Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dara Sayrie. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Dara, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
The mission at Fierce Factory Dance & Talent has always been to provide a safe space for ALL dancers from various backgrounds, all levels, young and old to come and express themselves through the art of dance. At the same time, allowing them to improve their dance technique and truly discover who they are as an artist.
My sister (my business partner) and I have always prided ourselves on the diversity of our dance studio. From our staff to our students. This isn’t something you see very often in our industry. Growing up, I was one of very few African American dancers in the world of competitive dance. The competitive dance industry at that time just wasn’t very diverse at all. I remember at a young age I decided I wanted to make a name for myself so that other dancers of color could see that this sport was for anyone who set their mind to do it.
Fast forward to where we are now and Fierce Factory Dance & Talent exceeds this mission year after year. We are proud to say that we are two young black female business owners of a diverse dance studio where dancers are made and not born. Where dancers are taught confidence, class, professionalism, strength, and grit. Our dancers don’t back down from challenges and they never give up. They are taught to work hard but still allow room for imperfection, to stand up for what they believe in, to accept defeat with grace, and most importantly to be their best self!
Dara, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Fierce Factory Dance & Talent also known as FFDT, is a competitive and recreational dance studio located in the heart of Missouri City, Texas owned and operated by two sisters, Raguel McFarlane and Dara Sayrie. We originated in the summer of 2014 and were originally called the “LDA Dance Team” operating under Laeral Dance Academy. By 2015 it was clear that our dancers were absolute showstoppers and needed a name to match. That’s when Fierce Factory Dance & Talent was born.
In 2016, we branched off on our own and have been thriving ever since. Our competitive team has won National and World winning titles. They have also been a part of major performance opportunities like the Houston Rockets Halftime show, concert openers, community events, and so much more. While we pride ourselves on their dance achievements, we are more proud of the young men and women they are growing into. At Fierce Factory, this isn’t just about dance, but about teaching life lessons and setting our dancers up to accomplish their dreams.
The success of our competitive program is what has allowed our recreational program to flourish. We offer classes for ages 3 & up with a variety of styles and levels. Whether you are a beginner or advanced, there is something for you. So don’t miss your chance to be a part of something FIERCE!
We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.
My business partner and I met way back on April 10, 1989 at St. John’s Hospital. On that glorious day I was officially her little sister, turned best friend, and now business partner. Raguel and I are 10 years apart and yet we have always been super close. People often refer to us as the “Sister Act.”
I grew up dancing competitively and Raguel eventually became one of my coaches. The two of us have been on this dance journey for years now and there is no one else I would rather be on it with!
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
The moment I hear the word “pivot” I immediately think of 2020. Like many businesses, March 2020 hit us hard. I will never forget that I was 7 1/2 months pregnant with my first child and we were nearing the most important competition of our season when we received the news that everything was being shut down. Literally everything! As business owners, our initial reaction is sheer panic. How are we going to keep our doors open, how can we pay our bills and our staff, how do we keep clients, how, how, how?
Then Zoom came along and saved us all. Zoom became the light at the end of the tunnel for us. This was the moment we realized that in order to keep our business going we would have to pivot and adjust to the times we were living in. With the help of our older students and some fellow dance moms who were also school administrators, we quickly switched our entire program over to virtual learning. Shockingly, this became a huge success for us. The longer the shutdown continued the more parents searched for activities to put their kids in and we were just the one place.
While Zoom came with its perks, it also posed many challenges for us teachers and students. We had to adapt to teaching combinations backwards so that the dancers could learn the moves the right direction, figure out how to play the music so everyone could hear, and my favorite, speaking over the dog barking in the background because someone didn’t mute their mic.
This experience was far from ideal, but I believe it shaped us more as a business and as people. We learned to appreciate face to face interaction more than ever before. Thinking outside of the box was a must and our creativity was at its finest. Best of all, our love and appreciation for each other and dance grew tremendously. Covid definitely tried to take us out, but with lots of support and some minor pivots we survived the pandemic. THAT is an accomplishment!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fiercefactorydance.com
- Instagram: @fiercefactorydance
- Facebook: Fiercefactorydance