arts studio, The Warwick Center for the Performing Arts offers a comprehensive range of dance and theater classes, from ballet, contemporary and jazz to tap, Irish step, jazz funk, acting, acting the song and musical theater dance classes. The center also offers a variety of specialty workshops and performance opportunities throughout the year to further enhance students’ learning, including audition preparation, Youth America Grand Prix training and competition teams. In 2021, WCPA expanded into its spacious new home at 28 Church Street, with over 10,000 square feet of space including six studios, student lounges, homework stations and a dedicated costume shop. WCPA is also the home of the Warwick Dance Collective and The Warwick Broadway Collective which performs throughout the year in the Center’s full-length productions, at regional festivals, and in a variety of self-produced local shows.

Culture and Values of WCPA


Warwick Center for the Performing Arts is a community for artists of all ages to flourish.

This is what we believe it takes to flourish:

A Passion for Excellence:

  • We hold ourselves to high artistic and educational standards.

  • We work together to build amazing things.

  • We offer constructive criticism with grace and kindness when it furthers the goal of excellence.

Artistic Growth Mindset:

  • We constantly strive for growth in the areas where we want to excel.

  • We each take personal responsibility for our own improvement.

  • We recognize that failure and burnout can be a part of the growth process and we support each

  • other when this happens.

  • We celebrate growth in ourselves and others without jealousy

Encouragement in a Healthy Environment:

  • We encourage one another at every opportunity prioritizing effort based encouragement over skills based encouragement.

  • We believe collaboration comes before competition.

  • We nourish the mental and physical health of our fellow artists.

  • We do not tolerate gossip, belittling others, or body shaming.

Inclusive Community:

  • We believe that the arts belong to everyone.

  • We invite members of our community to participate in events regularly.

  • We do not tolerate discrimination.

Nurturing Artists:

  • We base our curriculum on art-centered developmentally age-appropriate goals.

  • We encourage creative thinking and teach creative problem solving.

  • We provide a home for artists with ongoing professional development and peer support.

  • We share time, energy, and resources with one another to create new works of art.

Valuing the Importance of Children Being Children:

  • We prioritize creating supportive and creative classes that allow children to be children.

  • Our choreography, music, and costumes are age-appropriate to ensure a positive and nurturing dance experience.

  • We foster an environment that encourages artistic expression and exploration while respecting the developmental needs of each child.