Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica Spirk.
Hi Erica, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have been dancing since I was 2 years old; I am now 33 years old. I have a master’s in education and have always loved kids. I taught 8th grade for the last decade. I decided when I was 23 to start my own dance studio in addition to teaching 8th grade. We started in January 2014 in a church gym with 19 students. We now have 450 students, 13 teachers, over 120 classes offered each week (Sunday-Friday), I have purchased my own building and I am in the process of buying a second location to serve as a competition training facility. The dance studio is my passion project, and I can’t imagine life without having started it. I have met so many amazing families.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We have had some obstacles the last decade! We moved from the church to a rental space about a year and a half after opening. A couple years later, the roof caved in in that building, and we had to quickly move. This was in the middle of my dad passing away. He was my go-to person for everything building related so I really had to lean on my husband, family, and friends for support in preparing another rental location.
The following season as we prepared for recital, just 3 days before the show, the theater roof began leaking, making a large balcony portion unusable. We originally planned for 2 sold-out shows and had to perform 4 shows in 2 days in order to accommodate all guests.
Lastly, when covid hit, like many businesses we had to shut down in-person classes. We moved to virtual lessons in order to keep providing content for out students and families. We lost more than half of our students during that time. We re-opened 4 weeks before we were supposed to have a recital. Of course, we couldn’t have an in-person recital, so we recorded our students in their costumes in the studio and put it on a DVD for everyone to enjoy. The following season our theater still wasn’t doing shows so we rented a banquet hall at a hotel and performed 7 mini shows so that every dancer could be seen!
It took a few seasons, but we recovered and are back stronger than ever.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My dance studio is based on 3 main pillars: affordable, quality lessons, experienced teachers, and small class sizes. Our goal is to create a fun, safe and nurturing environment in which children and adults of all ages are able to learn different kinds of dance at affordable prices.
We have a very family feel throughout our studio. You can look around and find many friendly faces that are willing to help, talk and pitch in. This is what I am most proud of; the environment is set up for kindness.
We offer jazz, tap, ballet, tumbling, modern, contemporary, lyrical, musical theater, hip hop, cheerleading, adult classes, mommy and me classes, and competitive dance and cheerleading.
I also pride myself on clear communication and organization, it is one of the compliments I get most on how the business is run.
I truly love kids and put them first when making all decisions.
We do many community performances and events as well as volunteer work. We raise money and collect needed items for victims of disasters, homeless shelter, youth programs, and volunteer whenever we can.
Our studio is a safe space for everyone!
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I think I was already pretty tough, but the pandemic has toughened me up even more and taught me a huge lesson in resilience. Not once did I think about giving up running my business, even when it seemed impossible and the deck was stacked against our industry. Our work ethic was strengthened and our commitment to our students was proven 10 times over. I truly feel like I can tackle anything.
Pricing:
- 30-minute classes are $25/month
- 45-minute classes are $35/month
Contact Info:
- Website: www.behindthecurtaindancestudio.com
- Instagram: @behindthecurtainds
- Facebook: facebook.com/BehindTheCurtainDS
