Finding the Right Dance Studio for Your Child
Some thoughts on choosing a place where your child can thrive.
There are many wonderful studios in our area, each with different strengths, personalities and philosophies. No two are exactly alike. Just so, every child is different!
Rather than asking, “Which studio is the best?” I encourage parents to ask a different question.
“Which environment will help my child become the best version of themselves?”
Dance and theater are a whole world of their own. Never has it simply been about technique, lines, a song, or choreography. It’s about learning to challenge yourself, about discovering what your body is capable of. It's about creating and connecting with other people. Being vulnerable. Walking with confidence. It's learning to receive corrections and laughing at our own mistakes. Celebrating other people’s successes. Becoming a small part of a larger picture, a larger work of art.
This world is my world, the only one in which I've ever truly belonged.
I have been so careful while building Frances Mohler Dance. Every decision we've made at FMD has been intentional.
The details matter because they shape a child's experience. I learn every child's name. I take care of my instructors and maintain a quality physical environment. Our staff runs the smoothest, most well-organized shows I have ever been a part of. We are a relatively new business in the world of dance - under ten years old. I spent my years before now in many studios, as an instructor, student, syllabus writer, academy director, competition director and administrator. I bring all of that knowledge to my careful crafting of FMD.
We keep our class sizes small enough that children are genuinely known - my motto from day one has been one client at a time. Our teachers know every student’s name. We celebrate strengths, understand challenges and meet children where they are.
Loving instruction matters. Technique matters. Strong ballet training matters.
Teachers must continue to be students, learning and training as well. Our faculty is committed to growing alongside our students because the performing arts are always evolving, and we believe excellent teachers should continue evolving, too.
Dance should never become one-size-fits-all.
Some children discover they love ballet. Others find themselves in hip hop, contemporary or acro. Some realize their heart belongs in musical theater, acting or voice lessons. The dream is that children have the opportunity to discover what excites them and then continue growing in that direction.
FMD is home to a small, very personal competition team. We train hard, we support each other. But character comes before competition. It's mandatory and enforced. We are also strong ballet, but no conservatory. Multi-style, well-rounded performers are what we create. Musical theater has quickly become one of the most exciting parts of FMD. Though it's the newest branch of our studio, it is perhaps closest to my own training and my heart. Young performers deserve direct, thoughtful training in acting and singing if they hope to compete in today's world of auditions and musical theater. They get this, in a small and supportive environment, at FMD.
One thing I hope families notice when they walk into FMD is that our students genuinely enjoy being together. Kindness isn’t something we talk about once at the beginning of the year. It’s part of the culture we build every day.
Children spend so much of their lives comparing themselves to one another.
Our studio MUST be a place where they learn to encourage one another instead.
I also believe creativity deserves a place alongside discipline. Children should absolutely learn beautiful, classical technique. They should also learn to think creatively, solve problems, interpret music, tell stories and discover their own artistic voice.
These things aren’t separate, they’re what make great artists. Most of all, I hope children leave our studio feeling stronger than when they arrived. Not just physically, but emotionally, socially and artistically. Whether they dance for one year or fifteen, whether they become professional performers or simply carry these experiences into another career someday, my hope is that they leave believing in themselves a little more than they did before.
This has always been the real goal! Dance is simply how we get there.
If that sounds like the kind of childhood you hope your child experiences, we'd love to meet you.