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Studio Spotlight - Steps Dance Center · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is Making the Impact, a dance competition podcast.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Each week we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Today's studio spotlight episode features Rebecca and Emily Rosenberg of Steps Dance Center in Naperville, Illinois.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: A family business since the beginning, Steps Dance Center prides itself on offering a well-rounded dance education in a great environment.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_03: Hello, dance world, and welcome to this week's episode of Making the Impact.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_03: I'm your host, Courtney Ortiz, and this is the first time in a very long time where I cannot say, and I'm here with my co-host Leslie Mueller.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_03: Because guess what?
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_03: I am not here with my co-host Leslie Mueller, and I'm so sad about it.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_03: Leslie unfortunately is feeling a little under the weather and was unable to join me on our podcast recording this evening.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_03: I'm so, so, so sad, Leslie.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_03: You are very, very missed today on this Studio Spotlight episode that I am tackling and flying solo.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_03: But it's crazy.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_03: I was thinking back and I was like, when was the last time that Leslie's missed an episode?
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that it hasn't happened since season one.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_03: Either season one or two.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_03: I think it was one.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_03: And it was just due to her full-time job at Capizio and timing of it didn't work out, where she missed a handful of episodes.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_03: And I was really sad about it.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm again very, very, very sad, Leslie, that you are not here, but you are here in spirit.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm flying solo, y'all.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_03: So you'll only be hearing my voice and our spectacular guests who are joining us.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_03: And we're here for our very next studio spotlight of season five.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_03: I'm really thrilled about it because this is a studio that I actually have had the opportunity to watch in person and judge their dances.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_03: I felt like I was at a show because they brought so much variety to the stage at the convention when I was judging them.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_03: They have ballet dances, they have lyrical dances, contemporary jazz, hip-hop, you name it, they do it and they do it really, really well.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_03: There's they're doing something right at their studio, and I can't wait to learn all about that in this week's episode.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_03: Before we head into our episode, I just want to give a plug and a reminder that if you're not a part of our Making the Impact a Dance Competition podcast community on Facebook, then be sure to head over to Facebook and search now and join our fabulous dance community.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_03: We're at the start of competition season, y'all.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_03: So in our Facebook group, we have a lot of people participating and chiming in with dance questions that you want to ask us and getting conversations started.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_03: But then each week throughout the season, we will also ask you to share where are you competing, tell us the convention or competition and the location, and others can connect and say, oh, my studio's here or oh my studio's there, I'll see you guys, or I'll be sure to watch your dancers at competition.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_03: And then the day after the weekend is over, we also request for everyone to post their achievements and awards and photos.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_03: So uh it's a really, really fun and supportive community that we'd love for you to get involved and get the conversation going.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_03: We have over 2,000 members and growing.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_03: And we also will go live in our Facebook group every month for our Platinum Premium subscribers and record our QA with Courtney live episodes.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_03: So if you want to join, check it out.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_03: We'd love to have you there.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_03: And one final plug from me before we jump in with our sponsors.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_03: Don't forget, it is the perfect time to send in an IDA online critique to have a judge critique your dance before you hit the stage this season.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_03: If you're looking for a fresh set of eyes to watch your solo or your group routine, then send it over to IDA.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_03: Our critique started only$35.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_03: You'll receive a standard critique just like you get at competition, or you can opt in for the additional feedback where your judge will go back through your dance from beginning to end and pause the video to elaborate even more on specific corrections.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_03: We offer genre-specific judges and even 24-hour rush delivery.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_03: So if you want to get a fresh set of eyes on your dance before competition starts, then send it over to IDA and we'll give you a fabulous judge's critique.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_03: Learn more on our website at Impact Dance Adjudicators.com/slash one line critiques and submit your dance now.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_02: And now let's hear from our sponsors of season five on making the impact.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_03: Coming to you from our season five premiere sponsor, Francisco Gella Dance Works, I'm excited to introduce New Century Dance Project, a festival of performance and choreography.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_03: New Century Dance Project focuses on teaching the craft of choreography and why it's important for both choreographers and the dancer.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_03: Festival components include a choreography intensive for dancers ages 15 to 24, a choreography competition, concert performances, and community outreach events.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_03: The seven-day intensive starts every day with a technique class.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_03: After that, participants will head into classes and seminars that aid in the choreographic process, such as compositional techniques, improv, use of props, music selection, partnering, lighting and design, and so much more.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_03: What sets this intensive apart is the ability to hear and see various artistic voices throughout the week, allowing new choreographers to develop their unique style.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_03: The choreographic competition offers three age groups high school, undergraduate, and emerging professional.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_03: The competition results in a critic's choice winner judged by a distinguished faculty, and a people's choice winner, voted by the audience, for each age division.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_03: If you are an aspiring choreographer ages 15 or older, looking to advance your competition knowledge and display your work in an artistic choreography competition, then look no further than News Century DANS Project, taking place this summer in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from July 29th through August 4th, 2024.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_03: The deadline to submit your choreography for consideration is by March 1st, 2024.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_03: Use our exclusive podcast promo code Making the Impact in all caps when registering for the festival to receive$75 off.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_03: Learn more on their website at newscenturydanceproject.org.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_03: Alright, Danceworld, it's time to jump into our next studio spotlight episode.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_03: So many fans love these studio spotlights, and we love bringing them to you.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_03: I love them so much because it's really interesting to get an inside look into some of the most successful studios around the country and the world.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_03: Because if you listen to our last studio spotlight, we went all the way over to Australia and learned what it was like in the Australian dance scene with Dance Force Australia, which was so cool, go check it out.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_03: But today we're back in the States and we are going to be in Aurora, Illinois, with a dance studio who I actually pretty much scouted them out, I would say, because I had the pleasure of judging their dances last season on convention while I was judging, and I was just blown away by the quality of training, but then the variety and versatility from the studio as a whole.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_03: It was so fabulous to see on a convention and competition stage.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_03: And I had to bring them onto the podcast.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_03: I knew they'd be great for a studio spotlight.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_03: They are heading into their 20th, they are in their 24th year, and next year will be their 25th year of owning this fabulous studio.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_03: They have won five industry dance awards.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_03: They have title, title winners and assistants at major conventions around the country, and many of their students have gone on to college dance, dance teams, and professional dance.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_03: I'm very excited to welcome the siblings and owners of Steps Dance Center in Aurora, Illinois, Rebecca and Emily Rosenberg.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome y'all.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_05: Hello, Courtney.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_05: Hi.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_05: Hi, y'all.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_05: How's it going?
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_05: We are great.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_05: We're so happy to be here.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you so much for having us.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_03: I, like I said, I am so happy that I was able to sit and witness all of your fantastic dancing from your studio because truly you all are doing such great things.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm really, really thrilled that you wanted to come join me on this interview today on the podcast.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_05: That means so much.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_03: Awesome.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I know that you all are very busy.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it is right now we're recording in December.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_03: This is, you know, it launched in January.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_03: So there have probably been holiday shows.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_03: There were probably competitions that you've already attended and the season is about to be in full swing.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_03: So we were able to sit down and schedule some time together, which I'm so grateful for.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_03: And before we jump into learning all about steps, I would love to learn about you both.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_03: So if you want to share a little bit more about how you both got into dance and uh any, you know, early stories that you want to share about becoming a dancer and what gravitated you towards being a dance teacher as well.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_03: I'd love to hear how you both got into that journey.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_05: Sure.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_05: So my we have another sister who is a year and a half older than me, and the two of us grew up dancing together.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_05: We moved around a lot growing up due to my dad's work.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_05: And so we were at a lot of different dance studios growing up and eventually moved here to Naperville Aurora when I was 13.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_05: And we couldn't really find a good studio fit.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_05: There weren't a lot of dancing.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_05: Now the dance community has really grown and there's a lot of dance studios, a lot of great dance studios in this area.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_05: But at the time there really wasn't a whole lot.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_05: And so we moved here, we were looking at a couple studios, didn't find a great fit.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_05: And we met a dance teacher who had also moved here fairly recently, who was judging the high school dance auditions for my older sister.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_05: And she was just kind of teaching at a couple different studios in the area.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_05: And we started taking from her, got to know her really well.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_05: And her and my mom, who is an early childhood education major degree, she has her master's in early childhood education.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_05: It's very passionate about educating children, joined with her to open a dance studio.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_05: So she was the artistic director at the time, had three babies in five years, and so did not want to own the studio anymore.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_05: But my mom then would have other artistic directors who were directing the dance portion of the program.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_05: And my mom, again, with her early childhood background, really was the driving force behind the mission of our program and kept it, you know, really student child focused, really family friendly.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_05: That's something that's really important to us.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_05: And so, you know, over the years, again, she was building this program.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, Emily was five years old at the time and went with us.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_05: We handed out flyers door to door to spread the word when we opened our studio and started off right off the bat with I think like 250 students our first summer, because there really was a need in this area for a strong dance program.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_05: And I trained at the studio all through high school.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_05: So this, you know, Steps Dance Center was my home.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_05: And then toward the end of high school, it was okay, you know, do I, do I want to dance?
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_05: Do I want to go to college?
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_05: And it was my dance teacher at the time, her opinion that you don't go to college for dance.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_05: You know, I think college dance programs now are so, you know, well known, well respected as a pathway for young dancers, but that wasn't really an option for me.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_05: And in the meantime, I really loved academics.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_05: I really loved school.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_05: And so I thought, okay, well, you know, I know I want to go to college.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_05: I'm still going to college.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_05: Um, ended up getting a chemistry degree, thinking that I wanted to go the pharmacy route and then do, you know, dance on the side.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_05: And in the meantime, as I was pursuing this chemistry degree, thinking, do I want this or do I want dance?
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_05: Because obviously, you know, it's the family business.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_05: This place is incredibly important to me.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_05: And so was, you know, between what do I want my life path to be, and at the same time, dance was still very much a part of my life.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_05: I was on the dance team at University of Illinois while I was there, and also a part of a hip-hop company called Dance to Access on that campus that started on U of I's campus and now has blown up into this worldwide dance community.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_05: Um, there's Dance to Access Portugal, Prague, Mexico, UK, and they would come in and dance in our showcase.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_05: And a lot of really great commercial dancers would come in.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_05: Marty Kudelka came to our little campus in Champaign, Illinois to perform and to teach.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_05: And so that's where I really fell in love with commercial dance, with hip-hop.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_05: And again, and all the all the while still pursuing my degree in chemistry.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_05: Wow.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_05: But again, very much keeping dance a part of my life.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_05: And it got to the point where, okay, I would have to be applying to pharmacy schools and really solidifying that path.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_05: And I thought, I'm still not sure if this is my path.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_05: And so rather than again going down the path to pharmacy school, I decided, you know what, I am going to try out the corporate world.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_05: My next door neighbor growing up was a pharmacist, and she had said, you know, the best idea is to get your pharmacy degree and your MBA at the same time.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_05: You can leave college or leave pharmacy school and run a pharmacy.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_05: And so I'd been taking some business courses and I had a business professor who recommended that I go to the business career fair.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_05: And so I popped in to check it out, ended up being hired by General Mills, the serial, you know, granola company, moved to Minneapolis right after college, and was a sales analyst at General Mills.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_05: So I am proof that you can continue to really pivot all throughout your life.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_05: And again, while I was there, I was still keeping dance a part of my life.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_05: There's actually a really large adult dance contingent in Minneapolis, which was new to me because around here, there's really not much of that at all.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_05: We have a daddy-daughter dance that we do here and we go to competition, and we're the only adult dance group who will be competing.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_05: But in Minneapolis, it's a really popular, really strong thing there.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_05: So I was a part of two different adult dance companies while I was there, was still keeping dance a part of my life.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_05: And at about the end of one year working there, I got the call from my mom that the artistic director was leaving.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_05: And she knew that my heart was still being pulled by dance.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_05: All the while, you know, I loved my corporate position.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_05: It was a great company, but dance was still calling.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_05: So I thought about it for a really long time and ended up making the decision to come back to Naperville and start as artistic director of the company.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_05: And that was 14 years ago now.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_05: Immediately fell in love with teaching with the dancers here.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_05: I couldn't leave.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_05: The General Mills was very kind and actually, I think they thought, oh, she'll go and help out her mom's dance studio for a little while, but she'll come back.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_05: So I was working part-time still for General Mills for the first year when I first came back.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_05: And again, as soon as I started teaching, fell in love with these dancers, they had my heart and I ended up making this my full-time career and full-time path.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_05: And have had, again, 14 years now of getting to know these dancers.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_05: We have such a cool and unique job in that we get to see them grow up and be a part of their lives for a long time, be a part of shaping them as both dancers and people.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_05: And I could not love that part of the job anymore.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_03: That's so true because even like you think of school teachers who work with kids and and all of that, but school teachers have them for a year and then they have another batch of kids.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_03: So as dance teachers, you really are with them.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_03: You could be with them from age three until age 18.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_03: And that is such a beautiful thing for for uh all of the dance teachers out there.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_03: It really does feel like family and it's so special.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm so glad you made the choice to come back and come back to Illinois and run the studio.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_03: So for I'm assuming for a little minute you were working alongside your mom.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_05: Yes, so for a long time.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_05: So it is just in the last about year, year and a half that she has transitioned into retirement and is full-time grandma.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_05: So I have two little ones.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_05: Emily has a son, our sister has two little ones, and so she is loving being full-time, full-time grandma mode at this point.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_03: You know what?
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_03: It kind of works out perfectly because now you don't have to pay a babysitter and grandma can watch the babies while y'all are running a whole studio and wrangling tons of kids every single night.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_05: Exactly.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_05: Yes, and she put in a lot of years of you know being here again from the ground up.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_05: She was here every single day while Emily was growing, you know, while we were while we were growing up.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_05: And so I know she's happy to be taking a step back and yeah, spending time with the little ones.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_05: And I'm super grateful because she does.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_05: She watches our kids while we're here at the studio in the evenings.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, that's awesome.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_03: All right.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_03: So, Emily, I want to hear your side of how you broke into this dance world.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_03: It sounds like you kind of didn't really have a choice because you were, you know, born into a dance family and the studio was already you said around age five is when you when the studio was up and running.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_04: For you.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_04: So my mom opened the studio when I was five.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_04: Once again, like Rebecca said, I remember walking door-to-door, handing out flyers that first summer.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_04: And I remember being at the meeting while they were coming up with the name.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_04: I so badly wanted to name it Twinkletoes.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_04: My mom did not go with that.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_04: It's okay.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_04: We're over it.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_04: But yeah, so I grew up at the studio.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_04: I started taking, you know, our rec classes right away.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_04: I started competing when I was seven.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_04: And I really got the full experience and all of the ups and downs that we have gone through.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_04: We've really grown a lot over the years.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_04: We started when I was young, we were definitely more of a recreational-based studio, more than a competitive force, you know, in the competitive dance world and where we have grown to that at this point.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_04: And I grew up dancing at the studio until I graduated high school.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_04: I trained in all styles of dance from lots of different uh instructors, which I think really is cool and helps me as now a dance teacher, having trained under so many different teachers.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_04: We pulled in a lot of our faculty, especially when I was in high school, who were professional dancers with River North and Photos in Chicago, which are uh two dance companies that are unfortunately no longer around, but were really great and we had some great faculty members who uh I was lucky to train under in high school.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_04: And then I went on when I went to college, I thought I was gonna get a degree in education because I knew that I always wanted to teach.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_04: So I didn't really know teach dance or teach at in like a school.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_04: Teach in a school at first is how I uh first went to get my degree and I continued my degree in education for a while, and then I realized that I really loved uh teaching dance.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_04: So I uh switched my uh degree to psychology just to finish up in school because that was an easy transition and uh took over, started teaching at the studio full time after I graduated college in 2020.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_04: And uh kind of the rest is history, but I really I mean, I started uh subbing classes a little bit in high school, so I knew it was something that I really liked to do.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_04: I started running summer musicals with our one of our musical theater instructors um when we would put those on in my later high school years and early college years, and that was always a lot of fun, and that that made me really want to continue teaching, teaching dance eventually, and especially falling in love with the musical theater side of things.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I love that you incorporate that into the studio, which um we're gonna talk all about all of that very shortly.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_03: But it also sounds like Emily that it was kind of perfect timing.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_03: Like, do you do y'all feel that your mom, who was the co-owner alongside um am I saying the right terms, co-owner, Rebecca, and your mom were you guys co-owning it together?
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_03: You were the artistic director, but was she the owner and you were the artistic director or title-wise?
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_03: So you were pretty much running the ship and mom owns it, and now mom doesn't own it, or does she still own it?
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_05: We are currently in that transition.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_05: So that is happening as we speak.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_03: I see.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, so I think it sounds like it was good timing for mom.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_03: Mom was probably eyeing Emily's graduation of all right, she's about to graduate.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_03: This is my way out, this is my transition out.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_03: Because then Emily can jump into the studio, and now you two can kind of team up and run the ship and and grandma can go retire.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_03: And definitely.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_03: So it sounds like the timing all around for everybody.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_03: And it also, I'm sure this would have happened for you no matter what, Emily, even if Rebecca didn't come back.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_03: But Rebecca, I mean, it sounds like that your mom needed you, but also your the the community and the studio needed you to really like take the reins and make it into what it really has become, which I'm sure there's been a lot of transition since you joined over, you know, close to 15 years ago.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_03: With the artistic direction.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_03: So you've probably made some really big strides.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_05: Like Emily said, I mean, we started off as more of a recreational program and really with teachers who have come in and brought their certain strengths to the studio with our proximity to Chicago, having a lot of those company dancers come in and really grow and inspire, you know, take their influence and share it with our dancers.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_05: That is what has made us just grow stronger and stronger over time into becoming, again, we still we have a fantastic recreational program.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_05: We are so proud of the rec side too, but then we also have a really strong, successful competitive company as well.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_03: So timeline-wise, you opened in 2000.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_03: So I can see at that point in the timeline of dance studios and competitive dance, competitions obviously existed, but it was nowhere near as big as it is now.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm sure that once you were starting to dance at the studio, Emily, like you said, you started competing pretty quickly.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_03: So there was that transition, like usually like around 2010, I would say, is when competitions just launched in the industry and started taking off.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_03: And why do we think?
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_03: Because of that beautiful show called Dance Moms.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_03: I really feel like that show is what launched the entire industry into how big and booming it is now, where there's a dance studio in every corner and there's a dance competition running 1,200 events every weekend, and it just got wild and crazy.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_03: So obviously, in 2000, of course, the studio is going to start as Rec because there really wasn't a lot of competition back then.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_03: And now to kind of evolve and change with the times, I'm sure you maybe it was always a goal of the studio or yours once you took over to incorporate more competitive aspects to the programming and the desire of the students and customers to stay competitive and relevant with other others nearby.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_03: But I just also think that's just a part of, you know, times are changing and everyone wants to do competition, even recreational dancers now.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_05: You know what I mean?
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_05: And it is interesting, like you're saying, with that big boom, even our competitive company has changed so much.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_05: When there was that big boom, there was this push of, you know, competition is the most important thing all of a sudden.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_05: And I mean, we had we created an elite company at the time for dancers that they would pursue on top of their main company that they were a part of with their age group.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_05: And then we kind of took, you know, the younger through older elite dancers and put them together in a group.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_05: And they would train for, I mean, it was like 10 hours on Saturdays and Sundays.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_05: It was so much right away.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_05: And like train, you mean like taking class and training or rehearsing dances?
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_05: Rehearsing dances and training was really extensive.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_05: So, you know, again, with that trend, I think everybody all of a sudden wanted to do a ton of dances at competition.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_05: And then I think we learned, you know, dancers need that balance and we don't want to overwork their bodies.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_05: And so now we have really, I think, found a really nice groove of focusing primarily on the training.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_05: And then they do rehearse their company dances for an hour each week.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_05: But, you know, there's they're certainly not there for 10 hours on Saturdays and Sundays anymore.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_05: And that allows them to have a break and it allows them to have a social life still outside of the studio and continue to pursue other interests and activities.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_05: And, you know, such a small percentage of these dancers are going to want to dance professionally or end up dancing professionally.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_05: So for them to be able to still, again, pursue those other interests, have other things outside of the dance studio, it's it's really nice that we have now found again that balance over time where you know we found the right amount of classes where they can still receive strong training and build and still pursue professional careers.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_05: That's our goal is whatever professional career they want to pursue, whether it be commercial dance, concert dance, Broadway, dance teams, we want them prepared for that future.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_05: That's the goal of our company at this point.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_05: And again, it we've really come back to laying the foundation of technique at the core.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm I'm so glad that you you said that because it all of that is so important.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_03: But I also think it is refreshing.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_03: A lot of studio owners are gonna say the same thing.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_03: Like, my goal as a studio owner is to train dancers so they can walk into a dance career if they want to.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_03: However, as we know, and as you said, majority aren't going to.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_03: Majority aren't going to want to, majority aren't gonna want to deal with how intense it is, how competitive it is, and maybe want to go be a doctor or be a lawyer or be whoever they want to be.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_03: So it's kind of a fine line on the studio's end to create a program that doesn't burn them out and also provides the quality training, but also gives them a social life so they can be a teenager and enjoy high school without the pressure of I have to be in dance 24-7 if I want to make this a career.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_03: Because at a point, they might actually get so burnt out and start falling out of love with dance because of the strenuous commitment that's a studio might, you know, expect out of them or the scheduling and the training expectations.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_03: So it's a fine line for a lot of studios to try to navigate that and figure out the best balance.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_03: And it sounds like you said, which we can dive into more, but it sounds like that you've you've maybe found that finally, which is a great thing.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_03: And I know from like on my end, what I'm watching, what I've seen is nothing but good things.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_03: So you must you're doing something right for sure.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_05: Well, thank you.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_05: Again, yeah, you know, we we hit that bubble of kids are in eight small groups and everyone had solos and duos.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_05: And now, again, I think we've found a nice niche where with the amount that they're receiving, they're receiving everything that they would need to pursue that professional career or again, whatever path they choose without overworking.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_03: And let's jump into just kind of the different programming that you have at Step Stance Center, because I feel like that when I spoke with you last year at convention, that I because FYI for all of our listeners, and like I kind of hinted at at the beginning, the versatility that I saw in your studio was so exciting.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, first your hip hop.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe we should start there because wow, the hip hop program that you have at your studio is out of this world.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_03: Your teachers are exceptional, they are teaching fundamentals and proper hip-hop training and basics and screws and all of the things that every everyone wants to see on stage of competition.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_03: True hip-hop.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_03: You might do street jazz too every now and then, but when it's the hip-hop category, you are hip hoping.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_03: And thank you for that.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_03: Because again, there are so many people that think they're doing hip-hop and they're really doing TikTok dances and they haven't learned any of the foundational elements of hip-hop.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_03: So shout out to your hip-hop teachers because they're awesome.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_03: But I feel like, and and you can clarify, I feel like you hinted something about different tracks or different programs or different focuses at the studio where there might be like a hip-hop crew where they might have to do other stuff too, but that's their focus.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_03: And there might be like a ballet division at the studio and things like that.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_03: Is that true?
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_03: Tell me more.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_03: Correct.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_05: So we have we have a hip-hop company, a jazz company, a tap company, and a ballet repertory company.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_05: Wow.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_05: Yes.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_05: So dancers can choose to pursue.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_05: We have a few who do all four of those.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_05: We have some who focus on just one.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_05: And dancers do they have so many different interests.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_05: It's nice to be able to allow those dancers, if they want to just focus on tap, they can be a part of our tap program and focus on tap.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_05: And they do come to the conventions where they're training and everything.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_05: But if that's where their heart and soul is in tap only, we love to have a place for them as opposed to, you know, and there's a lot of programs where everybody trains in all-style, everyone competes together in all styles.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_05: And we do support, we very much promote well-rounded training in our studio, especially for those dancers who want to pursue a professional career.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_05: We do know that that's so important.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_05: However, again, there's some dancers who their love is in a particular style.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_05: And like you're saying, you know, with our hip-hop teachers teaching the foundation of hip-hop, there is a technique and a foundation to all of these different styles.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_05: You know, it ballet is not the foundation of every style.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_05: Ballet is the foundation for jazz work.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_05: You know, ballet lays the foundation for a lot of what there is in dance.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_05: But in hip-hop, there is a whole separate set of technique that dancers have to learn in order to lay their foundation.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_05: And so we are lucky enough and you know, grateful enough to have teachers in each of these styles to lead these programs who are so passionate about teaching the foundation of that particular style.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_05: And I mean, our tap teacher, we just got a tap floor in one of the rooms recently.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_05: We have a wood floor, and he's, you know, over the moon.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_05: So we're trying to, you know, really help each of these programs to become programs of excellence at the studio and really, again, give them the tools to run their programs separately and successfully.
• 32:17
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• 32:28
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• 32:37
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• 32:48
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• 33:15
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• 33:30
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• 33:40
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• 33:53
  SPEAKER_03: So are you essentially tell me if I'm wrong, but I feel like this is what I'm getting based on how you're talking.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_03: Do you have separate directors that are running each of those programs?
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_03: And then you both just kind of oversee and kind of give uh approval to, hey, this is what I want to do.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_03: And then you're like, sure, that sounds great.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_03: Like, are you giving them a lot of freedom in how the program is run and as far as class curriculum and um different opportunities that are being provided?
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_05: Yes.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_05: Again, we have fantastic people who are directing each of these programs.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_05: So there is, there's a lot of trust there that, you know what, you know this style inside and out.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_05: Like I said, I mean, I fell in love with hip-hop in college through that program, but I certainly would not be directing the hip hop program.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_05: Now, we have, you know, Angelina and Carlo who are fantastic and run the hip-hop program and find opportunities for dancers.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_05: Like they've competed at World of Dance Chicago when it comes in and Prelude, which is a big hip-hop competition.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_05: So within each of those niche programs, they find other opportunities for the dancers too.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_05: So again, our hip-hop program goes to some hip-hop-based competitions, monsters.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_05: Our tap program goes to a tap summit in Chicago, our ballet repertory company goes to YAGP.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_05: And our jazz program is really like our all-encompassing program.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_05: When dancers join the jazz program, you know, when they get to high school, they're training at the studio.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_05: That's the one where they're going to be here for, you know, 15 hours a week doing two ballet classes, a jazz technique class, a foundation of technique class.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_05: They're competing in a few different styles.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_05: They also part of the requirement is that they do take a tap class.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_05: So again, still staying well-rounded.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_05: And we encourage dancers in those other styles to take another style also.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_05: So, you know, dancers who are choosing just the hip-hop track, they also have to pick one other class to train in throughout the week.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_05: Same with tap, same with ballet, so that they're again getting a little bit of that well-rounded training and they're they're going to these events and feeling comfortable in these other styles.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_05: And plus, I mean, every style helps the others.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_05: You know, the musicality from tap helps out all of the other as dancers.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_05: That's such an important thing.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_05: So, again, you know, jazz, we we call it jazz, but it's technically our more all-encompassing program for our dancers.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_05: And that's the one where, you know, we have younger dancers from the age of, Emily runs our youngest dancer program from the age of three on up to 18.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_05: But even, you know, as the dancers get older, it's nice to have this, it's nice to have our separate programs because, like we talked about, as they get to high school, they have other interests, they have a social life.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_05: Some of them don't want to still train 15 hours a week, but they love the studio.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_05: They love being a part of a team, they love the, you know, commitment, leadership, you know, exercise, so many positive things that dance gives them.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_05: And they still want to keep this a part of their life and be a part of our dance family.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_05: So then we have seniors who pare down as they get older, but they're still a part of our company.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_05: They're still a part of our family, they're still celebrated their senior year.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_05: Last year we had 19 graduating seniors, which was our biggest graduating class ever.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_05: And again, we had the whole gamut.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_05: We had jazz company, seniors, we had hip hop company, seniors, tap company, ballet company.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_05: Wow.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_05: Some who, again, did all of it, but it allows them to pair down and focus on one if they so choose.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_03: Is there a certain age that they have to be to then be able to branch off into the designated companies?
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_03: Like, are they doing foundational training up until they're 12?
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_03: And then once they're 12, then they or well, what's is there an age?
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_03: Tell me how that works for dancers at your studio.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_04: Go at my so our jazz company, we start at the age of three, and they're really taking a ballet class, a jazz class, a tap class, and they compete a jazz piece and a tap piece.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_04: It's very simple.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_03: Company like this is the competitive team.
• 38:10
  unknown: Yes.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_03: So three-year-old are going to comp.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_04: Oh my gosh, get out of here.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_04: We have, I mean, we just competed at our first convention competition a couple weeks ago.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_04: And yeah, average age of three was our youngest piece.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_04: I'm dead.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_04: They are adorable.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_05: They are adorable.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_05: Yep.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_05: Wow.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_04: And they, I mean, they get out there and do their routines on their own.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_04: And it's, I mean, it's a big deal.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_03: So all you can ask for a three-year-old just to get out there in your costume and remember what what you're doing, and let's hope for the best.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_05: A smile is a bonus.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_03: No tears.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_03: Super cute while doing it.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_04: And really, I will say, these are just kids who love to be on stage and love to perform.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_04: And that's really it.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_04: And that's really what we try to nurture from that young age is just their love of performing and being on stage.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_04: And then the technique comes later.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_04: Our hip hop company starts at age five.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_04: So our youngest hip-hop company members are five in kindergarten.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_04: And they start, you know, they do one piece.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_04: They're not a part of our production or anything like that for quite a long time.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and then our ballet and tap companies both start at age eight.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_03: So to clarify, to be able to compete, you don't have any sort of specific requirements across the board for every single competing dancer, as far as you have to take X amount of ballet and X amount of jazz and X amount of contemporary and X amount of hip-hop and whatever.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_03: It's they can kind of choose their track.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_03: And if they want to be in two, if they want to be in tap and hip-hop, then that's then they are just tap and hip-hop dancers, and they might do a ballet class every once in a while or a jazz class once in a while, but it's not a requirement.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_05: Correct, other than jazz company.
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_05: So jazz company is the one where they do a lot of everything.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_03: And for the jazz company, what is that training schedule look like?
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_03: Is that more structured almost kind of like how a lot of competitive studios are structured, where it's a certain amount of ballet classes, certain amount of what's their like weekly training schedule look like?
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_03: How many?
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_03: The question we love to ask on the studio spotlights is how many days a week are your dancers doing ballet?
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_04: So our dancers take two ballet classes a week, two hour and a half ballet classes by the time they get to age 10 or so.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_04: We grow, you know, they start with one one-hour ballet class when they're three and four, and then we start growing to two one-hour ballet classes and work up to two hour and a half ballet classes a week.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_04: They also take an hour and a half jazz technique class, an hour technique class, an hour and a half contemporary class when they get to about age 12, 13, is when they start training in contemporary as well.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_04: They also take tap and acro as well with their training.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and that technique class that they take really is very close to another ballet class.
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_05: It's like a foundation of technique class that's a little bit of ballet, a little bit of jazz technique kind of all rolled into one.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_05: Um, when they're younger, it's really just laying the foundation of exactly how to stand and place an arm placement, you know, working on the feet.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_05: So that allows us to again focus on those basics and make sure those are really strong before they're moving on to the more advanced skills.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that that totally makes sense.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_03: Now, now I'm curious, your ballet company in particular, what does their ballet training schedule look like?
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_03: How is that different from the jazz regular company?
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so they take the two hour and a half ballet classes a week, plus an additional third ballet class a week and an hour of PBT training.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_04: Wow.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_04: Each week.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_03: I was expecting you to say ballet every day for the ballet company, is what I was kind of expecting.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_03: But the three hour and a half ballet classes plus a PBT.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_03: That's pretty solid.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, that is to me like pretty close to what a lot of like highly competitive advanced level studios are taking on the regular, like as a requirement for their training, um, is around like the three to four sometimes ballet classes per week.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_03: So um, to hear that that's your advanced level ballet company doing that is really interesting.
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_05: And again, it speaks to a lot of those kids are also in jazz company.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_05: Again, we have kids who are in all four.
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_05: And so if they were in ballet every day of the week, plus then trying to fit in hip hop company, jazz company, top company, it would be really overwhelming.
• 42:49
  SPEAKER_05: But we do want to find a way for the kids who are passionate about ballet to still really, you know, pursue their training in ballet.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_05: And we have great teachers who come in to work with them, but then also be able to pursue the other styles if they want.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_03: Something that I always tell dancers and even parents sometimes need to hear this is that like you can be taking four, five day-a-week ballet, but it's not how many days a week are you taking ballet, it's how are you taking ballet?
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_03: How are you taking the class?
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_03: You can take two ballet classes a week.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_03: And if you are putting your a thousand percent into just those two, you're going to see some great progress.
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_03: But if your dancer is kind of just phoning it in and showing up and doing it five days a week, but kind of just doing the same habits and mistakes, not self-correcting themselves, or maybe the teacher isn't really giving them the attention that they the attention that they need.
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_03: The teacher isn't at a high level, almost you're kind of wasting your time, to be completely honest, because you could have been training in another style during that time.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_03: But instead, you're but you can say, I take five days a week ballet.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_03: And that, you know, that says something to anyone that knows dance.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, wow.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh, your technique.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_03: Must be impeccable.
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, sometimes dancers say that, and I'm like, there's a flaw in the training somewhere because you claim you're taking this much ballet, but you should be at a different level if you really are taking that much.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_03: So and to me, I think it that the ballet teacher is really make or break.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_03: I I mean, you you have to have a really, really strong ballet teacher because a lot of people are like, oh, it's ballet, I can teach ballet, it's easy.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_03: But then that's where those little tiny training flaws will come in if they're kind of being overlooked.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, 100%.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_05: And I mean, that is true for all of these classes that they have throughout the week.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_05: If they're not giving their all in these classes, they're not going to grow like they should be.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_03: So it really sounds like that you have a really exceptional faculty, but also you wouldn't have brought on these directors of these positions, these programs, if they weren't exceptional at what they do.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_03: You you put a lot of trust into them.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that says a lot about being a studio owner and being okay to give up, give that up.
• 45:04
  SPEAKER_03: Like you said, you're like, I don't know if I should be teaching hip hop.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_03: Sometimes a lot of studio owners feel obligated, not studio owners, but even teachers, feel obligated to kind of maybe step into genres that they don't really feel the most confident teaching or don't really feel the most experienced at because there's a they're unable to find a qualified teacher in the area, or they don't have the funds or the student base yet to bring on another instructor.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_03: So obviously it takes time.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_03: And you all have been around for twenty close to 25 years.
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_03: So you've been able to really grow your program.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_03: And with that being said, we haven't even talked to numbers.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_03: How many students do you have at Steph Stance Center?
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_05: So we have in total, we have about 575 across rec and company.
• 45:48
  SPEAKER_05: And company, we have about one ninety-four this year.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_03: That's a lot of people.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_05: It's a large portion of our program, yes.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_03: How many solos?
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_04: 72.
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_04: Oh my god.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_03: That is amazing.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, I mean, there's no way you can't bring all of how many comp dances do you register?
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_04: 155.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my god.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_03: That's with solos.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_03: With solos.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh.
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, so when so when you go to conventions, which are probably limiting you, they probably don't let you bring 150 dances to convention?
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_04: So the last couple years post-pandemic, we've been really lucky.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_04: And a lot of conventions have allowed us to bring all of our stuff.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_04: I don't know, it's just kind of been a fluke or you know, who's been hitting them at the right weekends or whatever it is.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but actually this year for the first time in a while, we had to pare down all the way down to 30 solos for one of our conventions we're attending.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_03: So how does that work?
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_03: What do you do you just like pull out of a hat or something?
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_03: Like, how do you determine who gets to do a solo?
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_05: No, we talked about all of those different options.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_05: Do we pull out of a hat?
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_05: How do we make this happen?
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_05: And what we settled on was primarily seniority.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_05: We wanted to give the older dancer, you know, starting with guarantee graduating seniors were guaranteed that their solo would go.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_05: And then we were able to get almost all of our high schoolers in.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_05: And then the other thing, we have dancers who are traveling with some of the conventions who can't compete their solo when we attend that convention.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, yeah.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_05: So they have one last solo performance.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_05: So those dancers are also attending.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, okay.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_03: That's great.
• 47:32
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 47:32
  SPEAKER_05: With their solo.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_03: So it was tough.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I mean, I think that is one.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_03: And we actually just did an episode on conventions versus competitions.
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_03: And uh, we kind of went into that discussion a little bit of the struggle for studios who are larger, who do have a lot of entries on attending conventions because they want to.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_03: They like the convention style, they like the competition at conventions, they like how advanced it is, but at the same time, they're often restricted as to how many dances they can actually enter into the event because of lack of time and also just because it needs to be equally fair.
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_03: Everyone needs to, you know, each studio deserves to have X amount of routines based on size and things.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm curious to know, do you also attend regular competitions outside of dance conventions?
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_05: We do.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_05: And a big part of the reason we keep those on our schedule is because when we can't bring everything to convention, it's nice to have the regular competition.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_05: This year we're attending one at the end of our season.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_05: The other nice thing with the regular competitions is, like I said, we've done a daddy-daughter dance, and that's not something that we would necessarily bring to a convention.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_05: You know, the conventions are very serious.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_05: You know, at the competitions, that's a nice environment, a nice welcoming, supportive environment for that kind of opportunity.
• 48:49
  SPEAKER_05: Uh, we actually have our graduating seniors created a tradition this past year where they put together their own number for the stage.
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_05: Uh, they ended up doing a lip sync entry to Hamilton.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 49:04
  SPEAKER_05: It was a surprise to the whole rest of the company.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_05: No one had seen it other than some of us teachers beforehand.
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, it it brought out a side of our graduating seniors that we had never seen before.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_05: And again, in that environment, the competition was so supportive.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_05: We gave them a heads up ahead of time.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_05: Hey, this will this century is for fun.
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_05: It's our graduating seniors.
• 49:27
  SPEAKER_05: And I mean, you know, the judges are sitting there giving standing ovations at the end of it.
• 49:32
  SPEAKER_05: It was so much fun.
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_05: But then the other thing is Emily runs a program for dancers with Down syndrome and really dancers with all disabilities.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_04: So I run a program, we call it our Light Up the World with Dance program.
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_04: And the whole idea, it's a free program.
• 49:50
  SPEAKER_04: I started it eight years ago in collaboration with the Down syndrome achievement organization, which which is actually right in our strip mall.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_04: So makes it very easy.
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but have opened it up to any dancer with disabilities who would like to perform, like to dance.
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_04: They take class once a week on Wednesdays.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_04: I have three different age divisions, and I also bring our two older age divisions and they compete a routine at our regular competition, which is our last competition of the season in May.
• 50:22
  SPEAKER_04: They probably love it.
• 50:24
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 50:24
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh.
• 50:25
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, yeah, they love it.
• 50:26
  SPEAKER_04: They love getting the awards.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_05: We all cry in the audience because we're so moved by these performances.
• 50:32
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, it really does.
• 50:33
  SPEAKER_05: It brings us to tears every time.
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_04: That's awesome.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_04: There's a few of them who never want to leave the stage.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_04: They'll just keep bowing and bowing.
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_03: They belong on the stage.
• 50:42
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 50:43
  SPEAKER_03: That is their moment.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_03: Let them have it.
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, and I'm assuming they also probably perform in recital and things.
• 50:50
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, they perform in our recital.
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_04: They performed in our holiday show this past weekend.
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_05: And yeah.
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_05: One of the coolest things is seeing we have our company dancers who assist with the program and seeing them grow as assistants.
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_05: And I mean, some of them have gone on to pursue special education.
• 51:12
  SPEAKER_05: Wow.
• 51:12
  SPEAKER_05: After working with this program at the studio, it's really amazing to see.
• 51:17
  SPEAKER_05: And again, takes a special kind of heart to be a part of.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_03: It just really teaches them so many, so many important life lessons to work with all different types of people through our and experience different types of people that we're going to encounter in this beautiful world and really probably help some of the company dancers.
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's I I'm sure it's eye-opening for them to work with these dancers, but also to create new relationships and to also just grow probably in maturity and responsibility and just teaches them so much.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_03: And then for the dancers in the program to have, you know, quote unquote company dancers, they probably look up to them as role models because they get to see them at competition, succeeding, and see them at recital and what they're producing on stage, you know, from all of their hard work is just probably such a beautiful relationship for all of the dancers in that classroom.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_04: It really is.
• 52:18
  SPEAKER_04: And to see, I mean, the company dancers grow from just joining where they're very timid and you know, not sure of what they're supposed to be doing to now, I mean, some of them could probably run the program on their own.
• 52:31
  SPEAKER_04: Wow.
• 52:32
  SPEAKER_04: They could create their own program and it would, I mean, it would flourish.
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_04: So, and then also to the dancers with disabilities who came to me eight years ago and were young, and a lot of them now teenagers or young adults who have continued with it for eight years.
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_04: And some of them have also taken some of our other recreational classes and been very successful in those.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_04: And just because they want more training in a specific style, whereas we switch off styles, we'll do a little bit of hip-hop and a little bit of jazz and a little bit of tap, and we'll kind of switch off throughout the season.
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_03: So I love that.
• 53:07
  SPEAKER_03: That is awesome.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_03: I'm really glad that y'all have you offer that to your community at the studio.
• 53:12
  SPEAKER_03: That's really great to hear.
• 53:13
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 53:14
  SPEAKER_03: So we have like a huge idea of your studio, close to 600 dancers, 200 on the company in different ways in their different programming, whichever path they chose, and tons of seniors, it sounds like.
• 53:28
  SPEAKER_03: And I think also, you know, you probably retention-wise, keep that many seniors because of the flexibility that you grant in the programming.
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_03: Because I think that as we all know and see, oftentimes that senior room at convention is way smaller than the junior in the teen room.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's only those die hard dancers that's that are kind of in limbo of do I want to make this a career?
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_03: Or am I kind of just hanging on because I love this and but I'm really I really know what I'm gonna do in college.
• 53:59
  SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna, you know, change career paths.
• 54:01
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, it starts shrinking down because I think of the commitment.
• 54:05
  SPEAKER_03: Once you get to high school, you will kind of want to be a teenager.
• 54:08
  SPEAKER_03: You kind of just want to experience life and friends and football games and parties and whatever you want to do.
• 54:15
  SPEAKER_03: So it sounds to me that what you've done, like you said, you've kind of found it is working uh for you to be able to have those seniors stick around.
• 54:24
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, 20 seniors, 19 seniors graduating last year.
• 54:27
  SPEAKER_03: That's was that a record for y'all?
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, that's huge.
• 54:30
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that was our largest senior class ever.
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_03: So impressive and so exciting to know that that many dancers.
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, are did any of them the 19?
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_03: Are they continuing on with dance?
• 54:42
  SPEAKER_03: Are they keeping it a part of their life?
• 54:44
  SPEAKER_04: So a lot of them, a majority of them, I feel like are keeping dance a part of their lives in some aspect, whether they found uh Orcas's program at the collegiate level, or some of them are doing that dance to access program at the University of Illinois, some of them are on dance teams.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_04: We have a few who went on to major in dance.
• 55:05
  SPEAKER_04: Really, we had one who moved to LA and to pursue dance out there.
• 55:10
  SPEAKER_04: So, really, the whole variety of things they could do.
• 55:19
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• 55:22
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• 55:29
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• 56:18
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• 56:25
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• 56:31
  SPEAKER_03: We can't wait to see your dance.
• 56:47
  SPEAKER_05: We have had dancers who have been successful in the dance world who have come from our hip hop program, you know, haven't necessarily been a part of our jazz program.
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_05: We have a lot who go from our jazz program and are become dance majors, and uh, you know, they've had that well-rounded experience.
• 57:05
  SPEAKER_05: But we have a lot from the separate styles too, who have been a part of our hip-hop program, never were a part of any other program, but went on to have successful.
• 57:15
  SPEAKER_05: We have a girl who's experiencing a very successful commercial career right now coming from our hip hop program.
• 57:23
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, so that's that's again, that's the goal.
• 57:25
  SPEAKER_03: Like I I think I I don't know, I always knew I wanted to be a professional dancer when I was young.
• 57:31
  SPEAKER_03: And I look back and I don't think that, and I mean, I'm sure a lot of people listening are probably like, how do you pick the right studio?
• 57:38
  SPEAKER_03: But I think that I got just really lucky because my mom didn't it, it wasn't like my mom found the studio because it had great reviews on Google, because Google didn't exist back then in the 90s when we were selecting studios.
• 57:52
  SPEAKER_03: I just got really lucky with the studio that I was at my entire life that trained me properly.
• 57:58
  SPEAKER_03: And that allowed me to have any opportunity that I wanted to when it came to career path and choice.
• 58:04
  SPEAKER_03: If I wanted to do modern and contemporary, I had the foundational training to do that.
• 58:08
  SPEAKER_03: If I wanted to go join a jazz company, I had the foundational training to do that.
• 58:12
  SPEAKER_03: If I want to be on Broadway, I can get through a dance Broadway audition.
• 58:16
  SPEAKER_03: Can't really sing, that's a whole nother story.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_03: But you know what I mean?
• 58:19
  SPEAKER_03: Like I was trained properly to go in whichever direction I wanted to.
• 58:24
  SPEAKER_03: And I didn't need, I know, at least for me, I feel like some people might want college, but I didn't need to go to college to be successful because of what my studio produced out of and what my studio gave me and the and what I put into my training.
• 58:39
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that every studio wants to be able to say, I have a dancer that has gone on to actually pursue this and be successful because you have to get into college.
• 58:49
  SPEAKER_03: Obviously, you have to audition to get into college, but there's so many programs now, like we talked about at the beginning, tons of dance programs, tons of local dance programs.
• 58:57
  SPEAKER_03: You have to audition, yes, for some of the more prestigious ones.
• 59:00
  SPEAKER_03: But like if you want to go to school for dance, you can go to if you have foundational training, you can go to school for dance.
• 59:05
  SPEAKER_03: Like you absolutely can.
• 59:07
  SPEAKER_03: But not everyone's gonna have a successful professional career.
• 59:11
  SPEAKER_03: And I really think it stems from this foundational training that dancers are getting when they're young, because you can still go to college and study for four years and try to fix the flaws in your training, but it might not be enough.
• 59:24
  SPEAKER_03: So if you are at a studio that is really giving you those fundamentals from the beginning, and when by the time you graduate, you might be able to walk into a career.
• 59:34
  SPEAKER_03: And it sounds like that some of your dancers, like the one you were just saying, who's having a commercial career who f was on the hip-hop track, that says so much about your hip-hop teachers and and the syllabus and the choices that they made for your students because they probably and they also have probably great mentors and networking um potential too with the right connections.
• 59:59
  SPEAKER_03: Like it just is really refreshing to hear because I know that like a lot of studios are like, well, these kids aren't going to have professional careers, but why should we limit them?
• 1:00:09
  SPEAKER_03: Why should we not give them the proper training too if they want to?
• 1:00:13
  SPEAKER_03: Because you don't know what's going on in their brain.
• 1:00:17
  SPEAKER_03: They might be like, I'm gonna be a professional.
• 1:00:19
  SPEAKER_03: But the teacher's mentality is, well, I've never had a professional dancer, you know, go on before.
• 1:00:24
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm just not really gonna train them the in the proper way to prepare them.
• 1:00:28
  SPEAKER_03: You just never know when you will get those dancers.
• 1:00:31
  SPEAKER_03: So it's really exciting to hear what y'all are doing because and and again, I have watched it and I was blown away because I would see some of those dancers come out in the in in a contemporary dance and have stunning lines and stunning feet and gorgeous control and beautiful centers and lovely leg lines.
• 1:00:49
  SPEAKER_03: And that same dancer would come out and crush it in a hip-hop routine.
• 1:00:52
  SPEAKER_03: And I was like, oh my gosh, I am dead over this with the versatility.
• 1:00:57
  SPEAKER_03: And it just, it's so impressive because that's what's really going to get these dancers far if they choose to go on to a career is the the fact that they were able to take some some hip-hop in the proper way and receive the proper training and have successful ballet classes that they're real with amazing teachers and have Chicago jazz dance under the belt.
• 1:01:20
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, well, and teaching found the foundation of technique in a proper way does so much for them.
• 1:01:29
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, you know, these are these are bodies that we're molding, you know, we want to make sure that we're being conscious of molding them properly so they're not injured down the road.
• 1:01:40
  SPEAKER_05: You know, laying the foundation of technique is so important for dancers to learn the discipline aspect so that and the patience that it takes to lay the foundation of technique because they want to be doing the advanced skills right away, but making sure that again, they're focusing on the basis, the basics in their technique first and foremost, so that then they can continue to build.
• 1:02:04
  SPEAKER_05: And again, that those skills of the patience, the discipline, the commitment that it takes to build to that more advanced place, then will benefit them whether they dance or whether they go on and become a doctor, laureate, lawyer.
• 1:02:17
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, I went to the corporate world and they were blown away by the fact that I could give up, get up and give a presentation right away with confidence.
• 1:02:26
  SPEAKER_05: And it's because I had been on stage my whole life and again had grown to appreciate the patience and discipline that it takes to really study and learn a craft, right, which can be applied to any career.
• 1:02:43
  SPEAKER_05: Yep, absolutely.
• 1:02:44
  SPEAKER_03: I couldn't agree more.
• 1:02:46
  SPEAKER_03: And that's why we do this.
• 1:02:47
  SPEAKER_03: That's why y'all do this, is to create beautiful humans that can go on and do whatever they want once they graduate and spread their wings and fly away from the dance studio.
• 1:02:58
  unknown: Absolutely.
• 1:02:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 1:03:00
  SPEAKER_03: So, what does the future hold for Steps Dance Center?
• 1:03:03
  SPEAKER_03: What is coming up next for you?
• 1:03:05
  SPEAKER_03: Do you have anything that's on the horizon that you want to add to your programming or uh news that you can share or just goals for the future?
• 1:03:15
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so the very next exciting thing for us is that we are going to a national event with our entire company for the first time this upcoming summer 2024.
• 1:03:27
  SPEAKER_04: So we are all traveling to Florida to go to a full convention competition, nationals with all of our dancers.
• 1:03:36
  SPEAKER_04: Wow.
• 1:03:36
  SPEAKER_04: From three to eighteen, all of our company dancers will be attending.
• 1:03:40
  SPEAKER_04: Wow, that's exciting.
• 1:03:41
  SPEAKER_03: And this is the first time in history that everyone's going.
• 1:03:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 1:03:45
  SPEAKER_04: So we've gone to nationals as an option for probably about 10 years now.
• 1:03:51
  SPEAKER_04: And we've had, you know, some dancers win titles and we've, you know, won some overalls and whatnot with the smaller groups of dancers that have gone.
• 1:03:58
  SPEAKER_04: But this is the first time we're requiring it and it's a part of our company training program.
• 1:04:04
  SPEAKER_04: And we're really big on not, you know, really saying who's an A-level dancer, who's a B level dancer with our company.
• 1:04:13
  SPEAKER_04: We really think that everyone has potential, everyone has a future, everyone can have a future and dance.
• 1:04:20
  SPEAKER_04: So we really don't want to decipher like you're our elite dancer, so you're going to nationals, but we're requiring it for everyone because all of our dancers will benefit and we'll get something out of it.
• 1:04:31
  SPEAKER_03: How was everyone on board?
• 1:04:33
  SPEAKER_03: Was everyone excited?
• 1:04:34
  SPEAKER_03: How was that transition?
• 1:04:35
  SPEAKER_03: And were was this something that you two were just kind of brainstorming, like, we need to do this, or was there a demand for it?
• 1:04:42
  SPEAKER_03: Were people like, we should do a full studio nationals?
• 1:04:44
  SPEAKER_05: So when we were doing nationals as an option, and again, we've required it for some of our older companies in the past, um, we would end up having a lot of the younger ones coming, anyways.
• 1:04:59
  SPEAKER_05: And then we were trying to like rework and put together group numbers so that they could come to nationals.
• 1:05:05
  SPEAKER_05: But, you know, the purpose of nationals is your pieces are building and getting stronger all throughout the season.
• 1:05:10
  SPEAKER_05: You get all the feedback and you tweak and make it stronger.
• 1:05:14
  SPEAKER_05: And then you get to go to nationals and you're presenting the best version of your numbers to this national competition.
• 1:05:20
  SPEAKER_05: And so we were realizing, you know, we have so many people who are interested in nationals.
• 1:05:26
  SPEAKER_05: If we bring the full company into nationals, we won't have to fully rework these formations.
• 1:05:30
  SPEAKER_05: And we can bring the best version of these numbers when we go compete at nationals.
• 1:05:36
  SPEAKER_05: And all of the dancers can experience, hey, they can experience the pride of I've worked on this piece, it's gotten stronger throughout the season.
• 1:05:46
  SPEAKER_05: Now we get to go to that bigger stage and, you know, be together as a team.
• 1:05:51
  SPEAKER_05: I think it's also such a bonding experience to travel.
• 1:05:54
  SPEAKER_05: And we were seeing that from our smaller groups of dancers that would go to nationals.
• 1:05:58
  SPEAKER_05: You know, they would.
• 1:06:00
  SPEAKER_05: Such a bonding experience there and be so tight-knit when they came back.
• 1:06:04
  SPEAKER_05: We want that for everyone.
• 1:06:06
  SPEAKER_05: And it was we had some meetings, we had we had to have a lot of conversations about the why and the benefits of attending because you know it is it's a financial commitment.
• 1:06:18
  SPEAKER_05: Um, but we also took out one of our regional conventions this year to save financially there to offset, and then we also we normally do a week-long jazz intensive and a week long hip-hop intensive in the summer, and we paired those down so that those could be a little less expensive.
• 1:06:37
  SPEAKER_05: So we're making we were trying, you know, as much as we can to make it feasible for all of our families to go as possible.
• 1:06:47
  SPEAKER_05: And actually, we we initially were going to one location and then we through these conversations understood that because, you know, again, it's a huge financial commitment, these families want to make a family vacation out of it.
• 1:07:00
  SPEAKER_05: So they want to go somewhere ideally where their other kids are also going to enjoy.
• 1:07:05
  SPEAKER_05: And so that's where we ended up in Orlando, where then they can make it a family trip.
• 1:07:10
  SPEAKER_05: And there's the possibility where some of our families can drive if they want to.
• 1:07:15
  SPEAKER_05: It's not crazy far.
• 1:07:16
  SPEAKER_05: If we were to go to the West Coast where we've gone for a lot of these optional nationals, that's not it's you could do it, but a really long trip to Mount.
• 1:07:27
  SPEAKER_05: So again, you know, in doing this, we've we've learned a lot from going through this process for the first time.
• 1:07:35
  SPEAKER_05: Um, but we're we're hoping it's gonna be a really great experience because again, we want all of our dancers to be together as a team.
• 1:07:43
  SPEAKER_05: We try not to, you know, we do section our our dancers into separate companies based on age and level, but we very much want everyone to feel like they're part of the the one steps family, the one steps team.
• 1:07:58
  SPEAKER_05: You know, that's why we do our parties together throughout the year.
• 1:08:02
  SPEAKER_05: You know, we try and have a lot of events where the dancers all come together and feel like they are on the same team and the same page.
• 1:08:10
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 1:08:11
  SPEAKER_03: That sounds so exciting for them, and I think they're gonna have a blast.
• 1:08:15
  SPEAKER_03: So I I hope that it's spectacular and everything you dreamed of to have the full the full company there all together.
• 1:08:21
  SPEAKER_03: It's too close to 200 dancers.
• 1:08:23
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 1:08:24
  SPEAKER_03: And their families, that's gonna be a handful, but it'll be a blast.
• 1:08:28
  SPEAKER_03: They're gonna have a great time.
• 1:08:29
  SPEAKER_05: Yes, we think so too.
• 1:08:31
  SPEAKER_03: Awesome.
• 1:08:31
  SPEAKER_03: Well, this was such a great chat, and I absolutely love hearing and learning all about what you're doing up there in Illinois.
• 1:08:38
  SPEAKER_03: You're doing everything right.
• 1:08:40
  SPEAKER_03: And again, I can sit here and just praise.
• 1:08:43
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's so exciting that I can like there are many studios that we've had on our studio spotlights that I have been able to watch at competition, but there are many that I have not had the pleasure of watching at competition.
• 1:08:55
  SPEAKER_03: And for you, I can say, like, wow, I have witnessed what y'all are doing.
• 1:09:00
  SPEAKER_03: It's such great work, and keep doing what you're doing because I can tell that your dancers love to dance when they get up there and they they give it their all.
• 1:09:08
  SPEAKER_03: And just the versatility in in what you're providing to your dance community is so rewarding and refreshing to watch as a judge and educator.
• 1:09:17
  SPEAKER_03: So thank you for everything you're doing.
• 1:09:19
  SPEAKER_03: And it was a pleasure having you both here on our studio spotlight.
• 1:09:22
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you so much.
• 1:09:23
  SPEAKER_05: And we're grateful to have had your feedback.
• 1:09:25
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 1:09:26
  SPEAKER_03: I know.
• 1:09:27
  SPEAKER_03: I I'm sad I again, I'm not gonna put say that because I might see you again.
• 1:09:32
  SPEAKER_03: Who knows?
• 1:09:33
  SPEAKER_03: I might see you at another competition.
• 1:09:35
  SPEAKER_03: But you know, my my sketch is limited these days.
• 1:09:38
  SPEAKER_03: So, but I hope our paths will cross again soon.
• 1:09:41
  SPEAKER_03: And to anybody out there who does compete in the surrounding Illinois area, Chicagoland area, be on the lookout for Steps Dance Center because they are gonna blow your mind.
• 1:09:51
  SPEAKER_03: And make sure you go sit in the audience whenever their hip hop dances are coming up because they're good.
• 1:09:57
  SPEAKER_03: All of your dances are good, but I just specifically remember some of your epic hip-hop dances, and that's that's awesome.
• 1:10:03
  SPEAKER_03: They're a full so as you know, because you both are uh making impact listeners, we always have our guests lead us out with one final thought on our chat today.
• 1:10:12
  SPEAKER_03: And if you would like to chat and speak to other studio owners out there, if you'd like to speak to dance parents or dancers, whoever you'd like, just a little bit of words of wisdom, guidance, and a sign-off from Emily and Rebecca of Steps Dance Center.
• 1:10:31
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so I will just say, you know, short and sweet, dance is for everybody, and everybody has a place in this big dance world.
• 1:10:39
  SPEAKER_04: So as long as uh studio owners and teachers and all of the dance community keeps accepting everyone, I think there really is a place for everybody in the dance world.
• 1:10:51
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and I I would say to teachers and studio owners, uh we're so grateful to be a part of this community.
• 1:10:59
  SPEAKER_05: One of our favorite parts of going to these competitions, conventions, you know, we're looking forward to nationals, uh, is meeting these other teachers and studio owners who are killing it from across the country and really, you know, learning and being inspired by other people.
• 1:11:14
  SPEAKER_05: And, you know, so rely on your community.
• 1:11:18
  SPEAKER_05: We have such an amazing dance community, and everybody's just trying to do the same thing.
• 1:11:23
  SPEAKER_05: We're all, you know, trying to share our love of dance and create uh great character and great dancers with the students that we work with.
• 1:11:32
  SPEAKER_05: So again, be be appreciative of your community, rely on your community.
• 1:11:37
  SPEAKER_05: And I say the same thing to dancers.
• 1:11:40
  SPEAKER_05: I just had this conversation before we went to our first competition.
• 1:11:43
  SPEAKER_05: You know, be grateful for the community around you because we can all rise together.
• 1:11:50
  SPEAKER_05: Like Emily's saying, there's a place for everyone in the dance world.
• 1:11:53
  SPEAKER_05: So why not lift one another up?
• 1:11:56
  SPEAKER_05: And a win for someone on your team is a win for you because you were there in the room supporting them during their training.
• 1:12:05
  SPEAKER_05: You know, we as teachers were so proud of these dancers when they achieve things, when they, you know, get the scholarship, or when they are three years old and they perform on stage for the first time successfully.
• 1:12:18
  SPEAKER_05: But we're not the ones who are on stage, but we were in it.
• 1:12:22
  SPEAKER_05: We were in the training process with them.
• 1:12:24
  SPEAKER_05: So we can be so proud.
• 1:12:26
  SPEAKER_05: It's the same thing for all the dancers who are teammates.
• 1:12:28
  SPEAKER_05: And again, I think dancers sometimes get so wrapped up in I've got to get the first place solo and I've got to be the one to get the scholarship.
• 1:12:36
  SPEAKER_05: And really, again, if if one of your teammates achieves one of those things, you should be so proud and so grateful to have been a part of the process that got them there to achieve that accomplishment.
• 1:12:50
  SPEAKER_05: So thank you, Courtney and Leslie, also for bringing together this community.
• 1:12:56
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, we we have been huge fans of this podcast for a long time.
• 1:13:00
  SPEAKER_05: And I think it's so cool that, again, you're making this community a little bit smaller by allowing teacher studio owners, dance professionals to speak openly and honestly about their experience and allow the rest of us to be inspired by it.
• 1:13:18
  SPEAKER_03: We hope you enjoyed our latest studio spotlight episode featuring Steps Dance Center in Illinois.
• 1:13:24
  SPEAKER_03: Special shout out to our guests, Emily and Rebecca Rosenberg, for joining us.
• 1:13:28
  SPEAKER_03: Don't forget to follow them on social media.
• 1:13:30
  SPEAKER_03: You can find their studio at Steps Dance Center on Instagram and learn more on their website at StepsDanceCenteronline.com.
• 1:13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to follow Making the Impact on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts, and pretty much everywhere you listen to podcasts.
• 1:13:46
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• 1:13:53
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• 1:14:01
  SPEAKER_00: Join now at Impact Dance Adjudicators.com slash Platinum Premium or click the link in our show notes.
• 1:14:08
  SPEAKER_03: Be sure to check out IDA affiliated competition, Diva Dance Competition.
• 1:14:13
  SPEAKER_03: Diva Dance Competition is America's live judging competition.
• 1:14:17
  SPEAKER_03: Their live judging format is extremely unique in the industry.
• 1:14:20
  SPEAKER_03: Dancers are asked to stay on stage following their routine.
• 1:14:24
  SPEAKER_03: Each of the judges provided exclusively by Impact Dance Adjudicators will provide immediate feedback live over the microphone.
• 1:14:31
  SPEAKER_03: This format allows for a very personalized educational experience where the dancers are able to apply their critiques immediately to their next routines with the purpose of improving as the day goes on.
• 1:14:42
  SPEAKER_03: Something else that makes Diva different is that they are a competition with a cause.
• 1:14:45
  SPEAKER_03: Diva was born as a way to raise awareness for the CDLS Foundation, a rare genetic syndrome that the owner's son Jack was born with.
• 1:14:53
  SPEAKER_03: And last but not least, Diva provides all routine photos and videos absolutely free.
• 1:14:58
  SPEAKER_03: For more information on Diva Dance Competition and to register for an upcoming event, visit their website at divacomps.com.
• 1:15:08
  SPEAKER_00: Coming up in the next few weeks, look forward to episodes on awards ceremonies, when a dance parent wants it more than the dancer, and 10 things your backstage manager wants you to know.