Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Aura Maurice. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Aura, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

When I was 3 years old, my parents had me do my first dance performance in school. Since then, somehow, I ended up performing at least twice a year for school functions. I remember loving it, but didn’t know why.
When I turned 14 years old, I attended this school in town where part of our PE program, they offered dance classes with a high energy format (cardio class). I thought then and now that was the best thing ever happened to me, since the dance instructor was the director of the most prestigious dance company in El Salvador (my origin country). This was a program that opened the doors to my professional dance career. The director of the company invited me to be part of his dance team and to start professionally trained.
Ever since I was a kid, I have struggled with self-love, confidence, and didn’t feel important or noticed. I used to believe dancing back then was just a way to distract me from the “real world”.
Not until I was in my early 20’s, when I had a good friend and dance partner, who in a conversation mentioned a lot of good qualities and characteristics about myself; when I realized that I had serious issues with self-esteem. This was an eye-opener that made me finally believe and understand that dancing had helped me so much.
I moved to the US in November of 2006, and a few months later I started teaching. In 2014, I had the opportunity to meet a lady who walked in my dance studio with her 8 years old son. She mentioned her kid was extremely shy, so she wanted to try different activities for him to get him out of it. He stayed with me for about a year. She mentioned that he was doing and felling a lot better, comments that were extremely pleasant to hear.
About a year later, I noticed on our social media that my name and my dance studio name were tagged in a post and immediately went and checked it out. The mother of this child just mentioned my name to someone who was looking for dance lessons. In the post she said how much the dance lessons had helped her son and how confident he was. It was until this moment that I understood why dancing meant so much to me. I knew then, my mission as a dancer was clear.
I hear in my conversations with my current and former students that dancing has helped them as well in so many ways, and self-love and being notice are the two most common that they mention.
In 2016, I opened my current dance studio, and ever since, our mission is this:
“At Dance with Me Studio by Aura, we believe dance is more than just movement—it’s transformation. Our mission is to inspire confidence, nurture self-love, and empower individuals through the art of dance. We are committed to creating a supportive and uplifting environment where students not only refine their technique but also discover their strength, embrace their uniqueness, and express themselves fearlessly. Whether on the dance floor or beyond, we strive to make a lasting impact, helping every dancer step into their power and move through life with grace and confidence”

Aura, 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?

When I was 3 years old, my parents had me do my first dance performance in school. Since then, somehow, I ended up performing at least twice a year for school functions. I remember loving it, but didn’t know why.
When I turned 14 years old, I attended this school in town where part of our PE program, they offered dance classes with a high energy format (cardio class). I thought then and now that was the best thing ever happened to me, since the dance instructor was the director of the most prestigious dance company in El Salvador (my origin country). This was a program that opened the doors to my professional dance career. The director of the company invited me to be part of his dance team and to start professionally trained.
Ever since I was a kid, I have struggled with self-love, confidence, and didn’t feel important or noticed. I used to believe dancing back then was just a way to distract me from the “real world”.
Not until I was in my early 20’s, when I had a good friend and dance partner, who in a conversation mentioned a lot of good qualities and characteristics about myself; when I realized that I had serious issues with self-esteem. This was an eye-opener that made me finally believe and understand that dancing had helped me so much.
I moved to the US in November of 2006, and a few months later I started teaching. In 2014, I had the opportunity to meet a lady who walked in my dance studio with her 8 years old son. She mentioned her kid was extremely shy, so she wanted to try different activities for him to get him out of it. He stayed with me for about a year. She mentioned that he was doing and felling a lot better, comments that were extremely pleasant to hear.
About a year later, I noticed on our social media that my name and my dance studio name were tagged in a post and immediately went and checked it out. The mother of this child just mentioned my name to someone who was looking for dance lessons. In the post she said how much the dance lessons had helped her son and how confident he was. It was until this moment that I understood why dancing meant so much to me. I knew then, my mission as a dancer was clear. Years later, her son visited my dance studio, he was coming back to take more dance lessons already as an adult and he expresses the life time benefit that dancing has gift him.
I hear in my conversations with my current and former students that dancing has helped them as well in so many ways, and self-love and being notice are the two most common that they mention.
All this is why we are so proud of who we are and how we connect with the community.

We are a local Ballroom and Latin dance studio in Northwest Arkansas, dedicated to teach social dancing, choreograph routines of all types (wedding dances, Quinceaneras), and also offer entertainment.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I was in my last year of high school, I had decided that my career was to become a successful doctor. I did know what type of doctor, but I thought this was my path.
One day I met with one of my cousins who is an amazing and recognized psychologist in El Salvador, and he asked me what career I had pick, and asked me: why? I didn’t know what to respond. At that moment my only thought was because I liked it, but at that specific moment it didn’t feel right, so he started asking me questions to find out the reason for my decision and somehow be able to help me.
Ever since I was 7 years old, I have loved helping my mom with her small sewing business and paid for my help. I remember asking her what else I can do to make more money, so we started selling sodas and Choco bananas. She got very busy at some point with her sewing business that couldn’t help me to continue with it. Somehow, I learned about the idea of making “Pascua eggs”, this where eggshells that I wash, painted and filled them up with confetti; it was an extraordinary idea, since all my friends wanted to buy them to play and make big orders for their birthday parties. I remember making so many that there were times when I didn’t want to go out and play because I was busy and having fun making them. I love entrepreneurship and did it for a long time.
Growing up, as a teenager, I decided to switch my business to making lamps with popsicle sticks, staining them and selling them, and it was another successful creation, where so many in the neighborhood and school friends were asking for one. It got so tiring that I had to leave it after about a year into.
I started dancing a lot more, so I decided that with school and dancing I wanted to put a pause on my entrepreneurship journey.
In my conversation with my cousin, I mentioned all this, but he already knew it all and said to me: “Why don’t you do marketing?” and explained to me the relationship with what I have done during the past years. It all made sense to me, and I was so happy with my new decision. I was very glad about our conversation, that even at that moment I remember learning so much about myself. Until today I am very thankful for his guidance and will be forever grateful for always being there for me.
When I started college, I decided to start a new business making business cards and typing homework which include printing them for my school friend, who paid for it. I dedicated myself to this business until I was in my second year of college due to the high demand, since it got really exhausting.
My dance career and marketing were the two I dedicated the most and I am extremely happy and proud to say that I can combine them both in my current business. I love what I do, and love what I went through to get to where I am at.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients for us has been word of mouth. We used to spend so much money in different ways to advertise our dance studio to get new clients walking into our studio, but nothing has worked better than the experiences that our students have with us, that bring more people. This expands to the feedback we get on social media and to the connection that we have created with the community through volunteering in different activities and event, and participating in serving to our local schools and nonprofits.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dancewithmestudiobyaura.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dancewithmestudiobyaura/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dancewithmestudiobyaura/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@dancewithmestudiobyaura