- April 29, 2024
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Miss Jodi hosts the UTC Kids Club every other week.
Photo by Lesley DwyerLuna Frank, 1, takes a snack break with mom Sophia.
Photo by Lesley DwyerWhile the other kids creep around during "quiet time," 3-year-old Arleana Croce drops down for a nap.
Photo by Lesley DwyerSarasota resident Axil Powers gets encouragement to join in from his mom, Sutherlan Powers.
Photo by Lesley DwyerDad Noah Powers coaxes Noah and Clementine to play.
Photo by Lesley DwyerArleana Croce, 3, is a regular at Miss Jodi's dance class thanks to her "Mimi," Melinda Croce.
Photo by Lesley DwyerDressed as a soldier, 4-year-old Abram Glass secretly assesses the situation before entering the play circle.
Photo by Lesley DwyerMaximilian Mazias tries to feed a leaf to his nanny Diana Arellano.
Photo by Lesley DwyerParents participate, too. The UTC Kids Club is held every Wednesday at The Green.
Photo by Lesley DwyerOlin Croce, 3, pretends to take a picture.
Photo by Lesley DwyerMiss Jodi leads the kids through fun dance routines every other week for the UTC Kids Club.
Photo by Lesley DwyerEstella Mazias, 3, loves to dance. She takes ballet classes, too.
Photo by Lesley DwyerJenny Doak holds 2-year-old Parker Doak.
Photo by Lesley DwyerJodi Sobol or “Miss Jodi,” as she’s known around The Green at UTC, grew up dancing. At 44-years-old, the dance teacher and studio owner is on her second generation of students.
“It blows my mind,” she said. “Although if I get to a third generation, I might have to say, ‘Thanks, Sarasota, we’ve put in our time together.’”
By 12, Sobol was learning to teach dance. By 19, she opened her own dance studio, Miss Jodi’s School of Dance.
Every other Wednesday, Sobol drives a purple van from her studio in Sarasota’s The Landings to UTC to host the Kids Club.
Sobol pumps up the music and never stops smiling. The kids run in circles pretending to be chased by bears. They hop, skip and march, too.
“I love doing this,” Sobol said.
The kids, parents and grandparents love following along with the fun. All ages happily stopped whatever they were doing anytime Sobol shouted “Freeze!”
After the April 3 class, several of the grownups also stopped to thank Sobol on the way out.
Melinda Croce brings her fraternal twin grandchildren, 3-year-olds Arleana and Olin Croce, at least once a month. It never gets old watching her granddaughter Arleana drop to the ground and pretend to be asleep every time Miss Jodi says “quiet time.”
“She thinks ‘quiet time’ means a nap,” Croce chuckled.
