Dear NHAPA Students, Families, and Alumni,

The Patent family has been honored to serve the Greater Seacoast Community for the past 67 years. We are grateful for the legacy Mr. & Mrs. Patent have built and the thousands of lives we’ve touched through the NH Academy of Performing Arts and the Seacoast Civic Dance Company. We take great pride in having provided a professional-level dance education to our students, and to creating the non-profit company which has continually given back to New England area charities through its many performances and activities.

Our family has cherished every moment spent fostering the love of dance and creating a community dedicated to bringing out the best in every one of our students. As we value each of you as family, we wanted to inform you that we have made the decision to close our studio.  We understand and regret the impact this closure will have on you: our students, families, and our community.
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Thank you all for your unwavering support and for being a dedicated part of the NH Academy of Performing Arts family.
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With gratitude,
Marie, Kim & Robyne Patent

Happy Memories

KIND WORDS

While I am sad to hear the studio is closing, I understand these decisions do not happen without careful consideration. It is I who am grateful for all that you taught me. You gave me a second home to grow and thrive. You taught me lessons which I taught my daughter. To say I enjoyed my time there is well understated. As you were always there for me, I will always be there for you. I love you. ​​
​~Donna Farrar

I'm so sad to hear this news.  NHAPA shaped me into the person I am today and I am so happy that I made the decision to switch over in 8th grade.
​Love you guys
​~Amelia Aussant

​I am  thinking of you and the whole Patent family, as I'm sure this was a difficult decision. NHAPA has always been such an important part of my life. Wishing you all the best in this new chapter
​~Dana Martin

I am so sad to hear this.  I think about you all so often.  The studio gave me so much and taught me so many valuable lessons in dance and in life.  I will always always think of my time at NHAPA as time I spent with family.  That is what you all became.  As my own daughter continues her own, what I hope to be long, journey in dance, I hope she finds as much joy and love for the art and people she shares it with.  Thank you for all that you gave me and continue to give to those around you.  Hope to continue to keep in touch.
~Chanelle Dolbeare

Wishing the Patent family all the best! Maddie + Elle loved their dancing years at NHAPA
​​~Holly Cassidy

NHAPA was my second home growing up. I have so many fond memories. Sending my love and best wishes to you Mrs. Patent, Robyne, and Kim
​​~Kelley Doherty Holland

Feeling so grateful to have danced and grown up at NHAPA. This experience is one I don’t take for granted and will cherish forever. The studio and staff have left an everlasting mark on my soul and heart. Thank you to the entire Patent family for sharing your love for dance with so many.
​​~Nicole DelSignore 

I cannot put into words the positive impact NHAPA had on my childhood. From the incredible opportunities both on the dance floor and off, lifelong friendships & relationships formed, and the nurturing environment every staff member cultivated for their students... NHAPA was and always will be my second family. What an incredible legacy Mr. & Mrs. Patent, Kim, Robyne, and the entire Patent family is leaving in the dance community. I'm forever grateful. 
​​~Brooke Moylan

Although it's been many years since graduation for us, I read this with a heavy heart. So many wonderful memories with our NHAPA family  with sincerest gratitude to Mrs Patent, Robyne and Kim I thank you for all you did for our girls. Not only what you taught them in the studio but also in life. Confidence grace and poise was instilled in each of them and I thank you, I wish you all the best in your next chapter
​​​~Pamela Lemarier Mutch

​Lots of memories and amazing times. Best of luck and thanks to the Patents.
​​​​~Chrissy O'Keefe

thanks for everything nhapa ❤️❤️
​​​​​~Julia Kupka

​Thank you for everything you and the studio have done for me.
​​​​​​~Amanda Heintzelman

So many good memories from my time spent at NHAPA! Wishing everyone the best as you move forward from this chapter.
​​​​​​~Ali Huseman

Grateful that we could be a part of the journey. Tarkan and Ayla had some great memories and experiences to start their dance education. Thank you and best wishes for your next chapter
​​~Erin Jean Kaya

There is simply no place like NHAPA! So many beautiful memories here 😢
​I still strike up some of the old dances/choreography to bring me back and have stayed close with many of the EPs & SCDCs. Thank you for everything Patents!!! You will remain Seacoast legends!
Lots of love & gratitude!
​​~Kara Taussig/Modica

Congratulations Patent family! I’m sure bittersweet. Thank you for so many wonderful years! You gave our family a lifetime of memories (and pictures 😉) that we cherish to this day! Wishing all of you and your families all the best in your next act.
​​~Linda Strickler

Thank you for everything that you and the NHAPA family did for me and my family over the last many years. It is hard to think that the studio has completed its mission of impacting as many lives as possible. 
​​~Christian Gray

Thank you for everything thru the years 🤍🤍
​​~Julia Richardson

So lucky to have these memories. So much more than dance class - FAMILY who has been there for all of the best times and the most challenging. So thankful
​​~Jenn Fisher

Thank you for the beautiful memories!
Wishing you all the very best in future endeavors.
God bless.
​​​~Karen Lynn Carwana Schalitz

Grateful for all the love, the joy, the music and the dance over the past 28 years. NHAPA will forever live in our hearts and lives❤️
​~Samantha Natoli

NHAPA is my childhood and will forever be one of the most important experiences that shaped my life. Forever grateful 
​~Ashley Knowlton Shepherd

We are so sad that you are closing your doors. Our daughter has learned so much and has truly enjoyed all the instructors and friends she has met at NHAPA. The past 8 yrs she has been there will always hold a special place in our ❤️s!
​​~Jessica Burke

NHAPA was such an instrumental part of my upbringing. The lessons I learned at NHAPA helped shape me into the person I am today and I could not have grown to that without you and your family’s community. 

Thank you for everything. I hope that with time there is some brightness on the other side of a new chapter for you and the family
​​~Alyssa DiZoglio

Dear Mrs. P., Kim, and Robyne: We are forever grateful for all you have done for our family and community. It is hard to put into words the gratitude we feel. Please know your legacy will live on in all the lives you touched. We wish you all of life’s blessings. Lots of love to all of you and the NHAPA family
​​~Lois and Robert Britt

I hope that this next Chapter brings you all much deserved rest and joy. What an amazing legacy you have created, and lasting joy of dance you have given us all who have learned from you. I started at about age 6 when Marie was on Winnicunnet Road, continuing onto Seabrook through high school. I'm so thankful to you all for the impact you had on my life long love of dance. THANK YOU 💃
​​~Pamela Bates

Forever grateful to the Patent family for creating a legacy that went beyond pliés, shuffle steps, and leaps. It’s a special thing to still be friends with people you met when you were only three years old. To attend their weddings, play with their children, and celebrate every little moment in between. The final curtain may have dropped for nhapa, but the family it created will continue to live on forever. Thank you Happy, Mormor, Robyne, and Kim, from the bottom of my heart, for bringing us all together and making us the people we are today 🤍
​​~Corinne DiZoglio

Sending you guys lots of love and happiness in your new ventures.  You shaped so many young people in so many ways. You should feel very proud.
​​~Sara Fazio

I can only imagine how difficult this decision was!  My thoughts are with you and the whole NHAPA family. Sending lots of love and prayers for as easy a transition as possible.  This is the end of a truly wonderful era.  You and your family have SO MUCH to feel proud of.  The dance world is better for all you have contributed.
​~Tina Bowen

Oh wow. Bittersweet in knowing all good things do come to an end. We were very proud to have you in our community. I tried hard not to compare you to other studios, but hands down, you were "Simply the best!" Know that the Griggs/Carrillo family wish you all the best. We will cherish those memories forever thanks to Bud's beautiful photography!
​​~SMarie Griggs

I just wanted to say while so sad to hear the news, I am so thankful for NHAPA being a part of my journey.  It has and always will hold a special place in my heart.  Here if you need anything & thinking of you all as I'm sure it was not an easy decision.
~Alyssa Vacca

I'm very sorry to hear this news.  The end of a mighty fine era.  You should all be proud of the countless lives you touched through dance.  Hugs from afar my friends.
​​~Brian Hall

Thank you for the incredible experiences! I will always cherish our NHAPA dance days! Much love to Kim, Marie and Robyne. I know you put your heart and soul into all the kids you taught!
~Kathy Blais​

Thank you for encouraging and taking a risk on Adam as a dancer. He was instilled with a lifelong love of dance. It has shaped his whole future!
~Nicole LaFontaine Cico​

​Wonderful childhood memories with Marie as well as an adult with Robyne and Kim over the past (67) years! Two generations in my family have truly enjoyed the wonderful caring and talented Patent Family! Much Love to you All!!! 
~Susan Faro

What amazing memories and forever friendships!
~Sarah LoSasso-Brown

In the early 1970's, Mrs. Patent had a Saturday morning acrobatics program in the gymnasium of Centre School in Hampton. That class was my "gateway" to dance, and soon I was taking weekly classes at the small studio above the Patents' garage on Winnacunnet Road. My first "recital" that year was The Nutcracker, and I remember my fear and trepidation at having to go onstage to perform our number. But once I did it, I was hooked, and there was no going back. Tap and jazz classes then beckoned, and soon after, at Mrs. Patent's insistence, ballet. I didn't really want to take ballet (it seemed hard!) but it ended up being my favorite discipline. I think that was Mrs. Patent's special gift. She saw your potential for something and encouraged you to stretch yourself. You could always do more, you could always improve, and the only limits were those you set on yourself. If you needed help with a particular step (and I often did), there were always older students who would take the time to break it down for you. Like the best educators, Mrs. Patent emphasized the importance of learning the basics-- without a strong foundation, you could not be a good dancer. I remember her exhortation to "not be a right-footed dancer," by which she meant that we shouldn't just favor our "easy" side but rather should focus equally, if not more, on what challenged us. Like much of what I learned at the studio, it was good life advice too. Over the course of my many happy years at NHAPA, from elementary school through high school, I gained friendships, confidence, a sense of belonging. I echo many others when I say that the community of Nhapa was a huge part of my childhood and formative years.
​Thank you Mrs. Patent, Kim and Robyne for the joy and the jazz hands, for the friendships and the fouettés, for the good times and the times steps. It was all -- you were all-- the BEST.
​​​​~Margaret Witherington

❤️❤️we are so lucky to have grown up with our NHAPA family
​​​​~Ashley Mutch

I wish you all the best! Some of my favorite childhood memories were in that studio with Alysia Jones and Teerah Myers
~Mandy Savage

​Will always be grateful for the wonderful memories that make up most of my childhood. 
​~Heather Lyn

Wonderful memories working with Robyne, Kim and Mr. and Mrs. Patent. I will miss the yearly recitals.
​~Deborah Dunbrack Gendron

​What a run! So many memories. I will cherish my years there forever! Best wishes to you all!
​~Christy Polizzo Stuart

I am so sorry to hear this, as an alumna from the 80’s I still have a handwritten note from Marie encouraging me to continue to pursue dance when I wanted to quit so many times wishing everyone all the best
~Denise Brindle

​Very sad news for sure! While only part of the NHAPA family for 2 years, Avery loved dancing there!
​​~Lorin Borba

​Such a huge part of my life, both on and off stage. So many amazing friendships were made, older dancers who inspired me and endless laughs. Thank you all for creating such a special space to learn and celebrate our love for the arts.  The memories will last a lifetime. Wishing you much happiness on your next journey!
​​~Kimberly Rushforth

❤️❤️I cannot thank you enough for being such a big part of my life and growth as a person. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to grow up dancing here. Love you guys so much!!! 
​​~Adreana Dziadosz

Nhapa was my second home growing up and saying goodbye is always hard. I hope you are all ok and I'm sending the best wishes for the future ahead. 
​​~Hannah Burnett

Will forever be a dancer in my heart thanks to NHAPA. So many childhood memories and friendships made there. Truly sad to hear this news. 
​~Emily Schuler Ward

​​My family and I appreciate all you have done for me while I was attending classes. NHAPA was the place I could do what I loved most and let go of whatever was bothering me and regain strength, hope, and confidence through challenging times. The Patents and other faculty always showed how much they cared, they did or said things out of love. NHAPA will always hold a special place in my heart forever. 
~Kati Schuster

I'm so sad and sorry to hear this news! We truly appreciate what you have done for Sydney C. The experience and positive influence you all provided will make a lasting impression on so many lives. Wish you all the best! 
~Laurie Philbrick Withee

​My son Anthony took his very first dance class with you 15 years ago and fell in love with dance. We moved to Arizona the following year and Miss Kim told me to keep him on dance and I did. He has since graduated and moved to LA and now is on season 18 of So You Think You Can Dance! I just wanted to circle back and thank you for giving him a something he has cherished his whole life!!
​​~Christina Marie

So lucky to have been a part of the @nhacademy family 💕
​~Katie Gillis

Forever love my NHAPA fam 💜
​​~Jessica Ogden

Happy People