Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison Kelley.
Allison, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
From the time I was six years old, I had a dream to someday open my own dance studio.
Shoestrings is the culmination of that dream!
My goals and aspirations are to provide professional dance training in an atmosphere where students can enjoy themselves while learning. I feel that individual attention is vital to help each child reach his or her full potential.
Although not all children will aspire to a career in the field of dance, I offer an atmosphere where each child can grow in the direction that fills their individual needs.
I have developed a teaching technique that will best emphasize a student’s strengths while working towards the elimination of his or her weaknesses.
I want my students to not only grow in the technical aspect of dance, but also to explore the field of dance as an art form and develop a love of dance that will last a lifetime.
I remember signing my first lease, committing to three years of payments with not one student. This was against the better judgement of an attorney friend of my parents at the time, but I was determined to make Shoestrings work. We grew quickly, but remain a small studio in relation to many others, but this is good to provide individual attention that my students deserve. Shortly after opening I hired Suzanne Bouffard. She has been a member of my staff for 17 years and she has been a tremendous influence on the studio.
Has it been a smooth road?
With any growing business there are always struggles and growing pains. One of the biggest struggles is finding ways to be fresh and creative. I always want my students to be excited about the studio and engaged in what is happening there.
After many years in business, you need to make sure that the studio doesn’t get stale. It is very easy to fall victim of complacency which gets BORING for students, staff and parents.
We are always looking for creative new ideas and trying new things which people are astounded by how we continue to surprise and entertain year after year. A challenge that I face along with many working moms is managing the work/life balance. I am so fortunate to have two daughters that have acquired my love of dance and consider the studio their second home. Not only are they sharing in my love for dance, but they are learning at a young age how to be entrepreneurs and hopefully someday will run the studio themselves. Having to adapt on the fly with the mentality of “the show must go on” is something I feel I have mastered.
Whether it was rain in the auditorium on recital day, arriving at the high school auditorium to find there was no stage curtain and the wall was painted bright pink, to being trapped inside the studio during a blizzard as we prepared for our opening 2 days later, I learned not to freak out and there’s a solution for everything. (Never let them see you sweat!)
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Shoestrings Studio story. Tell us more about the business.
Shoestrings Studio is a dance studio for competitive and recreational dancers. We teach students for ages 2-adult in the styles of tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop and lyrical.
We just celebrated 20 years in business and I recently won the South Shore Living Magazine 2017 best dance studio on the South Shore Award as well as Readers Choice for best dance studio in Hanover. We are particularly proud of those because there are numerous studios in the area. We have a very loyal student base and have grown through word of mouth referrals since we really don’t advertise.
While everyone is brought together here because of dance I can’t emphasize enough that it is so such more than that. Life lessons are learned here and many friendships are made that will last a lifetime. I’m so proud to see my students grow, not only in what they accomplish on stage, but also in school and in our community.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Dance has changed a lot recently because of the media. There have been so many TV shows centered on dance and such a presence online as well that it has had a great influence on the next generation of dancers. This is great to see more students getting interested in dance and the ones that are already dancing are seeing more styles and taking an interest in them. I think this is great for the future of our industry.
I love to see dance in the “spotlight”.
Contact Info:
- Address: Shoestrings Studio
1525 Hanover Street,
Hanover, MA 02339 - Website: www.shoestringsstudio.com
- Phone: 781 982-JAZZ
- Email: shoestringsstudio@hotmail.com
- Instagram: shoestringsstudio
- Facebook: Shoestrings Studio
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