Cavod: The History

Twenty years ago, Cavod began with Executive Director, Connie Dienner, and her daughter Tahnya, having a passion for the arts; to raise the standard in godly artistic expression

Connie was raised in the hills of southern Indiana in a conservative Mennonite home, on a huge pig farm. She was not allowed to dance, but the pigs were her audience and she sang and danced to them as she did her evening chores.

After begging and pleading, her parents allowed her to audition for a show in a public high school where her theatre teacher believed in her and gave her many roles. This changed her life and gave her a passion for the arts.

First Dance Recital (2005)

Fast forward 25 years later, we opened our first location in a remodeled barn on Welsh Mountain, in Gap, PA. Our cozy studio was 800 sq. ft with a pole in the middle. We began in August of 2004 with 4 teachers teaching dance, music, theatre and sign language, and only a handful of enrollments. Our teachers taught for free for 3 years to help launch Cavod.

After being in our space in the barn and barely growing… with much prayer, we felt the need to move off the mountain to a more visible space. We moved to our second location 3 years later —in August of 2007— which was located in front of Martin’s Auto, now Keystone Auto. Connie had $50 in her bank account, but knew it was God calling Cavod to New Holland. She wrote a grant and asked for support from businesses. We received a grant for $18,000, the full amount from Quality Kitchens to renovate our new space in just 6 weeks. Simply a miracle!

First Cavod Theatre Show: Music Man (2010)

With our expansion, we had 2 studios, 2 voice lesson rooms, small offices, and a tiny café. We were able to add more classes in dance, music, theatre, add gymnastics and start paying teachers.

Six years later in 2013, after years of growing pains and struggles, we outgrew the space and felt it was time to move on. A few miles up the road in the New Holland Shopping Center, Fashion Bug went out of business. This space was over double the size of the auto place and cost $200,000 to remodel into a performing arts space. The property management company that owned Fashion Bug donated $115,000 to Cavod and our generous donors raised the remaining funds. What a miracle!

This is where Cavod New Holland calls home today.

In 2015, we opened Cavod Theatre two doors down from the studio. We were blessed to receive $115,000 again from the property management company for the renovations and amazing donors stepped forward and believed in our vision to raise most of the additional funds needed. Another miracle!

Manheim Opening (2023)

In a miraculous way, we were able to remodel a brand new space of 6,200 sq ft. to expand in Manheim in August of 2023. Donations came in to help Cavod make this happen!

God has provided every single step of the way in our journey to 20 years. We had no idea we would grow to over 120 classes and 1,000+ enrollments by 2024! We are extremely grateful to the Lord, our donors, and the Cavod community. It truly has become a safe haven for many where every one is valued and together “Create With Purpose”! God is amazing! Who knows what the next 20 years will bring!

Stay tuned for a more in-depth history in Connie’s upcoming book, which should be coming out within the year!