We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maggie Dozier. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maggie below.

Maggie, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I work with Inspira Dance, a 501(c)3 non-profit started just a couple years ago by my friend Stephanie. The mission from the beginning has been to provide dance education programs in local Title I schools, and we raise funding through paid Arlington dance events that we put on. While putting on the Arlington dance events to raise money, we realized that we were also creating something special and valuable at those events themselves. Even though the Arlington events were originally a means to an end, they became meaningful in themselves. People have been able to create community and build friendships through the dance events, and now building that community has become part of our mission as well.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve been dancing socially since 2010, and in 2021 my friend Stephanie was putting on dance events for our friend group. She asked me if I’d like to teach country two-step at one of the events, since that was a favorite dance style of mine. I said yes, since 2020 had killed most of the local country dance opportunities, and I missed the country dance scene. Since then, Stephanie has turned her dance events into an official 501(c)3 non-profit, Inspira Dance, and I’ve been able to help grow the Country dance events as well as Latin and Swing dance events. Country Night has grown from 40 people in 2021, to over 200 people now in 2024. We play country music and pop music for people to dance to, and provide a beginner-friendly dance lesson to start off with, in which you get to meet other people attending the dance lesson! Inspira takes the proceeds from the social dances and uses them to create high-quality dance programs for students in local Title I schools, so when people come to our dance events, they’re having a good time, plus supporting a good cause as well. Something that sets us apart is that we’re a very low-pressure and light-hearted environment. People are friendly and welcoming, and are there just to have a good time. I’m most proud when I look around at the crowded dance floor and see people smiling and having a good time.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

We genuinely care about our dance events and try to make them events that we ourselves would enjoy going to. You’ll always see our dance instructors and event volunteers chatting with new people, learning their story, and getting them out on the dance floor. Also, I’m so thankful for the instructor team and volunteer team that has grown in Inspira. So many times, just when we were in need, the right person would join the team and fill in the missing puzzle piece. If any of you guys are reading this, you know who you are! Thank you for being a part of the team.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Stephanie and I became friends in 2020, ironically enough! When Covid was mixing everything up in many people’s lives, we became part of the same friend group from our church. Stephanie started hosting ad-hoc dance lessons as something fun for our group to do, and I don’t think anyone knew that those small one-off events would grow into 200-person events several times a week in 2024. But I’m so happy that it did!

Contact Info:

• Website: inspiradanceinc.com
• Instagram: @CountrySceneDC
• Facebook: Country Scene DC

Image Credits
Rachel Yearick (***She is the most amazing photographer so thanks for helping me give her the credit!!!!)