Voyage Dallas Feature - Inspiring Stories

 

It is an honor to be featured in the Voyage Dallas Magazine as a part of their Inspiring Stories Series.

In this interview we spoke about our mission with Ballet Reign Academy and on our passion to share the joy of ballet and dance with our communities through world-class dance education and performances.

Enjoy the conversation!

 

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ballet Reign Academy. They and their team share their story with us below:

Ballet has always been a part of our lives. For as young as we can remember, we were dressing up as “ballerinas” (layers upon layers of colorful tutus, skirts, tights, and hair ties), “skipping” and “dancing” throughout the house. The joy of turning and leaping may have even begun in our mother’s womb, our Executive Director attests. 

Looking back, Ballet Reign Academy was a seed that had always been there, waiting for the right place and time to be planted. Building on what we have learned from our own ballet education with wonderful studios and master teachers, experimentation, failures, successes, and our personal journeys— we started Ballet Reign Academy from the desire to pass on our rich knowledge, experience, and love of ballet to the next generation of dancers, one dancer at a time. 

Ballet Reign started with three burdens on our hearts: 1) to make world-class dance education and instruction accessible to people of all ages and demographics; 2) to be a safe, healthy environment that focuses on the whole person and exemplifies godly character– a place for dancers to learn and grow in their dance technique and their faith journey; and 3) to lift our communities with life-giving messages of hope through local performances and beyond. 

When we say we want to make dance “accessible” to everyone, there are two meanings: the first is just as it sounds: making ballet and dance available to the community at large, including groups and communities that otherwise do not have the same exposure or access to the art of ballet, but the second meaning is not as self-explanatory. For context, ballet is often taught as a cookie-cutter template and not everyone will fit perfectly into that pattern. Those who want to pursue excellence in the art form and don’t fit into the mold are resigned to select one of two options: 1) to squeeze into the mold, a path often filled with confusion, frustration, mental pain, and physical pain from injuries; or 2) to decide that it’s an impossible notion and end up quitting before giving it a fair chance. In making dance “accessible”, we want to make dance technique understandable and applicable to every person and everybody; not by diluting the technique, but by helping each dancer understand his or her strengths and weaknesses and giving them insight on how they can break past their limitations— both physical and mental. 

Through our personal experiences, much of the dance world is so positive and beautiful, but for some, the journey can also be tainted by negativity, competition, toxicity, and insecurity. Dancers can feel “disposable” and “unworthy” thus plunging them down a vicious cycle of loss of confidence and low self-esteem, then later towards an unhealthy body image; often leading to eating disorders, anxiety, and crippling depression. Having seen dancers go through this, Ballet Reign Academy was born out of a desire to provide a healthy environment for all dancers to discover (or rediscover) themselves, who they are, and who God made them to be. At Ballet Reign Academy, we believe you will find a dance environment that is based on true joy and experience a positive, uplifting place for families, kids, and adults to explore classical ballet and dance with purity and excellence. 

 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

“Smooth” would certainly be a generous description. As you can imagine, building a business from the ground up takes a lot of hard work and devotion whilst continuing our own growth as dancers and artists, so there’s always striving for that perfect balance in order to impart high-quality instruction and stay knowledgeable in our craft. 

In the beginning, it’s challenging just putting yourself out there; but there is so much satisfaction in showing up every day to lay the foundation for others who need what the Ballet Reign community stands for. Knowing and seeing where Ballet Reign Academy is going in the future has helped us to stay focused despite the challenges. We see the struggles as our preparation– what is needed to see Ballet Reign become greater than us and to become what it was always meant to be— a revival to the dance community; changing the world through the gift of dance; and to Reign— with Spirit, Grace, and Excellence. 

 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

Ballet Reign Academy is a Christian classical ballet school currently located in Irving, TX, with the hope to expand to our second location within the Dallas-Fort Worth community. Together with our affiliated ballet company, Ballet Reign, we are committed to providing quality classical ballet education and training to raise the next generation of excellence in dance, as well as serving audiences in the DFW area and beyond with impactful performances and classical repertoire. One of the ways Ballet Reign and Ballet Reign Academy do this is by going out into the communities with performances in schools, for example, and sharing the love of the dance with the students, staff, and families. 

Ballet Reign Academy offers programs in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Contemporary for dancers (ages 2 and up). We also offer Teen Ballet, Adult Ballet, and Recreational dance classes— both In-Studio and Online. We offer Dance Workshops, Master Classes and explore topics such as Dance Injury and Prevention, Dancer’s Health and Body Image, and Improvised Worship. 

We provide a wonderful Summer Camp and Dance Workshops that run for 6 weeks in the summer through June/July. Our year-round program runs from August through May with ongoing classes. We look forward to welcoming new students to join us on your ballet/dance journey. You can reach out to us at balletreign.com to schedule your free trial class. 

We are proud to continue to share our knowledge and thoughts on the art of ballet and dance on our social media (Instagram/Facebook/YouTube) platforms. Be sure to follow and subscribe at the links provided and share it with someone who needs to know about us! Thank you for supporting our mission for reaching a wider audience with excellence in the ballet and dance community. 

 

What do you think about happiness?

Firstly, dancing makes us happy and is a beautiful way to express ourselves. No matter what is going on around us in this life, we dance because it brings joy, and as we dance, our problems are put into perspective of how small it is in comparison to eternity. 

Second, dancing is not just a way to uplift ourselves, but it is such a powerful way to connect and lift others, such as our audiences and those in the community through performances. There is something about beautiful movement and music that is so captivating– languages that every person can universally understand. 

Thirdly, what makes us happy is, of course, teaching and instructing our students (we love “ah ha” moments that happen throughout this process) and equipping them with the skills they need to dance to lift themselves up with joy and repeat the process of sharing this joy with others. To be able to deliver a message directly to a person’s heart through dance in this way is one of the most fulfilling parts of what we do as dancers worldwide. 

If you would like us to perform at your special event, church, or school or would like to support/connect with us, please contact us through the website: balletreign.com Let us know how we can be a part of bringing ballet and making it accessible in your community. We truly appreciate your support in this way. 

 

Pricing:

  • Pricing starts at $25/class or $75/month.

  • Classes offered: Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, and Stretch & Conditioning

  • In-person and Online classes available.

  • Ask about FREE trial classes.  Multiple Classes/Siblings discounts offered.

  • Contact us for classes, workshops and performances at your school or event.

Contact Info:

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