We recently connected with Carissa Monroe and have shared our conversation below.

Carissa, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

As the owner of a community dance studio that teaches children as young as 14 months – adults, we stand by our mission statement on many levels. Our mission is to provide a warm environment that is accepting and nurturing for all of our dancers and their families! We are committed to fostering strong and respectful dancers who will head out into our community read to make a positive and influential impact on the lives of others.

This mission holds a dear place in my heart because I feel as though the upcoming generations need to feel as though they have a safe place to go to where they can express themselves freely and respectfully and be heard and loved for who they are. I know that 99% of my dancers will not continue on with this passion and turn it into a career as I did. However, if my staff and I can be even a small part of their journey in believing in themselves that they indeed can achieve anything that they set out to do in life, then I feel as though I’ve accomplished my mission. Teaching “the steps” at our studio is just a part of the process. Molding these young individuals to become kind, compassionate, strong leaders within their communities and afar is the other, honestly more important, part of the process to me. And all of that starts amongst our youngest of dancers. Teaching them that they too can make an impact one small step at a time.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I began dancing at the age of 8 (late in the game as many in our industry would say). However, by age 10 I was hooked and at my studio 6 days a week training in all styles of dance (ballet, lyrical, tap, jazz, acrobatics, hip-hop, etc.). By the time I was 12 I always said I would own my own studio someday and on July 12th, 2015 that dream came true. Eight years ago I opened the doors to my studio Dream*Believe*Achieve*Dance in New Hartford, CT. The name of the studio was inspired by my own personal motto to myself; DREAM big! BELIEVE in yourself no matter what! ACHIEVE everything that you set out to do in life! INSPIRE as many as you can along the way! Our studio offers classes for children as young as 14 months all the way through to adults. In styles from ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, acrobatics, hip-hop, lyrical, contemporary, musical theater, breaking and more. With specialized programs for toddler, boys as well as dancers with special needs.

Prior to opening my studio in 2015 I attended Dance Masters Of America 4 year teacher training school in Buffalo, NY where I am certified by test to teach in all of the above mentioned styles. After completing this program in 2010 I continued to teach and choreograph for local dance studios while also training and dancing pre-professionally myself. I performed with Rebecca Moore Dance as well as worked with Catapult Entertainment, under the direction of Adam Battlestein, whom were semi-finalists on America’s Got Talent. I had the privilege of training with some of the most prestigious choreographers and leaders in our industry as well as meeting some of my most inspirational colleagues during the So You Think You Can Dance audition phases.

As much as I LOVE performing myself my passion always came back to working with the next generation. I LOVE spreading my knowledge and passion on to my students. Watching their passion grow and ignite is what inspires and motivates me now to not only become a better mentor, leader, teacher & choreographer, but just overall a better person. My students are truly my biggest inspiration. We have a mutual respect for one another and I love that I get to be a small part of their journey not just inside the studio walls but in all areas of their lives. From attending school plays/concerts, to prom photos, birthday parties, graduations, etc. I am honored that they welcome me into their lives as they do. I love that I get to stay connected to my alumni and watch where their next exciting chapter takes them. For me it’s about SO much more than just dance. It’s about providing them all with a community that they feel loved and safe in and can grow and flourish into the best version of themselves possible.

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

As for many 2020 and the pandemic brought challenges to the surface that some of us never imagined facing. My business was no different. On March 16th, 2020 I made the tough decision to close the studio (for what I thought was going to be 2 weeks). However, that evening I held a zoom call with my staff and said “we’re not actually closing.” They looked at me puzzled and I responded with, “we will hold virtual dance classes.” (Now I understand as the weeks/months progressed in 2020 this became the “norm” but at the time of my introducing this to my team it was certainly never heard of and NOTHING anyone else/our competitors in the area were even considering). As always, my team had my back and jumped on the bandwagon with me with an ambitious attitude, until I finished my phrase with, “and we will begin this tomorrow.” Their jaws dropped and the questions began “How?” “What are we supposed to do?” etc. etc.

Within 24 hours I had an entire zoom schedule setup for my entire studio family. A place where our dancers could continue some “normalcy,” continue to engage with their peers safely, continue to express themselves and continue to have that “outlet” that they needed now more than ever. As the weeks/months progressed sometimes this meant sitting and chatting and connecting with one another more verbally than physically through dance. As words of encouragement, laughs, and sometimes tears, were exchanged through the screen, I knew I could stand tall and say we were still continuing to stand by our mission and provide a warm environment that was accepting and nurturing for all of our dancers.

Not only did we hold virtual dance classes, we did bedtime story times on Friday evenings for our youngest of dancers, family dance parties and scavenger hunts on Sundays and so much more. I was determined to continue to provide a community for my families to still feel connected, heard and loved. It was FAR different than what we were used to, but it worked during that time. We never missed a beat and we finished out our season still (Maybe 2 months later than the norm), but with our annual recital, held outdoors “picnic style” for our dancers to continue to showcase all that they learned and accomplished together as a team with their peers.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Over the last 8 years of being in business I can honestly say that a huge portion of our positive reputation is our community involvement. Collaborating with and supporting other local business owners, attending local festivals/fairs/etc. and being that business in town that does their best to support the upcoming generation has been huge for our growth. I think it’s more important than anything to show my community that I’m not here just for the growth and success of my business but for the growth and success of all those around me. Alone we are strong, but together we are stronger is a quote I use often with my students and I stand by it as an adult entrepreneur as well.        

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dbadance.com
• Instagram: @dbadancer
• Facebook: Dream Believe Achieve Dance

Image Credits
Amy Sharon Josh Quint