Academy 831

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ACADEMY 831 - STUDIO INFORMATION
Styles: Ballet Youngest Age: 3	Also Offers: Group Classes

About ACADEMY 831

My journey with dance started when I was 5 as a way for me to get more exercise to avoid the genetic likelihood of obesity. I took at a local studio where I learned to love ballet and was exposed to other styles as well. I started competing with a highly competitive studio and found that tap was a great outlet for my frustration. Dance in general was pivotal for me in navigating my teen years and giving me a safe space to work through the challenges of life.

To help pay for the extra classes I wanted to take, I began assisting at age 15. I soon found that teaching was my calling and had my first classes at 16. My dream was always to have my own dance studio. In my Brea-Olinda High School yearbook my now husband, Chris, wrote “someday we will have the studio of your dreams!” We married in 1992, saved and planned and in 1997 we opened our first studio in Placentia. My goal was to allow dancers to compete, but not at the exclusion of using what they learned in dance to help them in other areas of their lives. While it was very successful and rewarding, in 2003 we had our first child, JT and 2005 brought our daughter, Amanda. Balancing my dream of a studio with my desire to be the best mother I could be proved more challenging than I imagined. I found that too often I was choosing my studio over my children and that’s not what my heart wanted. In 2007 Chris supported me in the decision to sell the studio to focus entirely on our young family.