Dance Schools

What kind of dance? Ballroom? Jazz? Ballet? More info might get more responses to this post...

This would be a center for students aged 3-adult to take Creative Movement/Music Awareness, Pre-Ballet, Ballet, Tap, Lyrical, and Jazz. Other classes may be offered depending upon availability of teachers. My current school also offers Drama and Art lessons, so we may do that there also.

Tamara

Hi Tamara,

I see that you live in NC....where??? I am from Chapel Hill and moved to STT in June, 2007. Former professional dancer (ballet/modern), currently Pilates instructor and massage therapist here. I would LOVE to see a good studio on STT and don't think there are any currently. Keep me posted on your move, which island you choose, etc.

pilatesgal318

HI Pilatesgal!

Another NC native! I am from Wilmington originally, moved to So. CA for college (dance) and then returned to NC. We have been in Hendersonville (just 15 mins. south of Asheville) for the last 8 years and that is where my business is.

Are you interested in teaching ballet at all since you are classically trained?

I am still not sure if we'll end up on STT, but just in case....

Tamara

Hi Tamara,

I had my Pilates/massage therapy business in Wilmington, right near the drawbridge to Wrightsville Beach (lived on Wrightsville Beach)...great place. I know Hendersonville as well...beautiful place in the mountains.

I doubt I would teach ballet as it has been a long time since I have done so (about 17 or 18 years) but would be interested in teaching some Pilates at your studio.

Keep me posted on your move.!

Wow! It is a small world! I keep seeing posts from people from NC.

I wonder if we crossed paths in town. How long ago was your business there? I bet we know lots of the same folks!

Tamara

I was there 2001 to the end of 2004 (got married and moved back to Raleigh, NC, where hubby lived/worked). I then opened my practice out of my home in the RTP area of Raleigh/Durham.

Since my space in Wilmington was near the beach, I had alot of clients from Wrightsville and Landfall Country Club; also quite a few from Figure Eight island as, in 2001, there wasn't much out that direction....now, however, there is so much growth and traffic on Military Cutoff, I am sure they have a studio out that way.

Well, we were already in Hendersonville by the time you got there but I am sure you had quite a successful little operation in that neck of the woods. Boy, Military Cutoff and the entire Mayfaire area is INSANE now. When I was younger and even off in college-that was still farmlands...actually a place where lots of kids would go "shrooming"...LOL! It is hilarious to see what it has become. I loved growing up in Wilmington, but it just changed too much for me and that is why we didn't stay around.

How are you enjoying life in the VI's?

Tamara

I am moving to STX next month with my husband and two children. I had been REALLY hoping to find ballet or some kind of dance classes for my 3 year old daughter. I don't have any advice about where to open the studio, but if you do end up in STX I will definitely want to know about it. We are leaving NYC where there are so many classes for children, and I was hoping I could find something once we got to the island as well.

Good luck,
Alison

Thanks, Allison! STX is definitely the island we are most likely ending up on. If things go well with our home sell...we'll be down this summer and I'll be trying to open up something asap. I'll keep my eye out for you and certainly will be advertising on this board and other places once it is up and running!

Tamara

This is for Alexandra Bentley if she reads this thread...
I know you have sent me listings for homes to buy and I so appreciate it, please also keep in mind any spaces that might be available to rent for a dance school. Approximately 1200 sq. feet or so in a location that would be great for continentals wishing to send their children to dance lessons. Thanks!

Tamara

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Will your clientèle be limited to this group?

Islandlola

Which continent do you mean? How about kids born on St Croix? I hope you won't be refusing to allow them in your classes. You won't win any popularity points like that.

Oh, ff course not! and I am sorry I said it that way. Perhaps I was tagging onto a conversation I had with a past resident who just happens to live in the same city I do. She enrolled her daughters in dance lessons while living on STX and didn't find it to be what she had hoped. This is a person who has lived all over the world and who had experienced dance schools in many different locations-her opinion is that she thought my style of teaching would be a great asset to the island (especially for others who had relocated from the mainland).
As for the term "continentals"...I just picked that up from the message board to mean other people who were from the states. So sorry if I offended, I certainly don't want to do that before I even get there.

My philosophy and way of teaching has always been that dance is a form of expression and it is also a way to connect people of different cultures, just like music and art. It is a part of our history and a story that needs to be shared. My school doesn't have a primary focus all year on a recital or end of the year show. I also don't do competions. I try to promote building self-esteem, team play, and just having fun with music and movement.

All will be welcome! Mere words cannot define a person, so please don't judge me on my poor choice of them.

Kindest regards,
Tamara

There are three dance schools on STX, Caribbean Dance Company, Cruzan Dance, and Pointe Dance Academy. A more realistic plan may be to teach at one of these schools while getting a feel for the island. This time would also give you an opportunity to network within the community.

Thanks Linda, that is a good point and if I decide not to open my own business I am sure I will apply at those schools. The only thing I don't like with that idea is that if you want to start a school and students you had want to follow you, you feel like you've taken their business. My plan will be similar to what I did here when I opened my business-that is to start with pre-school programs (either at the pre-schools that don't offer a dance class, or in just offering those classes first) that way you build from the "babies" up and have a built in clientele of students year after year as they get older....

Tamara