Kimberly Hosford, the Director of Competition Teams at the Art in Motion Dance Studio, taps and dances along with her students during rehearsals. Teaching both competitive and recreational dance, Hosford and other instructors have helped build a culture through inclusiveness and team morale.
This culture has been built since the studio opened in 2003. Hosford has been with the studio since 2011, starting as a dancer herself in high school.
Hosford says the culture has gotten more serious over time, especially with the growth of competition teams. It started out as a place to come and dance recreationally, and while that’s still present, dancers have also gotten into competing.
“Once we got some kids that wanted to take it a little bit more seriously, and maybe even professionally and compete, the culture just became a bit more serious,” Hosford said. “Dancers started coming hours a day, many times a week.”
Balancing the differences between competition and recreation can get tricky. Hosford said it’s easy to get swept away in the feeling of wanting to win, so it’s important to remind the dancers that having fun matters, too.
“It's going to take them the furthest and it's also what the audience responds to the best,” Hosford said.” “So I think just reminding the kids of that and seeing them grow as artists is most important.”
Of course, competing in something is never easy. There’s going to be moments of defeat, heartache, and feeling upset in general.
Lauren Tito, the studio’s administrative assistant who also teaches classes, says making the dancers feel supported and heard can help boost issues of low confidence or self-esteem.
“I have found that the kids do better and feel better when they know someone is on their side,” Tito said. “When they feel supported in this way, they are able to focus more on the positives and the competition without the negativity dragging them down.”
When spirits are high, staff at Art in Motion say they separate themselves from other studios with team bonding and a warm, welcoming energy.
Tito says it’s easy to hear about the culture of other local studios, and they aren’t always the best stories. Any team or group will have their moments, but Tito says the support and love the teachers and dancers have is like no other.
“There is nowhere else I’d rather be,” Tito said. “We, too, have our ups and downs, but the positives always outweigh the negatives.”
Jayden Frost, a dancer turned teacher at Art in Motion, agrees with how enjoyable the studio is. She’s seen it from both a student and teacher perspective and knows how some studios interact differently.
“You'll see a teacher from another studio, just screaming at the kids, and then I feel like our studio at camp we really get together and we're super close during camp,” Frost said. “It's just much more hospitable.”
All three agree that they’re beyond proud of the growth Art in Motion has produced, and what the future holds.
“I think my very first year we have seven dances registered for competition, and my last year we had like 32, somewhere around there,” Frost said. “It's just really cool seeing how everyone has grown and knowing that I’m with it means a lot.”
“It has been beautiful to watch so many young dancers become amazing adults,” Hosford said. “Also becoming amazing human beings and even growing up to teach and do what I do. It just blows my mind. It's really special.”
The goal these teachers and dancers have is to continue to grow their studio. With more expansion and dancers comes an even stronger culture.
“I feel like Art in Motion has something really special that a lot of other studios don't, and that is how close we are,” Frost said. “I can only imagine that if it were to keep growing it would just get closer and closer, and we've just been getting better every year, so I'm looking forward to seeing that.”
As class ends and the dancers pack up, the bonding still carries on. Teachers will hype up how well the rehearsals went as they leave the building. Dancers will linger around after class, either getting food and eating together or just hanging out in the parking lot.