I’ve been known to enjoy shaking my groove thing. My love of dance started when I took jazz, tap and ballet for about 14 years as a child. Although dance was a huge part of my youth, it was more about fun than form.
As I got older, I really loved going out dancing. In college, I was at “the club” every weekend immersing myself in the music – especially hip hop. My clubbing days came to an abrupt halt after getting married and having two kids. But I would still long for those nights where I could forget everything else and just dance.
Fortunately, I was not alone in my wistfulness. When I learned that there was a new business in the Stanley Marketplace called Just Dance and that it was created for people like me, I was ecstatic! Phoebe Smith, co-owner of Just Dance, said she had a “lightning bolt” epiphany last fall to create a dance studio where people of all ages could dance without any expectations.
“Especially for moms, I wanted to offer up something where you don’t have to be a mom all the time – you can do something just for you,” Phoebe, a lifelong lover of dance, said. “I just had to throw it out there and see what came back.”
Phoebe put out a call for input and possible partners on a Stapleton Facebook group and immediately received lots of positive feedback – and two interested potential business partners. Enter Miley Joyce and Skye Barker Maa. The two women helped Phoebe make Just Dance a reality – Miley helping with dance instruction and Skye offering up a dance studio space with a private entrance within Neighborhood Music Studio (as well as sage advice as a long-time Stapleton business owner).
After a successful launch party in the Hangar at Stanley in January, Just Dance was up and running. The studio offers six classes per week, and the team is always looking to expand formats based on demand and interest. Classes include adult hip hop, parent and tot creative movement classes, drop off creative dance classes for children, and ballet classes (Creative Dance for ages 3-5, Ballet I for ages 6-10 and Adult Beginner Ballet.)
They work with several different instructors to offer the classes.
Miley has a background in dance instruction and was a fifth-grade teacher until she decided to make helping run Just Dance her full-time job. She teaches the creative dance class and also substitutes for the other instructors.
“Before Phoebe’s post, I was searching for a studio that was convenient, close to home, welcoming, friendly, and most importantly, fun. I wanted to commit to a class that I wanted to come back to — so I helped create it. We kept building on each other’s ideas to create what we wanted: a studio where people can ‘Let go – Break Free – Have Fun, and Just Dance.’”
For Skye, having Just Dance as a part of Neighborhood Music Studio just made sense.
“I was moving towards being a triple threat offering music and theater, and the third being branching out into dance. Just Dance brings a great energy to the studio,” Skye said.
From my personal experience, Skye is right about the great energy. I loved the vibe when I took my first hip hop class at Just Dance a few weeks ago. I had a great time learning some new, simple “but not too simple” choreography and I definitely broke out in a sweat. The environment was casual and friendly with lots of laughter. I’m planning to make this a regular event on Thursday nights.
The team is in the process of planning some special Friday night events that will team up with other businesses at Stanley Marketplace. They’re also very open to expanding their offerings to new formats if there is enough interest.
Deal Alert: Read on for information on how you can score FREE classes and a huge discount on a class punch card.
Stapleton Scoop readers can receive THREE FREE adult classes if they do the following in April (new customers only):
- Like and follow the Just Dance Facebook page
- Follow them on Instagram
- Tag a friend on a post on one or both pages
Scoop readers can receive $50 off a 10-class punch card, through the end of April using code APRSCOOP. This brings the per class price down to just $10!
To check out Just Dance class schedules, sign up for a class and to view pricing, visit their website here.
