"This started simply as an answer to the dramatic school budget cuts that eliminated many arts classes," said Paula Lemmon, founder of the Ovation Academy in DuPont. "Clearly, based on our rapid growth, this was a need that wasn't being met before."

Lemmon arrived at Joint Base Lewis-McChord three years ago. She is the wife of Maj. Keith Lemmon, a doctor at Madigan Army Medical Center who is currently deployed with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. Looking to use her bachelor's degree in music education, she began teaching piano out of her home to a handful of students.

Word spread quickly through the city and soon enough Lemmon had joined forces with other local teachers to offer dance, art and music lessons out of her home, and so Ovation Academy was formed. Now, with a permanent staff of six and many artists dropping by to teach symposiums and specialty courses, Lemmon's school has grown exponentially. There are 179 students enrolled in Ovation, and she estimates that 70 percent of those are military. Last summer she began the process to register Ovation as a nonprofit and is thankfully almost done.

Aside from fine arts classes for school-aged children, there are pre-school sessions that run from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. five days a week, and KinderMusic classes are available for infants.

"We are definitely hoping to attract more teens and adults with our new summer programs," she said.

Ovation's summer program, which begins in June, has been drastically expanded from years past. In addition to the annual Musical in the Park production, there are drawing and painting classes for adults, yoga for all ages, etiquette classes for children, and a songwriting course for ages 14 and up. Also new for Ovation will be the addition of language courses, including Spanish, French and Tagalog, which is the language spoken in the Philippines.

The Ovation Academy recently moved into its first commercial space, at 1100 Station Dr. Suite 181, DuPont. The 1,900-square-foot facility will host the nonprofit's grand opening and open house on Saturday, May 15, from 3 to 5 p.m.

For those wishing to see what students can learn, check out the spring recital on May 22 from 3 to 7 p.m. at DuPont's Chloe Clark Elementary. The show, which is open to the public, will feature guitar, piano and dance performances as well as an art show.

"My dream is to one day have a full fine arts school," Lemmon said.

Seems like she is already on the way.

For more information, visit www.ovationacademy.org.