May 15, 2017

Meet Diane Abraham of Dance Studio of Wakefield in North of Boston

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Diane Abraham.

Diane, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
We started in a small 1000 sq. space in 1979. We were one of the first studios in our area to rent our own space and open 6 days a week. We eventually moved several times and we are now in our 5000 sq. ft. space in the downtown area of Wakefield.

We are three sisters, the Moore sisters, who own the studio and grew up dancing in Medford where our Mom was a teacher. It was our Dad’s dream to open our own family studio and he was the catalyst.

We began with about 40 students and now have well over 400 along with several types of programs for all level of dancers. We have a faculty of about 15 teachers, an office administrator, Dance Shoppe and all the modern technologies to make life easier for parents.

We have a Dance Company of about 150 dancers from ages of 6 years through high school who have won many awards both regionally and nationally and are very proud of our students who have gone on to dance professionally and attended high level college programs. As proud as we are of all of that; we are committed and supportive of all students who want to dance recreationally and afford them every opportunity possible.

It was always important to us through the years that our studio be more than just a room, a teacher and some students. We wanted a community and we are thrilled that all who attend our studio feel part of the family. Students donate time back to the communities through performances, fundraisers and charity work.

We are completing our 38th season this year and finishing our year as the Wakefield/Lynnfield Chamber of Commerce business of the year recipients. Our students have come from many communities including Wakefield, Malden, Melrose, Stoneham, Reading, Lynnfield, Burlington, West Newbury, North Reading, and Saugus.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s never a smooth road to start a new business and we were young so we learned from the school of hard knocks! Of course paying the bills is always a challenge especially when in a service industry and the first five years were a struggle.

A dance studio with its own facility was unusual and for good reason. The high rents, insurance, triple net leases and maintenance costs were not very easy to manage with dance lessons costing only $20 a month. It was a work a lot hours for little pay situation but we were very proud and believed in what we were doing. One of the first hurdles (and it continued to be a hurdle) was to find a land lord who believed a couple of young woman could be competent enough to start the business and afford the rent. We were lucky in 1979 to find one willing to give us the chance.

Growing the business was a steady but slow process. Moving to larger spaces was a challenge because of such high rents. With the support of our husbands we managed to find a downtown space that was rundown and contained three different businesses that failed. It took some convincing but the landlord finally said yes and the demolition and construction of the space we have now began. We have now been there for 20+ years and the landlord is convinced we are stable!

The economy crisis hit us pretty hard but we did our best to hold our prices down so that our students could still continue. It was a long haul but it was worth the effort to work to stay in business as we watched so many students succeed and go onto work in the dance profession or attend many great dance programs in college.

Dance Studio of Wakefield, Inc. – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a dance studio and offer classes in the performing arts. Ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, lyric, yoga, hip hop. We have students as young as 2 years through high school and will sometimes run adult programs.

We (myself and sisters) are members of Dance Masters of America and Dance Teachers Club of Boston with the American Society and have been on the board for 10 years. I am the former president of DTCB and still serve on the board. Many of our faculty are also members and / or have degrees from prestigious colleges with degrees in dance, education as well as other areas of areas that pertain to the business.

We offer a full time administrative office that is open Monday through Friday so that clients can have questions answered or problems resolved in a timely manner. We also offer online payment systems and a Dance Shoppe for student’s needs.

We consider ourselves a facility that offers a quality education whether you are a recreational student who dances for fun and friendships or a stepping stone into a professional career.

We are most proud of the many students that come through our doors over the years and danced through their senior year and now bring their children to dance with us so they may have the same experience.

I think all of these things set us apart from others in our area including the actual facility. We have 4 class rooms, a very large waiting area, Marley flooring, and video cameras in the classroom with a large screen tv in the waiting area so that parents can watch their little ones in class.

Our recitals/performances are well organized, professional shows with dancers who entertain with their stage performance quality and strong technique.

We are open 11 months a year and can offer many programs for many ages.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
We had a student who had Down syndrome many years ago. Her Mom really wanted her to have the experience of taking dance lessons. We worked with her mom and Leia attended class for many years until it became too difficult for her.

We would see Leia and her Mom from time to time and chat and just check in. Leia was about to turn 30 and throw herself a big party. She decided all she wanted for her birthday gifts was donations to set up a scholarship at the studio for a student each year. We were so taken back at her generosity but more importantly that she felt her experience at the studio was such a pivotal point in her life and she wanted to give back to someone else that needed help.

We established the Leia Browne scholarship and every year at our team banquet Leia comes and speaks and hands out her scholarship to a worthy and student in need.

This was something that really made a difference to us. It was not all the trophies and accolades but that our impact on her trickled down and is now making an impact on someone else.

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