Dance studio celebrates success, prepares for expansion

HOUSTON — About a year after opening her first dance studio, All About Dance owner Chandra McCain is finally realizing her dream of offering affordable arts education to Valley residents.

All About Dance will transition June 1 to a nonprofit corporation called “All About the Arts Foundation,” McCain said, to recognize a more diverse set of classes coming to the studio.

McCain said she and her dancing family have already completed part of a remodel to the current studio at 10927 W. Big Lake Rd. in the Meadowood Mall. They tore out one wall to add a 15 by 33 feet space to the dance floor, and a music room in another area, but there’s still work to be done.

“We need all the help we can get,” she said.

That includes help after the studio is finished. McCain said the studio is looking for volunteer interns to assist in teaching dance, music and voice lessons this summer.

Lori Teich has agreed to teach art classes at the studio this summer and other community volunteers are invited to share their skills with students, too. A karate instructor has stepped up already to give lessons at the studio this summer, McCain said.

If the arts foundation idea works in the Valley, McCain said the idea is to take the model and use it as a way to share the arts with other communities in Alaska.

“This is going to be a huge endeavor,” she said.

McCain and her foundation board have big dreams, including forming a scholarship fund to help high school students into arts programs at accredited colleges.

First, though, McCain is taking a group of 25 students to compete April 4 at the “Dance Like No Ones Watching” competition at Chugiak High School.

McCain said her students are highly motivated to win after students Emma McDonald, Tabitha Lockwood and Angela Houser placed first in the Senior Trio division at the Top of the World Championships in Anchorage on Feb. 7.

The studio used various fundraisers to pay the more than $900 in registration fees for students from ages 6 to adult to compete in tap, jazz, clogging, and ballet.

Additional community support would be appreciated, she said. The team needs 25 pairs of gray sweatpants and is looking for cash sponsors to help the program keep the cost of participation affordable, McCain said.

“If all goes well, we will be able to compete on two more stages this spring with even more students,” she said.

Back for an encore

All About Dance opened June 2, 2014, with 85 students.

“I was expecting 40 kids,” McCain said. “I didn’t know how big the need was.”

A few weeks later students made their debut in front of a supportive hometown crowd at Houston’s annual Founders Day event. They’ll be back for an encore appearance at Founder’s Day 2015 and at the Alaska State Fair and in the Fourth of July Parade in Wasilla.

A grand opening event for the remodeled studio is planned from noon to 5 p.m., May 16 for people to meet the instructors, register for classes and see students demonstrate their dance skills.

The second portion of the event is a parent/child painting workshop in conjunction with the Canvas Cafe from 3 to 5 p.m. There is room for approximately 75 people at the event, so interested parents students should call McCain for reservations. A website for registration will be available at a later date.

The summer session starts June 1.

Foundation board member Jayme Charneski said there’s a need for more affordable classes like this that are fun for the whole family.

“I think it’s great for our community,” she said.

Charneski got involved with All About Dance first as a student. She’s been clogging for about a year and a half and said she loves it. She is also one of the group of 25 dancers set to compete in Chugiak next week.

Charneski said one of the best parts for her has been watching how students change as their self-confidence grows.

“Just to watch the change is awesome,” she said.

McCain agreed that the possibilities for change and growth are endless.

“Not everyone can paint, not everyone can dance, not everyone can play music,” she said. “But if you try, you can probably do one of those things.”

McCain said that confidence built learning steps on the dance floor means students are empowered to take on new challenges unafraid.

“They earn trophies, they earn metals and all of a sudden you see a completely different group of kids, she said. “Now they want to win.”

The All About the Arts Foundation has applied to be recognized as a 501c3, but that tax paperwork is still being processed, McCain said. Once that is complete, perhaps her goal of introducing people to the arts and sharing the joy she finds in dance and other creative pursuits will become a reality for all Alaskans.

Contact Heather A. Resz at 352-2268 or heather.resz@frontiersman.com.